Peter Kropotkin - you say your anarchism was inspired by Siberian indigenous people. What do you think of indigenous revolutionary groups in today’s recent world, like the Naxalites in India?
I sympathize with the root causes that gave rise to the Naxalite revolts, the extreme land inequality, feudal oppression, state violence, police brutality, marginalization of the Aditribal and Dalit communities, and the exploitation by landlords and corporations, and I feel solidarity with the Adivasi resistance to displacement, because Indigenous societies practice mutual aid better than modern states, but — I disagree with the Naxalites vanguardist Leninist party structure, their hierarchical military organizations, their authoritarian discipline, their belief that capturing state power is the goal, and their executions and forced compliance of “class enemies.”
I strongly oppose the idea that peasants should be guided by a revolutionary elite. I believe revolutions must be decentralized, non-hierarchical, voluntary, bottom-up, and cooperative—or else they will just reproduce new oppressive states. The Naxalites’ Maoist organizational model is just a new state in waiting. Their cause is just; but their methods reproduce domination.
Are there Indigenous Revolutionary Movements that you do support?
Yes. I admire and support any indigenous revolutionary movement that retains cooperative traditions such as mutual aid, common land stewardship, decentralized community self-governance, solidarity over hierarchy, and ecological living. I love the Zapatistas in particular — their mandar obedeciendo (“lead by obeying”), their autonomous communes, their anti-state attitude. In Chiapas I believe there is mutual aid in practice, rooted in community, dignity, and the land.
In general, what do you think of modern revolutionary groups?
I support revolutionary organizations with the following features: bottom-up, volunteer-run, mutual aid-based, community-controlled, anti-authoritarian, and focused on dignity, solidarity, and cooperation
I distrust any groups that are Leninist or Maoist vanguard parties, have hierarchical militias, are centralized movements with strict discipline, aim to seize state power rather than transform society, use coercion or forced participation. The means must embody the ends, or the revolution is hollow.