Anarchist symbols

There is a variety of symbols related to anarchism, acracy and anarchy, among which are the "A" circulated, the black flag, and by extension the political use of the color black; Although these symbols are not official, they have been imposed thanks to custom and popularity. Some of these symbols are described below, also commenting on their origins and history.

N#34;A#34; circulated

Description

The anarchist symbol that most people know is the one shown on the left, consisting of the letter "A" capital letter surrounded by a circle: Ⓐ. The words "anarchy", "acracy" or "anarchism" begin with the letter "A" in most languages, making it an internationally recognizable symbol. The circle symbolizes unity; symbol of the balance of the natural order that does not need central command, but flows by itself. Also, in addition to emphasizing the letter 'A', the circle symbolizes determination. Some anarchist groups benefit from the feeling of solidarity with other groups, even though they may be geographically separated and have different views of anarchy. The symbol can be seen as an embodiment of Pierre-Joseph Proudhon's maxim, "Anarchy is order".^{[citation needed]} According to the reading of this symbol, the circle represents the "O" of "order". While the origins of the symbol are not entirely clear, it appears to have existed even before the Spanish Civil War, being adopted as a symbol of the Alliance Ouvrière Anarchiste (AOA), founded in 1956 in Brussels, and to be reinvented again independently in 1964. by the French group, Jeunesse Libertaire. The purpose was to create a symbol that brought together the entire anarchist movement, without distinction of tendencies. In their newsletter they gave their reasons:

Various reasons led us to this: it makes the writings much more accessible, it guarantees more effectiveness in the murals and written on the walls in the streets; and above all, it suggests a wider presence of the anarchist movement in the orbit of many people, besides that it allows to give a common character to all manifestations of anarchism. Secondly, it is a matter of using a practical means which, on the one hand, consists of taking in the shortest possible time to do so as a moral symbol, and on the other, allows easy identification among all anarchist companions. (...) We use the A which is the first letter of the alphabet of all languages and of all time. In short, it facilitates an automatic mental connection and thus helps our propaganda.

Perhaps they found inspiration in the pacifist symbol (the circle with the Algiz rune). The French proposal, apparently, did not have great significance, until two years later, in 1966, a young Milanese anarchist, who was part of the Sacco and Vanzetti circle, began to use it. In 1968 he took to the streets in Milan and in French May 1968 he managed to perpetuate himself. This character can be written in Unicode with U+24B6 (Ⓐ)

History

AGLA's monogram appeared in Stephan Michelspacher's book Spiegel der Kunst und Natur (The Mirror of Art and Nature), which was published in Augsburg, in 1615. It was an alchemical work intensely influenced by Agrippa's views on Kabbalah and Magic. Adam McLean describes the central panel as "two circular diagrams with the German word GOTT (the name of God) around the outside, and the letters Alpha and Omega and the monograph which may be the name of god, AGLA .

This represents the Beginning -Alpha- contained in the end -Omega-, the first and last letter of the Greek alphabet. This is related to the reference in the Book of Revelation to Jesus of Nazareth as "I am the Alpha and the Omega, the First and the Last, the Beginning and the End." (Revelation 22.13).

The first use of an "A" inside a circle by anarchists - although not the same symbol we know today - was from the Spanish Federal Council of the International Workers' Association (I International). It was established by the freemason Giuseppe Fanelli in 1868. The magazine Fight the State told of an anarchist militiaman with the symbol on his helmet during the Spanish Civil War (1936–1939). On November 25, 1956, the French anarchist group Alliance Ouvrière Anarchiste adopted the same symbol as its official emblem. Some sources claim that the French group Jeunesse Libertaire invented the symbol in 1964. However, this is quite doubtful due to the previous appearances of the emblem, despite this the matter is not fully investigated either since there is no conclusive proof of the previous appearances either. For example, it is argued that the emblem of the Federal Council of Spain is not the emblem of a circled A in itself but only a symbol with Masonic emblems that did not have that claim. Some individual errors lead us to believe that this symbol emerged with the anarchopunk movement, which was part of the punk musical movement of the late 1970s. However, the punk movement certainly helped make the symbol known, even among non-white people. anarchists.

Black flag

Description

The color black has been associated with anarchy since the late 19th century. Many anarchist groups contain the word "black" in their names. The uniformity of darkness on the flag symbolizes the fertile (black) land, representing life and the purity of the anarchist ideal (the color black does not get dirty). It also represents internationalism, in which it denies any type of limits. A simple black flag is almost like an anti-flag (colorful flags generally represent symbols of nations). Furthermore, a white flag is the symbol of surrender to a superior force, so a black flag can be seen with the opposite meaning, rebellion, resistance or insubordination. Likewise, in the concept of being an anti-flag, it can symbolize the denial of any ideology, philosophy, cult, tradition (which usually have symbols) in the name of which human beings are enslaved or intended to be enslaved. The black flag can also be related to the Jolly Roger.

