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Encyclopedia > Class war

This article is about the organisation and newspaper Class War. See Class war for general information about this subject. This article is about the organisation and newspaper Class War. ...

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Class War was a UK class struggle based group and newspaper originally set up by Ian Bone and others in 1983. It subsequently mutated various forms, becoming specifically anarchist. The South African Police Crush Another Demonstration by the Shack dwellers Movement Abahlali baseMjondolo, 28 September, 2007 Class struggle is the active expression of class conflict looked at from any kind of socialist perspective. ... Ian Bone (August 28, 1947) is a prominent Anarchist in Great Britain. ... Anarchist redirects here. ...

Contents

Origins and stance

The organisation had its origins in Swansea, Wales, developing from a group of community activists who produced a local paper called The Alarm, which focused on issues such as corruption within local government. Following a move to London, the London Autonomists (including Martin Wright and Pete Mastin) soon became involved and a decision was made to produce a tabloid-style newspaper which would reach a wider audience, particular aimed at young anarchists and pacifists[citation needed], including followers of the anarcho-punk band Crass. For other places with the same name, see Swansea (disambiguation). ... This article is about the country. ... Organised The Wapping Autonomy Centre, Wapping Wall, London E1: August 1981 - March 1982 Vince Stevenson Charlotte Baggins Martin Wright Dave Couch Ronan Bennett Iris Mills and Fabian Tompsett ... Martin Wright (1935 - 2001) was a co-founder of the British Council Communist/Anarchist organisation Class War together with Ian Bone and others. ... This article does not cite any references or sources. ... Pacifism is the opposition to war or violence as a means of settling disputes or gaining advantage. ... The anarchy symbol commonly used by anarcho-punks Anarcho-punk (sometimes known as peace-punk) is a subgenre of the punk rock movement consisting of groups and bands promoting specifically anarchist ideas. ... For information about the anarchist writer, see Chris Crass Crass was an English anarchist punk rock band, formed in 1977[1][2] and based around Dial House, an open house community near Epping, Essex. ...


The articles in Class War criticised pacifism and the Peace movement, arguing the idea that violence is a necessary part of the class struggle. This stance was further justified with the statement that "democratic systems are all supported on a basis of coercion sanctioned by the use of force", and "the ruling class are never more dangerous than when they are doing impressions of human beings". An Australian anti-conscription poster from World War One A peace movement is a social movement that seeks to achieve ideals such as the ending of a particular war (or all wars), minimize inter-human violence in a particular place or type of situation, often linked to the goal of... The South African Police Crush Another Demonstration by the Shack dwellers Movement Abahlali baseMjondolo, 28 September, 2007 Class struggle is the active expression of class conflict looked at from any kind of socialist perspective. ...


Class War's attitude to violence was summed up in 'Britain's most unruly tabloid': While not giving unqualified support to the IRA you don't have to be an Einstein to realise that a victory for the armed struggle in Ireland would be a crushing blow to the ruling class and to the authority of the British state." 1992 (Class War No.52).


The group maintained that the vast majority of people in Britain remained exploited by the ruling class and their official literature has long stated that about 75% of the country is working-class. Most other estimates put a much lower figure on the proportion (although it should be remembered that other estimates may not use the same definition of 'working class' as Class War).


Stand up and Spit was the title of another early Class War magazine, aimed at inner city youth. The term inner-city is often applied to the poorer parts at the centre of a major city. ...


