ANARCHISM = LIBERAL SOCIAL DEMOCRACY
Some time has passed on since the Norwegian People turned their back against the main economic political course of the marxist social democrat government, at the 1994 EU referendum. This was an anarchist "bottom - up" from the People, i.e. the grassroots, revolutionary change - against the Authorities, i.e. the Bureaucracy, broadly defined in both public and private sector. The "top - down" management of Gro Harlem Brundtland & Co. was crushed, and Norway became an Anarchy, i.e. of low degree. The megatrend of the late eighties and early nineties was a movement to the right and upwards on the Economical Political Map. The EU referendum and more actions indicated a further jump in this direction, and thus the economic political system in Norway made a revolutionary change, and passed the border between the marxist social democrat sector and the anarchist, i.e. liberal social-democratic - sector of social individualism. This of course is a major social event in the economic political world history. A long jump further rightwards may result in a liberalist system, and a reverse tendency may give a retardation to marxist social democracy, but this is not the case at the moment. Thus, Norway became an anarchy in 1994/95, and it still is an anarchist economic-political system, i.e. real democracy = liberal social democracy with a significant green tendency.
The Economic-Political Map
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[The anarchy degree is 100% - the authoritarian degree within the anarchist quadrant. (Esquerda means left, and direita means right. The star indicates the Norwegian economic-political system after the velvet anarchist revolution in 1994/95.)]
And thus, the Anarchy of Norway is still going strong per 2024. Although the system is significantly anarchist, i.e. within the Quadrant of Anarchism on the economic political map, it is somewhat far from the anarchist i.e. real democratic ideal on the top of the map. "So this is heaven: Norway", the LA-TIMES in USA reports about Norway, November 2001, but this is however a bit exaggerated; see American look at Norway - Report no 1, where the article is quoted, with comments from IIFOR added. Another American article on the situation in Norway, quoted from NY-TIMES January 2002, also with comments from IIFOR, is also included.
The main policy of the Anarchist International (AI/IFA) and The Anarchist Federation of Norway (AFIN) was presented in the largest Newspaper in Norway, Verdens Gang 06.11.2001, p 39, see Anarchy is [real] democracy - article in VG. This article also states "Norway [as] a relatively anarchist country, however a bit far from the anarchist ideal (Norge som et relativt anarkistisk land, men nokså langt fra det anarkistiske ideal)."
In June 2002 a libertarian direct action against the World Bank's reactionary policy and the ABCDE-meeting, in Oslo, once more confirmed that anarchy is significantly on in Norway, see Direct action against the ABCDE-meeting and policy. Norwegian firms are more and more horizontally organized, according to Nordhaug and Gooderham at NHH (Dagsavisen 15 & 16.10.2004).
A degree of anarchism of ca 54%, as in Norway 2024 is as mentioned not a high degree of anarchism. This means the authoritarian degree is still ca 46%. If the libertarian degree is less than 50% there is no anarchy, i.e. real & green democracy, at all. About 54% anarchy degree is quite an accepted estimate. It is a.o.t. quoted in Dagens Næringsliv (the Industrial life of today, the main economical newspaper of Norway) no 2/3 June 2007 and Finansavisen (the Financial newspaper) Wednesday 17. October 2007, see anarchist articles in DN and Finansavisen.
30.05.2007. The Anarchy of Norway was rated as the most peaceful nation in the world, and since the middle of 1995 the country has also been ranked as the most democratic, libertarian and anarchist on planet Gaia, a.k.a. Tellus and Earth.
15.01.2010. Positive citizen survey: A nationwide citizen survey shows that 86 per cent of Norwegians think that their country is close to being a perfect country to live in.
02.11.2011. Flat hierarchy challenges new leaders. Norway's "flat, flat, flat" management hierarchy [i.e. not topheavy pyramid economically and/or political/adminstrative] poses a huge challenge for new leaders recruited from overseas. It can also explain why there's so few of them within the Norwegian business world. "Many leaders can feel so disrespected when they come to Norway," said Kimberly Lein-Mathisen, global alliance leader for the large US pharmaceutical company Eli Lilly. Everyone is equal, and employees are accustomed to being consulted on most matters, and having their say. Source: www.newsinenglish.no.
So called heaven or not, 54% anarchism is far from the 100% anarchist ideal, full democracy. Thus, it is plenty of room for improvement from anarchist & real democratic = liberal social democratic, perspective, and by no means time for a break in the fight against authoritarian tendencies. The revolution must be fought permanent, in the daily life, to sustain and develop further. However, as long as a) Norway stays out of EU, b) populist and nationalist tendencies are put at place, and c) the left and right tendencies outbalance each other reasonable as by now, Norway will probably stay anarchist and real & green democratic, liberal social democratic, and be a lighthouse for EU and the rest of the world. We call for anarchist, real & green democratic Bottom – Up actions to sustain and increase the degree of anarchy and democracy in Norway!
The Real & Green Democracy revolution in Norway and the Green Global Spring Revolution GGS. The veteran eco-anarchist and anarcha-feminist Anna Quist from the Anarchy of Norway, is elected as the official spokesperson for the GGS. She was elected 28.09.2019 unanimously by the GGS/AI- secretariat in Oslo, the capital of Norway, a country in Northern Europe, and an Anarchy (of low degree) since the velvet anarchist revolution 1994/95, also with a significant green tendency. A.o.t. there is no significant coal problem in this country. The revolution started 28.11.1994 with the EU-referendum and more actions. The Anarchy of Norway is still going strong, and in 2019 The 25th anniversary of the anarchist revolution in Norway was celebrated world wide by Real and Green Democrats Thursday 28. November, the Day of the Anarchist Revolution in Norway. "The Real and Green Democracy Revolution in Norway is a significant inspiration for The Green Global Spring Revolution (GGS) because it demonstrates fully that 1. Anarchy, i.e.liberal social democracy including a significant green tendency, works, and 2. that the GGS may very well succeed world wide! But not without hard work and using all legal means and actions!" said Anna Quist, a 1. veteran Real and Green Democracy, i.e. Anarchist, activist since 1965, also 2. activist in the Norwegian anarchist, including green, revolution in 1994/95 and later, and 3. now and in the future official spokesperson for The Green Global Spring Revolution (GGS).
Det anarkistiske (= liberale sosial-demokratiske) idealet - anarkistenes (de liberale sosial-demokratenes) langsiktige økonomisk-politiske mål!
AI-generated video about the 100% anarchist = real democratic, ideal. Click on: http://www.anarchy.no/anarchistideal.mp4
Det anarkistiske idealet er generelt et samfunn såvidt mulig innrettet etter anarkistiske prinsipper, som en ledestjerne for den økonomisk-politiske styringen m.v.. Prinsippene for det anarkistiske idealsamfunnet er: 100% sosialisme og autonomi i vid forstand, effektivitet (Pareto-optimalitet, også med hensyn på miljøfaktorer) og rettferdighet (ombyttekriteriet, at ingen vil bytte posisjon med noen annen, når alt kommer til alt), minimale rangs- og lønnsforskjeller - politisk/administrativt og økonomisk hierarki, herunder frihet (uten andres frihets berøvelse, slaveri og tyranni), likhet, solidaritet; sosial justis inklusive libertær (frihetlig) lov (vedtatt direkte av folket selv eller via delegater) og optimal orden, rettssikkerhet og menneskerettigheter, frie kontrakter (ikke slavekontrakter), frie initiativer, ateisme (anarkismen er et sekulært prosjekt, men innebærer full religionsfrihet), antimilitarisme (basert på gjensidig nedrustning og styrkebalanse), internasjonalisme (ikke overnasjonalisme, eller nasjonalisme), desentralisme, selvstyre og føderalisme (ikke hierarkisk, EU-aktig), selvforvaltning (autogestion) og frihetlig kommunalisme, dvs. beslutninger tas i hovedsak lokalt av de vesentlig og konkret berørte - fra enhver etter evne - til enhver i følge behov. Dette er essensen av «system og styring uten hersker» = an-ark-i. Dvs. reelt demokrati.
Den vanlige venstre vs. høyre dimensjonen alene er fullstendig utilstrekkelig til å gi et tilstrekkelig bilde av det økonomisk-politiske landskapet. Det todimensjonale økonomisk-politiske kartet som presenteres her gir et adekvat bilde av det økonomisk-politiske landskapet.
Frihet, det vil si graden av frihet, måles ved libertær-graden = 100 % - autoritær-graden. Den libertære graden = graden av demokrati. Frihet, er frihet uten å skade andres frihet, ikke frihet for andres regning, økonomisk og/eller politisk/administrativt, i vid forstand! Reell frihet = eller > 50 % libertært & demokratisk, dvs. både økonomisk og politisk/administrativ i vid forstand = anarki og anarkisme. Virkelig frihet = eller > 50% sosialisme & autonomi bredt definert = anarki og anarkisme. Reelt demokrati inkluderer alltid grønn politikk, det vil si betydelig. Ekte demokrati betyr at samfunnet skal styres og drives fra bunnen og opp, det vil si fra Folket – grasrota, og oppover, ikke fra toppen – ned, det vil si betydelig. Dette er ekte føderalisme. Dette er frihet i et samfunnsperspektiv.
The anarchist (= liberal social-democratic) ideal - the long-term economic-political goal of the anarchists (the liberal social-democrats)!
AI-generated video about the 100% anarchist = real democratic, ideal. Click on: http://www.anarchy.no/anarchistideal.mp4
The anarchist ideal is generally a society organized as far as possible according to anarchist principles, as a guiding star for the economic-political management, etc. The principles for the anarchist ideal society are: 100% socialism and autonomy in the broadest sense, efficiency (Pareto-optimality, also with regard on environmental factors) and justice (the exchange criterion, that no one will exchange positions with anyone else, after all), minimal rank and salary differences - political/administrative and economic hierarchy, including freedom (without deprivation of others' freedom, slavery and tyranny), equality, solidarity; social justice including libertarian (freedomly) law (adopted directly by the people themselves or via delegates) and optimal order, rule of law and human rights, free contracts (not slave contracts), free initiatives, atheism (anarchism is a secular project, but implies full freedom of religion), antimilitarism (based on mutual disarmament and balance of forces), internationalism (not supranationalism, or nationalism), decentralism, self-government and federalism (not hierarchical, EU-like), self-management (autogestion) and libertarian communalism, i.e. decisions are mainly taken locally by the significantly and concretely affected - from anyone according to ability - to anyone according to need. This is the essence of "system and governance without a ruler" = an-arch-y. That is real democracy.
The usual left vs. the right dimension alone is completely insufficient to provide an adequate picture of the economic-political landscape. The two-dimensional economic-political map presented here gives an adequate picture of the economic-political landscape.
Freedom, i.e. the degree of freedom, is measured by the libertarian degree = 100% - the authoritarian degree. The libertarian degree = the degree of democracy. Freedom, i.e. freedom without harming others' freedom, not freedom at others expence, economically and/or political/administrative, in the widest sense! Real freedom = or > 50% libertarian & democratic, i.e. both economic and political/administrative in the widest sense = Anarchy and Anarchism. Real freedom = or > 50% socialism & autonomy broadly defined = Anarchy and Anarchism. Real democracy always includes green policy, i.e. significant. Real democracy means society should be managed and run from the bottom up, i.e. from the People – grassroots, and upwards, not from the top – down, i.e. significant. This is real federalism. This is freedom in societal perspective.
Some time has passed on since the Norwegian People turned their back against the main economic political course of the marxist social democrat government, at the 1994 EU referendum. While the Norwegian EEC referendum in the early seventies gave a movement to the left on the economic political map, the megatrend of the late eighties and early nineties was a movement to the right and upwards. The EU referendum and more actions indicated a further jump in this direction, and thus the economic political system in Norway made a revolutionary change, a "bottom - up" revolution, and passed the border between the marxist social democrat sector and the anarchist, i.e. liberal social-democratic, sector of social individualism. This of course is a major social event in the economic political world history.
A long jump further rightwards may result in a liberalist system, and a reverse tendency may give a retardation to marxist social democracy, but this is not the case at the moment, and thus the living Anarchy of Norway (AoN), a liberal social democratic and real & green democratic system, is still going strong.
Although the system by now is significantly anarchist, i.e. within the Quadrant of Anarchism = the Quadrant of Liberal Social Democracy, on the economic political map, it is somewhat far from the anarchist ideal on the top of the map, i.e. full democracy. Thus, it is plenty of room for improvement from anarchist perspective, and by no means time for a break in the fight against authoritarian tendencies. The revolution must be fought permanent, in the daily life, to sustain and develop further. However, as long as a) Norway stays out of EU, b) populist and nationalist tendencies are put at place, and c) the left and right tendencies outbalance each other reasonable as by now, Norway will probably stay anarchist, liberal social democratic, and real & green democratic, and be a lighthouse for EU and the rest of the world.
Let's work together, on co-operative or individual basis, in media, political and economic organizations, to support the Anarchy of Norway and anarchist - liberal social democratic, and real & green democratic - tendencies all over the world.
ABOUT AIIS/AIT
The AIIS - Anarchist International Information Service at www.anarchy.no , is the main international anarchist news-agency of today, and it is also engaged in the fight for anarchism, i.e. liberal social democracy and real & green democracy - world wide. AIIS, named "Anarkistenes Informasjonstjeneste - AIT" in Norwegian, was officially founded in 1994 by AIUF, and established on Internet in 1996. In 1997 the AIIS was taken over by the AI/IFA-secretariat in Oslo, that had been doing media and information work all of the time since the founding in 1982, continuing the work of the secretarit of AFIN since the founding in 1977. The constitution of the Anarchist International AI was officially confirmed on the International Anarchist Congress, i.e. the 5th Anarchist Biennial, arranged by the NAC/IFA/AI in Oslo medio December 1998. At this congress the AIIS was mandated to be the offical newsagency of the Anarchist International = ANORG, the ANarchists' ORGganization, world wide. The AIIS is industrially and with respect to copyright a co-operative branch of IJOR/IJ@/fb ISSN 0800-0220, electronic issues ISSN 1890-9485 since 2009.
You are very welcome to read about the history of Norway from 1200 and the development of the Anarchy since 1994, updated:
THE HISTORY OF NORWAY AND THE ANARCHY
CONTENTS
Click on the chapter numbers/letters to go directly to the item you wish. Click
"back" on your web-browser menu to get back here
I.
THE PREVIOUS HISTORY
A.
INDEPENDENT COUNTRY - VASSAL STATE - BREAKAWAY REVOLUTION,
1200 - 1905, INDEPENDENCE 1906-39
B.
NAZI OCCUPATION 40-45, MARXIST STATE SOCIALISM 46-93
II.
THE ANARCHIST REVOLUTIONARY CHANGE IN 1994
A.
THE DOMESTIC MEGATREND - THE EU REFERENDUM - AND MORE...
III.
THE ANARCHIST SYSTEM 1995 - 2000
A.
GOODBYE TO THE MARXIST
MATRIARCHY - CREATION OF WORKERS' COUNCILS
B.
THE STORTING, ALLEMANNSRETT, CO-OPERATIVES AND OTHER INSTITUTIONS
C.
THE NOBEL PEACE PRIZE
D.
THE DECLINE OF THE MARXIST SECRET SERVICE OCHLARCHY
E.
AN OPTIMISTIC POINT OF VIEW
IV.
THE CONSOLIDATION OF THE ANARCHY 2001 AND BEYOND
A.
THE TAMPA CASE
B.
THE STORTINGS ELECTIONS
C.
THE TERRORIST PROBLEM
D.
THE NOBEL PEACE PRIZE 100 YEARS AND LATER - T. HEYERDAHL IN MEMORIAN - SOLSKJAER
E.
OIL PRICE AND ANARCHY - NORWAY THE MOST ANARCHIST COUNTRY IN THE WORLD - AND MORE
F.
CONCLUSION
A. INDEPENDENT COUNTRY - VASSAL STATE - BREAKAWAY REVOLUTION, 1200 - 1905, INDEPENDENCE 1906 - 39
The modern history of Norway as an independent country, started with the breakaway revolution from the Union with Sweden, triggered by the 07.06.1905 declaration. This revolution was based on a referendum. Of 435 376 persons who had the right to vote, 85,4 % participated, and only 184 voted for the Union. A civil war was avoided because Norway was well armed, and the Swedish workers threatened with a revolutionary general strike, if the liberation was not accomplished.Several hundred years ago Norway was also an independent land. A long time ago a democratic tendency with municipal and regional tings, i.e. some kind of more or less direct democratic councils, where all free men or delegates met and decided regulations and regulatory means, made judging and sometimes even deciding ways to elect as well as sack a king, may be mentioned. Thus, an egalitarian as well as libertarian tendency and culture have a long historical tradition in Norway.
However in the meantime, before 1905, Norway was de facto a vassal state, ruled from Sweden, Denmark or Germany (Hansa). Henrik Wergeland (1808-45) was influenced by the somewhat social individualist libertarian tendencies of those days, writing a.o.t.: "Hør mig, Despot! Jeg være vil din Pestilents mens jeg er til! Om Nordamerikaneren: Gid rastløse Flid vi af Yankeen lærte! Men ei vil vi have en Dollar til Hjerte. Om Franskmanden. Vi ham taknemmelig maa hylde. Vor Frihed vi Revolutionen skylde." (Source: HENRIK WERGELAND - SAMLEDE SKRIFTER IV. AVHANDLINGER, OPPLYSNINGSSKRIFTER 7. BIND: 1844 - 1845, p.235, 255 and 256). Thus he declared to be a life long plague against tyranny, would not have a US $ as a heart, and had a sound freedom and revolution on the agenda, inspirited by the French people. He also had ideas similar to Pjotr Kropotkin and later Ragnar Frisch, that a combination of practical work, say gardening, and theoretical work, was an optimal basis for human development. By the way, Henrik Wergeland was a lawful person using a colorful language, and that he would act as a 'plague to authority' must of course not be interpreted literary, as a defence for biological weapons, spreading illnesses, or something like that.
In 1850 the 22 year old Henrik Ibsen (1828-1906) used the play "Catilina" (1850) to promote the anarchist ideal about fairness and freedom without violence, investigated in a societal context, universally and individually, probably inspirated by P. J. Proudhon, according to Max Nettlau and Erik M. Christensen. Works of Proudhon were published in the journal of the early workers' movement, "Thranittene", with Marcus Thrane in the forefront, a man that in 1851declared that P. J. Proudhon was vor tids uden tvivl største sjeni, the "with no doubt greatest genius of our time", although Thrane probably did not understood the genius too well, interpreted it a bit wrong, and partly rejected anarchism. The young Ibsen participated actively in this movement.When later asked why he wrote about Catilina (a nobleman and pretor), Ibsen replied that his, i.e. not the historical, Catilina, was an anarchist. The "Non-State-Theory" (Ikke-stats-teori) of Henrik Ibsen, called so by himself in one of his private letters, "min fortræffelige stats-teori - eller rettere ikke-stats-teori!" (quoted from Ibsens's letter to Georg Brandes 18.05.1871, after the fall of the Paris Commune), and revealed in several letters many of them later published in a book called "Breve" (1904), is also a contribution to libertarian ideas, in addition to anarchist elements in his plays and poems. It is also quite clear from the available documents known today, that Ibsen's "Non-State Theory" seen all in all was mainly libertarian individualistic, and not liberalistic, and thus Ibsen must be accounted for as a significant individualist anarchist, at least in a part of his grown up life, if not all. Although Henrik Ibsen did not explicitely called himself an anarchist publicly, his "Non-State-Theory" etc. clearly show he was within the libertarian tradition, i.e. as an individualist anarchist. The libertarian ideas of Henrik Ibsen was thus not close to the ideal form of anarchism, 90%-100% degree of anarchy, but to the right in the sector of individualist anarchism on the economic-political map.
17 February 1871 Henrik Ibsen wrote to Georg Brandes: "The state is the individual's curse. The state must go! I will be part of that revolution. Undermining the concept of the state, set up volunteerism and the spiritually related as the one decisive factor for an association, - that is the beginning of a freedom, which is worth something. Changing forms of government is nothing more than a puzzle with degrees, a little more or a little less, - badness all in all." In 1871, Ibsen also had the famous anarchist poem "Til min ven revolutionstaleren" published. (BY HENRIK IBSEN. COPENHAGEN. PUBLISHED BY DEN GYLDENDALSKE BOGHANDEL (F. HEGEL). THIELES BOGTRYKKERI. 1871. To my friend the revolution speaker!) In 1872, the followers of Ibsen formed the first, informal, early beginnings of the Anarchist Federation in Norway. A small individual-anarchist movement. Historians Penny A. Weis and Megan Brueske write in their book Feminist Manifestos from 2018: "The Anarchist Federation of Norway dates back to 1872." But the anarchist organization did not gain real momentum until the 1880s.
