Libertarian Socialist ConfederationBoard

Isn’t there a campaign? Also how does one vote?

4 WFE Corrections

One of the four will be voted on, with a poll. This is because it did not receive immediate medium support (like 2 and 3 below), or be an obvious change (like 1 below).

• Add featured date to the WFE

  Fachumonn wrote:

  On a different note, how does anyone feel about adding a Featured 28th December 2020. stamp above the Founded 7th of July 2019 stamp? (In the WFE) I've seen this in almost every region that has gotten featured.
  If people agree we could just do it, or if people want to hold a regional approval vote we could ig.

These 3 changes will be implemented immediately to the WFE, unless there is an objection for any. After an objection, then it will be repealed and a vote held for it as well.

1. Update date of next election

   • Change 18th May 2022 to 27th August 2022

2. Add publication date for Cry of Rebellion

   Libertia-Columbia wrote:

   Been a while since we talked about it, but regarding the Cry of Rebellion revival, I think it would be better if we have it come out on September 4 rather than the previously-decided date of September 5 - makes a bit more sense to start on the weekend rather than Monday, and the first day of the week (Sunday) would be a good day to standardize as the publication day for CoR. What do you guys think?

   Also, Patagonian Workers Front, is it fine if you put the publication date for the next issue (3rd issue) on the WFE? Might just be a useful date to put on there.

   Fachumonn wrote:

   [Under the news column]

3. Add Embassy Guidelines to pinned dispatches

   World Anarchic Union wrote:

   Also, until we make such a dispatch, should we pin the dispatch about the guidelines to the region?

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Oh yeah forgot. Poll is up! Everyone go vote soon!

Hey guys, gals, and pals,

I should probably say that submissions of articles for Cry of Rebellion are open! Well, they were always open, but I guess I decided to let everyone know right now.

Any text with substance, from a paragraph to an article, would be good for CoR, including (but certainly not limited to):
- Articles on libertarian socialist theory (these were the predominant type of text from earlier issues of CoR)
- Poetry, prose and songs
- Short stories
- Reporting and analysis of current events
- Praxis guides
- Interviews
- Short biographies of prominent libertarian socialist figures
- Analysis of history (e.g. analysis of historical libsoc societies, movements, etc.)

If it's fine with the rest of you, I would encourage you to try and submit your text by August 28, a week before the publication date of September 4.

Also, well, I'm not entirely sure how to do the graphic design for CoR, so if there's anyone here who was in FAC and/or helped contribute to or design CoR, your help would very much be appreicated.

The Featured excerpt has been added to the WFE, since the results of the poll were in favor. I have also changed the bullet points of the News section to stars.

I propose some more changes to the News section:

• Add deadline for CoR submissions (to same line of CoR publishing)

• Add that Foreign Affairs Nominations are open (above Next election cycle)

• Remove Updating of the regional map is in progress, since it has not been updated recently.

I'll change these if there are no objections by tomorrow, and if there are objections in the future after adding to the WFE, then it shall be held to a vote.

Free Twigland wrote:

The Featured excerpt has been added to the WFE, since the results of the poll were in favor. I have also changed the bullet points of the News section to stars.

I propose some more changes to the News section:

• Add deadline for CoR submissions (to same line of CoR publishing)

• Add that Foreign Affairs Nominations are open (above Next election cycle)

• Remove Updating of the regional map is in progress, since it has not been updated recently.

I'll change these if there are no objections by tomorrow, and if there are objections in the future after adding to the WFE, then it shall be held to a vote.

All sounds very good :)

Free Twigland wrote:

The Featured excerpt has been added to the WFE, since the results of the poll were in favor. I have also changed the bullet points of the News section to stars.

I propose some more changes to the News section:

• Add deadline for CoR submissions (to same line of CoR publishing)

• Add that Foreign Affairs Nominations are open (above Next election cycle)

• Remove Updating of the regional map is in progress, since it has not been updated recently.

