Because punk contains such an outspoken, angry, and politically-minded group of people, it is pretty easy to come across a political movement. The most misunderstood and misrepresented movement in punk rock, and maybe of all time, is probably Anarchism. Anarchism is the idea that there should be no government, no authority, and no hierarchy. Because of the already anti-authoritarian theme in punk rock, the anarchist movement isn’t a hard idea to sell to most people who are already part of the punk scene.
It turns out that while bands like the Sex Pistols were shouting “Anarchy in the U.K.” there were bands like Crass that actually understood anarchist ideologies and were spreading those ideas through their lyrics and actions. Crass is the first anarchist punk band. They are the ones that really started the movement, and allowed it to become what it is today.
An article from The Guardian, an international news source, talks about Crass when they exploded onto the scene during the peak of U.K. punk in 1977. They discuss their extreme ideologies and question whether that would still be possible today. Crass was extremely political right from the start. They moved from cooperative living houses, to squats, to wherever else they could find a place to live. Spray painting messages of anarchism, feminism, and equality all over the place, they marked their territory. Crass managed to gain a huge audience of fans and similarly politically-minded people. They inspired people to learn about anarchism and become active in politics. They were definitely the start of a very influential anarchist movement in punk rock.
Although Crass was possibly the most influential and dedicated anarchist punk band there are many other bands with anarchist members whose songs promote anarchist ideas. Anarchist ideas have been propagated through many punk band’s lyrics. Bands like Dead Kennedys, D.O.A, Propoghandi, Pat the Bunny, Leftöver Crack and Chumbawamba. All of these punk bands have dedicated songs, albums, or even just liner notes to anarchist issues or theories.
The article "The Blurred Boundaries of Anarchism and Punk in Vancouver, 1970–1983" from Labour/Le Travail, the official, publication of the Canadian Committee on Labor History, talks about how much of an overlap there is between anarchism and punk from 1970-1983.But anarchism is still a strong part of punk with an entire scene of bands like Choking Victim, Leftöver Crack, Morning Glory, INDK and many more. These bands come out of C Squat or similar places. C Squat is a prominent punk run squatters paradise in New York City. These bands truly embody anarchist punk. They play small non-corporate venues and have tons of songs about the government and society’s oppression of the poor, LGBT, people of color, and other minority groups.
Punk rock has gone hand in hand with anarchism for a very long time and it doesn’t appear to be ending anytime soon. New young, angry, anarchists are always being created and they seem to gravitate toward the loud, aggressive, counterculture that punk rock represents. Even the way the punk scene works is very anarchist. There are no set rules, nobody to tell you what to do. When something happens, it’s because the community is voluntarily working together to get done what needs to be done. Maybe that’s why so many punks are anarchists, and so many anarchists are punks.
It turns out that while bands like the Sex Pistols were shouting “Anarchy in the U.K.” there were bands like Crass that actually understood anarchist ideologies and were spreading those ideas through their lyrics and actions. Crass is the first anarchist punk band. They are the ones that really started the movement, and allowed it to become what it is today.
An article from The Guardian, an international news source, talks about Crass when they exploded onto the scene during the peak of U.K. punk in 1977. They discuss their extreme ideologies and question whether that would still be possible today. Crass was extremely political right from the start. They moved from cooperative living houses, to squats, to wherever else they could find a place to live. Spray painting messages of anarchism, feminism, and equality all over the place, they marked their territory. Crass managed to gain a huge audience of fans and similarly politically-minded people. They inspired people to learn about anarchism and become active in politics. They were definitely the start of a very influential anarchist movement in punk rock.
Although Crass was possibly the most influential and dedicated anarchist punk band there are many other bands with anarchist members whose songs promote anarchist ideas. Anarchist ideas have been propagated through many punk band’s lyrics. Bands like Dead Kennedys, D.O.A, Propoghandi, Pat the Bunny, Leftöver Crack and Chumbawamba. All of these punk bands have dedicated songs, albums, or even just liner notes to anarchist issues or theories.
The article "The Blurred Boundaries of Anarchism and Punk in Vancouver, 1970–1983" from Labour/Le Travail, the official, publication of the Canadian Committee on Labor History, talks about how much of an overlap there is between anarchism and punk from 1970-1983.But anarchism is still a strong part of punk with an entire scene of bands like Choking Victim, Leftöver Crack, Morning Glory, INDK and many more. These bands come out of C Squat or similar places. C Squat is a prominent punk run squatters paradise in New York City. These bands truly embody anarchist punk. They play small non-corporate venues and have tons of songs about the government and society’s oppression of the poor, LGBT, people of color, and other minority groups.
Punk rock has gone hand in hand with anarchism for a very long time and it doesn’t appear to be ending anytime soon. New young, angry, anarchists are always being created and they seem to gravitate toward the loud, aggressive, counterculture that punk rock represents. Even the way the punk scene works is very anarchist. There are no set rules, nobody to tell you what to do. When something happens, it’s because the community is voluntarily working together to get done what needs to be done. Maybe that’s why so many punks are anarchists, and so many anarchists are punks.