This thesis draws upon anarchist communist theory in order to provide a historical account of the New Left and the anarchist movement in New Zealand from 1956 to the early 1980s. This account explains, describes and evaluates critically these movements.
The praxis of the New Left and the anarchist movement can be explained by a variety of social, economic, political, cultural and psychological factors. However, overall, it is argued that these movements were largely shaped by the underlying antagonisms of global capitalism. Because the New Left emerged during a lull in working-class self-activity, the politics of the early New Left and the anarchist movement from 1956 to the late 1960s were generally reformist and quietist. The later New Left emerged during a global resurgence in class-struggle from 1968 to the early to mid 1970s. Consequently, the demeanour of the later New Left and anarchism during this period was boisterous and ebullient.
The New Left in New Zealand was unique in that, compared with the New Left overseas, its major organisations were neither campus-based nor dominated by students. It consisted of young workers and students who jointly established numerous small affinity groups. The early New Left was less action-oriented than the later New Left. It was formed by dissidents from the Old Left and was closely associated with anti-nuclear protest. The later New Left issued from the more confrontational wing of the anti-Vietnam War and anti-apartheid movements, and then dispersed into various new social movements from the early 1970s onwards. The anarchist movement of the 1960s and 1970s was intimately interrelated with the New Left, and hence shared most of its characteristics.
This work employs anarchist communism as a theoretical tool to evaluate critically the innovations and limitations of the New Left and the anarchist movement. In particular, the class-based "non-market" anarchist communist theory of Peter Kropotkin is utilised. The main criterion used for judging the New Left and anarchist movement is their emancipatory capacity to spark a process whereby the underlying social relations of capitalism are fundamentally transformed.
The key strengths of the New Left and the anarchist movement were their sweepingly broad anti-authoritarianism, their festive politics and their focus upon everyday life. The primary weakness of these movements was their isolation from the working-class. The New Left concentrated on supporting nationalist struggles overseas and mostly overlooked domestic class-struggle. Numerous New Leftists and anarchists championed self-management yet did not question the market and the wage-system. This thesis highlights the complexities of the New Left. For instance, the later New Left was genuinely anti-disciplinarian yet often supported totalitarian Stalinist regimes overseas. As a result, it is argued that the New Left was paradoxically both anti-authoritarian and authoritarian.
It is claimed that an updated anarchist communism, integrating the best qualities of the social movements of the 1960s and 1970s with classical anarchist communism, is highly relevant today because of the rise of neo-liberalism and the anti-capitalist movement, and the demise of Stalinism and social democracy.
| Identifer | oai:union.ndltd.org:ADTP/217383 |
| Date | January 2006 |
| Creators | Boraman, Toby, n/a |
| Publisher | University of Otago. Department of Political Studies |
| Source Sets | Australiasian Digital Theses Program |
| Language | English |
| Detected Language | English |
| Rights | http://policy01.otago.ac.nz/policies/FMPro?-db=policies.fm&-format=viewpolicy.html&-lay=viewpolicy&-sortfield=Title&Type=Academic&-recid=33025&-find), Copyright Toby Boraman |
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