Sad news. Stuart Christie has died. I found out via a comrade and then the Kate Sharpley library.
Sad news. Stuart Christie has died. I found out via a comrade and then the Kate Sharpley library. Obituaries appeared in the Guardian, and The National, and elsewhere. Christie played a key role in the British anarchist movement, helping to reform the Anarchist Black Cross, launch what was to become the magazine Black Flag and raising – along with Albert Meltzer – the banner of class struggle anarchism. His books on Spanish Anarchism – We, the Anarchists! and A Study of the Revolution in Spain, 1936–1937 – are important contributions. His autobiography, My Granny made me an Anarchist, is well-worth reading (in both the three-volume version and in the commercially published one volume, shorter, version). Also of note is an interview we conducted in Black Flag in 2010. My reviews of some of these can be found here and while I will post them here in due course, I include the reviews of the first two volumes of his autobiography below. I included his definition of Anarchism (as posted by Robert Graham) and two chapters from The Floodgates of Anarchy in volume 4 of A Libertarian Reader. He will be missed.
Second, a few new postings. I finally managed to find the time to write up the talks I gave a while back on The Meaning of Anarchism via twelve libertarians. It is in two parts – part 1 is on “The Founding Fathers” while part 2 is on “The Founding Mothers” (so to speak). The Anarchist Library has both as one webpage. As noted in the postings, this was not my decision although I was happy to organise the talks in this way. I do think it was good as it forced me to think about libertarians who often get ignored or mentioned in passing in accounts of anarchism. It was a good job I had been working on A Libertarian Reader as I had a lot of texts available to draw upon for quotes.
The first talk was longer and Proudhon got a significant chunk of the material. This was unavoidable as the talks were both stand-alone and integrated – while most people would have attended both, not all would have and so I needed to come to a conclusion in the first and I had to take that conclusion as the starting point for the second. So the first covered the basics which could be simply summarised at the start of the first. As for Proudhon, well, he did define most of what we consider anarchism and so it would be wrong to suggest otherwise. I still remember reading No Gods, No Masters when it first came out in a two-volume set and being surprised by how much I had thought Bakunin had originated was first raised by Proudhon. In terms of patriarchy, it was good to recount how isolated Proudhon was in this regard – every important anarchist thinker and activist recognised the obvious and glaring contradiction between advocating association to replaced wage-labour and the State while maintaining it within the home. Sadly, it won’t stop Leninists suggesting his sexism expressed anarchist ideals…
And now, as promised, my reviews of Stuart Christie’s autobiography.
My Granny Made me an Anarchist: The Christie File: Part 1, 1946-1964
First off, I will admit to not being a big fan of autobiographies. I only bought Emma Goldman’s Living me Life this year and simply for her account of Bolshevik Russia. Saying that, Stuart Christie’s new book may persuade me to change my mind. The first volume of his autobiography is an extremely interesting read, well written and absorbing.
For those who don’t know, Stuart is Scotland’s (and Britain’s) most famous anarchist. Born in Glasgow in 1946, Stuart’s book recounts his life in post-war Glasgow (and round about) and his political awakening, an awakening that brought him to via the Labour Party, anti-nuclear protesting and trade union activism, to anarchism.
Being a Glaswegian anarchist myself I was enthralled by his account of growing up in a Glasgow which was in so many ways similar to my own but, at the same time, was slowly disappearing. He gives the reader a glimpse into working class life and culture in the 1950s and 1960s, even down to the comics he read and the films and books which influenced him and his ideas. Unsurprisingly, many of his memories, influences and experiences I can relate to. Stuart said he became an anarchist outside the Mitchell library, I discovered I was one inside it. He talks about meeting anarchists like Bobby Lynn, a comrade I came to know decades later. He gives a good overview of the ideas of anarchism, its history and the state of the movement in the 1960s, both in Glasgow and in Britain as a whole. He discusses the anarchist resistance to Franco, providing background to his decision, at the age of 18, to go to Spain to assassinate the dictator. It is here that volume 1 ends. All I can say is I cannot wait for volume 2!
