Black Rose/Rosa Negra Anarchist Federation

Tag: The Left in Power

  • One Year Later: Reflections on the Nicaraguan Uprising

    By Tanya H.F. and Mark A. This post is a place holder for the article which appear soon.

  • A Letter to Intellectuals Who Hide Behind the Word “Purity”

    A commentary responding to the Monthly Review Online piece “A letter to intellectuals who deride revolutions in the name of purity” on the question of revolution and state power. By Patrick Berkman “I think we could really not just lose people but lose sight of our own goals if we get sucked into these purity…

  • What Went Wrong for the Municipalists in Spain?

    As Spain’s municipalist parties suffered a major setback in May’s elections, Barcelona based author Peter Gelderloos writes on how their own actions and inactions are largely to blame for the loss of support. For those not familiar, municipalism is a political current which emphasizes the building of participatory democracy at the local level through the…

  • Socialist Dog Catchers (or Presidents) Won’t Save Us

    A commentary engaging the debate around the socialist left’s relationship to electoral politics and the call for “A Socialist in Every District.” Patrick Berkman sheds new light on the history of socialist electoralism while spelling out a clear alternative vision. By Patrick Berkman There’s a certain type of socialist that reminds me of highway planners.…

  • Climbing The Ladder: Brown Politicians Will Not Save Us

    In the rush to celebrate the new found diversity of the recently elected Congress, we may miss the larger picture and purpose of structures of power in the U.S. Ella Mendoza is an undocumented organizer based in Salt Lake City, Utah and the artist behind the accompanying artwork. Follow them on Instagram. By Ella Mendoza…

  • Class War in Social Democratic Sweden

    Two activists with the SAC syndicalist union in Sweden write on the “Peace Obligation” proposal which would effectively outlaw strikes and workplace actions outside of narrow conditions. The piece explains both the political context for the proposal – crafted jointly by employers and major unions and backed by the Social Democratic Party – as well as the…

  • Abolishing ICE by Funding It

    Abolishing ICE by Funding It

    In spite of promises to “Abolish ICE,” Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez and other newly elected progressive Democrats voted to fund it on their very first day in office. Some may find the arguments presented in this commentary about AOC surprising but this fits well within the statements she made in a recent 60 Minutes interview that “She’d…

  • Socialist Faces in High Places: Elections & the Left

    Socialist Faces in High Places: Elections & the Left

    A critical collection of writings looking at left electoralism and strategy in the US and internationally. DOWNLOAD A FREE COPY: PDF | ibook WHITE BACKGROUND FOR PRINTING: PDF | ibook (Introduction Below) Contents Introduction, Black Rose/Rosa Negra Social Media Team The Lure Of Elections: From Political Power To Popular Power by Frank Ascaso, Enrique Guerrero-López,…

  • Putting Brazil in Context: The Fall of the Workers Party

    Introduction by Adam Weaver With the election of far-right politician Jair Bolsonaro to the presidency of Brazil many are struggling for answers as to how the world’s fifth most populous country elected a president who openly praises the Brazil’s former dictatorship and has threatened to jail left political opponents. At the same time the charismatic…

  • Elections, Power, & the DSA: The Failure of the Left in Power

    Podcast: Play in new window | Download Recently It’s Going Down podcast interviewed a member of Black Rose/Rosa Negra Anarchist Federation, Patrick, on a wide range of topics related to the utility of electoral politics for advancing socialist politics and the fight for a new world. Covered are both recent and past examples of the left winning power…