In 1886 Arne Garborg publicly expressed his anarchist point of view in the poem "Anarchist song", published in "Fedraheimen", i.e. "Our Fathers' Home", (according to Jack Wilson in 1968). Arne Garborg, Rasmus Steinsvik and Ivar Mortenson Egnund declared themselves as anarchists in 1887, according to "Fedraheimen", volum 1890, p. 50. "Fedraheimen" got the subtitle "Anarkist-Kommunistisk Organ", and thus became the first Norwegian publicly declared anarchist organ. The last issue of "Fedraheimen" was published in 1991. Mortenson Egnund in 1897-98 published "Fridom, tidsskrift for sjølstyre og sjølvhjelp" (Freedom, journal of autonomy and self-aid). In 1898 Arne Garborg wrote an article "Henrik Ibsen, tuktemeister og byggmeister" stating that Ibsen was an anarchist, and explaining what kind of anarchist he was. Ibsen did not raise objections to this. But he expressed it was wrong to interprete too much politics into his poems and plays, and rejected to be a member of the feminist movement. Thus, following Ibsen himself, we should probably concentrate mostly on his letters and other material, not the plays and poems, when investigating Ibsen's anarchism. Garborg's article about Henrik Ibsen was later printed in the "For Folkeoplysning - Tidsskrift for boksamlinger og folkeakademier", i.e. "For enlightenment of the people - Journal for public libraries and people-academies" - at Ibsen's 100 years anniversary in 1928, and thus made Ibsen's anarchism well known throughout the country at that time.
In 1891-92 a few Germans, i.e. Theodor Martner, Sigmund Simons and Wilhelm Zöllner, made anarchist propaganda in Christiania (Oslo) and established the anarchist-communistic group "Libertas"(Anarkistisk-Communistisk Gruppe "Libertas"). The Norwegians Christopher Hansteen, Axel Bech, Lorentz Nybø, Petter Nilsen, Rasmus Steinsvik, Sigwald Lian, and Ole O. Lian also joined this group. "Libertas" was the first publicly declared anarchist group in Norway. Hansteen was editor of the paper "Anarkisten". Hans Jæger and Henrik Ibsen may also be accounted for as anarchists, especially Ibsen, although in some of their works perhaps being more spokesmen for collectivism and individualism, respectively. Say, Max Nettlau mentions Ibsen for "strong individualism" and Folkebladet/IJ@'s brief history of Anarchism in Norway, 1. edition, mentions a clear marxist type dialectical tendency in some of Jæger's works, i.e. not anarchist and strongly authoritarian.
Hans Jæger's position as the strong leader of "Kristianiabohemen", a group with a policy that was not anarchist at all, - earlier - confirms his authoritarian tendency ("Fra Kristiania-Bohêmen" by Hans Jæger, 1985). Kristianiabohemen was an authoritarian socialist group, marxist on the economic-political map. The policy was strongly against the farmers and against the anarchist Henrik Ibsen. The group had about 20-30 members at its peak around 1885. Hans Jæger was not an anarchist at that time. He first read about anarchism in France in 1892, and later worked for the social-democratic marxist paper "Social-demokraten" from 1898. It was first later he became more of an anarchist, and issued "Anarkiets Bibel" in 1906.
Another referendum in 1905 was about the question of republic. 439 716 persons had the right to vote, 75,3 % participated, and 78,9 % voted for a powerless king, instead of , perhaps, a powerful president. Thus, the symbolic king of Norway was introduced by a referendum. "Libertas" made an active anarchist campaign both outside and within the new "sosialistiske ungdomslag", socialist youth federations, that started about 1900. In 1903 some of them associated to a national confederation. This youth confederation was however a weak organization, and splitted in three in 1909, according to Arbeidernes Leksikon, p. 900. Hansteen died in 1906 and Sigwald Lian in 1909, at that time businessmanager of the organ of the youth confederation. He contributed to the publishing of anarchist material until he died. The other members continued the work for anarchism and federalism and against centralism and marxism, and Axel Bech in 1925 wrote an article about Hansteen in "Alarm", the syndicalist paper. Also Hans Jæger and Swedish libertarian immigrants and refugees made anarchist information. Jæger's 489 pages work "Anarkiets Bibel" was as mentioned published in 1906, but the book had both anarchist, and strong marxist type dialectical tendencies, and thus it neither became a "bible" on anarchism nor for anarchists. Jæger died in 1910.
Ole O. Lian in 1903 became the chairman of "Norsk Centralforening for Boktrykkere", and later chairman of Landsorganisasjonen, LO, at that time called Arbeidernes Faglige Landsorganisasjon, (AFL, established 1899) the national confederation of the workers, i.e. in 1906-1925. LO was at that time strongly federalist syndicalistic influenced, based on labor federations with great autonomy, i.e. "fagforeningene.... hvis tradisjoner var sterkt syndikalisisk preget, med stor selvstendighet for de enkelte avdelinger", according to Arbeidernes Leksikon p. 907 (abridged edition by PAX , the publishing house of the Norwegian Socialist Left Party, SV, 1977). Lian tried to achieve a broad based workers movement and a moderate federalist approach, and to avoid centralist, marxist, tendencies as well as other authoritarian tendencies, say, he was against "ministersocialism". Lian's faction also used negotiations and diplomacy within the movement to achieve their aims. In this way his federalist faction, among other things, contributed to a) integrate the half syndicalist "Fagopposisjonen av 1911" in the Labor Party, with the ideologically somewhat diffuse, but quite revolutionary "dynamite man", "dynamitt i borehullene" - Martin Tranmæl, in front, in a relatively moderate federalist direction.
"Fagopposisjonen" had several tendencies, some stood close to syndicalism, others were followers of Kautsky, some were Leninists, and others ideologically diffuse or mixed, just representing a more radical new generation. First Lian's faction worked against Tranmæl's, but ca 1918, when Tranmæls faction was getting the majority in the Labor Party, Lian's used negotiations with "Fagopposisjonen" in co-operation with LO, to try to avoid the worst authoritarian tendencies and keep the movement together, and b) to get the Labor Party out of "Komintern", the 3rd International ruled from Moscow, as soon as possible after a majority of the party had decided to join this international in 1919. This aim was achieved when the Labor Party left "Komintern" in 1923, and the communists left the Labor Party and made their own party, NKP.
Martin T. in this context made the so called "Tranmælsvingen", a political swing from semi-libertarian, towards more authoritarian marxism closer to Leninism, and then somewhat back again, to be about 1/3 syndicalist and a collectivist. It is later revealed that Martin Tranmæl and Trygve Lie, later justice councillor in a Labor Party state council, were on the payroll of the Moscow Communists in 1920, receiving 10 000 and 7000 NOK respectively. It is possible this could have influenced Lie's decision to deport Leon Trotsky from Norway in 1936. "Interessant er det at Moskva begynte å pumpe penger inn i Norge allerede i 1920. Det året mottok Martin Tranmæl 10000 kroner - en anselig sum den gang. Trygve Lie mottok 7000 kroner. Man kan spekulere på om redselen for bli avslørt kan ha styrt Trygve Lie da han i 1936 i egenskap av norsk justisminister utviste Leo Trotskij fra Norge. Dette gjorde det lettere for Stalin å likvidere Trotskij i det fjerne Mexico. Det kostet mindre oppmerksomhet enn hva det ville gjort i Norge. Russerne glemte ikke slike bidrag som de ytet Lie i 1920." (Aft.p. 17.02.2002)
The socialdemocrats had formed their own faction of the Labor Party in 1919, their own paper "Arbeiderpolitikken" in 1920, and splitted out to form their own party, NSAP, 1921, after the majority of the Labor Party decided to follow the Leninist Moscow Thesis. Ole O. Lian also worked within the Labor Party (DNA/AP), which in the early 20th century was based on collective membership of the quite autonomous syndicates of LO, and he was member of the central board 1909-18 and 1920-25. But Lian was most active in the LO, that with him as chairman turned into a major social and political force in the Norwegian society. In 1919 AFL/LO affiliated to the reorganized Amsterdam International (IFC). He also contributed to keep the LO out of the Moscow lead "Red " trade union international in 1923, after a preliminary AFL/LO representation in 1921 participated at the Red Internationals 1st Congress. There was also a discussion within LO about affiliating to the syndicalist international IAA " den Internasjonale Arbeider-Assosiasjonen" (AIT-IWA), rooted back to the 1st International and refounded late in December 1922, with a program written by the anarchist Rudolf Rocker, but this proposal did not reach a majority.
In 1909 "Norges Ungsocialistiske Forbund" was founded, a mainly anarchist and syndicalist youth socialistic federation. The syndicalist and youth socialist faction was however not only anarchistic. NUF published the paper "Storm" (1909-1912). "Storm" changed name to "Direkte aktion" (1912-18), "organ for revolutionær fagbevægelse og ungsocialismen" with a youth socialist and revolutionary trade unionist tendency, and from 1914 with revolutionary trade unionist tendency covering both the semi-syndicalist "Fagopposisjon" and syndicalist tendencies. Two main writers of "D.A." were the Swedish syndicalist Albert Jensen and Martin Tranmæl. Albert Jensen, at that time editor of "D.A.", was arrested in the autumn 1914, and deported to Sweden, but he continued to write for the paper. Albert Jensen in 1917-18 became more and more hostile to the "Soviet"-revolution in Russia, while Tranmæl and "Fagopposisjon" at that time were supporting the Leninists, and it became impossible for the relatively narrow minded Tranmæl's faction to recognize "D.A" as their organ. Probably because of a contract that stated NUF's copyright to the title, "Fagopposisjonen" left the paper, and started their own organ "Solidaritet", in 1918, and "D.A." finished publishing.
By the way, on December 14, 1911, a team of six persons including Roald Amundsen, with 16 dogs, arrived as the first people at the South Pole (90°00'S). Amundsen's success was publicly announced on March 7, 1912, when he arrived at Hobart, Australia. This event made the small, poor and newly independent country Norway known world wide via international newsmedia headlines. Amundsen was inspired by Fridtjof Nansen's crossing of Greenland in 1888, and he used Nansen's boat "Fram" ["Forward"] to reach the Antarctic continent.
The syndicalists got their own organ in 1919, when the paper "Alarm" was established. In 1913 the paper "Revolt" started, first published by NUF's local federation in Trondheim and from 1915 moved to Kristiania (Oslo) as organ for the reorganized "Norges Ungsocialistiske Forbund" . NUF had at maximum 22 local federations, i.e "lag". In 1912-16 "lokale samorganisasjoner", local co-operate syndicalist organizations, were formed, some of them rooted back to "Norsk Stenhuggerforbund" of LO, and others established directly. They affiliated to the Swedish syndicalist confederation, SAC (Sveriges Arbetares Centralorganisation). 28.12.1916 "Norsk Syndikalistisk Federation", NSF, the Norwegian syndicalist federation, was established.
At first "Direkte Aktion" published the ideas of NSF. As mentioned, in 1919 the NSF's own organ "Alarm" was established. NSF was a revolutionary syndicalist organization, with syndicalists and anarchists, anarchosyndicalists included. The syndicalist faction was however not only anarchistic. The paper of NSF, "Alarm", quoted both Karl Marx and Peter Kropotkin on the front page. Thus, from time to time there was a considerable marxist tendency in NSF. The syndicalist guru of the NSF-paper "Alarm", Albert Jensen declared in an article: "... syndikalismen, ..., er den mest marxistiske av alle de socialistiske retninger." "...syndicalism... is the most marxist of all socialist political tendencies". In the older days however Albert Jensen, probably became an anarchist, i.e. developed a political-economical tendency of a significant degree of anarchy.
The history of anarchism in Norway should also be seen in connection to the general development of anarchism and its methodology, see System theory and economic-political map. Malfred Bergseth was in 1916 member of NSF og NUF. In 1923 NSF affiliated to IAA. NSF's 4th congress in 1924 declared "Anarkismen og syndikalismen er to bevegelser som står på samme ideologiske grund ... stillingen til anarkismen forsøkes gjort så intim som mulig...", i.e. syndicalism and anarchism are two movements on the same ideological basis, and the stand vis-à-vis anarchism should be as close as possible. Although the main anarchist theorist at that time, Peter Kropotkin, already in 1913, in the book "Modern science and anarchism", had rejected marxist economics, the labor theory of value and the value added theory, and the dialectical materialism, as clearly non-scientific, NSF continued propagating marxism as well as anarchism, but the majority was probably anarchosyndicalists and anarchists. Kropotkin's valid and total rejection of marxism should have been well known to NSF, because the mentioned book was published in Swedish as "Anarkism och modern vetenskap" in 1914, and many of the members of NSF had Swedish origin, and the Norwegian federation in general had a close connection to SAC.
Many anarchists and other people worked for the prohibition of distilled spirits. In 1919 it was a referendum on distilled spirits. 1 198 522 had the right to vote, and 61,6 % voted for prohibition. In 1926 it was a referendum on continued prohibition. 1 482 724 had the right to vote, but only 44,3 % voted yes. Thus, the prohibition was finished.
In 1923 "Norges Ungsocialistiske Forbund" was reorganized and renamed "Norges Social-anarkistiske Forbund", NSAF, and thus was the first federation named anarchist, in Norway. The Anarchist Federation published "Revolt", earlier the organ of NUF, and renamed "Fritt Samfund" in 1926. In 1924 "Føderalistisk Propagandaforbund", FP, was established and worked within LO to promote anarchist ideas. Members of the Anarchist Federation were active in FP and LO. Say, Malfred Bergseth, who was chairman in the district committe of Akershus & Hedemarken agitationdistrict of NSF in 1923, later joined FP and LO. Bergseth was chairman of FP and responsible for "Fritt Samfund", the organ of the Anarchist federation in 1926. He was both anarchist and syndicalist, and chairman in "Oslo Stein-, Jord- og Sementarbeideres forening" 1936-1938, businessmanager 1927-1930, agitator and controller 1929. He became also chairman in "Norsk Bygningsarbeiderforbund", in LO. Oscar L. Ottersen was another anarchist militant in 1926. He had been editor of "Direkte Aktion" the syndicalist paper published by NUF, in 1916-18, and member of the editing group earlier.
Ottersen later became vice chairman of the typographer's federation of LO. Waldemar Nielsen was also working in LO. Nils Heggland was editor of the Anarchist Federation's paper, "Fritt Samfund" in 1927-28, and active in FP. He was accountant in FP in 1926, secretary of the Anarchist Federation in 1924, and later active in the Defence Committe for Sacco and Vanzetti, together with Fine Olsen, an anarchist feminist. In 1935 Heggland was elected to chairman of the "Gullsmedarbeiderforbundet", of LO. Also Halvdan Jønsson and Vitalis Andersen declared themselves as anarchists and worked within the LO. Several people from the Anarchist Federation were members of NSF. The "Kvinnegruppa Samhold" with feminist activists as Jenny Tangen, Laura Bredesen, Ruth Blomberg, Louise Sahlin and Sofie Eriksen, may also be mentioned. They were both anarchists and syndicalists. In 1928 the last issue of the organ of the Anarchist Federation, "Fritt Samfund" was published.
The Anarchist Federation, NSAF, was a broad based organization with several tendencies of anarchism, i.e. collectivist, communist and individualist anarchism, social anarchism included, as well as anarchosyndicalists and feminists. A part of it continued as an anarchist and anarchosyndicalist faction within NSF, others continued in LO with anarchist and libertarian federalist ideas, and some worked on individual basis. The NSF took over the publications of the Anarchist Federation, so the anarchist information still continued, without delay. The Anarchist Federation was officially not closed down, but without an organ of their own, they were less visible in the public opinion. In the 1930s the radical socialist Ragnar Frisch, that later developed to a significant libertarian socialist, proposed a Kropotkinian type "Goods-Exchange-Centrals" planned socialist economy.
A main militant and libertarian writer in the 1930-40s was Arnold Hazeland, a former member of the central board of the Labor Party (1899-1904) and later two times nominated as candidate to the Storting, that became a communist anarchist. It was hard for him to breake with the Party he had worked for so many years, but the reason was the reactionary tendency towards state-totalitarian direction. He worked as a judge at the Norwegian supreme court, translated anarchist books and wrote articles. Among other things, several translations of Kropotkin's and Bakunin's works and Nestor Machno's book about the revolution in Ukraina 1917-18, with an interesting 34 pages introduction by Hazeland, published by "Fri Socialismes " Forlag, Oslo 1933, may be mentioned.
He also wrote news articles from anarchist point of view about the Spanish revolution and civil war 1936-39 in "Alarm". The NSF and the anarchists in general supported the CNT-FAI's militsia's armed struggle against the fascism in Spain, and they warned about the coming war in Norway several times, but talked for deaf ears. The mainly marxist Labor Party stuck to the "broken gun" pacifist policy, and thus made the country open for the nazi occupation in 1940. Also a marxistical faction of NSF had a pacifist tendency. The main stream anarchists point of view was however similar to Kropotkin and the "Manifesto of the 16", related to the 1st WW.
In 1927 DNA/AP and the Socialdemocrats formed "Det forenede norske arbeiderparti", the United Labor Party, which indicated a movement to the right, and this continued over the following years towards a traditional main streem marxian social democrat party, renamed Arbeiderpartiet, AP, that took control over the LO, and gradually, over time, the federalist, anarchist and syndicalist tendency in the national confederation of the workers were reduced. The United Labor Party became the largest party at the Stortings election in 1927, and PM Hornsrud formed the first Norwegian social democrat state council in 1928. This "ministersocialism" that Ole O. Lian in his time fought strongly against, however only lasted three weeks. In the next Stortings election, 1930, the labor parties got relatively few votes, and a light brown populist "Bondeparti", quite reactionary government, took the power.
Violent class struggle, especially a battle in 1931 called "Menstadslaget", between the workers and state-police & military forces initiated by Vidkun Quisling, was on the agenda. Several worker militants were arrested and later convicted to prison for a long time. The "hard 30s" with violence, poverty and economic depression were the realities of life. In the next Stortings election, 1933, the Labor Party, promoting a "krise program", was among the winners, and in 1935 formed the second socialdemocrat state council with Nygårdsvold up front. An impotent demand management, and the pacifist policy, made probably more damage than good to the Norwegian system seen all in all, and they mainly didn't manage to change the capitalist system to a socialist either, before the war.
The economy improved a bit, but that was not because of sound economical policy from the Labor Party, but mainly due to an export boost to the German war machinery, that the government rather should have boycotted. The marxian socialdemocrat government also joined the pacifist "non-intervention" policy vis-à-vis Spain during the civil war, and going to Spain to support the "Folkefront" (People's front), it's State Council, where the anarchists participated, and join their militsia or the other republican forces, was decided criminal, and punished. Several volunteers from Norway and the rest of Scandinavia, syndicalists and anarchists included, went ahead to fight in Spain, despite of this prohibition. The marxist dialectical Janusface of the socialdemocratic regime was shown when Labor Party's Martin Tranmæl joined the celebration of the Norwegian heros, when the lot of the surviving returned to Oslo 26th November 1938, and called them "det ypperste uttrykk for internasjonal solidaritet som er skapt i vår tid", i.e. "the greatest expression of international solidarity created in our time". In practice most of them were abandoned from work and fined.
So much for the Labor Party and their government's solidarity! Despite of all this socialdemocratic treason a couple of hundred foreign Peoples' Front veterans from the Spanish civil war participated at the battles around Narvik in the North of Norway in the second world war. That's solidarity! The movements, both of the anarchists and syndicalists, however slowly declined in members and activity, as well as new recruiting. In 1920 NSF had 47 local federations, in 1937 ca 20. The weekly syndicalist paper "Alarm" lost subscribers, and in the middle of the 1930s became a fortnightly paper. Financial problems were a main obstacle for publishing and other activities. The Anarchist Federation had asked NSF for money, but didn't get any, and NSF asked the Swedish SAC, and got money support several times. The international blows against the libertarian movement in general, say, the execution and justice murder on Sacco and Vanzetti in USA august 23rd 1927, despite large protests world wide, and the fascists' victory in Spain April 1st 1939, also contributed in a negative way, although not breaking the spirit of the anarchist militants.
B. NAZI OCCUPATION 40-45, MARXIST STATE SOCIALISM 46-93
The successful revolution of 1905 indicated more autonomy, i.e. less statism. However, it took 89 years before the system, after nazism 1940-45 with German and Quisling/NS rule, and later many years characterized by marxist state socialism, in 1994 became anarchist. The Labor Party, AP, in 1945 mainly socialdemocrat, reformist and very state-socialist, with a close to stalinist internal organization, took power, with the patriarch "Landsfaderen" Einar Gerhardsen in front. The old revolutionary Martin Tranmæl's faction was "put in the closet", and LO was mostly directly run from the top by AP. A marxist statesocialist planned economy was introduced by AP taking over a) the Quisling regimes national socialist centralized state institutions, say, the Price-department/Price police, b) the nazi-economists with Odd Aukrust in front at the Central Bureau of Statistics, SSB, quickly turned into social democrats, c) the Finance-department (Treasury) turned into something like a stalinist "Gosplan" office, "five/four" years economical plans set at work, d) stateowned "corner stone" enterprises were introduced, as well as e) heavy regulations and rationing in most of the economy.