Compared to the original Christie File, published in 1980 by Cienfuegos Press (and found by me in Oxfam in Glasgow), this new version is substantially bigger. What was covered in one chapter in that book is now a book in itself. As such, owners of the original will find the book worth buying for the new material in it. Moreover, Stuart has supplemented his story with pictures of people, where he lived, his schools, protests and much more! He provides material on a wide range of related subjects (such as the Spanish and Cuban revolutions) as well as discussing left-wing, anarchist and anti-nuclear politics in the 1960s (including the Glasgow Committee of 100, Spies for Peace and Scots Against War).
His account of anarchism in Britain in the 1960s shows a divided movement, within which he was drawn to those around the Syndicalist Workers Federation. He considers that "the role of Freedom under the control of Vernon Richards and his close associates, proved seriously divisive within the British anarchist movement." An opinion I, until recently, agreed with. Thankfully the split between Freedom and the class struggle anarchist movement (which dates from 1946 and which Stuart recounts) is being healed and the new century can see Freedom playing the role it did in the 1940s, namely the voice of a militant working class anarchist movement. His definition of anarchism shows the way forward:
"Anarchism is a movement for human freedom. It is concrete, democratic and egalitarian . . . Anarchism began — and remains — a direct challenge by the underprivileged to their oppression and exploitation. It opposes both the insidious growth of state power and the pernicious ethos of possessive individualism, which . . . ultimately serve only the interests of the few at the expense of the rest.
"Anarchism is both a theory and practice of life . . . Ultimately, only struggle determines outcome, and progress towards a more meaningful community must begin with the will to resist every form of injustice . . . If anarchists have on article of unshakeable faith, it is that, once the habit of deferring to politicians or ideologues is lost, and that of resistance is acquired, then ordinary people have a capacity to organise every aspect of their lives in their own interests."
His autobiography is a testament to this perspective, to an anarchism that inspires people to fight for freedom, equality and solidarity. It shows that anarchism is more than a vision of a bigger tomorrow, it is a guide to bringing it about. As such, Stuart’s biography should inspire those who have the good fortune to read it.
This book is a limited edition and is so expensive in order to fund a bigger (and so cheaper) reprint. As such, I would urge all comrades who can afford it to buy a copy. For the others, get their local library to get a copy. Either way, you will not be disappointed.
General Franco made me a ‘Terrorist’: The Christie File: Part 2, 1964-1967
Stuart Christie, for those who don’t know, is probably Scotland’s most famous anarchist. The first volume of his autobiography ("My Granny made me an anarchist") recounted how he became an anarchist. It ended with him leaving Britain to aid the anarchist resistance against the fascist dictator of Spain General Franco.
This volume picks up where the last one ended, namely his leaving Britain to take part in an anarchist plan to assassinate Franco. Christie, however, was arrested by Franco’s secret police long before he completed his mission to give the explosives he smuggled into Spain to those who were planning the assassination. Christie recounts his experiences being arrested and his time in various Spanish prisons with assurance, humanity and wit. He is not afraid to talk about the failures and cock-ups, the bickering and the surreal along with the bravery and dedication. As such, it is a real treat to read, giving the human side which history books never really manage to do. His account of the characters he met and the life of political prisoners in Franco’s regime is engrossing.
Three things particularly resonated with me. Firstly, the dedication of the anarchists he met in the resistance both within and outwith prison. That they were willing to keep struggling in the face of such odds is inspiring. Secondly, how prison made Christie become aware that someone’s politics and personality did not automatically match. For some reason, I found his comments on how surprised he was to discover that people with extremely obnoxious politics could be nice people on a personal level quite significant. Why? Perhaps because I’ve met a few anarchists who could do with a personality transplant? Who knows? But I think how we relate to each other as comrades is important. I’ve seen too many abusive attacks between comrades and know the hurt it can cause. Being more civil to each other would be a good first step towards the revolution in some cases!
