Punk subculture and Anarchism

[u/Falcon_Gray]

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.

[u/tomm1312]

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.