I'll change these if there are no objections by tomorrow, and if there are objections in the future after adding to the WFE, then it shall be held to a vote.

Sounds good! I'll be sure to do something for CoR.

Holy heck, Roe v. Wade was overturned. I don't even know what to say anymore.

wtf. We are in 1540.

Yo Kavanaugh and Barret watched way too much of the handmaid’s tale and used it as an instruction manual fr. Also there’s protests taking place in D.C. and New York City. The one in Manhattan was led by Leftists and went on all over Greenwhich Village. Revolution is pretty much inevitable at this point.

After the News updates, the World Factbook Entry is at its character limit, but formatting tags can still be added. For any new additions in the future, something must be removed at the same time. If a nation is elected to Foreign Affairs this term, then there will be more room when this line is removed.

It's all pretty fricked, eh? And it's only gonna get worse. Maybe this will radicalize people?

Gen Z living financially stable in this economy won’t make any sense. We’re the poorest generation in the past seventy years and the average American citizen has the least personal and political rights in the entire developed world and democracy is completely unheard of in most aspects of American life so if ppl seriously don’t see the need to revolutionize, yo I’m moving to Finland frrr

Today begins the 30th NATO summit in Madrid, Spain. As expected, anticapitalist and anti-imperialist groups of my country will carry protests against the summit. However, the complicity of parties like Podemos or PCE, who decided to carry any protests days before the summit, has shown their true colors in order to not lose the limited power they have in the government. Of course, most people expected this. I will explain what is supposed to happen from now:

Thanks to those who have read the whole post!

And yeah, I am back after 20 days.

No one can stay long away from the LSC, I guess :)

Libertarian Australia wrote:

Today begins the 30th NATO summit in Madrid, Spain. As expected, anticapitalist and anti-imperialist groups of my country will carry protests against the summit. However, the complicity of parties like Podemos or PCE, who decided to carry any protests days before the summit, has shown their true colors in order to not lose the limited power they have in the government. Of course, most people expected this. I will explain what is supposed to happen from now:

Long text about the summit and the future of NATO

NATO is searching for new strategies, adapting itself to a multipolar situation, but more importantly, the threat of China along with Russia for the economic, technologic and militar supremacy of the USA. This will be the first time in 73 years the concept of “collective defense” will be defined. NATO is preparing for future wars for the hegemony in Eastern Europe and Eastern Asia, but not against “pariah states”, which have been its focus since the fall of the Berlin Wall, but against big powers. Russia will be classified as a “direct threat” and China as a “geoestrategic challenge” or “systemic challenge”. This is clearly the beginning of a new wave of an escalation of imperialist antagonism, leadered by a USA that doesn’t want to lose its position as main superpower.

The biggest military deployment since WWII in Europe, in NATO countries that border Ukraine, will be decided in this summit. Also, Biden and Pedro Sánchez (President of Spain) have announced an agreement to increase American military presence in Spain, adding two more destroyers to the base in Rota, with 6 in total. Another example of this escalation is how Washington has pressured NATO countries to increase the military budget to reach a 2% of their GDP. Spain, even before the summit, has already announced its compromise to do it. Arms industry is also tied to this, which has increased since the beginning of the war in Ukraine. Spain is the seventh arms exporter, with benefits of 3,300 million euros in 2021. The USA, leader of the industry moving around half a million dollars, has announced its intention to send arms with a value of 1,000 million dollars to Ukraine.

The war in Ukraine is the first episode of a series of future confrontations of NATO and its main enemies, the first episode of a new Cold War. Like in old times, the European countries in NATO become a tool of the interests of Washington, not only in terms of defense, but in external affairs. And, of course, the interests of Europe are not even the ones as the ones of the USA. A good example of this is how the economic relations of Europe with Russia have been broken, which depends energetically on the latter. This situation has been used by the USA to sell gas from fracking to Europe, which is carried in ships, making the own price higher. More than a half of the gas used by Germany came from Russia, and if the Nord Stream II was opened, dependence would be complete. The war in Ukraine has sped up the re-alignment of Europe with the interests of Washington.

