This statement originally appeared on Facebook. I am re-posting it here along with my original comments in response.
Here is my response:
Here are the main difficulties that I have encountered with this kind of work:
1. Many anarchists and other libertarians are so committed to their particular economic paradigm that they often dismiss each other as crypto-statists. Some kind of mutual non-aggression pact is necessary on the economic questions.
2. An even bigger issue is the battle between leftists and anti-leftists, who accuse each other of crypto-bolshevism or crypto-fascism. Any kind of rapprochement between the “social justice” anarchists and the fans of Sargon of Akkad is an uphill battle.
3. You will be attacked for your associations regardless of whatever other ideas you have. For many years, I was associated with the alt-right, largely on “anti-American imperialism” grounds. Therefore, I am widely regarded by leftists as a fascist. In more recent times, I have moved toward the anti-imperialist far left, and I expect the accusations of crypto-Stalinism carrying water for Putin, Assad, and the Iranians to start coming.
4. Mainstream politics tends to creep into anti-state movements. Many anarchists and libertarians are merely Blue Tribers or Red Tribers under another name.
5. Anarchists have generally failed to break into the mainstream political culture, in large part because they tend to be oriented toward fringe subcultures on a personal level. At present I lean toward the view of an “anarcho-coalition” that presents itself as a “revolutionary center” that seeks to shun, bypass and marginalize the statist left and statist right while vociferously attacking the establishment center (“No Commies, No KKK, No Fascists, No USA!”).
