My problem with the mass movement model isn’t with the idea that we want lots of people to participate. That’s not up for debate. But there’s this kind of arrogance vanguard parties historically approach revolutions with that involves imposing their own political strategies on communities that may already have their own forms of self-organization that are less legible to the state. I also don’t believe there is the single working class that this “mass” model implies. I don’t believe there has ever been one. At best, we can say there are many working classes, many relationships to economy, race, and gender—all of which form the bases for their own revolutionary struggles. And, as anarchists, we should see this as a good thing. We should never raise one single banner and force everyone behind it. We need to meet people where they’re at.
Neal Shirley, Dixie Be Damned, But Damn Everything Too
