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The Spanish Revolution (usually referred to as the
Spanish Civil War) was a remarkable experiment in social
reconstruction, where the workers and peasants of Spain, against
enormous odds, successfully ran their lives according to the
principles of self-management without government and whilst fighting a war against fascism
simultaneously!! It was one of the
most important social experiments in a free society ever undertaken.
The Ex in their single from 1986 which featured
unpublished photos from the Civil War (and which we feature here)
describe the revolution as such... "we
wanted to show the pleasure, imagination, devotion and energy the
Spanish anarchists put in their effort to destroy once and for all
the damned class of boots, tiers and crucifixes. This attempt at
revolution saw an explosion of creativity which only takes place
when you're finally able to conceive of something and follow it
through - to arrange your own life without greed and hate, without
competition and oppression. And we want to describe how this was
immediately attacked, terrorized and destroyed by the state and
bourgeoisie. The freedom of the Spanish people appeared to be the
mortal enemy of the established order."
Extraordinary circumstances brought about the Spanish Civil war and
the anarchist experiment. Whether you think this could happen now or
is even feasible as a society or whether Spain could have carried on
in this manner is debatable. What it doesn't change is the bravery,
heroism of the people who tried and a fascination of a time when it
was clear what as right and what was wrong in contrast to these
confusing times today. |
Militia woman planting the anarchist flag at Las
Ramblas Barcelona 1936 |