Class War newspaper

The numerous titles released by Class War were eventually to be replaced by a national paper just called Class War. This paper declared that the enemy was not just a system-wide abstraction, but each and every person who belonged to the ruling class. It advocated active violence against the wealthy, and the paper used colloquial language and gallows humour. One early cover was of a cemetery, with the caption, "We have found new homes for the rich." Another in 1986 suggested that recently married royal couple TRH The Duke and Duchess of York were "Better Dead than Wed." This cover was reproduced as a poster, which was banned by the Ramsgate Police. Anarchists were required to remove the posters they had put up on a McDonalds fast food retail outlet and on the front of a W.H. Smith Bookstore. The flyposting of the poster in Durham also resulted in three teenagers being arrested and (unsuccessfully) prosecuted under the Public Order Act 1936. The term ruling class refers to the social class of a given society that decides upon and sets that societys political policy. ... Gallows Humor is comedy that makes light of death, or other very serious matters. ... The Prince Andrew, The Duke of York (Andrew Albert Christian Edward; born 19 February 1960) is a member of the British Royal Family, the third child and second son of Queen Elizabeth II. He has held the title of Duke of York since 1986. ... Sarah, Duchess of York (born Sarah Margaret Ferguson, 15 October 1959) is the former wife of Prince Andrew, Duke of York, fourth in line to the British throne. ... For other uses, see Ramsgate (disambiguation). ... McDonalds Corporation (NYSE: MCD) is the worlds largest chain of fast-food restaurants [1]. Although McDonalds did not invent the hamburger or fast food, its name has become nearly synonymous with both. ... Fast food is food prepared and served quickly at a fast-food restaurant or shop at low cost. ... This article is about the bookshop chain; for the businessman and politician of that name, see William Henry Smith. ... Durham (IPA: locally, in RP) is a small city and main settlement of the City of Durham district of County Durham in North East England. ...


Shortly after September 1984, a front cover showed a picture of a royal sprog (Harry, presumably) under the headline, "Another Fucking Royal Parasite".


Class War also collaborated with anarchist band Conflict in releasing a 'commemorative' royal wedding single of the same title. Much of the organisations propaganda is intentionally provocative or illegal. Conflict is an anarcho-punk band originally based around Eltham in South London. ...


The paper also featured pictures of injured policemen, "Hospitalised Copper" appeared on page three of every edition (a nod to The Sun's Page Three girls). Class War explained that their intent here was to show that people could 'fight back' against the state rather than be 'passive victims'. A Page Three girl is a topless female model whose photographs are published on the third page of The Sun newspaper. ...


Bash the Rich Revels

Inspired by the Stop the City actions of 1983 and 1984 , Class War organised a number of Bash The Rich demonstrations, in which supporters were invited to march through and disrupt wealthier areas of London such as Kensington, and Henley-on-Thames (during the annual Regatta), bearing banners and placards with slogans such as "Behold your future executioners!" (a phrase coined by the anarchist Lucy Parsons). This article needs to be cleaned up to conform to a higher standard of quality. ... For other uses, see Kensington (disambiguation). ... , Henley-on-Thames is a town on the north side of the River Thames in south Oxfordshire, England, about 10 miles downstream and north-east from Reading, 10 miles upstream and west from Maidenhead. ... A race taking place at Henley Regatta 2004 Henley Royal Regatta is a rowing event held every year on the river Thames by the town of Henley-on-Thames, England. ... Lucy Parsons Lucy Parsons (1853-March 7, 1942) was an American radical labor organizer, anarchist and is remembered as a powerful orator. ...


A third Bash The Rich event, scheduled to march through Hampstead in 1985 , was largely prevented by a heavy police presence, and was acknowledged by Class War to have been a failure. This event was seen by many as a major setback for the group, and many members left to form other groups or drifted away.[1] For other places with the same name, see Hampstead (disambiguation). ...


The record

In 1986, Class War released a 7" EP single entitled "Better Dead Than Wed". The single was released to coincide with the wedding of Prince Andrew and Sarah Ferguson and the front cover featured a picture of the royal couple kissing with the title of the single part covering the picture. The rear of the sleeve featured a picture of the changing of the guard overlaid with a black and white image of an inner city riot. HRH The Duke of York His Royal Highness The Prince Andrew, Duke of York, (Andrew Albert Christian Edward Mountbatten-Windsor, formerly Windsor), styled HRH The Duke of York (born February 19, 1960), is a member of the British Royal Family, the third child and second son of Queen Elizabeth II... Sarah, Duchess of York (born 15 October 1959) is the former wife of Prince Andrew, Duke of York. ...


