{"id":100,"date":"2025-11-04T08:35:47","date_gmt":"2025-11-04T08:35:47","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/anarchistfaq.org\/anarcho\/?p=100"},"modified":"2025-11-04T08:35:47","modified_gmt":"2025-11-04T08:35:47","slug":"black-flag-anarchist-review-autumn-2023-issue-now-out","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/anarchistfaq.org\/anarcho\/black-flag-anarchist-review-autumn-2023-issue-now-out\/","title":{"rendered":"Black Flag: Anarchist Review Autumn 2023 issue now out"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

The new issue of Black Flag: Anarchist Review <\/em>is now available:<\/p>\n\n\n\n

https:\/\/www.blackflag.org.uk<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n

The focus of this issue is Trotsky\u2019s limited opposition to developments in the USSR which resulted in the rise of Stalinism. This is usually dated to his 1923 \u201cNew Course\u201d articles but most Trotskyist accounts of his opposition are inaccurate, ignoring his advocacy of party dictatorship and lack of concern over economic democracy. We rectify this by discussing his actual ideas rather than the wished for ones of his followers. Camillo Berneri\u2019s comment remains true;<\/p>\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n

\n

\u201cTo oppose the effects without going back to the causes, to the original sin of Bolshevism (bureaucratic dictatorship as a function of the dictatorship of the Party), is equivalent to arbitrarily simplifying the chain of causality which leads from the dictatorship of Lenin without any great breaks in continuity. Liberty within a party which denies the free play of competition amongst the progressive parties within the soviet system would today be a spectacular miracle.\u201d (\u201cThe State and Classes\u201d, The State \u2013 Or Revolution <\/em>[London: Freedom Press, 2023], 86)<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n\n\n\n

We also include articles on anarchism and utopia, including articles by Marie-Louise Berneri, Peter Kropotkin and William Morris on Edward Bellamy and his utopian novel, Looking Backwards<\/em>. Very influential after it was published in 1888, indeed inspiring a political movement in America which sought to implement its vision of the good society, by Morris and Kropotkin engaging with it we get a better idea of the libertarian socialist alternative. While Morris\u2019s dislike of it is well-known (it helped inspire his own utopian novel, News from Nowhere<\/em>), Kropotkin\u2019s more positive evaluation of Bellamy\u2019s is less well-known. We also include Robert Graham\u2019s account of libertarian utopias in the lead-up to the French Revolution, which shows that these works of fancy can influence political movements and social change.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

This issue also includes a translation of Kropotkin\u2019s 1893 lecture Justice and Morality<\/em>. While given in English, it has not appeared in that language before. Kropotkin did revise it for publication in Russia during 1919 when he was working on the posthumously published Ethics<\/em> and writing prefaces and postface to new Russian editions of Words of a Rebel<\/em> and The Conquest of Bread<\/em>. This lecture summarises Kropotkin\u2019s ideas on the evolution of ethics, a subject which mainstream science is now belatedly investigating.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

We have decided to postpone our planned articles on and by Guy Aldred until a later issue and instead have run articles to mark American anarchist Harry Kelly\u2019s death. A stalwart of the American movement for decades (plus a member of the London Freedom<\/em> Group for a number of years), his contribution to the movement should be better remembered. We also mark the anniversary of Maurice Brinton\u2019s birth, someone whose legacy is far better known. While not an anarchist, his libertarian socialism was rightly very influential in the 1960s and 1970s and we reprint writings not included in the anthology For Workers\u2019 Power<\/em> (AK Press 2002\/2020)<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Our extensive Black Flag<\/em> archive has also been updated with new links and tidied up somewhat.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Original translations which appear in Black Flag: Anarchist Review<\/em> eventually appear on-line here:<\/p>\n\n\n\n

https:\/\/anarchistfaq.org\/translations\/index.html<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Next year we aim to cover a range of people and subjects. These should hopefully include William Morris, Charlotte Wilson, G.D.H.  Cole and Guild Socialism, Marie Louise Berneri, Emma Goldman, John Turner, Edward Carpenter, Anselmo Lorenzo, Ethel Mannin, the 1894 Trial of the Thirty and the debate with Kropotkin over his support of the Allies in 1914. Plus reviews and news of the movement.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Contributions from libertarian socialists are welcome on these and other subjects! We are a small collective and always need help in writing, translating and gathering material, so please get in touch if you want to see Black Flag Anarchist Review<\/em> continue.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

This issue\u2019s editorial and contents are:<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Editorial<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n

This issue of Black Flag<\/em> starts with Trotsky as this year marks the 100th<\/sup> anniversary of his \u201cThe New Course\u201d which marked the beginning of his dissent with developments within the Soviet Union. We begin with a lengthy discussion of the limited nature of Trotsky\u2019s dissent and how it was one which did not question the necessity of party dictatorship nor recognise that the Bolsheviks had created state-capitalism in Russia. We include contemporary articles by libertarian Marxist Paul Mattick and anarchists. Wayne Price then discusses Trotsky\u2019s Transitional Program<\/em>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