This may also be the beginning of an atomic arms race: Russia has decided to make investments on new nuclear missiles in order to renew its atomic capabilities. Of course, NATO has never had any intention to put an end to nuclear arms, with its members voting against a UN resolution in order to forbid them, thanks to a note from the American diplomacy distributed before it. This is another good example of the submission of NATO members to the interests of the USA. A survey in 2020 was carried in countries like Belgium, Denmark, Iceland, Italy, Netherlands and Spain, with a 75% of people in favour of the UN treaty against atomic weapons. So, yeah, this is may not be specially popular.

The summit would include military support for an allied country in case of a “threat to territorial integrity”, which may range from irregular inmigration to secessionist movements. Another matter will be “hybrid threats”, those that do not fit in traditional definitions of military phenomena: Cybernetic attacks, terrorism, massive leaks, fake news, disinformation campaigns or even food insecurity. This would prepare NATO to deal militarily with problems that have been normally dealt with through civil means, a militarization of everyday life.

My personal opinion

I am not exactly a supporter of Russia or China systems and their interests, even though many think this thanks to the militaristic narrative spreaded by media in this side of the world. However, my opposition to NATO and the interests of the USA is clear, so today is the best moment to talk about what is NATO doing, specially if its decisions are being taken in my country.
This is clearly the beginning of an intensification of international antagonism, and we shouldn’t be seduced by those who want to keep ruling our class. The answer to this situation should be the opposition of the working class, who spills its blood in the battlefields for defending the interests of their rulers. Some may think that this is not WWI or the Cold War, but when the bombs are not being dropped in your country, your opinion may be distorted by the narrative of your ruling class.
Do not fall for this.

Thanks to those who have read the whole post!

And yeah, I am back after 20 days.

Great to see you back! I've seen enough Chinese state media to know exactly how fluid can be "territorial integrity." If this is approved, sounds like the final death knell for Catalan independentists.

Regional Flag Contest

The previous Regional Flag Contest will be extended for one week, and then the vote for a new flag (or to keep the current) will be held on the 7th of July.

These are the submissions:

If you would like to add a flag to be voted on, the deadline is on 7 July 2022.

Today it is three years since this region was founded! Here's to many more good years :)

What should anarchists do with the "Iron Law of Oligarchy"?

Ugabugia wrote:

What should anarchists do with the "Iron Law of Oligarchy"?

What do you mean?

Ugabugia wrote:

What should anarchists do with the "Iron Law of Oligarchy"?

Under-mine it. Possibly with steely-eyed vigilance against the forging of increasingly unalloyed institutional hierachies; possibly with the founding of decentralized systems of horizontal chain-links to better share the lode:

https://www.quora.com/How-do-anarchists-resolve-the-iron-law-of-oligarchy

Or - magnets.

Ugabugia wrote:

What should anarchists do with the "Iron Law of Oligarchy"?

Well firstly, the principle “who says organization, says oligarchy” points to why many anarchists (self included) are anti-organizational. Your organization can’t become oligarchy if it doesn’t exist.

But that’s sort of a surface level response and I have more mechanical thoughts.

So the “iron law” is predicated on some axioms - one of them about scale and two of them about delegated power in general.

About scale:
A. When societies reach a certain size, direct communication becomes unviable so people will have to delegate decisions to central authorities

About power:
B. Some people have a greater desire to take on leadership roles than others. Thus the people with low desire delegate to people with high desire.
C. If people have powers delegated to them they tend to try to use their power to hold on to power.

So, on point A: where exactly is the cutoff point where a group of people can be small and leaderless, versus large and with central authority? Can you put a figure on it? Presumably the availability of communication technology should “stretch” that number quite a bit, no?
If there is an actual objective figure, then what’s to stop a culture from breaking up into a multitude of tiny bands that are small enough to avoid bureaucratization?

