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The Libertarian Communist

The purpose of The Libertarian Communist (LC) is to provide a forum for the exchange of views among groups and individuals belonging to the anti-state, non-market (ASNM) sector. This term encompasses all those of us who share a vision of the future society as a worldwide, classless, stateless and marketless cooperative commonwealth, based on the common ownership and democratic control of productive resources in the interests of the whole community, with production directly for use. People who share this vision may call themselves by different names (world socialists, anarcho-communists, libertarian Marxists, etc.) and disagree on how to reach our goal and on other matters of theory and practice, but these disagreements are of secondary importance compared to what we all have in common.

There are other sites on the internet that provide information about and invite contributions from the ASNM sector -- World in Common (WiC), the International Libertarian Socialist Alliance (ILSA) and libcom.org. However, only LC exists specifically in order to provide a space for discussion within our sector. As even in this day and age not everyone has access to the internet, LC is sent out in hard copy format as well as by e-mail attachment. We also have a blog.

Perhaps one of the strengths of the ASNM sector is that it is split into different groups and strands, because this enables it to convey similar ideas in different ways and suggest different routes to the common goal. Unfortunately, this strength can also be a weakness when different groups such as Marxists and anarchists argue about their differences without paying attention to what they have in common, thereby creating the false impression that they have different goals. Hence the need of a journal like LC that provides a vehicle for groups and individuals within the sector to discuss issues that divide them in a manner that does not cause offence and division. We are also more than willing to include articles that reflect the common views and concerns of everyone in the sector.

At present LC is published quarterly. Each issue runs to between 12 and 20 pages, normally 16, but the frequency and size depend on the articles sent in. The last Two pages list details of groups within the ASNM sector. If you feel that a group you belong to or know about is not listed and should be, please get in touch.

My editorial policy is: 1) I accept articles from groups and individuals who feel they come within the ASNM sector; 2) any article that I feel is unsuitable or too long will be discussed with its author: 3) once an article is accepted no editing will occur that alters the author’s intended meaning and any editing will be kept to an absolute minimum; 4) articles, correspondence and requests for further information should be sent to This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. or by post to Ray Carr, Flat 1, 99 Princess Road, Branksome, Poole, Dorset, England, BH12 1BQ

Ray Carr, editor

May 2012

 

 The Libertarian Communist, Issue 1, March 2009

The editor explains why he left the SPGB and started the journal as a forum for the exchange of ideas within the anti-state non-market (ASNM) sector.

 The Libertarian Communist, Issue 2, May / June 2009

Feedback. Direct action and parliamentarianism

 The Libertarian Communist, Issue 3, July / August 2009

Getting our message across. The dilemma of trade unionism

 The Libertarian Communist, Issue 4, September / October 2009 (1)

 The Libertarian Communist, Issue 4, September / October 2009 (2)

Reformism and the class struggle. The question of immediate demands. Human nature. The "middle" class. Practical process

 The Libertarian Communist, Issue 5, November / December  2009

Capitalism and global warming. Are we on the left? Corporations: rhetoric and reality

 The Libertarian Communist, Issue 6, January / February 2010

State socialism: a contradiction in terms? Red and Black Notes. Capitalism: where war means peace

 The Libertarian Communist, Issue 7, March / April 2010

Is the ruling class able to change the nature of the struggle? Transition to a free society. Notes on science, art and ethics

 The Libertarian Communist, Issue 8, May / June 2010

Corporate responsibility -- but to whom? Communique from an absent future. Tolpuddle 2010. Capitalism, socialism and ethics

 The Libertarian Communist, Issue 9, July / August 2010

Industrial unionism. Labor time vouchers or free access? TUC survey of trade union rights. Tea workers face threat of imprisonment from ethical tea company

 The Libertarian Communist, Issue 10, September / October 2010

The money thing: is socialism the moneyless society? The class struggle and independent working class education. The move to rebuild industrial syndicalism in the UK. News from the ASNM sector

 The Libertarian Communist, Issue 11, November / December 2010

Opposing the cuts: what should the strategy of the ASNM sector be? Toward a libertarian socialism. Parliament and revolution. Leaflet from France 

 The Libertarian Communist, Issue 12, January / February 2011

Sleep is over, the movement re-emerges. Europe calling. Notes on the Chinese student democracy movement. Why the World Socialist Movement is not growing. Wikileaks 

 The Libertarian Communist, Issue 13, March / April 2011

After the march is over. People's Assemblies. Are Marxism and anarchism compatible?  

