January/February 2001

D.C. activists debate 'what are we FOR?'

Over 120 activists participated in a unique meeting entitled: "A Forum for Anti-Capitalists, From Seattle to D.C., What Are We Fighting FOR? Where is Our Movement Going?" The meeting was held in Washington D.C. on Jan. 21, the day after the counter-inaugural protests. Many of the participants were young activists in the anti-globalization movement who had traveled to D.C. to protest Bush's inauguration.

The forum was organized by a Marxist-Humanist and hosted by George Washington University Action Coalition and moderated by a GWU student. The speakers included anarchists, Marxist-Humanists, and other independent activists sharing an anti-capitalist, anti-vanguard party, and anti-statist perspective on organizing. The speakers were Chris Strohm of the Independent Media Center, Chuck O., a D.C. anarchist, Laurie Apple, who works with Justice Action Movement and the Kensington Welfare Rights Union, Cad, a D.C. anarchist, and Peter Hudis and Tom Rainey of News and Letters Committees.

The meeting had been promoted and organized as an opportunity for activists to "go beyond strategy and tactics to examine the ideas, theories and philosophies at play and war in the new movement." The need for such a discussion was noted by several of the D.C. activists on the panel, who said the anti-globalization movement seems to be losing some of the impetus and momentum that came out of the Seattle protest of over a year ago. This was also addressed by the two Marxist-Humanist speakers, who emphasized the need for the movement to become a "thinking body" that grapples not just with immediate tactics and strategies but also with such long-range questions as how can we project a liberating alternative to the very existence of capital.

After each panelist spoke for 10 minutes, members of the audience spoke out for over an hour in a very lively discussion. Several wanted to know whether it is possible to raise theoretical issues openly in a movement without "alienating" people.

However, it was clear after an hour of discussion that a vocal and aggressive minority had had enough. Several spoke out against the very concept of discussing ideas that can guide our activity. Though most had come for this purpose, the anti-ideas people-most of whom called themselves anarchists-succeeded in disrupting the meeting. Rather than regroup for an action or to have their own meeting somewhere else, they merely stood around chatting and prevented the rest of the participants from continuing. Eventually they left, and the discussion resumed.

The fact that 120 people came out for such a meeting shows that today's young anti-capitalist activists are not satisfied with merely going from one big protest to another. Already many are asking "We've had all these huge demonstrations, what's next?" In one-on-one and in small group discussions there is much self-critique within the new movement. At the same time, there is a strong anti-intellectualism which dominates in public meetings. I see a lack of self confidence in exploring new ideas on revolutionary philosophy and organization, which allows a minority of anti-intellectuals to dominate in large group discussions.

This forum was an experiment which needs to be continued as an activity within the movement. The anti-globalism activists of today must be confronted with the failure of past movements to go beyond "movement culture" and coalesce with Black Americans, workers, immigrants, and others who are fighting for their freedom on a daily basis. Without developing the concept of what we're fighting FOR, activists will continue to make the same mistakes as in the past and this new movement will burn out.

-Tom R.