Our Mission

AFADD is a confederation of anti-authoritarians working toward the realization of a free society. We believe that there can be no justice without freedom, and no freedom without the power to participate directly and democratically in the decisions that affect our lives. This freedom is thwarted whenever one group of people assumes control over another. Thus, we resist not only the domination of the working classes by the ruling class, people of color by white people, women by men, and communities by the state; we struggle against all forms of domination, as they serve only to uphold the power of the privileged, further exploit the oppressed and the earth, and limit everyone’s ability to develop their individual and collective potentials.

We believe that domination, or hierarchy, is the fundamental cause of the current social and ecological crises. Hierarchy is systemic. It is deeply embedded within the ideologies and institutions that govern society. While we strive to transform our personal relationships, we recognize that the systems of power that generate hierarchical social relations must be dismantled and replaced with liberatory institutions of our own making if humanity is ever to be free to collectively determine its future.

Given this, AFADD commits itself to the following objectives:

• Popularizing a call for non-hierarchy, confederated direct democracies, communal economics, social freedom, and an ecological sensibility;
• Helping to build revolutionary movements aimed at fundamental social transformation;
• Confronting hierarchical institutions, including but not limited to capitalism and the state;
• Challenging all systems of oppression, including but not limited to racism, classism, sexism, and heterosexism—within society as well as our own movements;
• Demonstrating active solidarity with movements of oppressed peoples as well as other anti-authoritarians throughout the world via collaborative campaigns of mutual interest;
• Further developing our own analyses and ability to think critically, as well as our reconstructive vision and strategies, and advancing them within social movements; and
• Creating a dual power of strong resistance movements and liberatory counter institutions that inspire and empower people to take directly democratic control over the decisions that affect their lives.

Why a Revolutionary Organization?

The vehicle that we believe offers us the greatest foundation from which to begin to actualize our vision is our revolutionary organization. AFADD is premised upon a shared analysis, vision and strategy; and can provide us with a framework to further develop our ideas, share resources, and unify our action in our struggle for a free society. We do not aspire to be “the movement,” but rather one tendency within it.

Alliance for Freedom and Direct Democracy is a membership-based organization, as opposed to collective or affinity group models of organization. We choose to organize around political affinity, rather than personality or lifestyle affinity, in order to remain politically coherent while keeping the organization as open as possible. We hope that our confederal organizational structure will allow us to act with a high degree of unity and coordination, without sacrificing the benefits of directly democratic decision-making and local autonomy.

Join Us!

Our full manifesto and by-laws can be found on-line at www.afadd.org. There are many other political approaches and organizations, and we encourage you to explore them all. However, if you find that the collection of ideas expressed in our manifesto resonates well with your own, we invite you to join us in our struggle for a free and democratic society.

The history of the Institute for Social Ecology is explored in a timeline of the 29 year history of the ISE, and Brian Tokar examines the significant impact of social ecology on social movements from the 1960s to the present. A related series of articles looks at promising contemporary movements that articulate their visions of direct democracy—Democratic Alternative, from Norway, and the North American based Alliance for Freedom and Direct Democracy.

We also review the latest developments at the Institute for Social Ecology, including a preview of upcoming programs and an update on ISE projects.

Harbinger will continue to publish on an occasional basis, and to bring you the latest developments in the theory and practice of social ecology, as well as news of the ISE. We hope that you find this issue interesting and informative.

Managing Editor

• Michael Caplan

Advisory Board

• Dan Chodorkoff
• Chuck Morse
• Erin Royster
• Sonja Schmitz
• Brian Tokar

Print & Web Design

• Michael Caplan

Copy Editor

• Erin Royster

Contributors

• AFADD
• Beehive Design Collective
• Murray Bookchin
• Michael Caplan
• Dan Chodorkoff
• Cliff Harper
• Democratic Alternative
• Eirik Eiglad
• Mike Flugennock
• Keith McHenry
• Andrea del Moral
• nico
• Jared Rogness
• Erin Royster
• Sonja Schmitz
• Gord Seward
• Peter Staudenmaier
• Brian Tokar
• Ingrid Young

Special Thanks

• Claudia Bagiackas
• Janet Biehl
• Michael Cuba
• Arthur Foelsche
• Heidi Hunt of Mother Earth News
• and the many ISE supporters who donated to support this project!

Disclaimer

Opinions expressed in this publication are those of the authors and do not necessarily reflect the opinions of the Institute for Social Ecology.

Editorial

Credits

What is Social Ecology?

Economics in a Social-Ecological Society
What would economics look like in an ecological society? How might free communities arrange their livelihood? Peter Staudenmaier

Buttercups and Sunflowers
On the Evolution of First and Second Nature: Healing the seemingly disparate relationship between nature and culture by reminding us of the developmental relationship between them. Sonja Schmitz

The Communalist Project
A radical politics for the twenty-first century. Murray Bookchin

A History of the ISE

Education and Community Action
A History of the ISE’s Programs: How the Institute for Social Ecology has changed the world through its educational programs and community involvement.

Social Ecology and Social Movements
From the 1960s to the Present: Exploring the important role of the Institute for Social Ecology in many of the pivotal social and ecological movements of the past four decades. Brian Tokar

Contemporary Movements

Alliance for Freedom and Direct Democracy
Building a movement for confederal direct democracy. AFADD

Report From Maple Hill

Harbinger Committee:

• Claudia Bagiackas
• Michael Caplan
• Daniel Chodorkoff
• Michael J. Cuba

Contributors:

• Amaan – The Oromo and the Ethiopian Empire State
• Murray Bookchin – Interview with Murray Bookchin
• Michael Caplan – The Oromo and the Ethiopian Empire State
• Kai Malloy – Towards a Historical Perspective of Libertarian and Anarchist Education
• Cindy Milstein – What’s in a Name?
• Andrea del Moral – Seeds in the City
• Erin Royster – Hungry for Profit
• Brian Tokar – Radicalizing the Debate
• Amoshaun Toft – Prefigurative Politics in the Pro-Democracy Movement
• David Vanek – Interview with Murray Bookchin

Art Work:

• Michael Caplan – Corn Harvest, Urban Decay Farmers, Commodified Peas, Food as Capital, antiantidisestablishmentarianism
• Mike Flugennock – Liberation!
• Cliff Harper – Pierre-Joseph Proudhon, Max Stirner, Educate, Agitate, Organise, Peter Kropotkin, Emma Goldman
• Peter Kuper – Protest!
• Monthly Review Press – Cover of Hungry for Profit
• Oromia Support Group – Map of Oromia
• Dustin C. Ross – DC Protest
• Marco Tulli – Cover

Layout and Design:

• Michael Caplan

Copy Editing:

• Dan Chodorkoff
• Cheri Killam

Misc.:

• Janet Biehl
• The social ecology community

Disclaimer:

Opinions expressed in this publication are those of the authors and do not necessarily reflect the opinions of the Institute for Social Ecology.