People were poor, and many thousand lived in tents. A massive state-socialist propaganda was introduced, among other things via the state controlled and owned monopoly NRK public broadcasting. Einar Gerhardsen was worshipped quite similar to Stalin, and the inevitable major faults of the centrally planned economy were mostly put under the carpet. The rich were still rich, several of them "brakke-baroner", i.e. war plutarchs, and although the official figures told about relative income equality, there were very little to share because of the low productivity state-planned economy, and an unofficial "under the table" quasimarket economy developed, and contributed to economical differences not accounted for in the official statistics. But all in all it was in general significant more income equality and solidarity than before the war, and a relatively socialist system in an international perspective. However the system was clearly marxist, and not libertarian socialism.
A marxist secret service ochlarchy, with media manipulations and control, as well as a Labor Party "nomenklatura", "partibok-kameraderi", soon developed and radicals from communist and left socialists to syndicalists and anarchists were having a hard time. There was a limited kind of press freedom, wide for the liberalistic and the socialdemocrate statist propaganda, and even the nazi-press were left in peace, but socialists, anarchists included, opposed to the establishment, had a hard time. The secret police and their local police associates had a hand on the media in general. Say, the Culture Syndicate was censored by police command over a liberal local newspaper in the later part of the 1960s, the editor of the paper, embarrased, as an excuse told an anarchist journalist,- that afterwards was denied printing of material opposing the establishment. This was of course only a tip of the iceberg. Say, once a pacifist paper was raided by the secret police. The LO owned "Folkets Hus" was bugged by people associated to the secret police and the Labor Party. Such repression of the press and organizations continued for years and years, say, when the Anarchist Federation was re-established in 1977, the secretariate got letters from the post office with a message written upon it that it had been opened, and of course read, by the police. The commercial newspapers and journals contributed mostly to a liberalistic criticism, and was perhaps sometimes a danger to the significant marxist system, but rarely in a progressive way.
Some people that opposed the establishment were wrongly put in psychiatric hospitals, and ill treated; the "Juklerød"-case was only the top of the iceberg. Jews that survived holocaust and returned to Norway didn't get their possessions back, war veterans from Spain 1936-39 and the allied forces 1940-45 were ill treated, and ethnic and sexual minorities had a hard time. Thus, the system was clearly based on statism. The economy was growing a bit, first among other things, due to the American Marshall aid, later boosted by the general economic growth in the industrialised countries, but it should be quite clear for all but the worshippers of the "landsfaderen" marxist patriarch Einar Gerhardsen, that the centrally planned economy was an obstacle to optimal growth, and that the economy probably would have been much better if it had been more anarchistically managed.
The RED & LIGHT-BROWN years under the marxist socialdemocrat regime, all in all were a large economical-political mistake, nothing to be proud of in the Norwegian history. Almost any other regime above 67% authoritarian deegre could have done better. There were for short periods center-liberal governments, but they didn't manage to change the main tendency of the system, however contributed sometimes to an autonomy/right tendency. However the system seen all in all moved slowly upwards and to the right on the economical-political map, with several small jibes in different directions. The general tendency was that the state socialist planned economy over time was reduced.
In 1940 "Alarm" had been closed down by the nazis. The editor Carl O. Tangen was put in the prisoncamp "Grini" by the Quisling regime. In 1945 "Alarm" was refounded as "Solidarity", first as a monthly paper, then bi-monthly, and then irregular. Also NSF continued. A memorial note in "Solidarity" about Arnold Hazeland (1859-1945) who died in November 1945 at the age of 86, told he was promoting anarchist ideas to the last breath: "Han trodde fullt og fast at diktaturperioden og herosdyrkelsen i arbeiderbevegelsen bare er av forbigående art, og at folket om en tid vil våkne og begynne å tenke med hjernen igjen." The NSF declined further, however after 1945 it was a less marxist and more anarchist organization. A letter from the Swedish Anarchist Propaganda Federation, APF, the publisher of "Brand", and a note declaring strong connection to Kropotkin, were published soon after the war. The Italian anarchist Umberto Marzocchi was also interviewed in "Solidaritet. In 1951 "Solidaritet" took a break, but the paper in 1957 was reorganized to "Syndikalistisk organ for Skandinavia, tilsluttet Internasjonal Arbeider-Assosiasjon", i.e. the Scandinavian syndicalist paper associated to IAA/AIT/IWA. This was a broad based organ for revolutionary socialists, syndicalists and anarchists in Scandinavia. SAC left the syndicalist international IAA/AIT/IWA in 1959/60, after years with disagreements. Although this was not unexpected, and a writer in "Solidaritet" expressed that the paper was "En tidning man måste slå vakt om", i.e. a paper to stand by and guard; it was a short lived guard, because the last issue of "Solidaritet" came the same year, i.e. "Solidaritet" stopped publishing in 1960. A handfull of syndicalists, anarchists and anarchosyndicalists continued the organizational work to 1965, but then NSF was practically finished.
The marxist and liberalistic media at that time were very hostile against libertarian ideas, wrongly and at large using anarchy, anarchist and anarchism as words for chaos, lawlessness and terrorism, and neglecting real anarchism almost totally. The radical socialist Ragnar Frisch, that in the 1930s proposed a Kropotkinian type "Goods-Exchange-Centrals" planned socialist economy, and in 1942 published a memo on the ecocirc accounting system, featuring - organization =.the system's costs in addition to labor and capital cost, after the war (he was in jail about two years during the war, arrested by the nazis) started to develop into a significant libertarian socialist. He indicated publicly a "third alternative" social-individualist type anarchism in 1948 in the article "Why objectivity" in Arbeiderbladet, presenting a strong argumentation in favour of applying objectivity and logic in "the life and death fight for the third alternative: To drag the ordinary citizen into taking responsibilty, not only the chief of Secret Service, or the rich one, or the scholar, or the super intellectual. This alternative raises a gigantic problem, of preserving, rejuvenating and creating organs which can really reveal the welfare interests of different interests of the different interest groups and balance them carefully."
In Frisch's work on "Economic Democracy", Bertrand Russell, another libertarian thinker within the third alternative tradition, is mentioned. Frisch is however not referring directly to Russell's "Roads to Freedom: Socialism, Anarchism, Syndicalism" (1918-19) and other books with a libertarian tendency in this work. Ragnar Frisch evolves his libertarian third alternative; an economical and political system with the individual's freedom and moral and ethical dignity in the center, i.e. autonomy combined with a rational, planned socialism -- that is not utopian -- in several works; The unenlightened plutarchy, Integrity and democracy, What is democracy?, Economic democracy, The three stages, In the spirit of Henrik Wergeland, The upper class mentality is alive, Socially orientated or high finance orientated economic planning? Planned economy in the community, Hour of destiny, Gloomy May Day - or hope? etc. Most of Ragnar Frisch's works may be seen as a general framework related more or less to the third alternative of economical political systems, i.e. with neither economical plutarchy nor political statism, - and modelling and mapping of different political economical systems in general. Ragnar Frisch's collected works on political econonomy broadly defined are the work of a giant, accounting for several thousand pages, along the lines of Pjotr Kropotkin's methodology of libertarian research, i.e. similar to that of the modern natural sciences, see "Modern Science and Anarchism" (1903-13).
Frisch's famous note from 1961 on EEC/EU as "Det uopplyste pengevelde", "The Unenlightened Plutarchy", and also discussing the third alternative, may especially be mentioned as an important article. Similar to Kropotkin, Frisch also recommended a combination of mental and physical work, for optimal human development.
Another anarchist economist was Leif Holbæk-Hanssen at the NHH in Bergen. He promoted ideas about what he called "enlightened anarchy" (opplyst anarki), and also declared he was "some anarchist" (litt av en anarkist). Also Trygve Haavelmo was an anarchist economist. For more information about anarchist economists in Norway, see System theory - Chapter V.C.1. A brief history of thought based on the economical-political map.
Early in the 1960s Helge Kongshaug had tried to establish a syndicalist youth federation, but it didn't work out. In the latest part of the 1960s the Culture Syndicate was established. This syndicate developed to the interim group for the reorganizaton of the Anarchist Federation. Several short lived groups and federations with more or less libertarian policy were established. Folkebladet was founded in 1971. At first it had both anarchist and other political tendencies, however later, in 1997, it became the organ of the Anarchist Federation.(And it is still going strong, as International Journal of Anarchism, since 1984).
The author and teacher Jens Bjørneboe (1920-1976) may be mentioned among the anarchists in the late 1960s and early 1970s. Bjørneboe is called the most important Norwegian poetical writer after Henrik Ibsen, that also as mentioned was an anarchist. Politically Bjørneboe was early influenced by liberalism and the syndicalist populism and the quasiscientific "anthroposophy" of Rudolf Steiner. Later he turned towards bohemian marxism. At the age of 46 years, he declared to be an anarchist. How long this lasted is an open question, but he was big in the media, and although a bit rabulistic contributed to put anarchism once more on the political agenda in Norway. However, he never contributed to something really new in anarchist theory. But he reminded that there are degrees of anarchism and anarchy, and that anarchism is scientific, based on free matter of fact criticism, scepticism, in short the hypothetical deductive method, as stated by Kropotkin, - and not dogmatics and dialectics as marxism or quasiscientific new-age ideas as the "anthroposophy" of Rudolf Steiner, i.e. anarchism is not "anarchistology" or "anarchosophy" to use the terms of IIFOR. Thus, Bjørneboe probably rejected the marxism and anthroposophy that he earlier was believing in, when he understood that anarchism was scientific, as he stated in 1971, although still using such ideas metaphorically in his novels and plays.
He also expressed that anarchism probably was going to be the most vital political tendency from now on. (See "Politi og Anarki/Police and Anarchy", PAX, Oslo 1972, p. 46, and "Bjørneboes Anarkisme/ Bjørnboe's Anarchism", fb/IJ@ no 1 1981, p. 1-2, quoting "Anarkismen som fremtid/Anarchism as Future" (1969) and "Anarkismen... i dag/Anarchism Today?", earlier published by PAX). The first short essay, "Anarchism as Future" (1969) gives a picture of Bjørneboe's conception of anarchism and acknowledges the influence of Kropotkin on his thinking. The second, longer essay entitled "Anarchism Today?" (1971) develops the ideas of the earlier essay, particularly by setting anarchism in contrast to both capitalism and Marxist-Leninist communism. Although a part of it is outdated because he a bit naive misunderstood, and underestimated the real oclarchical and terroristical content of Maoism, the rest of the essay still stands as a progressive polemic.
The followers of Rudolf Steiner have not surprisingly exaggerated his connection to the anthroposophy in his later days in a quite quasiscientific way, see say the chapter on "anarchism" in Inge S. Kristiansen's book Jens Bjørneboe og Antroposofien (Jens Bjørneboe and Anthroposophy). There are not so much clear cut anarchism in his poetical writings, the plays, novels and poems as many fans of Bjørneboe think, especially not before he declared himself an anarchist and later understood it was scientific. Even afterwards, Bjørneboe's anarchism is not always easy to identify in his stories, mainly due to chaotic fantasies or retrospective elements related to the liberal, populist and marxist days. His main writings on anarchism are quoted in the 12 pages report called "Bjørneboes anarkisme/Bjørneboe's Anarchism" published by Folkebladet/ANORG FORLAG (1981).
In 1972 it was a referendum about Norwegian membership to the EEC - EF . 2 645 349 had the right to vote, 79,2 % participated and 53,3 % voted no. A vast majority among the anarchists voted no. The anarchist movement - the trendsetter in the fight for more socialism and autonomy, joined forces and founded the Anarchist Federation of Norway, - Anarkistføderasjonen i Norge - Anarkistenes Organisasjon, in September 1977. Among the early affiliates were Arnold Hazeland Jr., at that time a leader at the "Fri Rettshjelp" (free legal action support), also a lawyer as his grandfather, the prominent high court judge and probably the most famous anarchist in Norway until 1945 Arnold Hazeland; a young relative of Christopher Hansteen, relatives of people related to Rasmus Steinsvik, old anarchosyndicalists, and others, i.e. industrial workers, farmers, teachers, cultural workers, lawyers, artists, journalists, students, all kinds of people. The Anarchist Federation formed a junction vis-à-vis the domestic megatrend to the right and upwards on the economical political map in the late nineteen eighties and early nineties, i.e. in the fight for more autonomy and freedom, but against economical plutarchist (capitalist) tendencies. A fight for less rank and income differences, more efficiency and fairness, and against political/administrative and economical bureaucracy broadly defined, in private and public sector, within the country and internationally.
In 1979 The Anarchist Federation affiliated to the Anarchist International, IFA, The Anarchist Black Cross, ABC; and the Community Action Network, CAN. In 1982 the first IFA Congress in the North was arranged in Oslo by AFIN, constituting the different other Northern IFA-sections, i.e. Swedish, Danish, Finnish, etc. and confirming the Internationals of the different anarchist currents within the framework of the general Anarchist International, i.e. eco-anarchist, anarcho-feminist, -syndicalist, individualist, collectivist, as well as the Internationals of commune/communist Anarchism and social individualist Anarchism, including socialist, federalist and mutualist anarchism; and the libertarian international of teetotallers. Also the International Anarchist Tribunal, IAT, with the Anarchist Arbitration Court, say, suggested by Pjotr Kropotkin already in 1910, the Anarchist Press Tribunal, and other branches was founded at this congress. Several congresses and actions were arranged during the years passing by.
Early in the 1980s the Anarchist International University Federation - Anarkistisk Universitetslag, was officially established, and in 1985 the International Institute for Organization Research, IIFOR, the main research institute of the anarchist movement was founded. The IIFOR, and the research-groups of the Northern IFA-sections in general, joined the FICEDL, the libertarian research network, officially in 1987, however anarchist researchers related to NAC-IFA had also participated on earlier arrangements of the FICEDL network. A. Hompland together with other anarchists started Folkebladet/IJ@ in 1971, and this journal became later the organ of the Anarchist Federation. Since 1984 H. Fagerhus has been the editor of IJ@/Folkebladet. In 1982/83 Folkebladet became the common and main organ of the NAC, the Northern Anarchist Confederation, and in 1984, including IFA-Solidaritet etc, was established as the International Journal of Anarchism. The currents of anarchism mentioned above were also confirmed as sections of the Anarchist International in the Anarchist Manifesto, the program of the Northern sections of IFA, ISBN 82-90468-09-1, see Folkebladet No 4 (1983) and IFA-Solidaritet No 8 (1983). When the Anarchist International world wide was confirmed at the International Anarchist Congresses in 1998 and 2000, these main sections of anarchism were expanded universally.
The researcher P. Johansen said in Dagens Næringsliv (Today's Industrial Life) 08.02.2002 in a retrospective interview that "den gangen hadde Norge en regulert økonomi og nærmest en ettpartistat", i.e. "at that time Norway had a regulated economy and close to a one-party state". The country had a marxian socialdemocratic type a bit socialistical system related to the economical political map; most of the time ruled and dominated strongly by the powerful Labor Party, Arbeiderpartiet (AP), from 1945/6 first clearly authoritarian, later slowly less authoritarian until 1993/4.
II. THE ANARCHIST REVOLUTIONARY CHANGE IN 1994
A. THE DOMESTIC MEGATREND - THE EU REFERENDUM - AND MORE...
Introduction and summary. Anarchy i.e. real & green democracy, liberal social democracy- in Norway, of low degree, but > 50%, is registered since 1994/95. The revolutionary change, i.e. when Norway entered the social-individualist sector of the anarchist quadrant of the economic-political map, is i) rooted back to a domestic megatrend to the right and upwards on the economical-political map, ii) the No to EU referendum 28.11.1994, and iii) more actions, that iv) gave the marxist matriarch Gro Harlem Brundtland and her authoritarian government an economic-political uppercut, which v) stopped the ruling and turned the system into relatively anarchist administration/management. The development of the libertarian/anarchist degree in Norway related to the velvet revolution and revolutionary change in 1994/95 is estimated to the following: 11-27.11.1994 = ca 49,4% (state); 28-29.11.1994 = ca 51% (anarchy); 01.03.1995 = ca 52%; 01.06.1995 = ca 53%; 01.10.1995 = ca 53%, a stabilized anarchy of low degree. The term "ca" means about. 28.11.1994 is celebrated as the Day of the Anarchist Revolution in Norway, by libertarians.
The history of the Anarchist Revolution. 28.11.1994 the marxist PM & Co's effort to break the domestic megatrend towards anarchy, by establishing supra-national bureaucracy, was crushed by the EU-referendum. 3 266 064 had the right to vote, 89,0 % participated and 52,2 % voted no. The supra-national Brussels-bureaucracy had to return, the Norwegian system made a revolutionary change, and passed the border to the anarchist quadrant on the EP map. Before the referendum the ruling system virtually and in many ways practically and mentally was "in" the European Union. The only that lacked was de facto the "keys" to the offices... The "NO!" turned the whole thing upside down... The marxist matriarch, called the "Yes to EU Queen" in the newsmedia, and ruling powerful according to this title, de facto abdicated as an arch, kept a low profile in the newsmedia, retired to significant more soft central administration only, and left the system significant to anarchy rules - OK - in the following time. (There has not been a significant ruler/arch of Norway since then.)
Soon after the No-vote was known, the CNN and othe main international newsmedia reported that this was due to "Nationalistic" and "Non-internationalistic" [authoritarian, backwards] tendencies, based on disinformation from the Yes to EU government in Norway. However the Anarchist International Information Service AIIS - Anarkistenes Informasjonstjenest AIT - minutes after these newsreports faxed a message to main international newsmedia, including CNN, stating that Norway was libertarian, and [soon] anarchist. Soon after the CNN responded to the AIIS-faxes and changed the news, reporting about: "an almost perfect society", regarding the Norwegian economic-political system. Also other main international newsmedia changed their reports in a similar way. They however did not mention AIIS as a source, but they clearly responded by changing the news according to the facts from AIIS. More information about the international newsmedia's responses to AIIS-faxes, se below.
The Northern Anarchist Confederation - Anarkistenes organisasjon i Norden (and later global), expressed the following view:
At the EU referendum 28.11.1994, the Norwegian People turned their back against the main economic political course of the social democrat government. While the Norwegian EEC referendum in the early seventies gave a movement to the left on the economic political map, the megatrend of the late eighties and early nineties was a movement to the right and upwards. The EU referendum indicated a further jump in this direction, and thus the economic political system in Norway made a revolutionary change, and passed the border between the marxist social democrat sector and the anarchist sector of social individualism. This of course is a major social event in the economic political world history.
A long jump further rightwards may result in a social liberal system, and a reverse tendency may give a retardation to marxist social democracy, but this is not the case at the moment.Although the system by now is significantly anarchist, i.e. within the Quadrant of Anarchism on the economic political map, it is somewhat far from the anarchist ideal on the top of the map. Thus, it is plenty of room for improvement from anarchist perspective, and by no means time for a break in the fight against authoritarian tendencies. The revolution must be fought permanent, in the daily life, to sustain and develop further. However, as long as a) Norway stays out of EU, b) populist and nationalist tendencies are put at place, and c) the left and right tendencies outbalance each other reasonable as by now, Norway will probably stay anarchist, and be a lighthouse for EU and the rest of the world. Let's work together, on co-operative or individual basis, in media, political and economic organizations, to support the Anarchy of Norway and anarchist tendencies all over the world.
After the revolutionary change, the coordinates of the Norwegian social system are ca 55% socialism and ca 52% autonomy on the Economic-political map. Thus, the degree of anarchy is about 53%, and the system is significant anarchist. And thus, the bureaucratic tendency broadly defined, i.e. the tendencies towards economical and political/administrative hierarchy, - plutarchy (capitalism) and statism in different forms, oligarchy, polyarchy and ochlarchy included, - measured by the authoritarian degree, is about 47%. Although not the significant, i.e. the system is clearly more anarchist than authoritarian, it has a considerable bureaucratic tendency, an obstacle against maximal efficiency and fairness, as well as anarchist human rights & ethics and a further movement towards the anarchist ideal.
*) The stars indicate the position of the Norwegian
economical-political system after the revolutionary change in 1994/95.
Read more about it at (click on:) IJA 1994-96 .
As mentioned, after the referendum the CNN (after a little help from the AIT/AIIS) reported: "an almost perfect society" etc, about the Norwegian economic-political system. And this was a good thing because a) the bad losers of the EU-referendum, say, the matriarch Gro Harlem Brundtland and Utenriksdepartementet, The Norwegian Foreign Department, sent out harmful authoritarian propaganda and disinformation, telling Norway was or would be a populist, nationalist, mercantilist, "nisselueland", with a bad economy, on TV etc. internationally, and thus b) the Norwegian exchange rate and prices of shares turned downwards, the interest rate went upwards, and Norway would probably be sent into an economical depression with large unemployment, if not c) Lou Dobbs at CNN and other international newsmedia had reported the truth - that the Norwegian economy was very sound, and the economical political system was sound, and indicated it would probably be more sound, and d) thus the exchange rate went upwards, the value of the shares rised again, and interest rate went down, and thus a hike in the interest rate and a depression with big unemployment were avoided.
