Neo-anarchism

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The term neo-anarchism ( new anarchism ) does not describe a new category or theoretical trend, but rather describes the new manifestations of anarchism in Germany that emerged from the 1960s.

Development history

Although the existence of anarchist groups and individuals during the Third Reich and in the post-war period can be proven, anarchism in Germany seemed to have disappeared as a socio-politically relevant theory and practice since the end of the Weimar Republic . In connection with the development and radicalization of the student movement and the extra-parliamentary opposition (APO), there was a renaissance of anarchism in the FRG and West Berlin since the mid-1960s . With reference to the interrupted and no longer visible historical tradition, this is referred to below as neo-anarchism.

This is its defining characteristic: Neo-anarchism did not evolve from traditional anarchism. There was no continuity either in terms of personnel or organization. There is no evidence whatsoever that traditional old anarchist groups have successfully introduced such ideas into the APO.

Anarchism was a fragmented movement, consisting of small, politically completely insignificant groups. For the most part, they were initially perplexed, then distant and even hostile to the appearance of anarchist positions in the theory-building process of the APO and later a new anarchist movement.

Individual initiatives such as the “Working Group of Friends of Gustav Landauer” around Uwe Timm in Hamburg and the “Socio-Philosophical Working Group” around Timm and Reinhold Ellenrieder in West Berlin formed the rather unsuccessful attempts at collaboration between old and young and were the exception. By and large, the attempts at contact between old and young anarchists failed, not least because of their different cultural milieus.

The boys felt they were part of the general anti-authoritarian youth revolt that began in the 1960s to question all traditional social values. Municipalities, free sexuality, rock music and drug consumption also met with a great lack of understanding among these representatives of the older generation.

In addition to the generation conflict, there were also theoretical differences between old and young. Because of their theoretical background from the anti-authoritarian student movement, the young anarchists initially felt themselves to be critically committed to neo-Marxist critical theory . This had a shocking effect on the old anarchists, who were resolutely hostile to Marxism in general in any form. They had deeply internalized the historical contrast between the two currents - not least because of their in part personal experiences with the real existing socialism in the GDR . One cause of this conflict was the more academic roots of neo-anarchism.

The center of critical socialist theory formation in the FRG and West Berlin has been the Socialist German Student Union (SDS) since the early 1960s , which was initially committed to the Marxist tradition. The protagonists of the student protest, mostly SDS members, were fundamentally influenced by Marxist thinking and gradually encountered anarchist content through the conveyance of critical theory, left Marxist dissidentism and council communism . This explains why there was an anti-authoritarian wing in the SDS in the 1960s.

Coming out of the student movement, neo-anarchism did not tie in with the historical tradition of anarchism until 1969. With the dissolution of the anti-authoritarian consensus of the APO, a fractionation process of the New Left began, in the course of which very different currents emerged. Some turned back to traditional concepts of the labor movement ( DKP , SPD , trade unions ). In addition, the K groups emerged as new authoritarian-statist organizations. Apart from this, the New Left differentiated itself into further groups, each of which felt itself to be the nucleus of a new movement and received an influx of students, young workers and other supporters of the APO.

In contrast, the undogmatic left tried to continue the anti-authoritarian legacy of the revolt. In addition to the Socialist Bureau , an association of intellectuals who sought a middle way between authoritarian-bureaucratic organizational ideas and blind or pure spontaneity (" Sponti "), the diverse spectrum of the New Social Movements (e.g. women and squatters ) slowly developed - and ecology movement). Their theory and practice contained, often unconsciously, anarchist elements. At the same time, an autonomous anti-authoritarian movement was formed, which more selectively referred to classical anarchist conceptions and which was still theoretically and organizationally influenced by the anti-authoritarianism of the student revolt and deliberately remained untraditional. The spectrum ranged from a political anarchist mainstream to more emotionally oriented subcultural anarchist initiatives.

Due to the widespread willingness to experiment and the strong fluctuation between the groups, it is almost impossible to clearly assign and delimit content. Indifference was a decisive characteristic of the neo-anarchist movement, as it was e.g. B. is expressed in the following declaration of self-understanding of young anarchists from October 1972: “ We define anarchism as a broad spectrum of revolutionary-emancipatory movements with an anti-authoritarian-libertarian character. (...) Even within the movement that calls itself anarchist, we find, analogous to the different currents (...), a considerable confusion of terms in the word. Therefore the criterion is anti-authoritarian-emancipatory practice. "

literature

  • Günter Bartsch : Anarchism in Germany . Vol. II / III, 1965-1973. Fackelträger Verlag, Hanover 1973. ISBN 978-3-7716-1350-1
  • Hans Manfred Bock : Bibliographical attempt on the history of anarchism and anarcho-syndicalism in Germany . In: Claudio Pozolli, (Ed.): Workers' Movement - Theory and History . Yearbook 1: About Karl Korsch. Frankfurt / M. 1973.
  • Rolf Cantzen : Less state - more society. Freedom - ecology - anarchism . Frankfurt / M. 1987.
  • Hans Jürgen Degen (Ed.): Anarchism Today - Positions . Bösdorf 1991.
  • Bernd Drücke : Between a desk and a street battle? Anarchism and Libertarian Press in East and West Germany . Ulm 1998.
  • Geronimo: Fire and flame. On the past and present of the Autonomous . Berlin 1990.
  • Markus Henning, Rolf Raasch : Neoanarchism in Germany. Origin - course - lines of conflict . Berlin 2005.
  • Markus Henning, Rolf Raasch: Neoanarchism in Germany. History, balance sheet and perspectives of the anti-authoritarian left . Stuttgart 2016. ISBN 3-89657-079-X
  • Gert Holzapfel : About the beautiful dream of anarchy. On the reappropriation and reformulation of anarchism in the New Left . Berlin (West) 1984.
  • Holger Jenrich : Anarchist Press in Germany 1945–1985 . Grafenau-Döffingen 1988.
  • Bernd Kramer (Ed.): Fragments found 1967–1980. The wandering hash rebels & Peter Handke, Hartmut Sander, Rolf dieter Brinkmann, Rudi Dutschke, Rainer Langhans, Fritz Teufel u. a. Berlin 2004.
  • Gerda Kurz : Live an alternative? On the theory and practice of the counterculture . Berlin (West) 1979.
  • Rolf Raasch: Neo-anarchism . In: Hans Jürgen Degen (Ed.): Lexicon of Anarchy . Bösdorf 1994. Available online
  • Rolf Schwendter : currents and today's manifestations of anarchism . In: Jens Harms (Ed.): Christianity and Anarchism. Contributions to an unresolved relationship . Frankfurt am Main 1988.
  • Horst Stowasser : Ways out of the ghetto. The Anarchist movement and the project A . In: Rolf Cantzen: Anarchism. What does that mean today? Neustadt an der Weinstrasse 1990.

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ quoted from Bartsch, Günter: Anarchismus in Deutschland. Hanover 1973.