Bourdieu and Social Movements

Twenty-first-century British anti-capitalism

“…Ideologically speaking, it was also the case that the distinction between say older anarchist groups and the newer autonomist groups were less clear than say in parts of Europe where there can be serious political rivalry. The social centers based on my research showed there to be much overlapping activism and friendship between those who would describe themselves as anarchists and autonomists (Ibrahim 2015). In this sense, social centers were political hubs where When the Dissent!…”

“…Therefore, anarchism in the broadest sense was the driving ideology behind these two networks, either explicitly or implicitly. Moreover, the activists I encountered during my research were predominantly 'anarchical' in their outlook and the political values they held (Ibrahim 2013;2015). That is rejecting all forms of power, striving for freedom and equality, organizing towards mutual aid, and arguing against capitalism, since they perceived it as an economic system of domination.…”

“…Later in the day the protests dispersed, but after the police kettled various groups of protestors and a number of arrests. The majority of the protest went on until early evening around 6pm (Ibrahim 2015). Alongside the Edinburgh protests were the Faslane nuclear base blockade.…”

“…According to my research (see Ibrahim 2013;2015), it is the case that Globalise Resistance was created to build alliances between different activists groups that were anti-neoliberal, but did not fit into the anarchist collective action frame. It was also developed to move away from tactics and strategies of older socialist groups that were based around arguments of class struggle.…”

“…(EF) UK gave rise to spin off groups such as Critical Mass, the WOMBLES, the Social Centers Movement, The purpose of this paper is to provide a potted history of 21 st century British anti-capitalism and show how as an ideology it has taken a new form of critique, which has extended into parliamentary politics on an anti-austerity platform. By drawing on data from activist websites, documents and archives as well as previously published material from my own and activist accounts (see Ibrahim 2013;2015), this chapter can be divided into two main parts. First, it provides the context and background to a new wave of anarchist anti-capitalism that emerged in 1990s through to 2005.…”