Afterwards the Norwegian economy relatively has been one of the strongest in the world, but if Gro Harlem Brundtland and UD had managed to start a bad economical spiral downwards, as they were up to, the Norwegian economy would perhaps never recovered and be as good as it has been over the years passing by since 1994."Thanks to Lou, the editors of CNN and other international media supporting AIT and the new anarchist political economical system of Norway in the early days of the revolutionary change. Perhaps we all togheter "changed the world" slightly, slightly, slightly i.e. at least on behalf of Anarchism in Norway and the Norwegian people. It must be clear that the relevant press releases sent by telefax from AIT to CNN etc. before and soon after the EU-referendum, also of course accounted for the friendly replies from Lou Dobbs at CNN and the other international media on the air, via the influence on the economy, probably were worth billions to the Norwegian people a.o.t., in the following years", says A. Quist, the internationally well known anarchofeminist and co-writer of the Anarchofeminist Manifesto of 1982.
A brief summary of the most important information and press releases sent from the AIT/AIIS before and after the EU-referendum 1994-95, and the responding of the international newsmedia-giants, was published in IJ@/Fb No 4 (24) 1994, 1 (25) and 2 (25) 1995. NB! When reading the IJ@/Fb No 4 (24) 1994, 1 (25) and 2 (25) 1995, etc, the text should be interpreted according to the updated research front of anarchism today. Say a.o.t., the concept of the degree of anarchy has been more strictly defined, and is no longer used for systems outside the anarchist quadrant of the Economical-Political map, using instead the authoritarian degree (or the libertarian degree broadly defined, including semilibertarian degree = 100% - the authoritarian degree). The most basic mathematical ecocirc formulas related to the Economical-Political map have of course not been changed, but the words used per definition in this connection have been changed a bit to make it a bit more clear what is anarchist and what is not, i.e. semilibertarian and authoritarian. The situation during the anarchist revolutionary change was quite dramatic, especially in the days just around the referendum and the following months. All in all, the marxist matriarch Gro Harlem Brundtland and her authoritarian government got a real economic-political uppercut, that changed the system into anarchism of low degree.
IJ@/Fb No 4 (24) reported: EU-strategien ble i hovedsak lagt i 1988, og pressetaktikken på Anarkistbiennalen i Oslo 1994, det 3. kombinerte IFA-FICEDL kongress-seminaret den 2.11. Og alt har gått over forventning i forhold til planene. Det internasjonale pressekorpset som samlet seg i Oslo til folkeavstemningen, ble som ventet avspist med JA-propagandaen fra UD's Internasjonale Pressesenter på "Vestbanen" i Oslo. Pressen ante fort at propagandaen ikke stemte helt. UD's materiale samsvarte bl.a dårlig med det en kunne se med egne øyne. Pressen ønsket naturligvis noe mer troverdig - en kontrast til regjeringspropagandaen. Dermed var bordet duket for det anarkistiske alternativet, som kom med korrekt informasjon, i motsetning til Ja-regjeringens desinformasjon. Og så begynte ballen å rulle... Før folkeavstemningen i Sverige sendte vi [bl.a] en melding med overskriften "Sweden and Norway: Say no!".
Mange anarkister deltok også i den generelle NEI til EU folkebevegelsen, IJ@/Fb hadde argumentert aktivt mot EU i flere år, og man hadde kjørt frem disse argumentene i en rekke fora. Ragnar Frischs artikkel om "Det uopplyste pengevelde", med brodd mot EU, ble trykt opp igjen og sirkulerte i økonom-kretser, etc. Det var en kjempemobilisering frem til folkeavstemningen. I Sverige ble det jo ja-flertall, og i Norge nei. Den internasjonale pressen hadde imidlertid fått et helt feilaktig inntrykk av grunnen til nei-et i Norge, og dette avspeilte seg bl.a i de første nyhetssendingene på CNN, SKY og TV5. Det var da det var på tide å markere seg som et bedre alternativ til UD's Ja-propaganda. Vi sendte til hele det internasjonale nettet, men tar her bare med utgaven til CNN.To CNN: Please stop spreading disinformation about the Norwegian EU-referendum. There were no significant "Nationalistic" and "Non-internationalistic" arguments in the debate. The main argument goes like this (in academic terms): NORWAY SAYS "NO"!
1. Membership in The European Union represents probably a movement towards more [degree of] statism and capitalism, and thus towards less efficient production, less justice, and larger difference in rank and income, i.e. a movement away from anarchy [NB! this was a situation of an anarchist revolutionary change, the authoritarian tendencies of the marxian matriarchy was crushed, and the Anarchy of Norway was emerging, but was not yet quite stabile] in authoritarian direction. The feminist, environmental and intergenerational perspectives are also included in this analysis.
2. A vast majority among The Anarchists in Norway and Sweden think so, and voted NO at the referendums. 3. The Norwegian and Swedish People in general were advocated to do the same: Vote NO to membership in The European Union at the referendum! 4. In Sweden and Norway the majority of the people voted NO, but the bureaucracy and its ramifications voted yes at large. The larger and shrewder Swedish bureaucracy managed to defeat the people, but the Norwegian did not. Thus [after the anarchist revolutionary change] Norway confirmed its position as a land with relatively high degree of anarchy, and - together with Switzerland*) country - a lighthouse for the authoritarian European Union. Og det gikk ikke mange minuttene før CNN endret på reportasjene. Det ble snakket om "the almost perfect society" (= anarki) [Say, Lou Dobbs and other reporters at CNN were clearly responding to the AIT/AIIS press releases] etc, og alt pratet om nasjonalisme og nisselue ble søkk borte. Dessuten ble reportasjen utvidet betraktelig. Dette hadde også en positiv effekt på avisene i USA, og New York børsen. Kronekursen gikk opp og renten ned.
The fight for the velvet anarchist revolution was however not yet over - and it developed into a permanent revolution, it was necessary to crush repeated contrarevolutionary attacks, from the Yes to EU organizations and statist and/or capitalist tendencies in general. Say, soon after the referendum a contrarevolutionary attack from the Yes-ministers - and some private bureaucratical tendencies aiming at economical plutarchy - tried to stop foreign investment in Norway - and recommended large scale "outflagging/utflagging" for the Norwegian investors as well, and thus stab a dagger in the back of the new, emerging, anarchist system. The aim was probably to start an economical depression, and thus clear the ground for a new EU referendum and perhaps a Yes majority later on, based on a.o.t. the argument "What did we say before the referendum! The political economy in Norway will be bad, if the country doesn't become a member of the European Union". Anyway a call for a new referendum was mentioned in the newsmedia.Det ble snakket om krise i norsk næringsliv og om kapitalflukt fra Norge, samt investeringer i Sverige, og dette måtte naturligvis også motvirkes.
Dermed var det duket for en ny pressemelding [til CNN, SKY-NEWS, TV5, etc, men også til norsk presse], som også ble fulgt opp av den internasjonale pressen, og kronekursen gikk ytterligere opp og renten ned. Dermed var sannheten om Norges relativt gode økonomi festet i den internasjonale opinionen så langt: Investment in production v.s. bureaucracy: An interesting social experiment takes place in Scandinavia. Two countries, Norway and Sweden, with approximately the same type economic-political system... initially, have chosen different connection to Europe. Sweden has joined The European Union, and Norway has not. A comparative analysis so far shows the following: Sweden will invest approximately 2 billions US $ next year in net contigent to the EU-bureacracy, i.e. "for a seat in Brussel", while Norway will save about 1 billion $, which may be used for productive investments. The Swedish are discussing who's going to pay the bill. Perhaps somebody will try to put it indirectly on foreign investment etc. in Sweden, rather than pay it themselves? This payment, i.e. via more taxes, is a.o.t. just what happened later on. Investigations of the development in unemployment, median and average income, bureaucracy and system cost, and other economical indicators, indicate a relative success for the Anarchy of Norway compared to the EU-bureaucratic Sweden, also seen apart from the net benefits from the oil-industry.
The bureaucratic authoritarian rule of the marxian matriarch had kept the Norwegian political-economical system both inefficient and unfair, based on statism: "Gro Harlem Brundtland har på sin side hatt makta, og hun har visst å bruke den... historien om en politiker-gruppes kamp mot folket... Ei lekse i maktbruk." slo Nationen fast 29.11.1994, i.e. meaning something like Gro Harlem Brundtland had very much had the power and used it in a rather machiavellian way. And this was most likely a very correct observation. The anarchist revolution changed the Norwegian economical political system towards somewhat less authoritarian tendencies, the system moving also bit to the right, passing the border from the marxian social-democrat to the anarchist quadrant on the economical-political map. The grip of the statism of the marxist matriarch loosened, the degree of statism was reduced a few percent in the following time, following the megatrend towards more autonomy. The marxist matriarch stopped being a matriarch, i.e ruler, in real terms, retiring to a passive administrative role. The marxist Dagsavisen had a retrospective article18.04.2009 headlined "Dr. Gro og Mrs. Hyde" and also stating Gro as "En sosialdemokratisk variant av Kim Il Sung". Gro was Mrs Hyde and a social-democratic variant of Kim Il Sung, until the anarchist revolution i 1994/95, but then became the less authoritarian Dr. Gro, and the system seen all in all became an anarchy of low degree, with ca 53% degree of anarchy.
The message to the foreign and domestic investors were: At the moment it seems like Norway is the most interesting for domestic and foreign investment. Better to invest in a stabil anarchy compared to a growing bureaucratic chaos. Ja-siden la jo ikke inn årene av den grunn, og hver gang det har toppet seg, har vi stått på... og vi har gode relasjoner til f.eks CNN og SKY-NEWS, som et pålitelig alternativt pressebyrå... And both foreign and domestic realinvestments in Norway continued in a reasonable way, compared to Sweden and the European Union in general.
15.12.1994 the contrarevolutionary tendencies against the new established Anarchy, the bad losers call for a new referendum and trying to sabotage the people's clear No majority -- were halted somewhat for a while when the editor Kåre Valebrokk of the industrial-paper Dagens Næringsliv, in a one page commercial in Aftenposten, the largest non-tabloid Norwegian newspaper, a) with a picture of the internationally well known Norwegian anarchist and play-writer Henrik Ibsen declaring his famous word of wisdom "Bedst var det, kan hænde, det gik, som det gik...", and b) himself adding a.o.t. "Hva var det vi mistet, hva var det vi fikk... Det er nye tider nå.", indicating it was after all best that the result at the referendum was No to the European Union, and not Yes, and that an anarchist economical-political system was established. The AIT/AIIS press release titled "Kåre vs Gro", published 23.12.2002 reported a.o.t. about this, and also
a) that the marxist PM Gro Harlem Brundtland had no credibility after telling lies for open TV-screen about the LO's (workers' union) statement against the EU in the main EU-debate program at the NRK-TV, the Norwegian public broadcasting, just before the referendum, Brundtland saying wrongly the LO was for the European Union, and that
b) it was generally not a good thing for a prime minister to loose self control and telling lies in public, at critical situations, - as she did, however not only this time, but several times mentioned in the newsmedia.
The fight against contrarevolutionary tendencies had to continue, and still goes on.... The debates, reflecting the peoples perspective via the public room, about the European Union and Norwegian politics for the 21st century in general, arranged by Folkebladet - at www.anarchy.no, clearly show that the fight against authoritarian and non-anarchist tendencies is still very much on the agenda in Norway.
22.05.1995 dokumenterte Dagens Næringsliv over en dobbeltside "hvordan ja-sidens dommedagsprofetier er gjort til skamme": "Alt har gått bedre i norsk økonomi siden Norge sa nei til EU 28. november i fjor. Renten har falt, veksten har økt, budsjettunderskuddet er forduftet og investeringene skyter i været". DN reported about major improvements in the economy 22.05.1995.
The connection between AIT/AIIS and CNN in those years (1994-95) was officially confirmed in a letter from a CNN/Turner official indicating a.o.t. the information from AIT/AIIS was interesting and intelligent. As this is perhaps a political document of some interest we will describe it a bit more. The envelope has the Turner logo and the sender organization's name is "Turner Broadcasting International Limited", addressed to S. Olsen, Anarkistenes Informasjonstjeneste, c/o F.B. P.B. 4777 Sofienberg N - 0506 Oslo, Norway. The letter, dated 7 March 1995, says a.o.t. the following: "Dear S. Olsen, Thank you very much for comments on the network's programming. We appreciate your feedback... We [however] do not have the capacity to reply to each of your faxes in turn. They are very informative but also quite substantial!... Thank you for your cooperation. With best whises, Dale Langley - Press Officer. CNN INTERNATIONAL," i.e. at the CNN's London office, UK. "Well, 'plenty all right - too much no good' as one of the AI councillors often says, - anyway the AIIS/AI spread the telefaxes on different offices of CNN and other newsmedia to be more cooperative. The main point is that CNN and other newsmedia responded to several of the AIIS/AI faxes in their news.
As mentioned, soon after the No-vote was known, the CNN and other main international newsmedia reported that this was due to "Nationalistic" and "Non-internationalistic" [authoritarian, backwards] tendencies, based on disinformation from the Yes to EU government in Norway. However the Anarchist International Information Service AIIS - Anarkistenes Informasjonstjenest AIT - minutes after these newsreports faxed a message to main international newsmedia, including CNN, stating that Norway was libertarian, and [soon] anarchist. Soon after the CNN responded to the AIIS-faxes and changed the news, reporting about: "an almost perfect society", regarding the Norwegian economic-political system. Also other main international newsmedia changed their reports in a similar way. They however did not mention AIIS as a source, but they clearly responded by changing the news according to the facts from AIIS. In the next weeks and months the AIIS sent several faxes clearing up disinformation from the Yes-to EU government, which international newsmedia, including CNN, responded to in a similar way. The letter from CNN confirms that the CNN responded in this way to some, but not all, of the faxes from AIIS.
Our aim of those days a) was not necessarily that CNN, SKY-NEWS, French TV5, EURONEWS, etc., and the large internationally distributed newspapers, say, New York Times, Washington Post, etc, should reply and respond to all of the information we sent, but to have some influence in anarchist direction if possible, b) we sent much about the anarchist economical political system in Norway, anarchism and other -isms, and libertarian policy in general, so the giant international newsmedia could have an alternative to the governments' and tendencies towards authoritarian and authorities' -- propaganda, and a lot of information in the libertarian field of research, - for the newsmediagiants to choose from in a freedomly way. And our, the AIT/AIIS's, influence via the international media must of course not be exaggerated at all, however when we had a new, good and sound argument in libertarian direction perhaps it had a slight influence indirectly or directly, now and then, on what was sent on the air, i.e. the CNN network's programming and other newsmedia's. But the usual "manufacturing of consent" according to Noam Chomsky's research, where the media are acting more as the 4th power of the State, in societal perspective, than a free press, was in those days, as well as today, clearly the main tendency.
There is however possibly a slight development towards more free newsmedia reporting in a libertarian way, say less Brown Card convicts of the International Anarchist Tribunal, over time from 1994 and until now. But this is probably due to a libertarian megatrend, and perhaps not much related to the work of AIT/AIIS" says S. Olsen, spokesperson of AIT/AIIS, reflecting over the past work of the anarchist newsagency, at the time when the now rather outdated telefax-machines of the AIT/AIIS network were used a lot, and of the replies from the giant international newsmedia: "I guess David had much more luck against the giant Goliath -- and the militants using the Trojan horse in the old days also --, than we had vis-à-vis the international and domestic newsmedia, but now and then the AIT/AIIS 'underdog' anarchist news agency probably managed to hit the many headed giant international media-troll so it made a slight change of behavior in libertarian direction, i.e. the troll hit the authorities or went against authoritarian tendencies, or (very rare) supported anarchism more directly, especially internationally.
But seen all in all, a) the influence of AIT/AIIS news and comments related to the EU-referendum in 1994-95 via the international newsmedia, was probably the most important and direct, b) the influence in general, outside what is reported about case a) in IJ@/Fb No 4 (24) 1994, 1 (25) and 2 (25) 1995, must not be exaggerated, and was probably usually quite marginal if any at all, - however c) a useful network was established and d) AIT/AIIS got a reputation about beeing a serious anarchist newsagency and source for libertarian information, that still holds good today.
Today, in the days of Internet and e-mails, we have reports about several anarchist journalists in different newsmedia, and the www.anarchy.no and IJ@ etc. get a lot of interesting feedback in general. Anarchy is on the air as never before according to reports, i.e. in a positive way, but anarchism has still not achieved much influence on the media in general, i.e. say, about proportional to having 25% of the area on the economical political map. This may perhaps to some extent be due to problems with the double meaning of the word rule in anglophone languages, meaning both A. "regel = relatively fixed ways to settle things in an orderly way, i.e. regulations and regulatory means" and B. "herske/archein" in Norwegian/Greek, from hersker/archos, i.e. be and/or act as an arch, authoritarian, bestiality.
This problem represents an anglophone Orwellian "1984" "newspeak and doublethinking" tendency, as only the meaning B. of the word rule is relevant in anarchist context. AIIS/AIT has however plans of continuing the information work, domestic and internationally, now as the official newsagency of the Anarchist International, and hope for good co-operation with the domestic and international news-mediagiants, both generally and in especially important cases. An aim is over time to increase the percentage 'marketshare' in the meaning of the amount of covering about anarchy and anarchism defined in a libertarian, i.e. realistic - not authoritarian, way, in the media."
The development of the libertarian/anarchist degree in Norway related to the velvet revolution and revolutionary change in 1994/95 is estimated to the following: 11-27.11.1994 = ca 49,4% (state) ; 28-29.11.1994 = ca 51% (anarchy) ; 01.03.1995 = ca 52% ; 01.06.1995 = ca 53% ; 01.10.1995 = ca 53%, a stabilized anarchy of low degree. The system made a " ) " shaped move from about [= ca] 49,4% libertarian degree and located close to the middlepoint of the map within the marxist quadrant 11-27.11.1994, toward the star on the map in the middle of 1995, with ca 53% degree of anarchism. The libertarian degree = the degree of democracy = the degree of anarchism within the anarchist marxist quadrant of the map (and similar in reality), and anarchism is real & green democracy.
The libertarian music of the FABS, the Federalist Anarchist Beat Society, was a major source of inspiration for the Anarchist Federation of Norway, AFIN, and the Anarchist International Information Service, AIIS, during the velvet revolutionary change, and in general, now and before. FABS was mentioned in FB/IJA 2(24) 1994...
In 2009 a book about the struggle against EU-membership, etc., called "Makta midt imot" - "Directly opposite to the power", by Kjell-Erik Nordenson Kallset, was published, see the people's official EU-debate for more information. 28.11.1994 is celebrated as the Day of the Anarchist Revolution in Norway, by libertarians.
The center of gravity in Norwegian politics has been littte over the middle of the economic-political map since 1994/95.
The Real & Green Democracy revolution in Norway and the Green Global Spring Revolution GGS. The veteran eco-anarchist and anarcha-feminist Anna Quist from the Anarchy of Norway, is elected as the official spokesperson for the GGS. She was elected 28.09.2019 unanimously by the GGS/AI- secretariat in Oslo, the capital of Norway, a country in Northern Europe, and an Anarchy (of low degree) since the velvet anarchist revolution 1994/95, also with a significant green tendency. A.o.t. there is no significant coal problem in this country. The revolution started 28.11.1994 with the EU-referendum and more actions. The Anarchy of Norway is still going strong, and in 2019 The 25th anniversary of the anarchist revolution in Norway was celebrated world wide by Real and Green Democrats Thursday 28. November, the Day of the Anarchist Revolution in Norway. "The Real and Green Democracy Revolution in Norway is a significant inspiration for The Green Global Spring Revolution (GGS) because it demonstrates fully that 1. Anarchy, i.e.liberal social democracy including a significant green tendency, works, and 2. that the GGS may very well succeed world wide! But not without hard work and using all legal means and actions!" said Anna Quist, a 1. veteran Real and Green Democracy, i.e. Anarchist, activist since 1965, also 2. activist in the Norwegian anarchist, including green, revolution in 1994/95 and later, and 3. now and in the future official spokesperson for The Green Global Spring Revolution (GGS).
III. THE ANARCHIST SYSTEM 1995 - 2000
28.11.1995 marked one year of anarchy in Norway. The coordinates of the system have not changed significantly since June 1995. Thus, the anarchist revolution is permanent, and the fight against authoritarian elements is working well.