The single was released on the Mortarhate label and had the catalogue number MORT 000.[2] The logo of Conflict and Mortarhate Records. ...


The tracks

The EP contained three tracks, the first two on the A side, and the third on the B side.

  1. Class War - Spoken word over a piano background.
  2. Better Dead Than Wed - A punk track about the royal wedding.
  3. Rap 'n' Durge - A powerful angry monologue over a funky backbeat featuring brass and bass. Rap 'n' Durge was about Class War's attitude to the Royal Family as a whole rather than just the Royal Wedding.

Run out groove

The run out groove of the record has messages scratched in both the A and B sides.

  • A side: "EAT THE RICH!"
  • B side: "July 23. You know what to do."

Insert

The single contained an insert giving Class War's stance on the wedding along with full contact details for regional Class War groups and the paper.


2005 release

The title track has been updated and re-released as a free mp3 download available from the Mortarhate site[3] This time the image is of Prince Charles riding a horse bearing a striking resemblance to Camilla Parker-Bowles. Prince Charles may refer to: Prince Charles, Prince of Wales, current heir-apparent to the British throne Any of the previous British royals named Charles, Prince of Wales The former Belgian regent, Prince Charles of Belgium This is a disambiguation page — a navigational aid which lists other pages that might... Camilla Parker Bowles (born July 17 1947) was mistress, now girlfriend, of Charles, Prince of Wales. ...


The Class War Federation

A national conference was in held Manchester in 1986 and proposed that groups and individuals who produced and supported the paper should form "Class War" groups as part of a national federation with common 'aims and principles'. This article is about the City of Manchester in England. ...


A Class War Federation developed, gaining particular prominence in the anti-poll tax movement of the late 80s and early 1990s. When Class War spokesman Andy Murphy praised those who had rioted in the Trafalgar Square Poll Tax Riots as "working class heroes", Class War gained wider media exposure (including a 'tea time' interview with Ian Bone on the Jonathan Ross Show (see Poll Tax Riots)). 1992 saw the publication of Unfinished Business - The Politics of Class War published jointly with AK Press that set out where Class War came from, and where it wanted to go. A poll tax, head tax, or capitation is a tax of a uniform, fixed amount per individual (as opposed to a percentage of income). ... Trafalgar Square viewed from the northeast corner. ... This article or section does not cite its references or sources. ... This article or section does not cite its references or sources. ... This article or section does not cite its references or sources. ... Year 1992 (MCMXCII) was a leap year starting on Wednesday (link will display full 1992 Gregorian calendar). ... AK Press is a collectively owned and operated independent publisher and book distributor that specialises in radical and anarchist literature. ...


Frustrated at what he saw as "too much dead wood" in the organisation, key activist Tim Scargill left Class War in 1993, to be followed by founder Ian Bone.


Class War was then edited by Bristol Class War, and largely assisted by a group of activists from Leeds who had been strongly critical of the "stuntism" of Bone and Scargill, Class War began to be perceived by many anarchists as moving in a more reformist political direction. However, riots and disturbances were still linked to the organisation by the British media, and in October 1994 the Class War leaflet Keep it Spikey distributed before a riot in Hyde Park against the Criminal Justice Act, returned the organisation to the front pages. For other uses, see Leeds (disambiguation) and Leeds City (disambiguation). ... “Hyde Park” redirects here. ... The Criminal Justice and Public Order Act 1994 was an act of parliament brought into law by the Parliament of the United Kingdom. ...


