ABC of Anarchism + Anarchism in Newcastle

This session is in two parts:

Part 1: Anarchy – what’s that all about then?

“Anarchism is not only about a future society, it is also about the social struggle happening today. It is not a condition but a process, which we create by our self-activity and self-liberation.”*

But what the faq does that mean?  Come along for a quick, lively run-through of the basic ideas of anarchism and some examples of anarchy in action.

*An Anarchist FAQ

Part 2: 'Anarchism in Newcastle'

This talk complements a pamphlet especially written for the occasion. It aims to explain the different permutations and historical versions of anarchism through actual events and persons in Newcastle and the region. In a breathless run through history, it will consider pre-industrial anarchist-like currents including Thomas Spence and 'rights of man'/anti-enclosure type current; anarchist-like elements of early socialist movement; the anarchist commune at Clousden Hill in the 1890s; anarchism and syndicalism in the 1910s; anarchists in classic workers movements; Spain & anti-fascism in the 1930s; squats and free fests in the 1960s; eco-anarchists in the 1970s; the miners strike and anarcho-punk scene in the 1980s; hunt-sabbing and direct action since the 1990s.