This week, we will publish a four-part series analyzing what happens in the waning phase of movements, and how to recognize the opportunities and risks they pose. We have been working on this for months in dialogue with comrades around the world. We encourage our friends to continue this dialogue via formal or informal discussions, in hopes that we might be better prepared for the next crescendo of social struggle.

After the Crest:

A Discussion on the Rhythms of Struggle

Toronto The Central, 603 Markham Street September 18 7 to 10 pm

Going back to the Harris years, anarchists in southern Ontario have lived through several peaks of struggle—most notably, the organizing against the 2010 G20. But what happens after these peaks? If a single rupture isn’t enough to bring down capitalism, however beautiful and well-televised it is, we have to ask what’s important about these high points: what we hope to get out of them, how they figure in our long-term vision, and how to make the most of the period that follows them. This is especially pressing today, when we can be sure that there are more ruptures on the way. Indeed, as the struggle against colonialism and the petroleum industry continues to heat up, those ruptures may be about to happen.

In this discussion, we will focus on the waning phase of recent periods of escalated activity in Toronto, in southern Ontario at large, and elsewhere. What opportunities do they present, and why do windows of opportunity close? How do we gain ground and hold it even as momentum recedes? In what ways can these moments be dangerous for long-term struggles? Or are there other questions we should be asking?

This event is free, but it is meant for active participants in social struggles. The themes to be discussed are addressed in the new CrimethInc. series, “After the Crest,” which should be available in print at the event; it focuses on the recent experiences of anarchists in Oakland, Montréal, and Barcelona as case studies. We hope people from diverse tendencies, organizing backgrounds, and ages will join us for an energetic, participatory conversation.