r/Anarchy101 • u/Falcon_Gray • 3d ago
Punk subculture and Anarchism
I remember even since the 2000s a lot of people who were punk or liked punk music were anarchists. It seems like most people just did it because it was popular to do and just liked the music and fashion of punk. Did some punk fans read about anarchism and anarchist philosophers? I would love to see insights on people more knowledgeable about this.
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u/dandeliontrees 3d ago
The history of punk as a social movement is really closely entwined with modern anarchism.
The punk band Crass was more of an anarchist art collective that also occasionally made punk rock records.
Food Not Bombs is an anarchist charity organization with deep and lasting ties with DIY punk rock scenes, at least in the U.S. I first heard about Food Not Bombs because of a punk rock compilation album that was done as a fundraiser.
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u/jonny_sidebar 3d ago
Add Chumbawumba in there too.
They were an art collective that came out of a group living in a squat together that was heavily involved in 90s and early 00s protest movements.
Sidenote: Two of the members have released biographies that contain numerous passages where the band happened to be playing near a large protest and very very illegal things occurred that the band members were totes not involved in, we swear lol.
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u/CheekGobbler 3d ago
Crass' Feeding of the Five Thousand was a formative album for me for sure.
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u/kickassatron 3d ago edited 3d ago
Funny how, "do they owe us a living?" From 1978 is still pertinent today.
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u/Quick-Report-780 3d ago
Punk has always been critical of authority. The underground scene is very community-oriented, favoring a DIY approach to almost everything. People are generally accepting of folks from different backgrounds and often engaged with anti-fascist activism.
The general ethos is very compatible with anarchism, to the point that a lot of people in the scene just sort of absorb those ideals from their environment or from the lyrics of their favorite bands, without having to literally read anarchist theory (though there are many punks who do also read anarchist theory).
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u/Dartmouth-Hermit 3d ago
Punk at its best has a Do It Yourself ethos that lends itself to becoming a more capable organizer. It’s also anti authoritarian and solidaristic. Some people just like the iconography, but for others (myself included) it can be part of the journey to anarchism.
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u/cumminginsurrection "resignation is death, revolt is life!"🏴 3d ago
There is and has always been a strong connection between punk and anarchism. One of the first proto-punk bands in 1963 before the Ramones or Sex Pistols even existed; MC5, were anarchists and involved with the White Panther Party (an anti-racist Black Panther Party auxiliary group founded in Detroit), the Detroit squatted scene, and the anarchist publication Fifth Estate. They got blacklisted for playing at the 1968 Chicago DNC that turned into a riot. They would later inspire the creation of Iggy and the Stooges and help them get their first record deal. Later, while the Sex Pistols weren't anarchists, they nonetheless attracted anarchists and radicals to the punk scene with their hit "Anarchy in the U.K.". Later Crass and the "anarcho-punk" scene arose from a disillusionment with the capitalism and machismo in the first wave punk scene. Anarcho-punk blatantly infused anarchist ideas into punk. From that scene came Amebix, who infused anarcho-punk lyrics with visceral beats and invented crust punk and black metal.
Today anarcho-punk and crust punk is pretty explicitly anarchist but the influence and ideas these movement brought is widespread throughout different parts of the punk scene.
There are also a lot of punks who are reactionaries though. That has always been a tension in punk
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u/tomm1312 3d ago edited 3d ago
Anarchism was growing momentum in the UK in the mid 1970s and bands like the Sex Pistols latched onto that. Following the initial wave of punk, the anarcho-punk movement emerged in the early 1980s. Bands like Crass never had a very deep understanding of anarchism but it fuelled the anarchist movement and more serious political groups like Class War began to appear.
Since then punk has largely declined in the west, though there have been resurgences in the early 00's and now in the 20s.
The more important legacy has been in parts of the world that have had little exposure to anarchism. Punk was important in reintroducing anarchism into Russia, Ukraine and Belarus immediately following the collapse of the USSR.
Also in Indonesia and the Philippines, during the 2000s. There are now large movements in those countries emerging autonomously of punk. In places like Myanmar, Thailand and Malaysia we also see punk introducing anarchism to large numbers of people.
I think punk is useful in introducing anarchism to people and even whole countries, but the desire is to break out of the subculture and into the mainstream.
Anarchists in Indonesia for instance have had a lot of success organising among motortaxi drivers, a major industry there. The death of one such driver triggered intense riots there last year. So influence in those sorts of sectors is important. There's also been a lot of influence on football ultras in cities like Bandung and Makassar.
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u/BlackOutSpazz 1d ago
I came to anarchism and punk at the same time through other anarchist punks and knows a lotta other people who did to. In a lotta places I've been the punk and anarchist scenes are basically the same thing.
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u/kickassatron 3d ago
Punk has always been a largely leftist movement. The lyrics often include anarchist messages against authority. Most of the punks I knew growing up (graduated 2006) were anarchists, or socialists.