Geelong Anarchist-Communists have been working through a series of readings on the purpose and structure of the specific anarchist organisation and, as part of that what it means to be a member of such an organisation. The following text is largely an adaptation of ”Thoughts on Commitment, Responsibility and Self-discipline” by the Anarchist Federation of Rio de Janeiro (FARJ), reflecting the points that GAC found most useful and are incorporating into our membership documents. We believe it is useful to share this text, so that supporters and sympathisers have an insight into our organisation and practice.
A foundational characteristic of a thriving anarchist-communist organisation is its members’ militant commitment. We believe that in order for our struggle to bear promising fruit, it is essential that each one of the members has a high level of commitment, responsibility and self-discipline. Our organisation requires active involvement and participation of all its members, through discussion, position-taking, in contribution and execution of common decisions.
We believe that these requirements cannot be forced through exterior discipline and obedience, as this only creates alienation and abstract submission. Instead it must come from each member’s profound understanding, consciousness and heart. Political self-education is therefore as fundamental as the political education performed by the organisation, in order to become fully conscious of our organisation’s objectives, activities and discourse. Each member should prepare and teach themselves to discuss and speak in meetings as well as in public, as each member understands that their participation and opinions are essential to build our organisation, practice social insertion and further our objectives.
As anarchists we have no elites or vanguards to resort to, and as such we can only efficiently rely on ourselves; our self-discipline, responsibility and effort. This means we must practice solidarity, comradely and mutual support within the organisation and with all members struggling to enact their commitment. On the other hand, if responsibilities becomes spoiled because of a recurrent lack of commitment and responsibility, other members should have a frank conversation with the member to resolve the problem and minimise the harm on the organisation.
Being responsible and committed means participation in accordance with your present ability and capacity. Collective decisions as well as tasks and responsibilities taken upon the member are expected to be performed by the member. It is in all members responsibility to assume these only if they can perform them, individually or with the help of others. In the case that these can not be performed, it is expected that the member informs the organisation and, ideally, delegates these responsibilities to someone capable of performing them. It is important to keep in mind that the organisation is only as productive and militant as its’ members. After all, the organisation can not carry out all the tasks and responsibilities that are deliberated inside it – all of it has to be carried out by its’ members, some way or another. Ideally, the decision-making and execution is performed in an evenly-distributed and rotational manner, involving all members at some point or another.
Individual self-management is the engine of the self-managed organisation. As such it is each members responsibility to carry out the tasks they’ve agreed to carry out. Likewise, when the organisation determines a line to follow or something to carry out, it is our individual self-discipline that will bring the collective decision to completion. All members understand that we have objectives that only can be carried out through collective coordination of individual forces and efforts, and that such coordination calls for members’ fidelity to undertaken responsibilities, reliability and self-discipline.
Furthermore, disorganisation – individual as well as collective – makes us loose our positions and generates a vacuum of power within the social movements we operate in. This vacuum will always be filled by other competing powers and counter our militant, evolutionary and libertarian practice and theory. Disorganisation and lacking responsibility not only harms our organisation, but our position as a whole.
Now we should all understand the role of our commitment within our organisation; the importance of self-education, self-discipline and responsibility; and the relationship between our individual autonomy, our collective organisation and our shared objectives and strategies.
Article by Cim H.
Geelong Anarchist Communists 