Scottish Federation of Anarchists As We See it We encourage and assist resistance to all oppression. This includes economic and environmental exploitation and all forms of state and social oppression, such as racism and sexism. Mass direct action is the most effective and liberating form of struggle. Our aim is for mass struggles to develop into a revolutionary transformation, in which people seize control of the world's resources and fundamentally re-organise society. This can only be achieved by the self-organisation of the vast majority, the working class. We oppose all hierarchies and political parties. We want a free, stateless world, with social wealth owned and controlled by society. Production will be to meet human need and all relationships based on equality and mutual respect. As We See It Capitalism Under the present system we have no real say in the decisions that affect us, our communities or workplaces. Instead a minority has this power. This due to their ownership and control of social wealth and the means to create it. In Scotland, 7% of the population own 84% of the wealth. It's the interests of this elite that must be satisfied within "democracy", otherwise there is no investment, no production and no work. This is true for the rest of the capitalist world as it is for the few remaining "Communist" Party regimes. Economically, capitalism results in power and privilege for the few, sacrifices and alienation for the rest of us. Continually we see the world we live in being destroyed, standardised and packaged so that this elite can make a few more pounds. Capitalism has turned every feeling and desire we have into an object to be bought and sold. Humanity and community have been replaced by price tags and commercials. Politically, we live in a highly centralised state, over which we have little meaningful control. Every five years we get the chance to vote for a politician, a puppet for faceless bureaucrats and big business. A cross on a bit of paper for a state which treats us like children, telling us what we can and cannot do. A state that claims to know what's best for us regardless of what we actually think or want and which uses OUR money to subsidise capitalist firms and control us. A state that sends us to fight its wars for more power against its competing rivals. A state which increasingly grants itself more repressive powers in order to control dissent. Not all working class people are oppressed in the same way. Black people are subjected to systematic racism from the state, from fascists and from individual racists. Women are oppressed by a system of attitudes, ways of living and institutions based on their domination by men. Lesbians and gay men suffer from bigotry and repressive laws. All such restrictive roles repress all involved. Discrimination and hierarchical and authoritarian relationships exist throughout society and must be resisted. These social oppressions are only useful to our rulers, as they divide us, getting us to blame other working class people for the problems we all face. They divert our anger away from the system and those who run it. Every individual, group or people has the right to be itself and to self-determination. But capitalism results in the standardisation of cultures. Individuality, cultural diversity nor popular self-determination can withstand market forces, the power of multi-national companies or the conformity created by state centralisation. We are against all forms of imperialism, where one country imposes its wishes and values upon another by economic or political means. Such domination can only be resisted by class struggle, not nationalism. Nationalism, like all cross class movements, means only a change in rulers. There are no common interests between the classes. Our lives will be no better under Scottish bosses and politicians. We can only be free in a free world, a world without capitalism and states. Resistance Meaningful change can only happen when ordinary people struggle together to resist power. In countries like Scotland, the vast majority who are excluded from power are the working class. This includes white and blue collar workers, workers in the service industry, the unemployed and other claimants and people doing domestic work at home. These struggles take many forms, such as resistance to wage cuts, poverty, sexism, racism, ecological destruction, militarism and so forth. They are fought throughout society, in workplaces, in communities, in the health service, in benefit offices, in prisons. We in the Scottish Federation of Anarchists are involved in such struggles and aim to encourage tendencies in this resistance towards -Self-organisation and equality, with people controlling their own struggles and organisations, rather than dependence on and control by leaders. -Collective direct action, rather than ineffectual lobbying or letter writing. -Combining workplace and community struggles and organisation rather than their division into different "single-issue" campaigns. -The revolution of everyday life, not the poverty of consumerism or the boredom of left-wing politics. -Changing the fundamental aspects of capitalism, rather than tinkering with minor changes. -revolution, not reformism, the working class and ruling class have nothing in common. Struggles must be controlled by meetings of all those involved, with elected committees to carry out day to day tasks. Anyone elected to such a position of responsibility must carry out the wishes of the meetings or be answerable to those involved and subject to instant recall. Alternative forms of organisation must be created. Resistance should be spread, with links created to workplaces and the community. Such links must be of a federal nature, with power resting firmly at the bottom in the hands of those involved. By organising in this manner we ensure that there is active participation in activity and decision making by all involved. Any organisation not based on these principles, such as the trade unions, are part of the problem. We reject the dead end of electioneering. We must organise and fight where we have real power, in our communities and workplaces. From there we can impose by direct action that which politicians can never get in Parliament. Only this can create the spirit of revolt needed to resist oppression and get improvements in the here and now, as well as creating a new world. Revolution This new world is not for the distant future. It exists now, in our hearts. By organising ourselves, using direct action and showing solidarity we create the ideas and structures of this new world within the present one. Only this will allow us to organise as a class and take-over our workplaces and communities, so winning the class war. Without this take-over we will struggle within the system, but never replace it. A free society can only be created and run from below, by and for everyone. No political party acting or seizing power on our behalf can do it for us. We reject the "would-be" rulers of left-wing parties and their politics. A free society can never come through Parliament or any other state. Parliament is organised to protect privilege and oppression, it cannot be reformed. States, by their structure and internal workings, create bureaucracy, with its own interests, power and privileges. They can never be used to abolish inequality and injustice. The New Society Society can be organised in a better way, one that meets the needs of all and the environment. This society is anarchy (or libertarian communism/socialism). Anarchism comes from our needs and desires for freedom, equality and solidarity. It is the means by which we, the working class, can win the class war and create the sort of world we want and need. Anarchism is based on the free federation of autonomous groups, directly controlled from the bottom up by their members. In an anarchist society, self-management replaces government and bosses. This decentralisation ensures that we take control of our own fates, without leaders and led. Our goal is the creation of a global community where -The world's resources are held in common and shared. -People manage their own lives, work and communities. -All have an equal say in decision making through decentralised forms of organisation. -Relationships in all areas of life are based on liberty, equality and mutual respect, regardless of gender, age, colour, sexual orientation, disability or culture. -People live in harmony with nature. -Work no longer consists of boring and repetitive tasks but instead becomes a mean of self-expression and fulfilment. -Education is integrated with daily life to produce free individuals who think for themselves. -Goods and services are produced directly for human needs in the widest sense. -The market, exchange and money no longer exist and goods and services are provided free. The Scottish Federation of Anarchists The Scottish Federation of Anarchists is a federation of autonomous groups and individuals, co-operating without any central governing body. We reject centralisation, hierarchy and bureaucracy. We believe in organising ourselves so that we reflect the kind of society we want to see. While our immediate focus is Scotland, we are committed internationalists and wish to develop links and joint activity with revolutionaries world-wide. The S.F.A. welcomes the involvement of all those in basic agreement with these principles, regardless of whether they describe themselves as anarchists, autonomists, libertarian socialists/communists or whatever.