Lastly, his account of the Stalinist prisoners he came across was deeply disturbing. They organised themselves into a tight little hierarchy, with the ordinary members banned from talking to their fellow political prisoners (particularly the anarchists). Clearly, the leadership knew they could only maintain their position if they had a loyal and obedient membership and that meant isolating the party rank and file from such dangers as alternative points of view and, of course, reality. Given the utter distortions of anarchist ideas I’ve came across over the years in Trotskyist journals I can see that that mentality is not gone the way of the USSR.
One thing which this book brings out is the sick morality of statism. Christie was branded a "terrorist" for trying to assassinate Franco, yet Franco, as Christie points out in his introduction, reigned over "an unbroken chain of mass murder, repression and unimaginable suffering." This state terrorism has been quietly ignored, with every Spanish government (including Socialist ones) turning a blind eye to the murderers and fascists in their midst. This continues to this day.
Spain’s current Prime Minister, Jose Maria Aznar is a junior member of Bush’s "Coalition of the Killing." When Saddam was arrested, he made it quite clear that the Iraqi dictator should pay for his crimes against humanity. Aznar, like Bush and Blair, is less outspoken about crimes nearer home. When it comes to Franco’s crimes against humanity the resolute champion of human rights and historical accountability for Iraqis becomes the craven hypocrite we all have come to expect from leaders of the "Coalition."
In Spain, as Christie reminds us, Franco’s dead were left to sleep in their mass graves. Things are changing and Anzar and his right-wing Popular Party are doing their best to stop them. The Association for the Recovery of Historical Memory, is trying to locate and excavate mass grave sites. Anzar’s government has refused to help in any way. His was the only party in the Spanish Parliament to boycott a recent ceremony honouring Franco’s victims. Its parliamentary spokesman stated that the ceremony was "a return to the past," which "contributes nothing positive." Saddam could not have put it any better. But rest assured, it is concerned about some of Spain’s dead: it is paying to exhume the bodies of the Division Azul, Spanish volunteers that fought for Hitler on the Eastern Front.
We should not be surprised as Aznar’s People’s Party was founded after Franco’s death by one of his cabinet ministers, who later picked Aznar as his successor. The party is Francoism’s ideological heir and many of its functionaries are the offspring of the officials who staffed Franco’s government. Aznar’s government contributes taxpayer money to the National Franco Foundation, which is run by the dictator’s daughter and, as well as maintaining fresh flowers on the Caudillo’s grave, conducts many pro-Franco activities. So obviously Anzar is highly selective in which mass murdering tyrant he denounces. He happily protects the legacy of an even worse dictator and war criminal.
Franco died in his bed a decade after Christie was arrested. Was the struggle which Christie’s imprisonment was a part of worth it? Of course. As Christie puts it, "the anarchist creed is simple . . . only struggle determines outcome, and progress towards a more meaningful community must begin with the will to resist every form of injustice." We can never be sure of success, but if we don’t try then failure is guaranteed. Christie’s autobiography is a testament to this truth as well as the struggle of our comrades to end Franco’s reign. Given that Christie himself was released early due to an international solidarity campaign which, on the face of it, looked unlikely to succeed, his autobiography serves to remind us that our activities can make a difference. In these grim days, that makes it a worthwhile as well as a wonderful read.
I’m really looking forward to reading the third volume. That, I think, indicates why you should read this book. As in the first volume, this volume expands quite considerably on the original Christie File (published in 1980) and includes lots of pictures and appendices covering background details. And like the first (equally good) volume of Christie’s memoirs, this book had been published as a limited edition. It costs so much in order to fund a bigger (and so cheaper) rerun. If you can afford it, please by a copy or order a copy from your local library. It is such a good read that it should be made available to more people and buying this edition will help ensure that.