This article is about the organisation and newspaper Class War. See Class war for general information about this subject.
Class War is a UK based anarchist group and newspaper originally set up by Ian Bone and others in 1983.
Origins and stance
The organisation had its origins in Swansea, Wales, developing from a group of community activists who produced a local paper called The Alarm, which focussed on issues such as corruption within local government. Following a move to London, the London Autonomists (including Martin Wright and Pete Mastin) soon became involved and a decision was made to produce a tabloid-style newspaper which would reach a wider audience, particular aimed at young anarchists and pacifists, including followers of the anarcho-punk band Crass.
The articles in Class War criticised pacifism and the Peace movement, arguing the idea that violence is a necessary part of the class struggle.
Stand up and Spit
The paper declared that the enemy was not just a system-wide abstraction, but each and every person who belonged to the ruling class. It advocated active violence against the wealthy, and the paper used colloquial language and gallows humour. One cover was of a cemetary, with the caption, "We have found new homes for the rich." Another suggested that it was "Better Dead than Wed." This was turned into a poster, which was banned by the Ramsgate Police. Anarchists were required to remove the posters they had put up on a McDonalds and WH Smith.
The paper also featured pictures of injured policemen. Class War explained that their intent here was to show that people could 'fight back' against the 'state' rather than be 'passive victims'.
Bash the Rich Revels
Inspired by the Stop The City actions of 1983 and 1984, Class War organised a number of Bash The Rich demonstrations, in which supporters were invited to march through and disrupt wealthier areas of London such as Kensington, and Henley (during the annual Regatta), bearing banners and placards with slogans such as "Behold your future executioners!"
A third Bash The Rich event, scheduled to march through Hampstead in 1985, was largely prevented by a heavy police presence, and was acknowledged by Class War to have been a failure.
The Class War Federation
A national conference was in held Manchester in 1986 and proposed that groups and individuals who produced and supported the paper should form "Class War" groups as part of a national federation with common 'aims and principles'. This alliance was soon infiltrated by police.
A Class War Federation developed, gaining particular prominence in the anti-poll tax movement of the late 80s and early 1990s. When Class War spokesman Andy Murphy praised those who had rioted in Trafalgar Square against the tax as "working class heroes", Class War gained wider media exposure (including a 'tea time' interview with Ian Bone on the Jonathan Ross Show (see Poll Tax riots). 1992 saw the publication of Unfinished Business - The Politics of Class War published jointly with AK Press that set out where Class War came from, and where it wanted to go.
Frustrated at what he saw as "too much dead wood" in the organisation, Scargill left Class War in 1993, to be followed by founder Ian Bone.
Class War was then edited by Bristol Class War, and largely assisted by a group of activists from Leeds who had been strongly critical of the "stuntism" of Bone and Scargill, Class War began to move in a more reformist political direction. However, riots and disturbances were still linked to the organisation by the British media, and in October 1994 the Class War leaflet Keep it Spikey distributed before a riot in Hyde Park against the Criminal Justice Act, returned the organisation to the front pages.
By 1996, with membership falling, Class War members from Bristol and Leeds launched a "review process" to examine the direction the Federation should now take. This resulted in a rejection of Class War's perceived "violent" image. By summer 1996, Leeds Class War were stating that regardless of whatever the rest of the Federation chose to do, issue 73 of Class War would be the last edition they would be involved in.
Class War voted to produce a special issue of the paper, the aim being to assess its history, role and direction, with a view to disbanding the organisation. This would be followed by a conference in London in 1997 to "reforge the revolutionary movement".
In March 1997, Class War formally split at its Nottingham conference between those who would continue as Class War and those who wanted to disband the organisation. It was argued that the group that had rejected so much of the failed practice of the revolutionary left, was now replicating it. The "quitters" went on to produce issue 73 of Class War - An open letter to the revolutionary movement.
Even its harshest critics accept this was a beautifully produced document, although the intended London conference had to be abandoned as London Class War had decided to carry on producing Class War.
With editorship of Class War passing to London, London CW attempted to return the orgaisation more to its direct action roots. Class War in London continued to produce a fiery tabloid, and when rioting broke out in the city of London on June 18th 1999, Class War members were again to the fore.
By 2003, Class War had one of the more popular anarchist websites in the UK, and the group had set up sister branches in the USA, Germany, and Australia.
Whilst many people were disturbed by the group's collective policy of direct action "by all means necessary", including violent action, it was stressed in the paper that the real aim of Class War was to support the working class in its struggles against Capitalist exploitation, with the knowledge that the "ruling class" would ruthlessly crush any resistance it deemed weak. Thus violence was a last but necessary option.