The idea of revolution is one that pervades human history, although it does not always take the same form, this being inherent to the very idea. The revolution of the Americans was not the revolution of the Russians or that of the Fascists. The revolution itself belongs to no one, except those whom are able to create a radical change in the institutions and social values of their given societies. So it is with this understanding that we, as Anarchists whom uphold the idea of revolution, must come to terms with.

If we as Anarchists are to proclaim the need for revolution, then we must be clear and precise in what our vision is and what we want. Without a firm understanding of our ideas of the revolution, then it becomes easy to fall into counter-productive, even counter-revolutionary thoughts and actions as how can we determine what is and is not revolutionary if we do not have a concise understanding ourselves?

The masses themselves have been subjugated to the internalization of authoritarian mentalities that the liberatory ideas of the Anarchists are understood to be as irrational and chaotic. So here in lies a contradiction. How are we, as Anarchists, to make our vision of revolution that of the masses?

This revolutionary impulse, this need for a dramatic change in the institutions and values of our society for one based in the rational, autonomous and self-governing capabilities of the masses, can be entirely alienating:

“The alienation we are talking about here is a lack of something, (a process of generic alienation) but is also a lack of oneself, the self that identifies with revolutionary totality. It is precisely this perspective (totality) that provides an outlet from the general form of alienation without, moreover, managing to completely avoid the danger of alienation reemerging through the frustration of the need for revolutionary totality.”i

The very vision of a revolutionary society that we seek can hold both inspiration and despair. While this vision can fill us with a sense of grounding and direction, it can also be incredibly stifling in so far as our current reality does not match that of our vision. This can lead us to act in counter-productive and counter-revolutionary manners, as our need for change becomes so great that we will gladly accept anyone or anything that offers a quick fix or easy solution.

It becomes counter to our goals in so far as our need for change causes us to become frustrated with the current lack of self-organizing and awareness of revolutionary potentiality among the masses to the point where this frustration becomes internalized and the masses are seen as ever incapable of organizing themselves. In this case, it is easy to see why some fall into a vanguard mentality. Rather than seeing ones self as a part of the struggle of the masses, the question simply becomes a matter of how we as revolutionaries might organize the masses. We, supposedly, would be able to take the problems and issues of the masses and put forth solutions on their behalf. In doing so, one makes the masses reliant on the policies and decisions of the vanguard, ultimately abolishing the very vision of the Anarchist revolutionaries.

It may seem like a contradiction, Anarchists acting in a vanguard mindset, but it is a genuine concern that we as anti-authoritarians must come to terms with if we are to be able to confront the task of the revolution. When we separate our ideas, thoughts and actions from that of the masses, even the most anarchistic of organizations can become insular, rigid and alienated from the reality of struggle, ultimately making themselves into that of a vanguard with Anarchist labels. The task becomes less about the actual “quality” of the masses, that is to say in their actualization of revolutionary principles through their own self-conscious thought and action, but rather on “quantitative” concerns such as simply recruiting as many numbers as is possible to the “anarchist” cause, which in this case means a shallow parroting of ideology rather than actualization of anarchic ideas.

In order to overcome “revolutionary alienation” and avoid constructing ourselves as a vanguard, we must first become conscious of this alienation itself. When we do this, we can then begin to recognize the tension between our own reality and struggles in relation to our revolutionary visions. With self-awareness of this “revolutionary tension” we are able to then consciously relate it to that of not only our fellow revolutionaries, but also the tension of the masses in their search for change in reality. Revolutionary tension situates us in a such a way that Anarchist revolutionaries may enter into discourse with the masses through our common struggles, while also allowing Anarchists to clarify and relate the ideas of Anarchism to that of the masses themselves.

If we, as Anarchists, desire a society based in the freedom and equality of individuals and their communities to be self-governing, creative and rational, then we must take seriously the task of revolution and what it entails specifically for us as Anarchists. It requires us to be critical and self-aware of revolutionary alienation, which may always make itself present in revolutionary tension. It is through this tension with the masses, that between ourselves as Anarchist revolutionaries in discourse with the masses, that they will be able to clarify and understand our revolutionary vision, taking on the task of self-governance in their lives and in their struggles becoming conscious of their own potentiality for freedom and equality. This, I would personally hope, will lead to not just a movement, but a society in which the very need for specifically Anarchist revolutionaries will cease to exist.