Direct Action is a phrase that gets thrown around a lot
when describing anarchist tactics….
and rightly so, since it’s one of the main
ways anarchists put our values of autonomy,
self-organization and mutual aid into practice.
So… what is it exactly?
Well, a simple definition would be to say that
a direct action is a political action
aimed at achieving a specific goal or objective,
and which is carried out directly by an individual
or group of people, without appealing
to a higher authority for legitimacy.
Now, this broad definition covers a huge range of activities…
everything from banner drops, to prison breaks.
And it doesn’t necessarily tell us much
about the politics of those carrying out the action itself
Direct actions are tactics–
meaning that they are a specific type of action that
can be used to implement a wide variety of strategies.
While you don’t have to be an anarchist in order to
carry out, or to participate in a direct action,
the concept itself holds a special importance
for anarchists and other anti-authoritarian radicals.
And that’s because well-timed and well-executed
direct actions can offer an escape from the endless
cycle of representational politics, which
assumes its highest form in the state.
The German philosopher Max Weber famously defined
the state as a monopoly on the legitimate
use of physical force.
In other words, state violence, whether dispensed
by a politician’s pen, a judge’s gavel, or a cop’s baton,
is a manifestation of legitimate force, and
a harsh reminder of the state’s role
as the ultimate mediator of social conflict.
This mandate includes everything from
interpersonal disputes that end up settled in the courts,
or by someone calling the cops…
all the way up to the broader conflicts that spring
from systemic inequality and the structural
imbalances inherent to capitalism, colonialism,
white supremacy, ableism and hetero-patriarchy.
In its purest form, direct action does not
aim to persuade those in power, but seeks to foster
and assert the power of those
carrying out the action themselves.
When people carry out a direct action,
they are rejecting the state’s monopoly
on decision-making, and asserting their own autonomy
while providing an example for others to follow.
To take just one example, rather than petitioning
a politician to vote against the construction of a pipeline
or appealing to state-controlled regulatory bodies,
those who favour a direct action approach
often find it more effective and empowering
to go out and block the pipeline themselves… directly.
Direct action can also be used to set up
networks of mutual aid.
Fifty years ago, the Black Panthers were faced
with the reality of widespread poverty and lack of
service provision in their communities.
Rather than appealing to the government, or
to the conscience of White America,
the Panthers set to work organizing
their own health clinics and breakfast programs
for hungry school children.
These programs were part of a broader strategy
of building community power, and were identified by
FBI Director J Edgar Hoover as a primary
threat to national security – by which he meant
a threat to the legitimacy of the state, and
the white supremacist power structure that upholds it.
Because they transgress the official channels of
politics, and often the law itself,
direct action campaigns are inevitably met
with a whole toolbox of tactics aimed at bringing
conflicts back under state control.
These can range from state and corporate-funded
non-profits infiltrating and co-opting grassroots
movements in order to force a change in tactics
or leadership, all the way up to extreme repression,
such as mass incarceration and targeted assasinations
carried out by state and paramilitary forces.
Although as a concept, direct action has probably
existed for as long as there have been hierarchies
to rebel against, the term itself dates back
to the early workers movement, where it was
used to describe militant practices such as
industrial sabotage and wildcat strikes.
By physically blocking production, and collectively
defending themselves from repression,
workers were able to force concessions
from their capitalist masters.
The widespread use of these tactics eventually led to
the legalization of trade unions and a whole host of
concessions aimed at bringing the more radical
sections of the workers movement
back under state control.
One of the most significant heydays of direct action
in modern history took place in 1970s Italy.
Faced with a housing crisis provoked
by capitalist restructuring of the economy,
thousands of migrants from the country’s south
squatted apartment blocks, and physically defended
families from eviction.
When the government attempted to hike transit fares
and energy costs, tens of thousands of people refused
to pay the increased rates, in collective actions
known as auto-reductions.
Italy was, at that time, a deeply religious, conservative
and rigidly patriarchal country, in which both abortion
and divorce were illegal.
Within this context, a fearless women's liberation
movement organized an underground network of clinics,
with doctors and nurses providing hundreds of
volunteers, with necessary skills
to perform clean and safe abortions.
This direct action approach to reproductive health was
complimented by massive and regular demonstrations
calling for the legalization of abortion,
which were ultimately successful.
In our current age of increasing polarization,
uncertainty and insecurity, direct action offers a way for
our movements to build and assert our collective power,
both to defend our communities,
and to fight for the world we want to live in.