61 lines
2.8 KiB
Plaintext
61 lines
2.8 KiB
Plaintext
Scottish Anarchism
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by Ian Heavens
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Anarchism in Scotland has been surprisingly strong, given the
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numerically small anarchist movement in the U.K. George Woodcock
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doesn't cover it in [1], but mentions that Glasgow and London
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were the traditional centres of British anarchism. John Quail [2]
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describes the formation of anarchist groups in Paisley, Dundee and
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Glasgow, in 1903, and later in Edinburgh; a single edition of a
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syndicalist paper, the Voice of Labour, was produced, and the
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Dundee anarchists tried to reform the jute workers' union along federalist
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lines.
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Tom Mann's 'Industrial Syndicalist', [4] produced in 1910-11, had supporters
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in Glasgow. The Glasgow Anarchist Group, formed by George Barrett
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and John Paton, had fifty members in 1911, including Willie Gallacher,
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who was later elected M.P. for Fife as a Communist. The group was
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active in a seamen's strike, expanded and produced a weekly paper,
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with 34 issues between May 1912 and early 1913.
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The veteran British anarchist Guy Aldred lead a free speech fight on
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Glasgow Green in 1924 ([3]). The Glasgow Anarchist Group had around
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sixty members in 1944; Charlie Baird was the secretary, and other
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activists included Robert Lynn and Eddie Shaw. Interestingly, the
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ideas of both Stirner and Kropotkin were much discussed ('most of the
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comrades could accept the philosophy of Egoism and dovetail it into
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the Syndicalist tendency within the movement'). In Glasgow,
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weekly meetings were held outside Yarrow's, John Brown's and Blythswood
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shipyards, Dalmuir Ordnance Factory, in Paisley, Hamilton and on the
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Mound in Edinburgh.
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This tradition continues; Class War is active in both Glasgow and
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Edinburgh (there is a Class War Postal Workers section in Glasgow),
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the Anarchist Black Cross has a Scottish section, there are several
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anarchist publishers [5] (Counter Information and A K Press in Edinburgh),
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It isn't clear whether the Anarchist Communist Federation,
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the Direct Action Movement or Green Anarchists have support in Scotland.
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The Glasgow Anarchist Summer School, May 29th-30th, is being organised
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by, among others, the same Robert Lynn (now 69) and the son of
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Charlie Baird ('event organised by Summer School group drawn from
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Glasgow Class War, Counter Information, Free University Network,
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Libertarian Social Committee and individual anarchists and libertarian
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socialists').
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[1] 'Anarchism: A History of Libertarian Ideas And Movements', by George
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Woodock, 2nd edition, 1986, Pelican (ISBN 0-14-022697-4).
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[2] 'The Slow Burning Fuse: The Lost History of the British Anarchists'
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by John Quail, 1978, Paladin (ISBN 0 586 08225 5)
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[3] 'Workers City: The Real Glasgow Stands Up', ed. Farquhar McLay, 1988
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Clydeside Press (ISBN 0 9512057 22)
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[4] 'The Industrial Syndicalist', introduced by Geoff Brown, Spokesman
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Books (ISBN 85124 082 8)
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[5] 'Anarchist Yearbook 1993', Phoenix Press (ISBN 0 948984 25 2)
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