Are shopkeepers the only true
anarchists? The idea came to mind this week on reading a really
wonderful new book by Yale professor James C Scott called Two Cheers
for Anarchism, which defends anarchism as a political principle and
attacks large institutions, whether state or corporate. The most
brilliant chapter offers a defence of the petty bourgeoisie, a class
to which I now happily belong.
Prof Scott points out that when
American wage slaves, tied down to factory jobs, are asked by opinion
polls what sort of work they would prefer, most say they yearn to run
their own shop, restaurant or farm. Prof Scott goes on to say that,
"the desire for autonomy, for control over the working day and
the sense of freedom and self-respect such control provides, is a
vastly under-estimated social aspiration for much of the world's
population".
The life of a shopkeeper has
traditionally been viewed with scorn by middle-class professionals,
Marxists and aristocrats alike, to whom "trade" is a dirty
word. The petty bourgeoisie was viewed with distaste by the Bolshevik
state. Indeed, states in general seem unfriendly to small business:
it is the leaders of giant corporations and banks who are given time
by Downing Street, not small businesspeople.
But it is the petty bourgeois who are
the really responsible citizens, in that they get on with making and
selling, and do not hang around waiting for the state to help them
out. They might work long hours for a low income, but this is seen as
preferable to being slowly strangled in a boring job for the state or
big business.
Scott: "I believe the petite
bourgeoisie and small property in general represent a precious zone
of autonomy and freedom in state systems increasingly dominated by
large public and private bureaucracies. Autonomy and freedom are,
along with mutuality, at the centre of an anarchist sensibility. Second, I am convinced that the petite bourgeoisie performs vital
social and economic services under any political system."
To be sure, running a small shop is no
easy task. You are subject to pretty much the same rules as any large
company as far as VAT, employment law, health and safety, insurance
and tax are concerned. In fact, you may pay a larger percentage of
your profits (if any) in tax than big companies, as the recent fuss
over the tax arrangements of several megaliths has demonstrated. The
Booksellers Association is to be commended this week for producing
window stickers for independent booksellers which read: "We Pay
Our Taxes!"
Small shops provide a social service
which the likes of Amazon can never match. The door is always open
and anyone can wander in for a browse and a chat. The shopkeeper
greets you with a friendly smile. He or she can trade joys and woes
with you. "One sees that the shopkeepers are unpaid social
workers, providing brief but amiable companionship to their steady
clientele," writes Prof Scott.
Having been delighted by these
reflections, I was also delighted to read my copy of the new
Anarchist Voices magazine. Here I read an article by former teacher
Chris Draper which put into words an issue that had been worrying me,
namely: how can anarchists, who look forward to a withering of state
control, also whinge about cuts? Logically speaking, they should
welcome cuts as a step towards individual self-reliance. Draper
writes: "Anarchists should regard state cuts as an opportunity
and respond creatively with ideas for voluntary, collective
solutions, not mindlessly parrot socialist anti-cuts slogans."
You could even make the same argument
for jobs: if anarchists are serious in their condemnation of wage
slavery, then instead of whingeing and moaning when giant firms lay
off 1,000 workers, they should be rejoicing that 1,000 people have
been released from servitude. We should get out there and help those
people to recreate their lives anew. In fact I am forced to conclude
that the Occupy movement, which started off in such promising and
creative fashion, a magnificent anti-usury demonstration with library
and café on the steps of St Paul's, appears to have degenerated into
a lot of purposeless moaning. Perhaps it has been invaded by the
Bolsheviks, and the responsible anarchists have been pushed out.
It is time for us all to embrace the
life of the shopkeeper and smallholder. It is a noble path. There is
help out there. The Federation of Small Businesses, of which I am a
proud member, does fantastic work in standing up for the little guy,
with practical help as well as positive propaganda.
Truly, to be a shopkeeper is a
revolutionary act. As Prof Scott asserts, "[A] society dominated
by smallholders and shopkeepers comes closer to equality and to
popular ownership of the means of production than any economic system
yet devised." Yes, comrades, rise up, throw off your chains,
open a shop!
(Source)
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