 The Libertarian Communist, Issue 14, May / July 2011

Reconsidering organization and the role of communists. Workers' control in the Spanish revolution of 1936. Revolution: three strategies, three groups of theories. Death toll mounts from 2009 defeat of Ssangyong strike (South Korea)

 The Libertarian Communist, Issue 15, August / October 2011

Workers' self-management and its relevance to a libertarian communist society. How strict should requirements be for membership in a socialist organization?

 The Libertarian Communist, Issue 16, October 2011 / January 2012

Self-management in a market economy. Building the new society within the shell of the old. Religion and the SPGB. The riots in Britain

 The Libertarian Communist, Issue 17, January / March 2012

The possible development of the World Libertarian Socialist Network. What's wrong with using parliament? The collapse of the financial bubble, "greedy bankers" and why there can be no going back to social welfare capitalism

 The Libertarian Communist, Issue 18, April / June 2012

An ASNM grouping: a critical evaluation. Seeing through the class divide. Organization for revolution. The global Occupy movement. Text of a leaflet handed out at an Occupy Boston (USA) meeting (December 2011)

 The Libertarian Communist, Issue 19, July / September 2012

Why the market system is incompatible with a free society. The return of the state as crisis administrator. Is there a link between reformism and revolution? The SPGB in the May local elections. The pensions struggle. An open letter on unity. Against the politics of the euro. The anarchist case against terrorism

  The Libertarian Communist, Issue 20, October / December 2012

The Jubilee, Olympics and all that Crap: Propaganda, Patriotism and Profits. Britain is a Basket Case. Lyla Byrne: Introduction to The Environment Book. Terry Liddle: What William Morris Means Today. Re-launch of the Industrial Workers of Great Britain. Recent Developments Surrounding the IWW Cleaners Branch. Occupy Wall Street: Pitfalls for Activists. Democracy as We Know It 

  The Libertarian Communist, Issue 21, Winter 2013

Revolution and Class Struggle: Theory versus Practice. Editorial. Joe Hopkins: The Insanity of Coal Mining. Lyla Byrne: The Environment Book (Part 3). The Inherent Unhealthiness of Hierarchical Systems. Stephen Shenfield (Stefan): What Was the "Soviet" System? Part 1: In what sense (if any) was the "Soviet" system capitalist? A Critique of the Relationship Between Class Struggle and Revolution. Obituary: Terry Liddle (1948--2012). Pamphlet review: No Revolution Anywhere by Robert Kurz 

 The Libertarian Communist, Issue 22, Spring 2013

Editorial: There is no Alternative. Sam Moss (International Council Correspondence, 1939) -- The Impotence of Revolutionary Groups. Ricardo Monde -- What is the Relationship Between Activism and Revolution? Joe Hopkins -- Scientists: Co-operation is Natural and Beneficial. Lyla Byrne -- A Life Worth Choosing. Stephen Shenfield (Stefan) -- What Was the Soviet System? Part 2. In what sense (if any) was the "Soviet" system socialist? Ricardo Monde -- "Marxism" and Anarchism. 

 The Libertarian Communist, Issue 23, Summer 2013

Stephen Shenfield (Stefan) -- Capitalism, Socialism and Global Heating. Scenarios of human survival and extinction. Joe Hopkins -- What We Are Up Against: the American power structure and neo-liberalism. Ricardo Monde -- The Problem is Capitalism, Not Just Neo-Liberalism. Chronos Publications: French leaflet about the fight against job losses. Stephen Shenfield Interviews Vladislav Bugera (Ufa, Bashkortostan, Russia).