As for B. I don’t think this should be a problem for mature anarchist analysis. People have different energy levels, interests, competencies, etc. and some people are temperamentally going to frequently step forward as doers or opinion-leaders while some people temperamentally would rather watch and follow and stay out of each other’s way.
The problem for anarchists isn’t that people assign these roles to themselves in the first place, the problem is when people get stuck in these roles, rule out the possibility of changing roles, start assigning other people their roles without their consent, or otherwise end up getting sacrificed to roles that have taken on a life of their own. Leadership doesn’t become a position of coercive power until you start, you know, threatening people who want to change roles.

So C, basically, is the main problem. How do you prevent people who have gotten power from using their power to prevent competition against themselves? How do you make it so that leadership roles don’t become “sticky”?

What leaps to my mind is, you don’t give your delegated leaders any tools that could be abused in the first place. You know, you make sure everything has a hundred back-doors built in. Don’t give them weapons. Don’t give them wealth. Don’t even grant them special respect or legitimacy. If somebody volunteers to do something nobody else is doing, if they have ideas on how to do thing better, that’s great, so long as it’s recognized that at any moment somebody else could volunteer to do the same thing, and it would be no less (and no more) legitimate. At the end of the day the leader’s wishes are just some person’s wishes and nobody is compelled to do as they’re told unless they feel like it.

A lot of that imo is inculcating in folks a sense of bravery, of spiritual or psychological indestructability - really raise a generation up with an internalized sense that they never do anything they don’t choose to do, and can’t be “made” to sacrifice their self-respect no matter what anybody does to them.

And when it comes to dealing with ossified leadership that currently exists, the work seems like it would be a matter of building those back doors, finding ways to disable those weapons, skewering myths of legitimacy, and so on to level the playing field and lower leaders back down to the level of “everyday person who volunteered for a job”

Ugabugia wrote:

What should anarchists do with the "Iron Law of Oligarchy"?

I've always thought the way around this is to keep insisting on democracy. Stroznia kinda gets at it in their answer, but imo there's an inherent tradeoff between making decisions quickly vs democratically.

One of the more obvious failures of 20th century communist projects was their bias for action yielding material/standard of living/productivity improvements over actions that would sustain meaningful equality among people living under those regimes - especially in USSR and China. Even when they did try to make changes that could've yielded more equality - socializing farming or removing the officer class from the army, for example - they reneged on those decisions quickly and never fully restored them (either because they didn't like the results, or because they were afraid of counterrevolution, or external forces, or because people were starving and they wanted to fix it quickly, or whatever other reasons you like). Who ultimately made those decisions to reverse changes? Lenin/Mao and their very small politburo committees.

If power is devolved, consensus insisted upon, and the consent (of as many people as would be affected by the decision) required, we can curb a lot of abuses of power; the people who would otherwise have the power to harm others and centralize/increase their own standing wouldn't actually be able to take action (without consent and consensus of others).

Others have (here and elsewhere) and can explain the practical ways to get this setup. What I'm more interested though, and still not sure I'm confident on the answer to, is whether, for example, people want quick medical care more than they want their brothers and sisters in the medical profession to work without exploitation. Especially in America, where I live and where public sentiment is pretty notoriously one of the least pro-worker among "developed" countries, getting people to go along with the idea that economic and social relationships should be equal as opposed to transactional is really hard and I don't know how to perfectly solve it. Interest-based bargaining, restorative justice, and similar approaches that require listening and understanding the other perspective before proposing mutually agreeable solutions, are interesting but incremental ways to approach getting us closer I think. . . but none of that is really revolutionary.

I'm now rambling so I'm gonna lodge this message and stop but before I do here's a shrug emoticon ¯\_(ツ)_/¯

Voting on the region's flag

The flag submissions are listed in a 7 day poll for voting for the next or current flag. I apologize for the lateness.

Flag Contest Submissions, numbered:

Poll: page=poll/p=188620