Anti-Capitalist Bloc @ the RNC
by erin - anti-capitalist bloc Thursday, Jul 17 2008, 12:31am
erinzona.s@gmail.org phone: 707.499.8276
north america / mexico / anarchist movement / other libertarian press

Call out to the bloc/Principles of Solidarity

If you're planning to be in the Twin Cities during the RNC and are interested in class struggle anarchism, please contact us and hear about our events and projects!

Call out to join the Anti-Capitalist Bloc @ the RNC

***Please Forward***

A Call for an Anti-Capitalist Bloc (Red & Black Bloc) at the RNC Protests September, 2008 * Twin Cities, Minnesota * anticapbloc@iww.org

On “Labor Day” 2008, and throughout the Republican National Convention (RNC), tens of thousands of people from our community and from across the Unites States will protest against the GOP’s pro-corporate policies of war and discrimination. The Anti-Capitalist Bloc will join these mobilizations not just to protest a bad president or failed policies, but to stand up against the whole system of exploitation and oppression: capitalism.

It is the inherent character of capitalism that is creating the current economic crisis. Tens of thousands of laid-off workers, thousands of homes in foreclosure, and quickening inflation of gas and food prices are all signs of a system out of control, a system where the sins of the bosses are visited on the masses of workers.

Capitalism needs wars and exploitation to maintain itself. The war in Iraq was not simply a blunder by W., but the extension of a long-term strategy of U.S. domination of that region. The forced displacement of the poor of New Orleans is a new episode in an old legacy of racist subjugation. The recent raids against immigrant workers show the insidious connection between racism, and the system’s needs for a low waged precarious workforce. Continued oppression of women and the hatred whipped up against the GLBT community are designed to reinforce an authoritarian patriarchal culture.

Not a conspiracy or mistaken policy, capitalism is a system in which a small ruling class profits from the labor of the working class majority. The stolen wealth is used to dominate the political system (including both major political parties), and finance a massive apparatus of repression, cooptation and division necessary to maintain capitalist rule. While the earth warms, and bridges collapse, the capitalists continue to do whatever is necessary to increase their profits. To defeat their attacks we must defeat their entire system.

The Anti-Capitalist Bloc stands for solidarity, direct action, the general strike and revolution. We advocate an economic system controlled collectively and democratically, and an end to the racism, sexism and violence of the capitalist system.

Is this a black bloc like in Seattle? No. While remaining tactically flexible, our goal is not a confrontation with the police, but to raise the profile of organized working class direct action against capitalism. The Anti-Capitalist Bloc is independent from, but not competitive with or hostile to the RNC Welcoming Committee.

Join Us Under the Red & Black flags of the Anti-Capitalist Bloc!


Tentative schedule of Anti-Capitalist Bloc events:

*Saturday Night August 30th
CONCERT
Bands and DJ’s TBA

*Sunday Afternoon August 31st
DAY of ACTION AGAINST PRECARITY:
SOLIDARITY with I.W.W. IU640 ORGANIZING!

*Monday September 1st “Labor Day”
ANTI-CAPITALIST BLOC in major march against the war

*Tuesday morning September 2nd
Anti-Capitalist Bloc Panel Discussion

*Tuesday afternoon September 2nd
ANTI-CAPITALIST BLOC in POOR PEOPLE’s MARCH
also
*Solidarity with Independent Truckers Actions


To endorse the Anti-Capitalist Bloc, or to get more information:

anticapbloc@iww.org or 612-339-1266.


Initial Endorsements:

Anti-Capitalist Alliance Twin Cities
tc-anti-cap@lists.riseup.net

Twin Cities General Membership Branch
Industrial Workers of the World (I.W.W.)
TwinCities@iww.org * 612-339-1266

Macalester College chapter
Students for a Democratic Society (SDS)
macpeace.justice@gmail.com

Solidarity & Defense
P.O.Box 15024 Detroit MI 48215
sd@riseup.net * solidarityanddefense. blogspot. com

ANTI-CAPITALIST BLOC PRINCIPLES OF SOLIDARITY

1. ABOLITION OF CAPITALISM

We seek to abolish capitalism in favor of a system based on direct and democratic control of the means of production. The poverty, warfare, oppression and environmental devastation that are inherent in the capitalist system can only be ended by eliminating that system.

2. DIRECT ACTION AND DIRECT DEMOCRACY

We believe that the mass direct action of the working class and its allies, working through democratic organizations, can abolish the capitalist system. We reject the notion that we should wait for experts or politicians, elected or otherwise, to accomplish our goals on our behalf.

3. SOLIDARITY WITH ALL OPPRESSED PEOPLE

We honor the struggles and experiences of all oppressed peoples, whether their oppression is based on race, sex, gender, disability, age, sexual identity, or other social constructs. We know that defeating capitalism requires the solidarity of all oppressed peoples, and we commit ourselves to organizing in ways that do not recreate the hierarchies we resist.

4. INTERNATIONALISM

We reject national borders and nation-states as artificial barriers. We support no action or ideology that separates the working classes of the world, encouraging them to ignore each other at best, exploit each other most of the time, and kill each other at worst.

5. ORGANIZING

We will build networks of solidarity to organize and effectively support community struggles in our neighborhoods, workplaces, and cities. Protest is not enough. We participate in the Anti-Capitalist Bloc in order to promote and move toward our goal of a just and democratic world free from the disease of capitalism.