Today is International Workers Day, a day of for workers to show their international solidarity. For anarchists, it is a day of special meaning due to the role the Chicago Anarchists played in its creation. A day to protest, to fight, to hope and to dream! And to mark it, I’ve gathered a collection of great protest and labour songs to listen to and watch (all from Youtube).
Today is International Workers Day, a day of for workers to show their international solidarity. For anarchists, it is a day of special meaning due to the role the Chicago Anarchists played in its creation. A day to protest, to fight, to hope and to dream! And to mark it, I’ve gathered a collection of great protest and labour songs to listen to and watch (all from Youtube).
Did I mention I love YouTube? Except, of course, the name which — saying you tube to someone in Glasgow is just not polite…
And talking of tubes, here is my Propertarian Stupidity of the day (now that could be an extremely regular feature, but I’ve got better things to do!). It is truly staggering and is by Cato’s Peter Thiel (Via
"Since 1920, the vast increase in welfare beneficiaries and the extension of the franchise to women — two constituencies that are notoriously tough for libertarians — have rendered the notion of ‘capitalist democracy’ into an oxymoron."
Not sure what is worse, the sexism or the lack of logic — giving more people the vote ("extension of the franchise") destroys democracy… As I’ve constantly discovered, scratch a "libertarian" and you soon discover a distinct preference for autocratic government…
I’ve also posted an article on May Day. If anyone is interested in their ideas, check out Albert Parson’s book on Anarchism (as reviewed here). Here are the songs — and yes, I like everyone (I have diverse music tastes):
Patty Smith’s People Have the Power
Pete Seger’s Solidarity Forever
And another version, with an amazing vocal:
Utah Phillips doing There is Power In The Union
Power to the people by John Lennon:
Pete Seeger and Bruce Springsteen doing This land is Your Land:
Phil Ochs doing Power And The Glory
And for a change of pace, Rage Against the Machine’s Know Your Enemy Live:
Phil Ochs (again) and I aint marching anymore
Joan Baez doing Last Night I Dreamt I Saw Joe Hill
Rage against the machine and Freedom:
A Las Barricadas, Spanish Anarchist Anthem of the CNT-FAI
And if its not too misplaced, the Internationale (from the film Reds). The original poem was, after all, written by an anarchist and communard, Eugène Pottier:
And to remind us what we are aiming for, here is John Lennon again with Imagine:
And, finally, the absolutely great comedian Bill Bailey and Billy Brag (who I’m not so keen on) doing the classic protest song Unisex Chipshop:
Now, have I missed anyone? Until I blog again, be seeing you…