A. GOODBYE TO THE MARXIST MATRIARCHY - CREATION OF WORKERS' COUNCILS
The marxist landsmodern PM Gro Harlem Brundtland, i.e. matriarch of the Labor Party (Arbeiderpartiet - AP), had been the big looser of the EU-referendum. In october 1996 the PM Gro Harlem Brundtland was replaced by Thorbjørn Jagland, from the same party, AP. In november 1996 the planning councillor for the PM Jagland's "House of Norway", Terje Rød-Larsen, a former UN-architect of the PLO-state, met his "Watergate" because of a corrupt tendency, the Fideco case, and resigned (27.11.1996), and a possible stronger marxist bureaucratic power tendency at the council of the central administration, was avoided. Together with the national confederation of the workers (Landsorganisasjonen, LO), Jagland introduced workers' councils, to make the system more democratic. However the lot of them were marxist co-operate councils, initiated from the top of the Labor Party and LO, and they didn't last long, see more information at the Norwegian Anarchist Council . The most of this council movement collapsed after the commune elections in 1999, however the anarchist council is still going strong.
B. THE STORTING, ALLEMANNSRETT, CO-OPERATIVES AND OTHER INSTITUTIONS
According to the constitution, a king is the government of Norway, but he is
a symbolic king without real power, and thus not a government or monarch in
real terms. However a council, choosen among the people, formally by
the king, may a) sometimes be powerful and act as a government, say, if selected
from a majority party at the Storting, and b) sometimes not be powerful,
and thus act more like a managerial, administrative organ of confederal type.
That is the council may be more horizontally than vertically organized and thus
not be government, or the opposite, and thus be government. Other important institutions of the Norwegian 53% anarchist system,
however not without bureaucratic tendencies (47% authoritarian), are, say: The
national confederation of the workers (Landsorganisasjonen, LO), of
the industry ( Næringslivets Hovedorganisasjon, NHO) and the
communes (Kommunenes Sentralforbund, KS), the large co-operative movement
and the allemannsrett, the media and the Storting, a mixed
kind of senate and house of representatives, or the Swiss Confederation's Bundesrat
and Nationalrat, i.e. a parliament or congress with Lagting and Odelsting. A
close connection to the Anarchy of the oceans, through a large merchant fleet,
may also be mentioned. The elections to the Storting are every fourth year. The Storting
has 165 mandater, mainly from 19 fylkescommunes.
The mandater, i.e. persons, who are elected to the Storting are
fixed geographically in the following way:8 from østfold (18),
15 from Oslo (1),
12 from Akershus (22),
8 from Hedmark (22),
7 from Oppland (26),
7 from Buskerud (21),
7 from Vestfold (15),
6 from Telemark (18),
4 from Aust-Agder (15),
5 from Vest-Agder (15),
10 from Rogaland (26),
15 from Hordaland, Bergen included (34);
5 from Sogn og Fjordane (26),
10 from Møre og Romsdal (38),
10 from Sør-Trøndelag, Trondheim included (25);
6 from Nord-Trøndelag (24),
12 from Nordland (45),
6 from Troms (25), and
4 from Finnmark (19).
The remaining 8 persons are utjevningsmandater, elected to achieve a greater degree of proportionality. To achieve utjevningsmandater a party must have at least 4% of the total number of votes (sperregrensen). Thus, the amount of delegates to the Storting from the relevant different geographical areas as listed above, i.e. of the fylkescommunes (a kind of geographically large cantons, but with much less autonomy than the cantons in the Swiss Confederation), is fixed figures, given in advance of the elections, - and thus is not dependent on the election results in the different the areas/fylkescommunes ( with exception of the 8 utjevningsmandater). Thus the system of delegation to the Norwegian central/federal/confederal council, the Storting, is based on the fylkescommunes in a fixed way, rather than the population and the election results, in itself a slight commune anarchist tendency supporting geographical decentralization of the influence on the central/federal/confederal administration. This also implicates that, say, a Same living in Finnmark has much greater influence per vote on the Storting, than a bureaucrat living in Oslo.
The figures in brackets are the number of local communes, municipalities, within each fylkes-commune. The total number of local communes were 435 in year 2000. All of the communes are organized in the National Confederation of the Communes - Kommunenes Sentralforbund, dealing with common matters, and also is the employers' federation for people working for the communes.In 1996, 1 426 837 persons were organized in the confederations of the workers' and in 1999, 1 485 065. The largest of the workers' confederations is Landsorganisasjonen, with 811 423 members in 1996, and 828 431 in 1999.After the anarchist revolution of 1994, the Storting de facto mainly has been performing like a confederal council with delegates, not authoritarian representatives, from the 19 fylkescommunes, and with practically no parliamentarism. Generally speaking, the system is not significantly authoritarian.
The council at the central administration, sometimes referred to as the people's council, the king's council, the state council (STACO) or Council of State, and even the constitutionally wrong term "government", dependent on the situation, is for the time being not a government, in the meaning of vertically organized. The term "state" is here the public sector for general purposes throughout the country, and does not mean "state" as vertically organized, i.e. based on statism, say, as the present PLO-state of Arafat. The Norwegian constitution is referring to the "king's council, elected among the people" and "the State Council, i.e. Council of State", and principally no government except the powerless symbolic king, a person with de facto less power than the almost powerless Swiss president.
Another branch of the anarchist system is Norges Anarkistråd (NA), the Norwegian Anarchist Council (NACO) , founded medio December 1996.The co-operative movement in Norway counts altogether more than 1,4 million memberships. Compared to the total number of housholds, 1,8 million, this is an impressing figure. The importance of the co-operative model, both in terms of memberships and economic activity and results, is most clearly shown in agriculture, fishing, housing and in the consumer sector. In addition, there are a lot of small co-operative societies producing goods or services for income purposes or for the benefit of the infrastructure of local communities i.e. mainly associations for the marketing of handicrafts or hunting and fishing rights, as well as local water supply societies, irrigation societies and drainage societies. The ANARCOOP bookshop distributing the IJA and other material, is an example of the small co-operatives. Thus, social individualist anarchist mutualism is a widespread activity in Norway.
The symbolic king is totally powerless
The king in the Anarchy of Norway is only a symbolic king without power and command
The rumors that the Norwegian king is powerful and commander of the armed forces, based on the Norwegian constitution, are not true. The king of Norway is only a symbolic king. He has no power at all. He is in reality not a commander of anything, and not the army, which is an antimilitarist corps in Norway.
Norway as the Swiss Confederation and Iceland are anarchies of low degree. This means there are authoritarian tendencies. The anarchy degree of Norway is about 54% (since 2002) , which means the authoritarian degree is about 46%, but it is still the most libertarian/anarchist country in the world. The anarchists in Norway try to increase the anarchy/libertarian degree, but it goes slow and is difficult. If you have any ideas on how the anarchy degree can be increased quickly, you are very welcome.
AI knows the Norwegian constitution. It is quite misleading because it partly deals with formal and symbolic power, and not realities. There is constitutional custom and practice which prove this. The king is only a symbolic king, the Council of State – which is based on the parliament (Storting), has the role of a cabinet. The king has no power at all.
While radical in its day, the constitution of 1814 was a product of its age. As Norwegian democracy developed, some parts of it began to look increasingly dated. For example, the executive power, which in the constitution is consistently attributed to the king, came increasingly to rest in his Council of State (statsråd). Similarly, the king originally had the right to appoint members of the Council, who were answerable to him alone, and they could not be chosen from the members of the Storting. With the establishment of parliamentarism 1884, the Council was effectively chosen by general election, in that the king appointed only members of the party or coalition having a majority in the Storting. Further, the Council became answerable to the Storting, in the sense that a failed vote of confidence would cause the Council of State to resign.
You better believe us, because this is the truth. AI and the Norwegian anarchists deal with realities, not formal and symbolic things. As mentioned, the king is only a symbolic king, he is without any power and without command in reality. In real terms Norway is an anarchy of low degree, although formally a monarchy. Anarchists (and AI) are interested in realities, not formal and symbolic issues. Long live the Anarchy of Norway!
In December 1996 the Nobel Peace Prize went to East-Timor, a repressed country which in a long time has been on the agenda of anarchists, say, Noam Chomsky, the Northern Anarchist Confederation (NAC), and others. The Nobel Prizes are a series of annual awards provided for by a large fund, in the will of Alfred B. Nobel, the inventor of the dynamite. While the academic Nobel Prizes are Swedish, the political and antimilitarist Peace Prize is decided by a committee selected by the Norwegian Storting. This committee is quite autonomous. Some foreigners think the prize is decided by the state council, but that is not true. The first peace prize was given to Jean Henry Dunant, from the Swiss Confederation, in 1901. The German Carl Von Ossietzky, who won the prize in 1935, and the American Martin Luther King Jr. in 1964, may also be mentioned.
D. THE DECLINE OF THE MARXIST SECRET SERVICE OCHLARCY
May Day 1996 a giant rat statue with bugging device headphones on the ears had been placed by an anarchist a.o. direct action group, at Youngstorget, Oslo, i.e. at the headquarters of LO, AP the Labor party and the populist FrP... Medio December a reorganization of the secret services kick-started with one councillor of Jagland's cabinet, Grete Faremo, and Hans Olav østgaard, the chief of the secret police, POT, resigning from their jobs. The next day a Norwegian Red Cross hospital in Tchechenia was attacked by terrorists, probably muslim hierarchists armed with weapons similar to the Russian "Speznas" special forces. Six persons were killed, among them two Norwegians. Friday 20.12.1996 the Norwegian Anarchist Council (NACO) and the WSC-IFA expressed the deepest condolences with the relatives of the victims, and a humanitarian protest against violence, war and madness. A political process of historical dimensions was going on in Norway 1996/97. Stortinget and the people were discussing the Lund commission's report about the secret services doings, criminal or not, over a half century.
Also the Anarchist Federation was mentioned as an object for investigation by the Secret Policy, in the Lund report, and as indicated above - this was hardly news to the anarchists... However, the Lund report represented only a tip of the iceberg, i.e. tendencies of secret services ochlarchy (mob rule), from authoritarian groups and political parties. Ultimo December 1996 the Norwegian Anarchist Council wished the Storting & Co luck with the "reorganization of the secret services, i.e. more in the service of the people, the anarchists included, and not the bureaucracy!" Stortingets kontrollutvalg for de hemmelige tjenestene, i.e. the control commission for the secret services, was an organ for the reorganization. This commission's coordinator Per N. Hagen of the Centerparty, from Tynset, a town with an anarchist museum, had an important task. January 1997 the Anarchist Council added: "The secret services should do what they are supposed to do, and not everything else! It would be interesting for the people to see not only their own files, but the files of the secret services agents, to control their activities, i.e. in the long run! The tendencies of Orwell's "1984" police state, with a mix of authoritarian groups & political parties and the secret services, rooted back from the days of the marxist system, must be stopped in an orderly way!"
E. AN OPTIMISTIC POINT OF VIEW
The AIT new year report about Norway 1996/97 was optimistic, and also realistic. In October 1997, Jagland's council at the central administration, was replaced by a "no-government" , i.e. no to EU, with Senterpartiet, Kristelig Folkeparti and Venstre, and Kjell Magne Bondevik as PM. The NACO and the WSC-IFA wished a happy new year 1998, and reminded of the Libertarian Association of Teetotallers direct action. After a couple of years, a less marxist Labor Party state council, co-operating more towards the middle - replaced the "no to EU" council. The system has moved a little to the right, but not very significant. Thus, the society is still about 53% anarchist.
IV. THE CONSOLIDATION OF THE ANARCHY 2001 AND BEYOND
The main policy of the Anarchist International (AI/IFA) and The Anarchist Federation of Norway (AFIN) was presented in the largest Newspaper in Norway, Verdens Gang 06.11.2001, p 39, see Anarchy is [real] democracy - article in VG. This article also states "Norway [as] a relatively anarchist country, however a bit far from the anarchist ideal (Norge som et relativt anarkistisk land, men nokså langt fra det anarkistiske ideal)."
In August 2001 Norway was once again in the headlines of the international newsmedia. Monday 03.09.2001 more than 400 mainly Afghan asylum seekers were on their way to Papua New Guinea on an Australian troop carrier after the Australian Government stuck to its authoritarian refusal to let them into the country. The group spent eight days stranded on the Norwegian freighter Tampa before being transferred to the HMAS Manoora. The refugees were transported towards New Zealand and Nauru, where their asylum claims should be assessed. The Norwegian Anarchist Council criticized the plan for dealing with the asylum seekers, saying it was not acceptable under international law. It said the best solution would have been to allow them ashore immediately, on Christmas Island, rather than make them endure more time at sea. More information about this event at The Tampa case .
The Stortings election Monday 12th of September had a moderate interest in the Northern and international media.The Anarchist Federation of Norway - Anarkistføderasjonen i Norge, did not participate in the election, but pointed to the distance between the present society at ca 53% degree of anarchy, and the 100% anarchist ideal, i.e. defined by 100% socialism and autonomy, minimal economical and political/administrative rank differences, maximal efficiency and fairness, and the other anarchist principles, i.e. the IFA-principles, the Oslo convention and anarchist human rights, etc. They used the anarchist economical - political map to strategic positioning.Another organization, Folkebevegelsen for valgboikott av RV, Fr.p og andre autoritære with some anarchists and other people, founded in 1997 - also had a campaign. They advocated boycott of RV, the Maoist and Trotskyite election alliance, Fr.P - the populist right party, and other authoritarians, at the election. The situation was discussed in International Journal of Anarchism no 2 (31): Before the Stortings election in Norway 2001 .
The election was a political earthquake. The big looser was AP. It had not done such a bad election since 1924. This only confirmed that the days of the marxist social democratic system definitively were over, and that the social individualist anarchist system was still going strong. The Labor Party has lost the grip on the concept of social equalization including freedom, i.e. less rank and income differences broadly defined. AP lacks a vision of the anarchist ideal, and the road ahead; i.e. although moved a little to the right, still advocating marxist social democracy, statism and even tendencies of state capitalism. The participation in the election was about 72%, i.e. 5% less than in 1997. This indicates an increasingly dissatisfaction with the present system, and the need for even more anarchist management of the society.
The mandates were:
Left - Venstre...............................................
(2,-4),
Center - Senterpartiet.................................(10,-1),
Coast - Kystpartiet.......................................(1,+0),
Socialist Left - Sosialistisk Venstreparti (23,+14),
Christian people - Kristelig Folkeparti ......(22,-3),
Right - Høyre............................................(38,+15),
Labor - Arbeiderpartiet.............................(43,-22),
RV - Rød Valgallianse ..................................(0.-0),
Fr.p - Fremskrittspartiet ............................(26,+1),
for the parties placed on the progressive vs reactionary axis, i.e. from the top to the bottom of the economical-political map. The +, - figures are changes of mandates since the previous election in 1997. Except for the most authoritarian parties - RV and Fr.p, all the parties are in reality close to the middle of the economical political map, although ideologically and verbally very different. The no to EU mandates were increased, and is by now 95. 60 of the 165 mandates were women. The situation with no dominating big party at the Storting was something new, and the Norwegian Anarchist Council expressed: This is a case of more practical horizontal organization at the Storting, and it calls for even more co-operation without coercion. Authoritarian tendencies towards chaos, ochlarchy (mob rule) and the right to the strongest, economically and/or political/administrative, must be rejected. The fight for even more socialism and autonomy, social equalization including freedom, i.e. less income and rank differences and more efficiency (also environmentally), must continue.
The spokesman Lars Sponheim of Venstre, the Left party, confirmed the anarchist analysis of the rankings among the parties along the progressive vs reactionary axis on the economical-political map, by declaring Venstre er det mest radikale partiet i norsk politikk, i.e the Left is the most radical party in Norwegian politics; see Dagbladet Tuesday 25.09.2001. After a temporary brake in the negotiations, Venstre, Kr.F. and Høyre decided to form a samarbeidsstatsråd, co-operate state council, with Kjell Magne Bondevik as PM, i.e. a progressive, center-right council at the central administration. While Venstre is the most progressive party in Norway, Kr.F. has "one foot in the left side and one foot in the right side" (VG Wednesday 03.10.2001), and both are No to EU, the less progressive Høyre is typically to the right and Yes to EU. Thus, they will have to co-operate quite well if they want to stay in office, and it is difficult to see exactly what the policy will be.
Whether this council will contribute to a progressive tendency in society, or just a further movement to the right, was an open question just after the election. It may achive a majority in the Storting by co-operating with the Socialist Left, with Labor or the populist Fr.p. Friday 19.10.2001 the state council (STACO) was taken over by the co-operate comrades. The situation was analysed in International Journal of Anarchism no 3 (31): After the Stortings election in Norway 2001 - NACO fights the co-operate comrades. A small progressive tendency, and a slight right tendency on the economical poltical map, were confirmed in 2002. An increase in the degree of anarchy by about 1%, since the middle of 1995, was registered late in 2002.
The Stortings election in 2005 gave 87 mandates to the red and green alliance and 82 mandates to the other parties. About 53% of the voters were anarchists, mainly social-individualists, in several parties. The red and green alliance formed a center-left council of state in October backed by the majority of the mandates. In 2007 this, a.o.t., had resulted in a slight left tendency on the economical-political map, however with no significant change in the degree of anarchy, (about 54%, since 2002). In February 2007 the Constitution was amended to abolish bicameral division of Storting parliament after next elections, due in September 2009.
The Stortings election in September 2009 gave 86 mandates to the red and green alliance and 83 mandates to the other parties. About 55% of the voters were anarchists, mainly social-individualists, in several parties, see chapter I and XV at Stortingsvalget 2009 for more information. The red and green alliance continued in a center-left council of state backed by the majority of the mandates, however with no significant changes in the system's coordinates. Thus, per 2010 the Anarchy of Norway is still going strong at about 54% degree of anarchy, and will probably stay anarchist in this way in the coming years.
A degree of anarchy at about 54% is also confirmed in the paper editions of the two main economic newspapers in Norway, Dagens Næringsliv 2/3 June 2007 p. 3 and Finansavisen 17.10. 2007 p. 64, see anarchist articles in DN and Finansavisen.
The Stortings election in September 2013 gave the following results: Norwegian centre-right leader Erna Solberg has formed a new council of state (cabinet) after Labour Prime Minister Jens Stoltenberg admitted election defeat. The Anarchy of Norway with significant socialism and autonomy and a degree of anarchy at about 54% per 2013 continues, and no significant change is expected in the coming years. However a small movement to the right on the economic-political map is expected. Leader of the Conservative Party (Høyre) and prime minister, Erna Solberg, on Monday 30.09.2013 has formed a minority two party coalition council of state, together with the right populist Progress Party (FrP).
The two center parties, who have been part of the preliminary discussions on the forming of a new council of state, the Christian Democrats (KrF) and the Liberal Left (Venstre) have decided to remain outside the council of state, but will support the two-party coalition in the parliament (Stortinget), based on an agreement. Solberg initially hoped to bring all four parties into a new council of state, but is pleased with an agreement that she says will be the basis for how the parties will work together in the times ahead. The agreement ensures that both the Liberal Left Party and Christian Democrats will still have significant political influence, even though they chose not to be part of the new council of state. There will for example be no more assessments of any potential oil drilling in Lofoten and Vesterålen in Norway, and more justice for child asylum seekers, political issues that were important to the Liberal Left Party and the Christian Democrats.
11.09.2001 The IAT wrote to the international newsmedia: The International Anarchist Tribunal (IAT) has investigated the terrorism in New York and Washington 11.09.2001... We denounce these authoritarian doings. If anyone would like to discuss this matter with the international anarchist movement, please write an e-mail to ifa@anarchy.no. Then it was a conference and discussion internationally among anarchists and others about terrorism in this case, and generally. The International Anarchist Tribunal had also something to say about the Taleban and al-Qaeda network: Read all about it in International Journal of Anarchism 4 (31). The Northern Anarchist Confederation - Anarkistenes organisasjon i Norden - the WSC-IFA and the Norwegian Anarchist Council (NACO), expressed the deepest condolences with the relatives of the victims and the American people.
In October 2005 two Norwegian fisheries inspectors are released having been held for five days against their will on board a Russian trawler which fled while they were inspecting it for suspected illegal activity. The anarchists condemned the kidnapping.
08.07.2010. Three were arrested - suspected of planning terrorism. All three were residents of Oslo, but with non-Norwegian background. One was Norwegian citizen. For more information about this case and more general, search for Anarchy of Norway in International Journal of Anarchism 4 (31). The Associated Press reported about the case, see International Journal of Anarchism 4 (31). 22.07.2011 there was a major terrorist attack in Oslo and a connected shooting at Utøya, see the same issue of IJA for more information. The attacks were widely reported on the main domestic and international newsmedia.
D. THE NOBEL PEACE PRIZE 100 YEARS AND LATER - T. HEYERDAHL IN MEMORIAN - SOLSKJAER
12.10.2001 the Nobel Institute in Oslo declares that the secretary general Kofi Annan and the UN will get this years Peace Prize. This year is the 100th anniversary of the Nobel Peace Prize. NACO congratulates Kofi Annan and the UN. OSLO, 03.12.2001: Some of the world's leading proponents for peace in the 20th century have gathered to formulate how to make the world a safer place in the 21st. More than 30 Nobel Peace Prize laureates are in Oslo for a three-day symposium marking the 100th anniversary of the prize. "We will discuss international terrorism but we will really focus on even deeper issues," a spokesman of the Norwegian Nobel Institute, told Reuters. "We will be analysing what went wrong in the 20th century but more importantly we will be looking at how we can do better in the 21st century." Among those taking part are South Korean President Kim Dae-jung, former Polish President Lech Walesa, Tibetan leader the Dalai Lama, ex-South African President F.W. de Klerk, Northern Irish politicians John Hume and David Trimble and Jewish author Elie Wiesel.
