What the hell is all this "post-left anarchism" stuff that Infoshop seems to be so into.
I get the impression that it isn't the same thing as Bookchin's "Anarchism after Leftism", or our own attempts at distinguishing ourselves from the Liberal mileu.
Is it just a function of the peculiarly narow American political spectrum, or does it mark a distinct and new current within Anarchism?
What is it, exactly, and how does it differ from anarchist communism?
Don't think its just an USA'ian thing- there's pleanty of people in this country that though involved radical politics don't think of themselves as 'leftist'. The IWCA, i believe, makes clear its not socialist or part of the left. Think in a large part it cos many people see themselves going through a succession of various leftist groups until they arrive at anarchism. Thus the left is often associated with these various trotskite or socialist (or even anarchist) sects that people have moved through.
but i don't think it can be described as a distinct current within anarchism cos it ain't nesseccarily a theoretical rejection that's taking place, post-leftist often still engage in the same issues as left politcs- workplace struggle, anti-war etc and are influenced by left political analysis. Think the rejection is functioning more on an experiencial or aesthetic level than a plain theoertical distincsion. Always find it quite interesting how people have expressed disdade for the left in aesthetic or viseral ways- how a certain form of politics is ugly, how being arround such and such party organisers is like being 'arround shit'. In some sense it quite heartening how people are embodying there politics rather than just dealing with it on a theortical level (not that of course those who identify with the left don't do this).
So post leftisms more one way of being critical about involvement it political movements, rather than a solid theortical body of ideas. The only thing i've noticed in common in alot of 'post-left' critiques is a rejection of 'mass' organisation- that is not of organisation with lots of people in them, but how we think about other people as a 'mass'- an undiferentiated blob of other people.