Land And Liberty.

       Life in the modern city is far removed from life in a rural or agricultural area, and though millions of people live crammed into cities, land is still a very important issue. The greedy parasite class knows this well, and gobble up as much of the earth's surface as they can grab. To them land is power, wealth and control, an asset that is above all else.  

      Though the city appears to be the hub, we should never forget we don't just want the factories, market places, and the logistics infrastructure, we also must have the land.

       From an article by London based Anarchist Communist Group, three quotes from Flores Magon:

The anarchist Flores Magon explains why land is crucial to anarchism:

“We want bread for all. We consider it absurd that a few people should possess the earth, and the many not have a place to lay down their heads for rest. We want, then, that the land be accessible to all, just the same as the air, the light, the warm sun rays are there for all creatures on earth. We consider it absurd that those who neither toil nor produce should enjoy all at the expense ‘of those who till and toil and have a life of misery…”

However, Magon made it clear that land was directly linked to liberty:

“We think that political liberty is a beautiful lie so long as it has not for its basis economic liberty and towards the conquest of that liberty our steps are directed… We demand that the proletariat of Mexico organize and by doing so enable itself to take part in the tremendous struggle that alone will liberate the proletariat of this world, the struggle which someday — maybe in the near future-will place all the goods of this earth within the reach and power of all human beings.”

Expropriation is essential if the workers are to be free. Magon:

“In short, I see a society of workers economically free; owning themselves, because, at every step, they own the material on which they work; the land where the potatoes grow; the trees they fell and strip; the timber they fashion into lumber; the houses into which the lumber goes, and so “ad infinitum.” A society purged of tribute to the parasite.”

The article starts with:

       The slogan ‘Land and Liberty’ has long been an anarchist slogan. It was the name of the Russian revolutionary organisation ‘Zemlya i Volya’ in 1878 and was used by the peasants in the Russian Revolution. When women marched in St Petersburg on the 8th of March, 1917, helping to kick off the revolution, the slogan was Bread, Land and Peace. ‘Tierra y Libertad’ was prominent in the Mexican and Spanish Revolutions and is still used today as the name of the Iberian Anarchist Federation paper.

       It is not surprising that land is a key demand. Rural land workers represented the majority of the working population well into the 20th century in much of the world. Land ownership was concentrated in the hands of a few large landowners and people struggled to survive under this semi-feudal system. And it is still an important demand for many peasants and agricultural labourers around the world.

Read the full article HERE: 

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