But the meeting, which opened on Monday , is taking place in the shadow of heightened violence in the Middle East and Afghanistan. As a result, Palestinian President Yasser Arafat and Israeli Foreign Minister Shimon Peres, the 1994 winners with assassinated Israeli Prime Minister Yitzhak Rabin - are unlikely to attend, reports the CNN. However Peres has said he will come anyway. Among the attenders was also East Timorese freedom fighter and acting Foreign Minister José Ramos-Horta.The symposium is part of celebrations leading up to the award of the centenary Nobel Peace Prize to the United Nations and Secretary-General Kofi Annan in Oslo on December 10. The laureates, meeting in a hotel on the fringes of the Norwegian capital, will aim to look at ways to avert totalitarianism, bolster democracy and human rights and promote arms control. They are likely to make an appeal for the release of Burmese opposition democracy leader Aung San Suu Kyi, who has been held under house arrest in Burma since before she won the 1991 prize.
The spokesman said that the focus of the peace prize had changed since the first award with a stronger focus on human rights. "We want to have a better organised world, we want to strengthen human rights, we want to alleviate human suffering, we want to have more arms control and disarmament," he said. In the coming century "we may want to look at new elements, the connection between the environment and peace, maybe even the connection between news reporting and peace, but basically we will be addressing the same issues.". This may perhaps be a useful supplement to the ongoing Conference on Terrorism, arranged by the Anarchist International and NAC. NACO expressed: "We wish the delegates at the Nobel symposium and the international newsmedia welcome, a) to the Anarchy of Norway, and b) to study the summary of the International Conference on Terrorism 2001 and the History of the Anarchy of Norway."
The Nobel Symposium's main subject was "conflicts of the 20th century and the solutions for the 21st century": Session 1: War and peace in the 20th century: the over-all balance how can we do better? Session 2: Totalitarianism and ideological conflict help spread democracy and human rights. Session 3: Ethnic conflict, racism and hatred end discrimination and protect minority rights, and Session 4: Economic exploitation and inequalities fight famine, promote sustainable development. Lots were said, but not so much new, compared to the anarchist conference. The prize winners disagreed over Afghanistan. Except for Eli Wiesel and José Ramos-Horta, the prize winners demonstrated quite little insight in the problem.
The press reports were minimal in general. However CNN-TV had a live coverage from the symposium, but the CNN-Internet reported nothing from the discussions, but mentions the Nobel Peace Prize winners have paid tribute to democracy leader Aung San Suu Kyi and urged the Myanmar government to release the fellow laureate. At the Nobel Peace Prize ceremony on Saturday 08.12.2001, 24 laureates wrote a letter to Myanmar's ruling junta appealing for the release of Suu Kyi and hundreds of "political prisoners". NACO supports this resolution. The awarded since the beginning are listed at The Nobel Peace Prize Winners 1901- 2001 . Shimon Peres didn't show up. Perhaps Peres got cold feets because he was put on trial by the IAT, for falsely putting the blame of the terrorism on anarchists. The IAT worked faster than expected, and the verdict was that Peres got the Brown Card 10. 12. 2001, (see IJ@ nr 4(31).
Kofi Annan got his prize, and in the evening there was a dinner at Grand Hotel with representants of the upper classes. Dagsavisen 11.12.2001 writes 8 000-10 000 persons were expected to a peace support demonstration for Kofi Annan, but only ca 1000 participated. Perhaps most of the people don't want be associated with the mainly marxist "peace movement" initiated by among others Johan Galtung, also called the "mad peace professor" with reference to VG 10.12.2001 "Galt, galere, Galtung" and AFIN 10.11.2001 "Hvor "Gal" -"Tung" kan denne professoren bli?" ("gal" = crazy, mad), together with PDS, the followers of the DDR-Stalinists. 06.05.2002 - Pro-democracy leader Aung San Suu Kyi is freed after 19 months of house arrest, Associated Press report the Myanmar government is saying. (Later she was put in house arrest again.)
19.04.2002: THE AIE AND NAC/AI EXPRESS THE DEEPEST CONDOLENCES WITH THE RELATIVES AND FRIENDS OF THE LATE "KON-TIKI" T. HEYERDAHL, BUT HE IS PERHAPS OVERESTIMATED AS A RESEARCHER - A BIT OF A FOGARCH ... ALTHOUGH VERY FAMOUS IN NORWAY AND INTERNATIONALLY. The extent of Thor Heyerdahl's international fame became clear in the first hours after his death as expressions of grief and tributes appeared in news columns around the globe. Germany's Der Spiegel Online called Heyerdahl "one of the greatest explorers of the 20th century" while the BBC's web site announced that "Heyerdahl will be forever remembered as the Kon-Tiki man". Heyerdahl's daring expeditions as well as his often controversial archaeological theories are covered in detail in the international news.
Although his ideas often conflicted with accepted knowledge, the BBC observed that "his pioneering spirit and continuing quest for understanding endeared him to millions". News wire Reuters also spotlighted Heyerdahl's often testy relationship with academia, which viewed him as a kind of Indian Jones, an impressive and flamboyant free spirit without sufficient evidence for his claims. Reuters remembers Heyerdahl's comeback to his detractors as well: "If you are a scientist you don't go on a balsa raft. If you are a scientist you sit and quote each other."
The South China Morning Post described Heyerdahl as the "man who did what everyone thought impossible". Heyerdahl was a Norwegian icon, and arguably her most famous citizen for the past half century. He was also noted for his environmental protests about the polluting of the oceans. Heyerdahl's last book packed as controversial a punch as his youthful work, arguing that the Viking god Odin could have been modeled on a king in southern Russia who lived about 2,000 years ago. Heyerdahl remained impressively active until his final days, lecturing and working on his latest theories even after a major cancer operation last year. Asked for advice on how to stay youthful, he said: "Never retire." Norway's PM of the state council, Kjell Magne Bondevik, has promised a state funeral for Heyerdahl. On Friday Thor Heyerdahl's daughter-in-law Grethe Heyerdahl told the Norwegian news agency NTB that the ceremony would take place in Oslo. His urn will be placed at his beloved home in Colla Micheri in northern Italy.
11.10.2002: Former U.S. President Jimmy Carter has won the Nobel Peace Prize for 2002, the chairman of the Nobel Committee in Oslo has announced. The AIE congratulates the old peace-worker, remembering a.o.t. the Camp-David agreement:
Congratulations with the Nobel Peace Prize Jimmy Carter.
Former American president Jimmy Carter's international peacework is now rewarded with the Nobel Peace Prize, and this is probably well deserved. It is however said that the chairman of the Nobel Peace Prize Committe, Gunnar Berge, also wanted to kick the new American president Gerge W. Bush a bit on the leg, by this choice, probably to try to turn the Americans towards a policy more within the framework of the general anti-terrorist coalition. BBC's summary of Jimmy Carter's speech at the Nobel Prize event in Oslo today, 10.12.2002, also indicates this. In another report BBC mentions "State & Chaos" policy, and this should in general be avoided by all States as much as possible, especially by the United States of America as a part of the anti-terroristcoalition. We welcome the Americans back as a central part of the anti-terroristcoalition on rather equal footing as others. The world seemingly has no superpower in the meaning of arch-State anymore, and that is probably a good thing. Let's all work together on equal footing to do away with as much as possible of the terrorist-problem, i.e. all against Saddam Hussein, al-Qaeda and other terrorists.
Nobel Peace Prize 2003 - Congratulations from the anarchists.
Iranian activist Shirin Ebadi has won the 2003 Nobel Peace Prize for her focus on human rights, especially on the struggle to improve the status of women and children. Ebadi, one of Iran's first female judges before being forced to stand down after the Islamic revolution, said she hoped the award could bring change in her country. She is the first Iranian to receive the honor since it was first awarded in 1901 and the 11th woman. The reaction in Norway's Muslim community was joyous after the news that Shirin Ebadi had received the Nobel Peace Prize for 2003. The spokesperson for the Anarchafeminst International expressed congratulations and expected the award would have largely positive repercussions. On behalf of the Anarchy of Norway and the Anarchist International in general, the Anarchist International Embassy sent a note with congratulations at the Nobel Prize event in Oslo 10.12.2003.
Nobel Peace Prize 2004 - Congratulations from the anarchists
Kenyan environmental activist wins Peace Prize. The Norwegian committee charged with awarding the Nobel Peace Prize surprised almost everyone Friday, bypassing the favorites to honor a Kenyan environmental activist. Wangari Maathai is the first African woman to win the Peace Prize, and was clearly elated. The spokesperson for the Anarchafeminst International expressed congratulations and expected the award would have largely positive repercussions.
Nobel Peace Prize 2005 - Congratulations from the anarchists
The Norwegian Nobel Peace Prize committee announced Friday 07.10.2005 that the 2005 award would be shared between the IAEA (International Atomic Energy Agency) and its director general, Mohamed El Baradei. The Anarchist International congratulates El Baradei and IAEA with the prize.
Nobel Peace Prize 2006 - Congratulations from the anarchists
The Anarchist International congratulates Muhammad Yunus and the Grameen Bank with the Nobel Peace Prize 10.12.2006. Muhammad Yunus and representatives for Grameen Bank won this year's prize for their efforts to empower poverty-stricken people in Bangladesh by granting them small loans to start business enterprises, i.e. a micro-credit system. This support for the grassroots is well compatible with the anarchist system in Norway. The micro-credit system, as opposed to "free" markets run for profit for the owners and bosses, is a socialist form of markets, compatible with anarchism. Anarchists could engage more in the micro-credit business.
Solskjaer
28.08.2007: One of Manchester United's most popular players, Ole Gunnar Solskjaer, Solskjær in Norwegian, has been forced to retire from football after a series of knee injuries. Solskjaer, 34, revealed he has played his last-ever game for United. Solskjaer joined the club in 1996 for £1.5m and since then has scored 126 goals in 365 games and helped United win the Premier League seven times. His most famous strike came in 1999, when his goal won the Champions League final for United in injury time. In that match, as in so many others at United, Solskjaer started the game as a substitute. He once scored four goals in an 8-1 win against Nottingham Forest, and he only came onto the pitch with 19 minutes left! Solskjaer said: "I would like to thank manager Sir Alex Ferguson, the coaching and medical staff and most of all the supporters," Solskjaer told the club website. "They have been fantastic and were a real inspiration to me when I was out injured." Solskjaer is known for his fair play and non-authoritarian style, a fine member of the Anarchy of Norway. The Anarchist Federation of Norway (AFIN) wishes Solskjaer well in his new career as a coach.
Nobel Peace Prize 2007 - Congratulations from the anarchists
The Anarchist International congratulates UN's Panel of Climate Change, IPCC, and Al Gore with the Nobel Peace Prize announced 12.10.2007, citing the importance of battling global warming. This will put the global environmental issues even more on the agenda. In this connection we will put attention to the Eco-Anarchist Manifesto, EAM. The prize itself, which carries a cash award of SEK 10 million (about USD 1.7 million), will be awarded in Oslo on December 10, the anniversary of industrialist Alfred Nobel's death.
Nobel Peace Prize 2008 - Congratulations from the anarchists
The Anarchist International congratulates Ahtisaari with the antimilitarist Nobel Peace Prize. The autonomous Norwegian Nobel Committee awarded the Nobel Peace Prize for 2008 on Friday 10.10.2008 to former Finnish President Martti Ahtisaari, for his "important efforts" in helping solve international conflicts. Ahtisaari is believed to have been a candidate for several years. In this connection we will put attention to IJA 2 (38): " Antimilitarism - an anarchist approach", IJA 2 (38) .The prize itself will be awarded in Oslo on December 10.
Nobel Peace Prize 2009 - Congratulations and criticism from the anarchists - 10 000 demonstrated for Obama
The Anarchist International congratulates Barack Obama with the antimilitarist Nobel Peace Prize. The autonomous Norwegian Nobel Committee awarded the Nobel Peace Prize for 2009 on Friday 09.10.2009 to President of the USA, Barack Obama. The peace prize committee especially singled out Obama's aims to create a nuclear weapons-free world and to set out a new, more cooperative diplomatic doctrine as reasons for the award. "I hope it will help him," Nobel committee chairman Thorbjørn Jagland said of the award. "Obama is the right man at the right time, and that's why we want to enhance his efforts." "I will accept this award as a call to action," Obama said. "This award must be shared with everyone who strives for justice and dignity." With many, including most of the anarchists, seeing the award as premature, there's the chance it could provoke a small backlash that makes Obama's work harder. He now has even more to live up to. The prize itself was awarded in Oslo on December 10. Obama countered some of the criticism in his Nobel speech. There were demonstrations in Oslo both for and against the Peace Prize to Obama. About 10 000 demonstrated for Obama, an historical new record for a Nobel prize winnner. About 2 000 demonstrated against, mostly left marxists and some communists.
Nobel Peace Prize 2010 - And the winner is, Liu Xiaobo - Congratulations from the anarchists
Direct action by anarchists (AFIN) against the Chinese Embassy in Oslo!
The Anarchist International - AI/IFA and the Anarchist Confederation of Asia and the Middle East - ACAME, Chinese section, congratulate Liu Xiaobo (lee-OO' show-BOH') with the antimilitarist Nobel Peace Prize. The autonomous Norwegian Nobel Committee ignored warnings from Chinese authorities and announced Friday 08.10.2010 that it was awarding the Nobel Peace Prize for 2010 to the jailed Chinese activist Liu Xiaobo for his long non-violent struggle for human rights in China. The choice of this year's winner was unanimous among the committee's five members. The prize will be formally awarded at the traditional Nobel Peace Prize ceremony in Oslo on December 10, the anniversary of the death of Swedish industrialist Alfred Nobel. His will set up the Nobel Prizes, funded by his vast estate.
The Anarchist International - AI/IFA and the Anarchist Confederation of Asia and the Middle East - ACAME, Chinese section, condemn the hysterical ultra-authoritarian reactions by the Chinese authorities and demand release of Liu Xiaobo and all other political prisoners in the country. The ruling maoists in China are ideologically totalitarian state-communists. They are ideologically located in the state-communist sector of the marxist quadrant of the economic-political map, see System theory. However in practice, as now in China, the maoists are left fascists. The economic-political system is left fascist with only about 30,5% libertarian degree. This means 69,5% authoritarian degree, more than 666 per thousand authoritarian and thus very evil for the people, seen as a class as opposed to the superiors economic and/or political/administrative; in income and/or rank. For more information about this societal system, see China's place on the economic-political map.
The Anarchist International - AI/IFA and the Anarchist Confederation of Asia and the Middle East - ACAME, Chinese section, demand a development toward Libertarian Human Rights and Real Democracy, a bottom - up approach - in China. Do away with the ultra-authoritarian fascist regime! The jailed Mr Liu's empty chair at the awards ceremony in the Norwegian capital on Friday represents a very strong signal that shows how appropriate this prize was. It will be the first time since 1936 that the prize, now worth $1.5m, will not be handed out to the winner or close family. In 1936 the winner Carl von Ossietzky was in Hitler's prison (concentration camp)... The Nobel Peace Prize can be collected only by the laureate or close family members. UN human rights chief Navi Pillay on Thursday again called for Mr Liu to be released "as soon as possible".
Amnesty International accused China of pressuring members of Norway's Chinese community to join protests on Friday against the awards ceremony. China's foreign ministry insisted Mr Liu had not been convicted only for his calls for more democracy but had "actively tried to subvert state power", an Orwellian "1984" Big Brother lie. The International Anarchist Tribunal - IAT-APT hands out a Brown Card to the Chinese authorities for this lie, declaring. "We don't give a dime for the Chinese legal system. Social science and history show that power corrupts and totalitarian power corrupts very much toward totally!"
10.12.2010. In the morning the Childrens' Peace Prize (Redd Barnas fredsprisarrangement) was awarded to Liu Xiaobo, about 2000 children demonstrated for Liu. Norwegian TV2 even estimated the number as high as 3000. As black limos pulled up outside City Hall and dignitaries stepped out, various groups staged small, but loud protest across the street, shouting slogans against China's leadership. Even an Italian group of demonstrators, favouring Liu, joined the actions. "They are evil, using money and power to get their way," said Leung Kwok-hung, known as "Long Hair" in his native Hong Kong, where he is a veteran protester and also a member of the legislative council. Some members of Norway's Chinese community demonstrated against the prize. Later Chinese supporters of Mr Liu confronted the pro-government demonstration.
The Anarchist Federation of Norway (AFIN) will have a direct action, a protest action, against the Chinese Embassy in Oslo at about the time when the Peace Prize is awarded... As China tightens its grip on dissidents at home, dignitaries in Norway celebrate this year's winner of the Nobel Peace Prize, imprisoned Chinese activist Liu Xiaobo, with solemn ceremony - and an empty chair. Nobel committee secretary Geir Lundestad said Liu will be represented "by an empty chair ... the strongest possible argument" for awarding it to him. Some 1,000 guests including about 100 Chinese dissidents in exile and some activists from Hong Kong will take their seats in Oslo's modernist City Hall for the two-hour ceremony.
Direct action. Between 13.00 and 14.00 Norwegian time The Anarchist Federation of Norway (AFIN) has a direct action, a protest action, against the Chinese Embassy in Oslo, with the following parole: Release Liu Xiaobo and all political prisoners in China! For a development toward Libertarian Human Rights and Real Democracy, a bottom - up approach - in China!
International Human Rights Day. Fundamental human rights are under attack in every region of the world, and respect for workers' rights in particular is being undermined as working people are increasingly forced to bear the burden of the global economic crisis, in contravention of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights and other UN and International Labor Organization instruments. On this day, International Human Rights Day, life under absolute dictatorship remains the reality for many, many millions of people, in China, Burma, Cuba, North Korea, Iran and several other countries while the international community lacks the capacity, or the will, to make human rights and democracy truly universal.
The awarding of the Nobel Peace Prize this year is especially remarkable since the recipient, Liu Xiaobo, is serving an 11-year prison sentence imposed by the Chinese authorities in 2009. China has launched an international campaign to deter countries from attending the Nobel award ceremony. Police are stationed outside his home in Beijing where his wife, Liu Xia, is under house arrest. The UN says it had information that China detained at least 20 activists ahead of the ceremony. A further 120 cases of house arrest, travel restriction, forced relocation and other acts of intimidation have been reported. Some have been prevented from leaving the country, while others have been forced to leave their homes for the next few days, according to the Chinese Human Rights Defenders. One of those to disappear, it said, was Zhang Zuhua, a man who co-wrote Charter 08 with Liu. Dozens of labor activists have been imprisoned in China over the past year, swelling the ranks of those already in jails or in labor camps.
China was infuriated when the 54-year-old literary critic won, describing the award as an attack on its political and legal system. Authorities have placed Liu's supporters, including his wife Liu Xia, under house arrest to prevent anyone from picking up his prize. In Beijing, both CNN and BBC TV went black at 8 p.m. local time, exactly when the Oslo ceremony was taking place. French TV5 also went black. Security outside Liu's apartment in Beijing was heavy and several dozen journalists were herded away by uniformed police to a cordoned-off area. China has also pressured foreign diplomats to stay away from the Nobel ceremony. Geir Lundestad said 48 foreign delegations attended the Oslo ceremony, 16 countries turned down the invitation and the Chinese returned their invitation unopened. China, Vietnam, Kazakhstan, Russia, Venezuela, Cuba, Tunisia, Morocco, Sudan, Algeria, Saudi Arabia, Iraq, Iran, Egypt, Pakistan, Afghanistan and Sri Lanka boycotted the ceremony. Serbia - which had previously said it would not attend - sent a representative.
China's furious assault on Liu's award has reached proportions last seen during the Soviet and Nazi regimes. But even Cold War dissidents Andrei Sakharov of the Soviet Union and Lech Walesa of Poland were able to have their wives collect the prizes for them. Myanmar democracy activist Aung San Suu Kyi's award was accepted by her 18-year-old son in 1991.
The 54-year-old human rights advocate Liu was one of the main activits in the Tiananmen Square protests in 1989. Fellow Tiananmen Square campaigner and dissident Wan Yanhai, who fled to the United States in May, was in the audience at the Norwegian capital's city hall. He said: "I came to witness this most important and encouraging day in China's contemporary history. It's a milestone and we hope it will be a turning point as well." Wan Yanhai was the only one on a list of 140 activists in China invited by Liu's wife to attend the ceremony, that was able to be in Oslo...