Internationally

There were a number of groups in other countries inspired by Class War, all of whom appear to be defunct. Groups in Germany and the United States were formally linked with the British group and used the name Class War. Angry People was an occasional Australian magazine that appeared throughout the 1990s.[4] A group in New Zealand also called Class War was active as recently as December 2005.[5]


Decline and split

By 1996 , with membership falling, Class War members from Bristol and Leeds launched a "review process" to examine the direction the Federation should now take. This resulted in a rejection of Class War's perceived violent image. By summer 1996, Leeds Class War were stating that regardless of whatever the rest of the Federation chose to do, issue 73 of Class War would be the last edition they would be involved in.


Class War voted to produce a special issue of the paper, the aim being to assess its history, role and direction, with a view to disbanding the organisation. This would be followed by a conference in London in 1997 to "reforge the revolutionary movement".


In March 1997, Class War formally split at its Nottingham conference between those who would continue as Class War and those who wanted to disband the organisation. It was argued that the group that had rejected so much of the practice of the Revolutionary Left, was now replicating it. The "quitters" went on to produce issue 73 of Class War - An open letter to the revolutionary movement.[6] For other uses, see Nottingham (disambiguation). ... Revolutionary Left (Spanish: Izquierda Revolucionaria) is a Trotskyist organisation in Uruguay. ...


The intended London conference eventually had to be abandoned, as London Class War had decided to carry on producing Class War.


London Class War

The newspaper continues to be produced by a new group of activists involved with Reclaim the Streets, animal rights (especially hunt saboteur activities), cooperating with anti-fascists and founders of Movement against the Monarchy. Class War also supported libertine movements such as the sexual freedom coalition. Reclaim the Streets (RTS) is a collective with a shared ideal of community ownership of public spaces. ... Animal liberation redirects here. ... A hunt saboteur is a type of animal rights or animal welfare activist who believes in direct intervention to prevent hunters from killing or hurting an animal. ... Members of the Dutch Eindhoven Resistance with troops of the US 101st Airborne in Eindhoven in September 1944. ... The Movement Against the Monarchy, abbreviated and commonly referred to simply as MAM, is a UK-based Anarchist organization that frequently engages in protests against the British Monarchy. ... Wikipedia does not yet have an article with this exact name. ...


London Class War has been critical of leftist groups, such as the Socialist Workers Party (Britain), for their co-operation with groups perceived as reactionary, such as the Muslim Association of Britain, and also for their alleged authoritarian tendencies. The Socialist Workers Party (SWP) is a political party of the far left in England It sees itself as standing in the revolutionary socialist tradition. ... MAB logo The Muslim Association of Britain (MAB) is an Islamist group in the United Kingdom established in 1997. ...


London Class War was involved in many of the anti-capitalist demonstrations of recent years, including J18. The Global Carnival against Capitalism took place on Friday, June 18, 1999. ...


By 2003 , London Class War had one of the more popular anarchist websites in the UK.[citation needed] A website (alternatively, Web site or web site) is a collection of Web pages, images, videos or other digital assets that is hosted on one or several Web server(s), usually accessible via the Internet, cell phone or a LAN. A Web page is a document, typically written in HTML...


On November 3, 2007, Class War were involved in a 'Bash the Rich' event - marching on the home of the leader of the Conservative Party - David Cameron. Around 80-100 people turned out the the event, which was heavily policed. The Conservative Party (officially the Conservative and Unionist Party) is currently the second largest political party in the United Kingdom in terms of sitting Members of Parliament (MPs), the largest in terms of public membership, and the oldest political party in the United Kingdom. ... For the Canadian ice hockey player, see Dave Cameron. ...


