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so a reading group down here in SoFla has started to read alittle zine on the Spanish Civil War and it's available online so I thought I'd link ya'll to it as well as the rest of Flag.blackened's awesome page on spain of 36
the zine
flag's civil war page
another great text on that page

and since yr already reading up on that era what better time to read George Orwell's account of his time fighting in the POUM militia?
homage to catalonia - george orwell

I plan on reading this sometime soon.
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Hmm, seems interesting. I'm about halfway through and I have to go to bed, so I'll pick up the other half tomorrow.

So far, it seems very interesting... Particularly the role that Stalinists had played in trying to surpress the revolution, as well as it's organization itself. Instead of taking on the government through politics, it was through collective, cooperative group seizure of arms and production.

Hmmm, and I've always opposed direct action in that it turns public opinion, but now I know exactly why... In modern cases, it mostly includes one man doing an act of violence to try to incite everyone else into revolution. Now I see exactly where this was wrong. Unless the masses act as a -whole-, it will only serve to alienate the workers. So, before trying to inspire the working class with acts of extremism, far more important is not your individual capture of goods, but of their hearts.

I'll comment on the rest as soon as I'm done reading it; I'm very curious as to what became the downfall of their movement.

Indeed, I was referring to violent forms of direct action, as opposed to other things, like 'property damage'. I should have been more specific in my wording, as I only meant to include the actions of an uprising itself.

So in other words, assassinating a politician you don't like will get you nowhere (which unfortunately, has been done in the past, although in most cases you can't tell whether the charges are true or not). As for 'redecorating' a few billboards, they're not exactly human, are they?

As for the monetary costs, I'm sure they had enough money to spend for the billboard in the first place, so I don't think it would be too big a dent in their profits to hose it down. (Because, for some reason, when a poor man steals a little money, it's far worse than a powerful one stealing billions, Hell, they're not even tried in the same court.)

But back to the topic, I was solely referring to how people react to lone acts of violence. Many men, who would otherwise be hailed as philosophers, are either deemed 'insane' or a 'murderer'. Of course, now the thousands that die every day at the hands of more powerful men, for some reason they're a bit more expendable than the lives taken by the average man.

As for the billboards? ******** the billboards, make it a piece of art.

Referencing direct action in solely violent or destructive contexts is generally a bad idea. As it stands, lots of people don't know that anarchists exist, and those that are aware of us typically think that we are bomb throwing spray paint wielding mad men. That's not the best image to be presenting; even in discussions amongst ourselves.

Any exchange of ideas and opinions on direct action must also include peaceful examples and alternatives. Since we're on the topic of the Spanish Civil War, an excellent point to bring up is the effectiveness of direct action in class relations. On one side is the Capitalist class and its collaborators in the form of middle management. They are the shop owners, the foremen, the engineers, the accountants, and anyone else not directly involved in production. In modern union shops the Capitalist class is colloquially referred to as "salary" or management. Underneath them and on the other side are the laborers. They perform the actual work that results in a finished product.

The de facto leadership of the shop is management. They have always controlled every aspect of job layout, safety, working hours, etc. Pro-capitalists will talk about the worker's right to leave and look for a more desirable environment/wage. I guess that ignoring historical precedent is too convenient a denial mechanism when chasing authoritarian ideologies. Since management is solely interested in maximizing profits, they will cut every corner of shop maintenance, pay their workers as little as possible, and squeeze as much work as possible from their laborers.

Now, there are a number of ways to effect change in your working environment in a Capitalist business. We will focus on the dichotomous outlaying structures: "direct action" and "indirect action". An example of indirect action that Spanish workers could have taken would be to have filed a grievance with their supervisors and asked for better conditions. The reason we call this 'indirect' is because it relies on someone else to make a change: in this example the foremen. Organizing and striking until demands are met is an example of direct action. The workers themselves are taking responsibility for the change, and in the process are equalizing themselves with the shop management.

Worker collectivization is an example of direct action that does not require any vandalism, physical violence, or destruction. Yes, in labor solidarity history there have been attempted assassinations, dismantling of machinery, fights with strike breakers and scabs, and other assorted activities of "uncivil" nature. None of them are prerequisites to holding a successful direct action event.

Does anyone know of anything particular or specific to how the CNT-FAI operated their land and factory acquisitions? Was it a worker war of attrition or mass walkouts and sit-ins?