We mark the 70th<\/sup> anniversary of the death of Harry Kelly, a stalwart of the American anarchist movement (and, for a number of years, the British one). Yet while he worked closely with Emma Goldman on Mother Earth<\/em> none of his articles appeared in Anarchy! An Anthology of Emma Goldman’s Mother Earth<\/em> (2001\/2012). We rectify that here.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

We then turn to anarchism and utopia, specifically the ideas of utopian writer Edward Bellamy whose work, as is well known, inspired William Morris to write his utopian novel, News from Nowhere<\/em>. We include Marie Louise Berneri\u2019s account of Bellamy\u2019s ideas from her Journey Through Utopia<\/em>, Morris\u2019 review as well as Kropotkin\u2019s articles on Bellamy. Robert Graham then discusses utopian writings from the lead up to the French Revolution which contrasted the hierarchical insanities of Europe with the freer societies in North America. These show that utopian fiction can popularise the critique of current society, show possible solutions to social issues and inspire societal change.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

This year marks the 100th<\/sup> anniversary of the birth Chris Pallis, better known as Maurice Brinton. While not an anarchist (and retaining his former Marxist antipathy to anarchism), he was a libertarian socialist whose ideas remain important. Here we include reminiscences of Pallis by a member of Solidarity<\/em> as well as articles not included in the essential anthology For Workers\u2019 Power: The Selected Writings of Maurice Brinton<\/em> (AK Press, 2004\/2020).<\/p>\n\n\n\n

We also include a translation (unfortunately, from the Spanish of a Russian edition) of an 1893 speech by Kropotkin on Justice and Morality<\/em> which, while in English, has never been published in that language. Given a few years after he had published in The Nineteenth Century<\/em> the first of the articles which would become Mutual Aid<\/em>, it summarises key aspects of his evolutionary ethics and should be of interest to anarchists and scientists today. We end with two reviews, our usual news of the movement and the obituary of Karl Marx which appeared in Le R\u00e9volt\u00e9<\/em>. Our back page is graced with a letter from Kropotkin to a commemoration for the Paris Commune.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

If you want to contribute rather than moan at those who do, whether its writing new material or letting us know of on-line articles, reviews or translations, then contact us:<\/p>\n\n\n\n

blackflagmag@yahoo.co.uk<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Contents<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n

The Bureaucracy in Exile: Trotsky\u2019s limited Anti-Stalinism \u2013 Iain McKay<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

    \n
  • Anton Ciliga, \u201cA Talk with Lenin in Stalin\u2019s Prison\u201d, Politics, August 1946 [1936-37]<\/li>\n\n\n\n
  • Anarchists on Trotskyism<\/em>
    • Senex, \u201cA Hollow Appeal\u201d, Vanguard: a libertarian communist journal, April-May 1936<\/li><\/ul>
      • David Lawrence, \u201cAn Open Letter to Leon Trotsky\u201d, Vanguard: a libertarian communist journal, February-March 1937<\/li><\/ul>
        • David Lawrence, \u201cRegarding Trotsky – A Rebuttal\u201d, Vanguard: a libertarian communist journal, June 1937<\/li><\/ul>
          • Senex, \u201cThe Trotsky School of Falsification\u201d, Vanguard: a libertarian communist journal, November 1937<\/li><\/ul>
            • J.H., \u201cLeft Movements and the War: IV. The Fourth International\u201d, War Commentary, December 1940<\/li><\/ul>\n
                \n
              • \u201cU.S.S.R. \u2013 Anarchist Position\u201d, War Commentary, July 1941<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n\n\n\n
              • Paul Mattick on Trotsky<\/em>
                • Paul Mattick, \u201cThe \u2018Hero\u2019 of Kronstadt Writes History\u201d, One Big Union Monthly, November 1937<\/li><\/ul>
                  • Paul Mattick, \u201cLeon Trotsky\u201d, Living Marxism, Fall 1940<\/li><\/ul>\n
                      \n
                    • Paul Mattick, \u201cBolshevism and Stalinism\u201d, Politics, March-April 1947<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n

                      An Anarchist View of Trotsky\u2019s Transitional Program<\/em> \u2013 Wayne Price<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

                      Harry Kelly (1871\u20131953)<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