No War But The Class War

During the 1990s many Class War activists took up the slogan No War But The Class War, and formed a group of that name, along with other left communists and class struggle anarchists. The first NWBTCW group appeared in London during the 1990-1991 Gulf War. The group dissolved after the war stopped. No War But The Class War (NWBTCW) has been used as the name for a number of anti-authoritarian, anti-capitalist groups. ... Left Communism is a term describing a whole range of communist viewpoints which oppose the political ideas of the Bolsheviks from a position which is asserted to be more authentically Marxist and proletarian than the views held by the Communist International after its first two Congresses. ... This article is about the capital of England and the United Kingdom. ... Year 1990 (MCMXC) was a common year starting on Monday (link displays the 1990 Gregorian calendar). ... Year 1991 (MCMXCI) was a common year starting on Tuesday (link will display the 1991 Gregorian calendar). ... For other uses, see Iraq war (disambiguation). ...


The second NWBTCW group appeared in London during the 1999 Kosovo War. This too dissolved after the war stopped. This group also included ex-members of Class War. This article is about the capital of England and the United Kingdom. ... This article is about the year. ... The term Kosovo War or Kosovo Conflict is often used to describe two sequential and at times parallel armed conflicts (a civil war followed by an international war) in the southern Serbian province called Kosovo (officially Kosovo and Metohia), part of the former Federal Republic of Yugoslavia. ...


The third NWBTCW group appeared in London following the U.S. invasion of Afghanistan in October 2001. Efforts, particularly by the Communist Workers' Organisation, to turn this into a network of groups across England failed. A split in the group which was characterised as between theory and practice lead to the 'actionists' leaving to attempt a copy of the Italian Disobedients, which eventually disbanded. The 'theorist' section transmuting itself into the No War But The Class War Discussion Group, which eventually also dissolved. This article is about the capital of England and the United Kingdom. ... For other uses of War in Afghanistan, see War in Afghanistan (disambiguation). ... The CWO is a small British Left Communist party and a section of the International Bureau for the Revolutionary Party. ...


Trivia

  • Class War's skull logo was copied from the logo of the Welsh punk band the Soldier Dolls. The band gave their permission for Class War to use it, but it was copied by anarchist groups all over the world and is still in use.[7]

References

  1. ^ Stewart Home, THE ASSAULT ON CULTURE: utopian currents from Lettrisme to Class War (London: Aporia Press & Unpopular Books, 1988).
  2. ^ Mortarhate discography Showing the records existence.
  3. ^ Download page for mp3.
  4. ^ Angry People site on archive.org
  5. ^ Class War New Zealand
  6. ^ Class War is dead.. Long live the Class War The text of Class War number 73, the final issue of Class War, explaining why the organisation decided to dissolve itself retrieved 6 September 2006
  7. ^ soldierdolls.com more info

Stewart Home (born 1962) is a writer, subcultural pamphleteer, underground art historian, and activist. ...

External links

  • London Class War
  • Death of a Paper Tiger - Reflections on Class War - anarchism comment and criticism of Class War
  • Class War text archive - Repository of articles and texts by and about Class War and the Class War Federation in libcom.org library

  Results from FactBites:
 
Class conflict - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia (956 words)
Class conflict is both the friction that accompanies social relationships between members or groups of different social classes and the underlying tensions or antagonisms which exist in society.
Class conflict is thought to play a pivotal role in history of class societies (such as capitalism and feudalism) by Marxists who refer to its overt manifestations as class struggle.
Class warfare is a term long-used by many socialists (including Marxists and communists, but also anarchists, democratic socialists, etc.) to describe social and political conflicts between classes (groups of people with a different relationship to the means of production, and to each other).
Class War - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia (1281 words)
Class War was then edited by Bristol Class War, and largely assisted by a group of activists from Leeds who had been strongly critical of the "stuntism" of Bone and Scargill, Class War began to move be perceived by many anarchist as moving in a more reformist political direction.
Class War voted to produce a special issue of the paper, the aim being to assess its history, role and direction, with a view to disbanding the organisation.
Class War developed a libertarian culture which was at odds with the authoritarian, politically correct culture normally associated with the Hard left and openly mocked traditional left groups such as the SWP especially after their cooperation with, what Class War saw as reactionaries, such the Muslim Association of Britain.
  More results at FactBites »


 

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