Left-Communist Group of Vietnam

We've recently had the opportunity to interview a Vietnamese Anarchist. Because Vietnam is a police state, we thought it would be best to not ask them too many questions which may be used by the State to incriminate them. Apologies in advance. If you would like to see something specific about Vietnam, please email us. Q: For our readers who are unfamiliar with the philosophy, could you explain what Anarchism is? A: Anarchism is an ideal where the autonomy of the individual is of most importance. Q: What methods of change are preferred by Anarchists? Could there be ballot-box Anarchism? A: Anarchism requires revolution, it's impossible to destroy societal hierarchical classes by submitting yourself to the game of the powerful. Q: And for social organization, how would society look if it was anarchist? A: I think there will be organizations within local communes, which will cooperate together on the basis of mutual assistance and free association. Q: What or who would you say was...

  Nowadays, it is not uncommon to hear someone compare Council Communists to Anarcho-Syndicalists despite the vast gap which exists between the two tendencies. Thus, we thought we should clear the air around the subject and explain the differences between Council Communists and Anarcho-Syndicalists. Unions The most obvious point of contention regards unions. Council Communists, such as ourselves, completely disregard unions as revolutionary organizations. Unions have only ever been, and can only ever be, pseudo-reformist bodies. They exist to get concessions from capitalists (i.e. higher wages, shorter working hours) in essentially the same fashion as social democrats. This was true even in their heyday. In the present day, though, they have been almost completely integrated into the capitalist state, and won’t ever vouch for real revolutionary action. The programme of the Communist Workers Party of Germany said it best: “ [I]t is necessary to resolutely reject the trade unions, an...