                        \n
                      • Articles from Mother Earth<\/strong><\/em>
                        • \u201cA Socialist Editor\u201d, Mother Earth<\/em>, April 1907<\/li><\/ul>
                          • \u201cTo Our Comrades\u201d, Mother Earth<\/em>, September 1907<\/li><\/ul>
                            • \u201cAnarchism: A Plea for the Impersonal\u201d, Mother Earth<\/em>, February 1908<\/li><\/ul>
                              • \u201cSocialists and Politics\u201d, Mother Earth<\/em>, August 1909<\/li><\/ul>
                                • \u201cFirst of May\u201d, Mother Earth<\/em>, May 1910<\/li><\/ul>\n
                                    \n
                                  • \u201cA Syndicalist League\u201d, Mother Earth<\/em>, September 1912<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n\n\n\n
                                  • Articles from Freedom<\/strong> and others<\/em>
                                    • \u201cThe Labour War in America\u201d, Freedom: A Journal of Anarchist Communism<\/em>, June-July 1900<\/li><\/ul>
                                      • \u201cThe Francisco Ferrer Association and Syndicalism\u201d, Freedom: a Journal of Anarchist Communism<\/em>, August 1912<\/li><\/ul>
                                        • \u201cThe Miners\u2019 War in Colorado\u201d, Freedom: a Journal of Anarchist Communism<\/em>, June 1914<\/li><\/ul>
                                          • \u201cThe Labour Movement in America, Freedom: a Journal of Anarchist Communism<\/em>, October 1914<\/li><\/ul>
                                            • \u201cNational Guilds\u201d, Freedom: a Journal of Constructive Anarchism<\/em> (New York), August 1919<\/li><\/ul>
                                              • \u201cFrom Anarchism to \u2018Communism\u2019 (State Socialism)\u201d, The Road to Freedom<\/em>, April 1925<\/li><\/ul>
                                                • \u201cThe Bolshevik Myth\u201d, The Road to Freedom<\/em>, May 1925<\/li><\/ul>\n
                                                    \n
                                                  • \u201cAmerican Letter\u201d, Spain and the World<\/em>, 8th<\/sup> September 1937<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n

                                                    Chris Pallis, a memoir \u2013 K.M.<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

                                                      \n
                                                    • Review: Solidarity Forever? by J.Sullivan and T.Hillier, June 1969<\/li>\n\n\n\n
                                                    • \u2018History and Revolution\u2019 \u2013 On Historical Materialism (1972)<\/li>\n\n\n\n
                                                    • Letter, International Socialism<\/em> (1st<\/sup> series), July-September 1972<\/li>\n\n\n\n
                                                    • \u201cSolidarity, the Market and Marx\u201d: A Reply (1973)<\/li>\n\n\n\n
                                                    • \u201cSuicide for Socialism?\u201d, Solidarity<\/em>, March-April 1979<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n

                                                      Journey Through Utopia: Edward Bellamy \u2013 Marie Louise Berneri<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

                                                        \n
                                                      • William Morris, \u201cLooking Backward\u201d, Commonweal<\/em>, 22 June 1889<\/li>\n\n\n\n
                                                      • Peter Kropotkin, \u201cThe Twentieth Century\u201d, La R\u00e9volte<\/em>, 30 November, 14, 21 and 28 December 1889<\/li>\n\n\n\n
                                                      • Peter Kropotkin, \u201cBellamy\u2019s \u2018Equality\u2019\u201c, The Independent<\/em>, 2 December 1897<\/li>\n\n\n\n
                                                      • Peter Kropotkin, \u201cEdward Bellamy\u201d, Freedom<\/em>, July 1898<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n

                                                        Justice and Morality<\/em> \u2013 Peter Kropotkin<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

                                                        Reviews:<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

                                                          \n
                                                        • I could be so good for you<\/em> \u2013 Aubrey Dawney<\/li>\n\n\n\n
                                                        • The State \u2013 Or Revolution<\/em> \u2013 Zoe L<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n

                                                          Parish Notes<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

                                                          Karl Marx <\/strong>(Le R\u00e9volt\u00e9<\/em>, 31 March 1883)<\/p>\n\n\n\n

                                                          Letter from Kropotkin<\/strong> (\u201cReport of the Commune Celebration\u201d, Freedom<\/em>, April 1899)<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

                                                          The new issue of Black Flag: Anarchist Review is now available: https:\/\/www.blackflag.org.uk The focus of this issue is Trotsky\u2019s limited opposition to developments in the USSR which resulted in the rise of Stalinism. This is usually dated to his 1923 \u201cNew Course\u201d articles but most Trotskyist accounts of his opposition are inaccurate, ignoring his advocacy […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[3],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-100","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-blackflag"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/anarchistfaq.org\/anarcho\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/100","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/anarchistfaq.org\/anarcho\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/anarchistfaq.org\/anarcho\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/anarchistfaq.org\/anarcho\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/anarchistfaq.org\/anarcho\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=100"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/anarchistfaq.org\/anarcho\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/100\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":101,"href":"https:\/\/anarchistfaq.org\/anarcho\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/100\/revisions\/101"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/anarchistfaq.org\/anarcho\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=100"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/anarchistfaq.org\/anarcho\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=100"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/anarchistfaq.org\/anarcho\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=100"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}