The Norwegian Nobel Committee Chairman Thorbjoern [Norwegian: Thorbjørn] Jagland said awarding the prize to Liu was not "a prize against China," and he urged Beijing that as a world power it "should become used to being debated and criticized." In his award ceremony speech, Mr Jagland praised China for its move forward over recent years, lifting millions of people out of poverty. He called it an "extraordinary achievement" but warned China that its new status meant Beijing "must regard criticism as positive". Mr Jagland said the Nobel Committee was calling for Mr Liu to be freed immediately and declared: "He hasn't done anything wrong," receiving an unusual standing ovation at the international gathering.
Jagland compared China's anger at the award to the outcry over peace prizes awarded to other dissidents of their times, including the South African Desmond Tutu and the Burmese pro-democracy leader Aung San Suu Kyi. He said Mr Liu was dedicating his prize to "the lost souls from 4 June", those who died in the pro-democracy protests on that date in Tiananmen Square in 1989. "We can say Liu reminds us of Nelson Mandela," he said. The former South African president received the Nobel Peace Prize in 1993. At the end of his speech, again drawing attention to the fact that Liu Xiaobo had not been permitted to be present, he placed the Nobel Peace Prize mesa and diploma in the empty chair reserved for Mr Liu.
More about Mr Liu. Norwegian actress Liv Ullmann read out a statement from Mr Liu which he made to a court at the time of his trial in December 2009. "I, filled with optimism, look forward to the advent of a future, free China," his statement said. "For there is no force that can put an end to the human quest for freedom, and China will in the end become a nation ruled by law, where human rights reign supreme." Liu Xiaobo first came to prominence when he took part in the 1989 protests in Beijing's Tiananmen Square. He was sent to prison for nearly two years for his role, and has been a critic of the Chinese government ever since.
He was given the 11-year prison sentence in December 2009 for inciting 'the subversion of state power', a charge which came after he co-authored a document known as Charter 08. The document calls openly for political reforms in China, such as a separation of powers and legislative democracy. Liu Xiaobo had personally requested that a children's choir should be among the performers at the award ceremony, and the children's choir of the Norwegian Opera fulfilled his request, singing a number of Norwegian folk songs as a conclusion to the ceremony. With his Nobel Peace Prize diploma and medal placed in his empty chair, imprisoned Chinese dissident Liu Xiaobo was given a standing ovation at the award ceremony Friday as dignitaries demanded his release.
According to Sarah Lyall and the New York Times 10.12.2010: "Mr. Liu, 54, a professor, poet, essayist and campaigner for human rights, has been an irritant to the Chinese authorities since helping resolve confrontations between the police and students in Tiananmen Square. Mr. Liu was detained in December 2008, after co-writing the Charter 08 call for human rights and reform, and is currently serving an 11-year sentence for the crime of 'incitement to the overthrow of the state power and socialist system and the people's democratic dictatorship.'"
According to John Simpson and BBC 10.12.2010: "The official line [of the Chinese authorities] is that Liu Xiaobo is a wrecker, putting everything that China has achieved in danger through a return to anarchy." It is clear the Chinese authorities here mix up anarchy with ochlarchy (mob rule broadly defined), and The International Anarchist Tribunal - IAT-APT hands out another Brown Card to the Chinese dictators, for this ultra-authoritarian Orwellian "1984" newspeak. The freedom fighter Liu Xiaobo is acting for a movement of the Chinese social system toward Libertarian Human Rights and Real Democracy, i.e. real anarchy, the quite opposite of ochlarchy. The marxist Orwellian Big Brother newspeak propaganda 'news'-station BBC and John Simpson also get Brown Cards for spreading the newspeak-lies of the Chinese rulers, the marxist Communist party.
China press comments. China's English-language newspapers had big front-page articles about the Nobel Peace Prize - and China's objection to the award. But the issue was given less prominence in Chinese-language newspapers. The two most important stories on the front page of the Beijing Morning Post were about vehicle tax and private kindergartens. There was, however, a commentary piece in the People's Daily, the Chinese Communist Party's newspaper. It ran an editorial attacking the Nobel Peace Prize committee, saying it faced an "unprecedented embarrassing situation". But it also felt compelled to defend China's position in not allowing Liu Xiaobo to attend the prize ceremony. "No country in the world that is governed by laws would allow a high-sounding criminal to leave and 'pick up an award'," said the commentary. And the Chinese-language Global Times suggested there was great division among countries about whether the award was a good thing.
Also Friday, a group of Nobel laureates, including former South African President F.W. de Klerk, Nazi death camp survivor and author Elie Wiesel and Northern Ireland politician John Hume, offered to mediate with the Chinese government for Liu's early release. In Washington, President Barack Obama said he regretted that Liu and his wife were not allowed to go to the ceremony as he and first lady Michelle Obama did when he won the peace prize last year. "Liu Xiaobo is far more deserving of this award than I was," he said. Mr Obama also was calling on China to free Nobel Peace Prize recipient Liu Xiaobo. In a statement stressing the importance of democracy and the rule of law, he said Liu stands for universal human values and should be released from prison as soon as possible. U.S. House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, who attended the ceremony with U.S. Ambassador Barry White, said it was "an honor" for her to be there. "It is really a joy of my official life. For decades we have worked for human rights in China and Liu Xiaobo has been a hero to all of us," she said.
Torchlit parade. At the Nobel Peace Center, which is devoted to the Peace Prize, its history and its winners, crowds gathered to watch the ceremony on large-screens as NRK broadcast live from the adjacent City Hall. Events continued throughout the day, and climaxed with an annual torchlit parade, starting about 18.30 local time at Youngstorget and ending at the Grand Hotel where the Peace Prize winner traditionally stays. This year, no winner was on hand to greet supporters. The balcony where the winner stands was symbolically empty, with an image of Liu due displayed against the building. Probably due to the empty balcony, only about 1200 persons participated in the parade according to the police. There were also marches in Trondheim and Kristiansand.
Later in the evening The Anarchist International Information Service (AIIS) summarized the event and sent a press release world wide titled 'Historic report: Nobel Peace Prize 2010 - And the winner is, Liu Xiaobo - Congratulations from the anarchists! Direct action by anarchists (AFIN) against the Chinese Embassy in Oslo!'
PS. 26.06.2017. Chinese Nobel peace laureate Liu Xiaobo has been released from prison on compassionate grounds after being diagnosed with terminal liver cancer. Mr Liu, a human rights campaigner, was jailed in 2009 on subversion charges for calling for greater democracy. His lawyer says he is being treated in hospital in northern Liaoning Province after being diagnosed a month ago. His wife Liu Xia has been under house arrest since her husband won the award in 2010 but has never been charged. Liu Xiaobo. 61, was a key activist in the Tiananmen Square protests in 1989. The Chinese authorities have never explained why they have restricted his wife's movements.
Nobel Peace Prize 2011 - Congratulations from the anarchists
07.10.2011. 2011 Nobel Peace Prize winners. Three women have been jointly awarded the 2011 Nobel Peace Prize for their non-violent struggles for women's rights: Liberian President Ellen Johnson Sirleaf, Leymah Gbowee - an activist from Liberia, and Tawakul Karman, a Yemeni rights activist. The Anarchist International congratulates the winners. The prize itself will be awarded in Oslo on December 10, the anniversary of industrialist Alfred Nobel's death. "In this far from ideal anarchist and anarcha-feminist world we congratulate the three winners and thank for the contributions in the struggle for womens' rights, peace and security," declares the Anarchafeminist International AFI - L'Internationale Anarchoféministe IAF.
Nobel Peace Prize 2012 - Comment from the anarchists
12.10.2012. The Norwegian Nobel Committee has awarded the Nobel Peace Prize 2012 to the European Union (EU). The Anarchist International (AI/IFA/IAF) and the Anarchist Federation of Norway (AFIN) do not approve this. The anarchists really don't think EU deserves a Nobel Peace Prize.
Nobel Peace Prize 2013 - Congratulations from the anarchists
11.10.2013. The Norwegian Nobel Committee has decided that the Nobel Peace Prize for 2013 is to be awarded to the anti-militarist Organization for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons (OPCW). The Anarchist International congratulates the winner. The prize itself will be awarded in Oslo on December 10, the anniversary of industrialist Alfred Nobel's death.
Nobel Peace Prize 2014 - Congratulations from the anarchists
10.10.2014. The Norwegian Nobel Committee has decided that the Nobel Peace Prize for 2014 is to be awarded to Pakistani child education activist Malala Yousafzai and Indian child rights activist Kailash Satyrathi. The Anarchist International congratulates the winners. The prize itself will be awarded in Oslo on December 10, the anniversary of industrialist Alfred Nobel's death.
Nobel Peace Prize 2015 - Congratulations from the anarchists
09.10.2015. The Norwegian Nobel Committee has decided that the Nobel Peace Prize for 2015 is to be awarded to Tunisia's National Dialogue Quartet. The Anarchist International congratulates the winners. The prize itself will be awarded in Oslo on December 10, the anniversary of industrialist Alfred Nobel's death.
The Nobel Peace Prize has been awarded to Tunisia's National Dialogue Quartet for helping the country's transition to democracy. The Nobel committee said the group of civil society organisations had made a "decisive contribution" to democracy after the 2011 revolution. It said it helped establish a political process when the country "was on the brink of civil war".
The Tunisian quartet is made up of four organisations: the Tunisian General Labour Union, the Tunisian Confederation of Industry, Trade and Handicrafts, the Tunisian Human Rights League, and the Tunisian Order of Lawyers. It was created in 2013, two years after the revolution, when security in the country was threatened following the assassination of two key politicians and deadly clashes between Islamists and secular parts of society. Nobel committee chairman Kaci Kullman Five said the group was instrumental in enabling Tunisia to establish a constitutional system of government "guaranteeing fundamental rights for the entire population, irrespective of gender, political conviction or religious belief". The committee, she said, hoped the prize would "be an inspiration to all those who seek to promote peace and democracy in the Middle East, North Africa and the rest of the world".
The Quartet is credited with creating a national dialogue between the country's Islamist and secular coalition parties amid deepening political and economic crisis in 2013. Tunisia's revolution - also known as the Jasmine Revolution - began in late 2010 and led to the ousting of President Zine El Abidine Ben Ali in January 2011, followed by the country's first free democratic elections last year. Kaci Kullman Five, the chair of the Nobel peace committee, said the Quartet's role in Tunisia's democratisation was "directly comparable to the peace conferences mentioned by Alfred Nobel in his will". Houcine Abassi, head of Tunisia's General Labour Union - one of the quartet - said it was a "tribute to martyrs of a democratic Tunisia". "This effort by our youth has allowed the country to turn the page on dictatorship," he said. The Anarchist International means Tunisia is not a failed state, but it is fragile and on the brink of a failed state.
Nobel Peace Prize 2016 - Congratulations and criticism from the anarchists
07.10.2016. The Norwegian Nobel Committee has decided that the Nobel Peace Prize for 2016 is to be awarded to Colombian President Juan Manuel Santos for his efforts to end the 52-year conflict with the marxist Farc. The Anarchist International congratulates the winner, but means the award is premature. The prize itself will be awarded in Oslo on December 10, the anniversary of industrialist Alfred Nobel's death.
Nobel Peace Prize 2017 - Congratulations from the anarchists
06.10.2017. The Norwegian Nobel Committee has decided that the Nobel Peace Prize for 2017 is to be awarded to the International Campaign to Abolish Nuclear Weapons (ICAN). Berit Reiss-Andersen, the Nobel committee chair, said it was due to the group's "groundbreaking efforts to achieve a treaty prohibition" on nuclear weapons. "We live in a world where the risk of nuclear weapons being used is greater than it has been for a long time," she continued. She cited the North Korea issue. Ms Reiss-Andersen called on nuclear-armed states to initiate negotiations to gradually eliminate the weapons. The Anarchist International congratulates the winner. The prize itself will be awarded in Oslo on December 10, the anniversary of industrialist Alfred Nobel's death.
Nobel Peace Prize 2018 - Congratulations from the anarchists
05.10.2018. The Norwegian Nobel Committee has decided to award the Nobel Peace Prize for 2018 to Denis Mukwege and Nadia Murad for their efforts to end the use of sexual violence as a weapon of war and armed conflict. "In this far from ideal anarchist and anarcha-feminist world we congratulate the two winners and thank for the contributions in the struggle for womens' rights, peace and security," declares the Anarchafeminist International AFI - L'Internationale Anarchoféministe IAF. The prize itself will be awarded in Oslo on December 10, the anniversary of industrialist Alfred Nobel's death.
Nobel Peace Prize 2019 - Congratulations from the anarchists
11.10.2019. Nobel Peace Prize 2019: Ethiopia PM Abiy Ahmed wins. The 2019 Nobel Peace Prize has been awarded to Ethiopian Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed who made peace last year with bitter foe Eritrea. He was awarded the prize for his efforts to "achieve peace and international cooperation". Mr Abiy's peace deal with Eritrea ended a 20-year military stalemate following their 1998-2000 border war. He was named as the winner of the 100th Nobel Peace Prize in Oslo, where he will receive the award on December 10, the anniversary of industrialist Alfred Nobel's death. The Prize is worth some nine million Swedish crowns, about £730,000 and $900,000. Following the announcement, Mr Abiy said he was "humbled and thrilled". "Thank you very much. It is a prize given to Africa, given to Ethiopia and I can imagine how the rest of Africa's leaders will take it positively to work on peace-building process[es] on our continent," he added in a phone call with Olav Njølstad, Secretary of the Norwegian Nobel Committee. Since the Eritrea deal, Mr Abiy has also been involved in peace processes in other African countries, the committee said. This has included helping to broker an agreement between Sudan's military leaders and civilian opposition after months of protests, also involving the Anarchists, i.e. AI/ACA-Sudanese Section.
After becoming prime minister in April 2018, Mr Abiy introduced massive liberalising reforms to Ethiopia, shaking up what was a tightly controlled nation. He freed thousands of opposition activists from jail and allowed exiled dissidents to return home. Under him, several women have also been appointed to prominent positions. Most importantly, he signed the peace deal with Eritrea. But his reforms also lifted the lid on Ethiopia's ethnic tensions, and NB! the resulting violence forced some 2.5 million people from their homes!. This is very bad, but Mr Abiy, 43, was honoured for his "decisive initiative to resolve the border conflict with neighbouring Eritrea", the Norwegian Nobel Committee said. "The prize is also meant to recognise all the stakeholders working for peace and reconciliation in Ethiopia and in the East and Northeast African regions," they said. "This also includes the Anarchist Confederation of Africa ACA in general and especially its Sudanese Section with the Sudanese People's Council, now also global." Mr. Dabanga, the official spokesperson for the PC commented to AIIS, and he added: "The real democrats, i.e. anarchists of Africa, ACA, and world wide, AI/IFA, congratulate the winner!" Mr Abiy's office said the award was testimony "to the ideals of unity, cooperation and mutual coexistence that the prime minister has been consistently championing".
Nobel Peace Prize 2020 - Congratulations from the anarchists
The 2020 Nobel Peace Prize has been awarded to the United Nations World Food Programme (WFP). The agency was given the prize for its efforts to combat hunger and improve conditions for peace. The WFP, the 101st winner of a prize now worth 10m Swedish krona ($1.1m; £875,000), said it was "deeply humbled" to have won. Some 107 organizations and 211 individuals were nominated for the award this year. WFP head David Beasley told he was in shock following the announcement. "I was literally for the first time in my life without words," he said. "To receive this award is a recognition to the men and women at the World Food Programme who put their lives on the line every day for the struggling, suffering people around the world. So I hope this is a signal and a message that the World Food Programme is a role model and that we all have got to do more."
The GGS’ & Anarcha-Feminist International’s spokesperson cand. anarch. Anna Quist was among those to congratulate the group: "If there is a deserving organization then this is certainly one of them. The members and staff there do incredible work helping others and therefore I am very pleased about the awarding of this Nobel Peace Prize," she said. The World Health Organization and climate activist Greta Thunberg were among the favorites to win this year. Under the Nobel Foundation's rules, nomination shortlists however are not allowed to be published for 50 years, and the organization says any speculation ahead of the announcement is "sheer guesswork".
The Norwegian Nobel Committee said the WFP was declared winner of the prestigious award "for its efforts to combat hunger, for its contribution to bettering conditions for peace in conflict-affected areas and for acting as a driving force in efforts to prevent the use of hunger as a weapon of war and conflict". Chairwoman Berit Reiss-Andersen said that with this year's award the committee wanted to "turn the eyes of the world to the millions of people who suffer from or face the threat of hunger". "The World Food Programme plays a key role in multilateral co-operation in making food security an instrument of peace," she told a news conference in Oslo.
Nobel Peace Prize 2021 - Congratulations from the anarchists
08.10.2021. Journalists Maria Ressa and Dmitry Muratov have won the Nobel Peace Prize for their "courageous fight" to defend freedom of expression in the Philippines and Russia. The committee called the pair "representatives of all journalists who stand up for this ideal". The winners of the prestigious prize, worth 10m Swedish krona (£836,000; $1.1m), were announced at the Norwegian Nobel Institute in Oslo. They were chosen out of 329 candidates. The anarchists congratulate the winners.
Nobel Peace Prize 2022 - Congratulations from the anarchists
Belarusian human rights advocate Ales Bialiatski, and two organizations from Russia and Ukraine – Memorial and the Center for Civil Liberties – have won the Nobel Peace Prize for 2022. The winners were honored for "an outstanding effort to document war crimes, human right abuses and the abuse of power" in their respective countries. "They have for many years promoted the right to criticise power and protect the fundamental rights of citizens," the Norwegian Nobel Committee said. Their win comes seven months after Russia waged a full-scale war on Ukraine, with the assistance of Belarus. The anarchists congratulate the winners.
Nobel Peace Prize 2023 - Congratulations from the anarchists
06.10.2023. The 2023 winner of the Nobel Peace Prize has gone to jailed Iranian activist Narges Mohammadi. The committee said it was for "her fight against the oppression of women in Iran and her fight to promote human rights and freedom for all." See: https://edition.cnn.com/world/live-news/nobel-peace-prize-2023-latest-news-intl/index.html. Source: CNN. The anarchists congratulate the winner. See also http://www.anarchy.no/ija239.html.
Nobel Peace Prize 2024 - Congratulations from the anarchists
11.10.2024. Japanese atomic bomb survivors win Nobel Peace Prize. Nihon Hidankyo, a Japanese group of atomic bomb survivors, has won the 2024 Nobel Peace Prize. Nobel Committee Chair Joergen Watne Frydnes praised the "extraordinary efforts" of the organisation whose campaign has "contributed greatly to the establishment of the nuclear taboo". The winner was announced at a ceremony in Oslo on Friday 11.10.2024, where Mr Frydnes warned: "This taboo against the use of nuclear weapons is under pressure". The Norwegian Nobel Committee praised the group's use of witness testimony to ensure nuclear weapons must never be used again. The anarchists congratulate the winner.
E. OIL PRICE AND ANARCHY - NORWAY THE MOST ANARCHIST COUNTRY IN THE WORLD - AND MORE
22.11.2001: Oil prices rose Thursday in London after Norway agreed to cut oil
production by 100,000 to 200,000 barrels a day in response to pressure from
OPEC, which is attempting to stem a steep slide in world prices. The reduction
will take effect Jan. 1, provided that members of the Organization of Petroleum
Exporting Countries fulfill their previous pledges to cut production and other
nonmembers do their part as well, said Norwegian oil and energy state councillor
Einar Steensnæs. The cut would be made from estimated production of 3.2 million
barrels a day from Norway's offshore oil fields next year, Steensnæs said. Brent
crude futures for January delivery rose $1.18 to $19.91 a barrel Thursday, $3
over Monday's two-year lows.
OPEC agreed last week to slash 1.5 million barrels per day (bpd) from its oil
export quotas from Jan. 1 - its fourth cut in a year - only if rival exporters
Russia, Mexico, Norway and Oman chipped in with a 500,000 bpd reduction. OPEC
Secretary-General Ali Rodriguez said he was confident of achieving a deal with
non-OPEC exporters to cut global oil supply."I am confident of an agreement,"
Rodriguez said, adding that the 11-member cartel would await an official response
from other producers before triggering another wave of OPEC cuts.
If a deal goes ahead, OPEC's Rodriguez expected prices to reach the lower end
of OPEC's preferred $22-$28 per barrel band, from $17.44 on Wednesday. While
Steensnæs would not name a specific target for what Norway thinks the oil price
should be, he said OPEC's price band target "is not sensible at the moment."
So far, Mexico has promised a cut of 100,000 barrels on the condition that OPEC
comply with its promise Jan. 1, and Oman could help out with 25,000 barrels.
Russia, which recently passed Norway to become the world's second-largest oil
exporter, has only committed itself to a symbolic cut of 30,000 barrels, a small
portion of its total production of 7 million barrels a day.