 The Libertarian Communist, Issue 24, Autumn / Winter 2013

Different meanings of class and human interest: Lyla Byrne replies to Laurens Otter. Ricardo Monde -- Fracking About with the Planet. Stephen Shenfield (Stefan) -- Cars and Socialism. Norbert Trenkle -- Presenting the Krisis Group's Manifesto Against Labour. Review of Moishe Postone's pamphlet Anti-Semitism and National Socialism. How Agri-Food Corporations Make the World Hungry Robert Kurz -- Capital and History.

 The Libertarian Communist, Issue 25, Winter 2014
Stephen Philip Clayton -- Moishe Postone's Anti-Semitism and National Socialism: The Mystical Kernel Within the Rational Shell. Joe Hopkins and Ray Carr -- Mining: The Human and Ecological Cost. Workers' Co-operatives: An Alternative to the Capitalist System or Destined to Fail? Articles by Alejandro Lopez and Carlos Hernandez, Lyla Byrne, Ricardo Monde. Jim Davies -- The Commonist Movement. The World is Not a Commodity (from the Krisis website). Alain Badiou -- Capitalism and Love.

 The Libertarian Communist, Issue 26, Spring 2014

Michel Prigent -- A Critique of Clayton's review of Postone in LC25. Editorial comment. Ricardo Monde -- A Reply to Clayton. Stefan -- Ukraine: Popular Uprising or Fascist Coup? War on War! Declaration of Internationalists in Connection with the Threat of War in Ukraine. Joe Hopkins -- News from the United States: Toxic Spill, Toxic System. Michel Prigent -- The Truth About Dogs' Lives Under Capitalism in Britain. 

 The Libertarian Communist, Issue 27, Summer/Autumn 2014

Tribute to Andy Cox. Strange Bedfellows (Iraq). Letters. Ricardo Monde -- The Capital System and War. Stefan -- Ukraine's Maidan: Democratic Movement or Nationalist Mobilization? Pre-Industrial Workers Had a Shorter Working Week Than Today. Enough Said: D like in Dementia. Nicolas Holliman -- A Liquid Asset of Two Fluids (about water) 

 The Libertarian Communist, Issue 27, Summer/Autumn (Part 2) 2014

Hungary: A Black Hole on Europe's Map -- An Interview with G. M. Tamas by Jaroslav Fiala. Charles Williams -- The Housing Question. UK Nuclear Cleanup Bill. Climate Change: The Alternatives Are Social Collapse or Socialism. What's This Life? So You Thought Slavery Was a Thing of the Past?

 The Libertarian Communist, Issue 28, Winter 2015

Recession is Making a Comeback. Robert Kurz -- The Ontological Break: Before the Beginning of a Different World History. Marxism and the Critique of Value. Joe Hopkins -- Greenland Rising. Some Notes on Climate Change. Capitalism, thy End in Near, Or Is It?

 The Libertarian Communist, Issue 29, Spring 2015

Leaflet distributed at the May 68 Jamboree: "Let the dead bury the dead!" Marx after Marxism: An Interview with Moishe Postone. Ricardo Monde: Working for Capital in the 21st Century. Charlie Hebdo: Jihadist and Muslim on the Couch. Climate Change Notes. Gabriel Levy: Natural Limits, Sustainability, and Socialism. A Critique of Yanis Varoufakis (Greek Minister of Finance). Preview of Never Work Conference at Cardiff University (July 10, 2015)

 The Libertarian Communist, Issue 30, Summer 2015

Letter. Work: Why a Critique of it is Necessary. Joe Hopkins: The Black Death Stalks the USA. Vladislav Bugera: Moscow, Kiev, and the West European Far Right. Climate Change Notes. Ricardo Monde: When Somewhere to Live is a Commodity. Vicky Pelaez (Global Research): The Prison Industry in the United States: Big Business or a New Form of Slavery? Sara Flounders (Global Research): The Pentagon and Slave Labor in U.S. Prisons. Robert Kurz: Realists and Fundamentalists (extract)