What is Love & Rage?

Love & Rage is an organization of revolutionary anarchists who are opposed to all forms of oppression, including capitalism, racism, patriarchy and the state. We are working for the creation of a multi-racial, anti-authoritarian, classless society. We work for a society based on mutual aid, voluntary cooperation, solidarity, and collective economics.

We live in an authoritarian society. We live in a capitalist system where a tiny few make profits off of the misery and sweat of the vast majority. This system needs to be destroyed. We also live in a society where men dominate women, queers get bashed, and some people are oppressed because they are of the “wrong” race. These injustices will not just disappear if capitalism is overthrown. Capitalism depends on white supremacy and male domination to function, but these systems of everyday terror have lives of their own. Love and Rage attacks these systems of oppression because they are evil and because we believe that smashing them will bring the whole system crashing down, too.

Revolution Requires Organization

Transforming a society based on domination to one based on equality requires a fight. Racism, sexism and class domination cannot be reformed away because the powers that be won’t voluntarily give up their wealth and comfort for others’ freedom. That’s why Love and Rage is a revolutionary organization.

Revolution is not the act of a leader or political party seizing state power. It is a movement of millions acting to change their lives for the better. Such a movement will inevitably be diverse and complex. The revolutionary challenge is to build alliances among the many alienated, exploited and oppressed parts of society in order to fight for change.

What is the role of a revolutionary organization in this kind of mass movement? Obviously, it should not aim to force the entire movement to conform to its ideology. That’s why Love and Rage does not see itself as the organization that will “lead” a revolutionary movement. While we certainly put forward our politics and hope that our politics influence the direction of mass movements, we aim to help build movements and to participate in them as equals with other organizations and people who have different ideologies and strategies. Within mass movements we argue for the most democratic and militant politics possible, and we encourage struggle against all forms of oppression.

Who We Are and What We Do

Love and Rage began in 1989 as a continental anarchist newspaper project and became a network of local groups in 1991. In 1993, the network become the Love &Rage Revolutionary Anarchist Federation with clear terms of membership and a commitment to developing a common politics.

As a federation, Love and Rage is composed of local groups in numerous cities and some individual members. We publish two newspapers (one in English and one in Spanish in Mexico). We have three main areas of work that we coordinate together as a federation: AntiFascism, Anti-Police, and Anti-Poverty / Neo-Liberalism.

In our Anti-Fascist work we build anti-racist groups, campaigns and direct action. We have actively participated in building the AntiRacist Action Network. We also mobilize efforts to counter the growing Religious Right and its patriarchal and oppressive agendas. We have participated in mobilizations against Columbus Day celebrations; anti-Klan demonstrations throughout the Midwest, South and East Coast; in mobilizations against Christian Right groups such as Human Life International (HLI); and in mobilizations and campaigns for reproductive freedom and against violence against women.

We do Anti-Police work in varying ways. Some of us are involved in Copwatch programs that confront the police on the beat and raise public opposition to the cops as they perform their dastardly duties. Many of us are involved in specific police brutality cases, mobilizing public outrage against the cops and support for the victims, their families and communities. We do work against the police, not just against police brutality. Police are agents of the state who protect the powerful and their property.

Our Anti-Poverty / Neo-liberalism work has a feminist perspective and focuses on fighting budget cuts to education and welfare, fighting workfare, and building campaigns for a living wage. We have also made international links, showing the connections between neo-liberal economic policies of privatization and austerity in the US and in Third World countries, especially Mexico.

Love and Rage has a branch in Mexico, called Amor y Rabia. Amor y Rabia is active in Mexico City, and also helped initiate a Direct Solidarity Encampment in a village of Chiapas in Zapatista territory. There they have helped open a women’s center, a libertarian school, and a health clinic. Our US and Canadian members mobilize material aid and political support for Amor y Rabia and for the Direct Solidarity Encampment by building Direct Solidarity Committees.

The most important work Love and Rage members do is local organizing. Each member is expected to participate in mass organizing. The bulk of our work is done locally in larger grassroots groups such as Anti-Racist Action, Student Liberation Action Movement, Anarchist Black Cross, and other locally-based organizations and campaigns. We believe in building sustainable, radical, democratically-run mass organizations.

The purpose of Love and Rage is to connect this local work to similar efforts throughout the continent and to work for the most democratic politics within local organizations. We can also help local work by providing resources, ideas, a place to debate and develop strategy, and organizers.

Love and Rage is a directly democratic organization. Major decisions are made by the entire membership at bi-annual conferences. Smaller decisions in between conferences are made by the Federation Council, a delegate council composed of representatives of each Love and Rage local group. Administrative activities are carried out by the Federation Office and an elected Coordinating Committee. Open debate is encouraged; we have no party line and no party bosses. We are organized in this way because we believe that the structure of our organization should reflect the kind of society we want to live in: democratic, participatory, accountable, and anti-authoritarian.

Getting Involved

Love and Rage has two types of involvement: Member and Supporter. Love and Rage members are active in building mass movements; participating in the internal life of the organization; studying revolutionary history and theory; and promoting our revolutionary anarchist politics. People who, for whatever reason, can’t maintain a high level of activity can join Love and Rage at the Supporter level. Supporters can come to meetings, participate in internal debate, contribute financially, and work on projects of the organization, but do not have votes at the continental conferences.

To become a member or a supporter you need to be endorsed by two current members. If you are interested in joining but don’t know two members, write the Federation Office or your local group and we can help you out.

Creating a truly free society means building a grassroots movement that fights all forms of oppression. It requires acting locally and globally. It means fighting against injustice while creating a just society now. If you are a part of this struggle and like what we have to say, get in touch.★