History

Some early anarchists identified with the red flag as coming from the tradition of socialism or as a symbol of revolution, historically represented by this color. When in the socialist family there was the final split between Marxists and anarchists, the latter adopted the black flag as a symbol to differentiate themselves from "state socialism" represented by the first. Leaving aside the exact origin of anarchism, it is a fact that the black color of the flag came to be associated with anarchism in the 1880s, as a sign of dawn for the Paris Commune. The first person to make the Black flag The symbol of anarchy was Louise Michel, an anarchist and feminist fighter in the Paris Commune, who made the first flag with pieces of skirts and black rags. The French newspaper Le Drapeau Noir (The Black Flag), which existed until 1882, was one of the first publications to make reference to the use of the color black as a symbol of anarchist thought. "Black International" was the name of a London anarchist group founded in July 1881. In the Russian Revolution, Nestor Makhno's anarchist forces were popularly known as the Black Army. They swept, under the symbol of the black flag, the whites in Ukraine, until the Bolsheviks, led by Lenin, ^{[citation needed]} began the witch hunt of the anarchists and non-Bolshevik revolutionary organizations and movements. More recently, Parisian students carried black (and red) flags during the massive general strike of May 1968. In the same year, these flags were seen at the national convention of the American movement, Students for a Democratic Society. At the same time, the British newspaper Black Flag began its edition, a newspaper that still exists. Today, the black flag remains a symbol of those who support anarchy.

Anarcho-capitalist Flag

Description

Black: Black, in the context of anarcho-capitalism, symbolizes the absence of a central government (anarchy) and the idea of a society without a coercive state system. Anarcho-capitalists advocate the elimination of the state and government authority in favor of a society based on voluntary cooperation and free association between individuals. Black can represent the idea that society can be organized in a peaceful and orderly manner without the need for a centralized government.

Golden (gold): Gold is a color that has historically been associated with wealth, prosperity, and value. In anarcho-capitalism, it could symbolize the importance of private property and the free market as vehicles for the creation of individual wealth and prosperity. Anarcho-capitalists defend the idea that private property and economic freedom lead to general prosperity.

History

It is a political philosophy that promotes anarchy - understood as an organized society without a State - and the protection of the sovereignty of the individual through private property and the free market. In an anarcho-capitalist society, police, courts and all other security services would be provided by privately funded competitors rather than through taxes, and money would be provided privately and competitively in an open market. Therefore, personal and economic activities in anarcho-capitalism would be regulated by the law of private management, rather than through the law of political management.

The principles of political ethics of anarcho-capitalists generally arise from the idea of self-ownership and the principle of non-aggression, which mean respectively the right to control over oneself and one's property and the prohibition of coercion or fraud against people and their property. Anarcho-capitalists consider that the right to property is the only one that can materially make individual rights viable, and that the existence of the State is contradictory to the existence of both rights. In anarcho-capitalist political ethics what is important is how property is acquired and transferred; which indicates that the only fair way to acquire property is through original appropriation based on labor, voluntary exchange (e.g. trade), and donation. While the goal of anarcho-capitalism is to maximize individual freedom and prosperity, this idea recognizes solidarity and communal agreements as part of the same voluntary ethic. From these premises, anarcho-capitalists derive as a logical consequence the rejection of the State - as an institution that exercises the monopoly of legitimized power - and the adoption of free enterprise, where private agencies would offer a market of services - law and security included - for the individuals.

Anarcho-syndicalism and Anarcho-communism

The red-and-black flag is used by both anarcho-syndicalism and anarcho-communism.

Red and black flag

The red-and-black flag unites the black color of anarchism with the red color of socialism or the labor movement. It is normally sewn diagonally, although the first flags were sewn horizontally, however it was changed to mark a difference with national flags that generally have horizontal or vertical stripes. Traditionally the red flag symbolized the labor movement. As said before, although some of the first anarchists had taken it as their banner, later the black flag was preferred to differentiate themselves from the "socialists" (conventional or statist) that also used a red flag. Although there are previous uses of flags that combined both colors in Italy and Mexico, the definitive popularization came when the Spanish union National Confederation of Labor took the red-and-black flag as the banner of anarcho-syndicalism in the 1910s.

Black cat

The black cat, also called "wild cat" or "wildcat" ("wild cat" in English) is normally shown with its back arched and its nails and teeth sticking out. It is especially related to anarcho-syndicalism. It was designed by Ralph Chaplin, a well-known figure within the American union Industrial Workers of the World. The word "wildcat" It gives the idea of wild or fierce in English, so as its position suggests, the cat symbolizes autonomous strikes - not authorized by the union directives - (wildcats strikes) and radical unionism. The origin of the black cat symbol is unclear, but according to one story it comes from a strike that was going through its worst moment. Several of its members had been beaten and sent to the hospital. Suddenly a sickly black cat walked through the strikers' camp. The cat was fed by the striking workers and the moment the cat regained its health the strike took a positive turn. Finally the striking workers achieved some of their requests and adopted the cat as a pet.^{[citation needed]} The name Black Cat has been used by various militant groups. Anarchists share the black cat symbol with witchcraft and Wicca, but neither of the above generally depicts it with its back arched in a fighting stance.

Anarcho-syndicalist hymns

Other emblems

Black cross

The black cross is the symbol of the Anarchist Black Cross, a humanitarian organization that promotes the release of prisoners and proposes the abolition of prison systems by supporting various alternatives to prisons. The cross is a modification of the emblem used by the Red Cross and has a closed fist at the top, a symbol also related to anarchism or the challenge to power. It also represents unity as "many weak fingers together can form a strong fist".

Black rose

The black rose is a very rarely used anarchist symbol. Black Rose Books is the name of a major anarchist bookstore in Montreal and is now the name of a small press publishing imprint headed by anarchist philosopher Dimitrios Roussopoulos. Black Rose was the title of a respected magazine on anarchist ideas published in the Boston area during the 1970s, as well as the name of a series of anarchist conferences led by prominent anarchists such as Murray Bookchin and Noam Chomsky in the 1990s.

Hands clasped

Just as in socialism or communism the clenched fist or raised fist is used as a symbol, in anarchism they are clasped hands.

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  Black Cross

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  Illustration of the symbol of the Black

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  Hands intertwined