"It is very important that Russia follow up efficiently," Norway's
Steensnæs told reporters, adding that he would be in contact with officials
in that country by Friday. The vice president of Russia's largest oil company,
LUKOIL, said Thursday the government was likely to cut oil output to support
the market. "We think the government will take a decision to cut output
in volumes enough to stabilize the market," Leonid Fedun was quoted by
Interfax news agency. LUKOIL and other producers would meet the government Friday
for further talks about possible cuts in output or exports of crude. Mikhail
Khodorkovsky, the head of Russia's second-largest oil company, YUKOS, said he
believed a decision to suit both OPEC and independent producers could be found.
NACO supports the oil and energy councillor in this case.
Although affluence is neither a sufficient, nor a necessary condition
for anarchism, it is clearly more easy to keep up the Anarchy
of Norway, and develop it further, with a relatively high oilprice than without:
"Post Scarcity Anarchism".
06.12.2001: The Russians and Mexicans have decided to cut export by 150 000 and 100 000 bpd. respectively, and thus the aim to cut ca 2 000 000 bpd. may perhaps be within reach. The oil price hiked to 20 US $ p.b. 17.12.2001: The Norwegian state council decided to cut oil production 150 000 bpd from 01.01.2002. 04.01.2002: The other countries and Norway have cut production significantly, and the oil price hiked to ca 21 US $ p.b. The trouble in the Mid East in April-May 2002 contributed to hike the oil-price to more than 25 US $ p.b. Medio December 2002 OPEC decided to use regulatory means to keep the crude oil price at 25 US $ p.b. according to DW-TV and other international newsmedia. 27.10.2003 the Nort Sea Brent crude oil spot price was at 29 US $ p.b. according to OILNERGY.
June 2008: The IIFOR in general recommends a crude oilprice between about 140 - 160 US $ for 2010-2012 , as fair and efficient, taking into account a.o.t. the environmental factors, say, carbondioxide pollution, and the intergenerational perspective, i.e. the welfare of the future generations from a scarce exhaustible important resource. This interval is an approximation of free contract traded pricing according to the l'Internationale des Fédérations Anarchistes, IFA's, and other relevant anarchist-principles, see IFA's official Website, applied on crude oil production and distribution, i.e. not slave contracts. The IIFOR's general recommendation of the optimal crude oilprice will be adjusted for inflation, technological change including development of alternative energy resources, discovering of new oil and natural gas fields, developing countries need for crude oil, etc. An estimate on long term is about 150 US $ per barrel, this price is due to efficient backstop technology in relation to solutions to the manmade global warming problem. A backstop technology provides resources at a constant marginal cost, i.e. corrected for inflation, for an indefinitely long time. For IIFOR's updated average crude oil prices and forecasts, see The anarchist black gold Website.
Norway the most anarchist country in the world. Earlier Iceland was the most anarchist country in the world, anarchy since 1966/67, but since in the middle of 1995 Norway has been the most anarchist country on planet Gaia, a.k.a Tellus and Earth. From 1995 to early 2002 the degree of anarchy in Norway was about 53 %, and since late in 2002 the degree of anarchy has been about 54 %. The following table shows the libertarian/anarchist degree etc. of the 25 most libertarien countries in the world, with Norway on top of the ranking. The figures are based on the UN's HDI-statistics from 2005, with most data from 2003, and other sources, and represent long term average structural estimates since 2003 and later.
THE 25 HIGHEST RANKING COUNTRIES ACCORDING TO LIBERTARIAN DEGREE ETC. SYSTEM ANALYSIS
NORWAY RANKED AS NO 1 AND SWITZERLAND RANKED AS NO 2
Countries: |
Rank of country according to libertarian degree, and type of system |
Libertarian degree and (authoritarian degree) % |
Degree of socialism |
Degree of autonomy and |
Gini-index |
Norway |
1 Anarchy |
54,0 (46,0) |
55,0 (45.0) |
53,2 (46,8) |
25,8 |
Switzerland |
2 Anarchy |
53,0 (47,0) |
51,0 (49,0) |
55,1 (44,9) |
33,1 |
Iceland |
3 Anarchy |
52,0 (48,0) |
54,0 (46,0) |
50,1 (49,9) |
25,0 (est.) |
Liechtenstein |
4 Soc.dem. |
49,5 (50,5) |
51,4 (48,6) |
47,7 (52,3) |
32,0 (est.) |
Luxembourg |
5 Soc.dem. |
49,2 (50,8) |
52,1 (47,9) |
46,5 (53,5) |
30,8 |
Denmark |
6 Soc.dem. |
48,8 (51,2) |
55,3 (44,7) |
43,0 (57,0) |
24,7 |
Japan |
7 Soc.dem. |
48,5 (51,5) |
55,2 (44,8) |
42,6 (57,4) |
24,9 |
Belgium |
8 Soc.dem. |
48,2 (51,8) |
54,0 (46,0) |
43,0 (57,0) |
25,0 |
Finland |
9 Soc.dem. |
47,9 (52,1) |
53,8 (46,2) |
42,6 (57,4) |
26,9 |
Sweden |
10 Soc.dem. |
47,5 (52,5) |
54,0 (46,0) |
41,7 (58,3) |
25,0 |
Netherlands |
11 Soc.dem. |
47,2 (52,8) |
52,0 (48,0) |
42,8 (57,2) |
30,9 |
Canada |
12 Soc.dem. |
46,8 (53,2) |
50,9 (49,1) |
43,0 (57,0) |
33,1 |
Austria |
13 Soc.dem. |
46,5 (53,5) |
52,1 (47,9) |
41,4 (58,6) |
30,0 |
Ireland |
14 Populist |
46,2 (53,8) |
45,0 (55,0) |
47,4 (52,6) |
35,9 |
Germany |
15 Soc.dem. |
45,9 (54,1) |
53,0 (47,0) |
39,6 (60,4) |
28,3 |
Spain |
16 Soc.dem. |
45,5 (54,5) |
51,5 (48,5) |
40,1 (59,9) |
32,5 |
Australia |
17 Populist |
45,0 (55,0) |
48,0 (52,0) |
42,2 (57,8) |
35,2 |
United King. |
18 Populist |
44,5 (55,5) |
44,7 (55,3) |
44,3 (55,7) |
36.0 |
New Zealand |
19 Populist |
44,0 (56,0) |
44,6 (55,4) |
42,4 (57,6) |
36,2 |
France |
20 Soc.dem. |
43,5 (56,5) |
51,4 (48,6) |
36,6 (63,4) |
32,7 |
Italy |
21 Populist |
43,0 (57,0) |
44,7 (55,3) |
41,3 (58,7) |
36,0 |
USA |
22 Cons. lib. |
42,5 (57,5) |
24,5 (75,5) |
69,8 (30,2) |
40,8 |
Israel |
23 Populist |
42,3 (57,7) |
47,8 (52,2) |
37,3 (62,7) |
35,5 |
Hong Kong |
24 Cons. lib. |
42,1 ( 57,9) |
22,1 (77,9) |
74,8 (25,2) |
43,4 |
Greece |
25 Populist |
42,0 (58,0) |
47,9 (52,1) |
36,6 (63,4) |
35,4 |
The estimates are approximately figures. © IIFOR/IJA ISSN 0800 – 0220 2007 and later.
Anarchy = here social-individualist anarchism; Soc. dem. = social democrat marxism; Populist = here moderate parliamentarian democratic fascism; Cons. lib. = Conservative liberalism. See map above in chapter II. A.
For ranking of countries according to libertarian degree and estimates of the libertarian degree in general, and information on methodology, see Ranking and System theory - chapter V. B.. For the libertarian vs authoritarian, capitalist vs socialist and
statism vs autonomy degree we have used " , ", the European standard instead of American/UK standard, i.e. " . " as decimal separator. For other figures we have used the American/UK standard. The term "ca" is an abbreviation for the latin circa, which means about or approximately.
30.05.2007. The Anarchy of Norway rated most peaceful nation. A study has ranked Norway as the most peaceful country and Iraq as the least in a survey of 121 countries. The Global Peace Index, compiled by the Economist Intelligence Unit, looked at 24 factors to determine how peaceful each country was. It places the US at 96th on the list and the UK at 49th, while New Zealand ranks second and Japan fifth. The authors say it is the first attempt to produce such a wide-ranging league table of how peaceful countries are. Factors examined by the authors include levels of violence and organized crime within the country and military expenditure, political instability, and a country's relations with its neighbors. The survey has been backed by the Dalai Lama, Archbishop Desmond Tutu, former US President Jimmy Carter and US economist Joseph Stiglitz, who are all Nobel prize laureates. It is also supported by Queen Noor of Jordan. Norway is thus both the most anarchist, libertarian and peaceful nation in the world, see also Antimilitarism - and anarchist approach.
14.01.2010. About the anarchy at the University of Oslo, UiO. Management at the University of Oslo, UiO, has been a subject of debate all week, after newspaper Dagens Næringsliv, DN, reported that a consulting firm (McKinsey) had branded UiO as "an organized anarchy." The report suggested that "everyone writes and says what they want," according to DN, prompting the description of "organized anarchy." The social-individualist anarchists and economic Nobel prize winners Ragnar Frisch and Trygve Haavelmo were professors at UiO, and the Anarchist International University Federation, Anarkistisk Universitetslag, AIUF/AU, has a stronghold at UiO. For a brief history and news about AIUF/AI, see Nytt fra AU/AIUF.
At the heart of this debate were various opinions about what constitutes good management at an academic institution. Several professors claimed that only the academics themselves are qualified to lead. A female professor of political science wrote a commentary in DN that administrative staff are there to "assist" academic staff, who are "creative and demand freedom." She declared that professors and researchers are part of an international academic community that guides their work, "not the local leadership where you work." The AIUF/AU at the UiO of course pushes for a higher degree of anarchy at the university, and works against some tendencies of ochlarchy, mob rule broadly defined, there and at other academic institutions in Norway, see Verst mobbing blant akademikere. In September 2011 Noam Chomsky, the famous anarcho-syndicalist and anarchist, visited the University of Oslo, and it was a great success, as reported by Morgenbladet and AIUF/AU in a press release.
15.01.2010. Positive citizen survey: A nationwide citizen survey shows that 86 per cent of Norwegians think that their country is close to being a perfect country to live in. However, public services have room for improvement, the survey shows. The highest level of satisfaction is enjoyed by, among others, the public library, the vine and liquor store operator Vinmonopolet, owned by the central administration, and the colleges of higher learning. At the lower end of the satisfaction scale are institutions like the municipal planning and building office, the Norwegian Railway (NSB) and the Norwegian Welfare and Labor Administration NAV.
These are conclusions from the nationwide Citizen Survey which measures how satisfied Norwegian citizens are with municipal, regional and central administration services. The citizen survey shows that 94 per cent of the citizens are satisfied or very satisfied with living in Norway. Close to that number, 89 per cent, are satisfied with the municipality in which they live. Around seven out of ten citizens are satisfied with municipal and central administration services. Less than ten percent express dissatisfaction. The Norwegian Anarchist Council, NACO, says "We are happy to know that our citizens are so satisfied with municipal as well as central administration services. This shows that public service providers on the whole are doing a good job in securing quality and user orientation in their services. At the same time, the survey makes it clear that several sectors and enterprises have a potential for improvement."
Norwegian citizens think that public services on the whole are abiding by laws and regulations and are treating people respectfully. At the same time, many are finding it difficult to reach the right person in the administration, and more than fifty per cent think that the public sector is treating its resources wastefully. "It is a serious problem that our citizens have this impression of the use of public resources. One of our most important tasks in the coming years is to see to it that the public sector is getting the utmost out of the money invested. Together with the minister of finance and the other cabinet ministers I am going to give this my priority in the time to come," the Minister of Reform etc., Rigmor Aasrud, says. Sources: The Norway Post, NRK/Press release, AIIS.
27.04.2010. Norway, Russia agree on new Barents Sea border. In a surprise move, Norway and Russia agreed to evenly divide a long-disputed area in the Barents Sea, a promising oil and gas region in the Arctic made more accessible by global warming. Russian President Dmitry Medvedev and Norwegian Prime Minister Jens Stoltenberg said only technical details remain to be worked out before a deal can be signed delimiting the border, ending negotiations that have dragged on for decades. Such an agreement would also have to pass the two countries' legislatures. "We have now turned the page on this issue," Medvedev told reporters in Oslo, adding the disputed area was "divided in a fair way."
NATO member Norway and Russia failed to agree on a maritime border in the Barents Sea during the Cold War and couldn't reach a deal despite several attempts following the 1991 collapse of the Soviet Union. Without the NATO-membership the result would probably be worse for the Anarchy of Norway, see Antimilitarism - and anarchist approach. Norwegian NATO-membership and NATO in general, are still important regarding the defense of the border and area from the Anarchy of Norway's perspective.
Some 90 billion barrels of oil and one-third of the world's undiscovered natural gas lie hidden in the Arctic region, the US Geological Survey estimates. Both Medvedev and Stoltenberg noted that the latest agreement would promote cooperation between the two countries' energy sectors. Stoltenberg said the countries have now reached "a good and balanced agreement." He said Russia and Norway would get "more or less equally sized pieces" of the disputed 68,000-square mile (175,000-square kilometer) area and that Russian officials told him they could be ready to sign a finalized agreement later this year.
Following the announcement, Norwegian Foreign Minister Jonas Gahr Støre and his Russian counterpart, Sergey Lavrov, signed a joint declaration outlining the preliminary agreement. After 40 years of disagreement, experts on Norway-Russia relations had downplayed the likelihood of an agreement ahead of Medvedev's visit to Norway. "I wouldn't have expected a deal. It's so difficult for countries to give anything up," said Indra øverland, a Russia expert at the Norwegian Institute of International Affairs. "It's a big step forward." Interest in the Arctic region is intensifying as global warming shrinks the sea ice that blocks shipping and oil exploration. The two countries have already begun developing the natural resources buried beneath the floor of the Barents Sea.
The Norwegian oil company Statoil brought its Snøhvit natural gas field on line in 2007. Meanwhile, Russia's Gazprom, in conjunction with Statoil and France's Total, is developing the Shtokman gas field, although the project has been plagued by repeated delays. øverland said if the Shtokman project became successful it could "operate as a sort of template" for Norwegian-Russian resource cooperation in the area.
News of the deal was met with mixed reactions from environmental groups, including GAIA, who fear new oil exploration and development will increase pressure on the fragile Barents Sea ecosystem. "With a clearly defined border, at least we'll know what we're going to be dealing with," said Fredric Hauge, who leads the Bellona Foundation, a Norwegian environmental group that also works in Russia.
Meanwhile, Stoltenberg was reluctant to talk about Norway's plans for whatever resources the region might yield. "It's not clear yet when we will be able to begin developing the resources in this (disputed) area," he told reporters later Tuesday. "We have to wait for the agreement to be finalized." A spokesperson for the Anarchist Federation of Norway, AFIN, says to AIIS: "The 'devil' is in the details, it is now the hard negotiations begin!" Sources: Associated Press and AIIS.
16.09.2010. End of dispute with Russia. Norwegian Prime Minister Jens Stoltenberg and Russian President Dmitry Medvedev formally ended a 40-year dispute over territorial rights in the Barents Sea. Last week, officials at the Kremlin called Stoltenberg's office and said they were ready to sign the deal. They invited the Norwegians to Murmansk and everyone quickly cleared their schedules to make the trip. The actual deal was signed by the foreign ministers for each country, Jonas Gahr Støre of Norway and Sergey Lavrov of Russia.
Stoltenberg and Medvedev were all smiles after agreeing on what the Norwegians call the "delelinje," or dividing line, in the Barents Sea. The historic pact settles rights not only to fishing but also to undersea oil and gas resources, and it may lead to a new boom in offshore exploration, despite the environmental sensitivity of the Arctic area. Russia is expected to move quickly with more seismic testing and offshore development, and Norwegian companies are clamoring to do the same but likely will face more regulation and political opposition, say, from environmental groups, including GAIA.
02.11.2011. Flat hierarchy challenges new leaders. Norway's "flat, flat, flat" management hierarchy [i.e. not topheavy pyramid economically and/or political/adminstrative] poses a huge challenge for new leaders recruited from overseas. It can also explain why there's so few of them within the Norwegian business world. "Many leaders can feel so disrespected when they come to Norway," said Kimberly Lein-Mathisen, global alliance leader for the large US pharmaceutical company Eli Lilly. Everyone is equal, and employees are accustomed to being consulted on most matters, and having their say. Source: www.newsinenglish.no.
19.03.2012. Norway has per March 2012 about 5 million inhabitants. It's official: As of Monday, March 19 2012, Norway's population stands at 5 million persons because of record-high growth rates fueled by longer life-spans, the highest fertility rate in Europe and immigration. New residents from Poland and Sweden are accounting for much of Norway's growth. Sources: SSB and www.newsinenglish.no.
Some time has passed on since the Norwegian People turned their back against the main economic political course of the marxist social democrat government, at the 1994 EU referendum. The megatrend of the late eighties and early nineties was a movement to the right and upwards on the Economical Political Map. The EU referendum and more actions indicated a further jump in this direction, a "bottom - up" velvet revolution, and thus the economic political system in Norway made a revolutionary change, and passed the border between the marxist social democrat sector and the anarchist sector of social individualism. This of course is a major social event in the economic political world history. A long jump further rightwards may result in a liberalist system, and a reverse tendency may give a retardation to marxist social democracy, but this is not the case at the moment. Thus, Norway became an anarchy in 1994/95, and it still is an anarchist economic-political system , i.e. liberal social democracy and a real & green democracy.
In 2001 the Norwegian economic-political system has not changed significantly in the distance from the top of the economic-political map. And thus, the Anarchy of Norway is still going strong. Although the system is significantly anarchist, i.e. within the Quadrant of Anarchism on the economic political map, it is somewhat far from the anarchist ideal on the top of the map. "So this is heaven: Norway", the LA-TIMES in USA reports about Norway, November 2001, but this is however a bit exaggerated; see American look at Norway - Report no 1, where the article is quoted, with comments from IIFOR added. Another American article on the situation in Norway, quoted from NY-TIMES January 2002, also with comments from IIFOR, is also included.
The main policy of the Anarchist International (AI/IFA) and The Anarchist Federation of Norway (AFIN) was presented in the largest Newspaper in Norway, Verdens Gang 06.11.2001, p 39, see Anarchy is [real] democracy - article in VG. This article also states "Norway [as] a relatively anarchist country, however a bit far from the anarchist ideal (Norge som et relativt anarkistisk land, men nokså langt fra det anarkistiske ideal)."
In June 2002 a libertarian direct action against the World Bank's reactionary policy and the ABCDE-meeting, in Oslo, once more confirmed that anarchy is significantly on in Norway, see Direct action against the ABCDE-meeting and policy. Norwegian firms are more and more horizontally organized, according to Nordhaug and Gooderham at NHH (Dagsavisen 15 & 16.10.2004). An investigation later in 2002 indicated a slight movement to the right on the economical-political map and about 54% degree of anarchy, compared to the situation in 1994-95 with about 53% anarchism. In 2005 Norway is celebrating its 100th anniversary as a sovereign nation.
30.05.2007. The Anarchy of Norway was rated as the most peaceful nation in the world, and since the middle of 1995 the country has also been ranked as the most libertarian and anarchist on planet Gaia, a.k.a. Tellus and Earth.
15.01.2010. Positive citizen survey: A nationwide citizen survey shows that 86 per cent of Norwegians think that their country is close to being a perfect country to live in.
02.11.2011. Flat hierarchy challenges new leaders. Norway's "flat, flat, flat" management hierarchy [i.e. not topheavy pyramid economically and/or political/adminstrative] poses a huge challenge for new leaders recruited from overseas. It can also explain why there's so few of them within the Norwegian business world. "Many leaders can feel so disrespected when they come to Norway," said Kimberly Lein-Mathisen, global alliance leader for the large US pharmaceutical company Eli Lilly. Everyone is equal, and employees are accustomed to being consulted on most matters, and having their say. Source: www.newsinenglish.no.
After the red and green council of state (state in the meaning of central administration, not archy), took over in 2005, the system turned a bit to the left, but the degree of anarchy was still about 54%. The red and green council of state (central administration) continued after the general election in 2009, with still about 54% degree of anarchy in Norway. After the general election i 2013 a center right minority council of state replaced the red and green council of state, with a small movement to the right on the economic political map and in reality, but with no significant change in the degree of anarchy. The center right minority council of state continued after the general election in 2017, and was followed by by the SP & AP/DnA council of state, and the anarchy degree is still about 54%, and will probably stay at about the same level in the coming years.
A degree of anarchism of ca 54%, as in Norway 2023, is as mentioned not a high degree of anarchism. This means the authoritarian degree is still ca 46%. If the libertarian degree is less than 50% there is no anarchy at all. About 54% anarchy degree is quite an accepted estimate. It is a.o.t. quoted in Dagens Næringsliv (the Industrial life of today, the main economical newspaper of Norway) no 2/3 June 2007 and Finansavisen (the Financial newspaper) Wednesday 17. October 2007, see anarchist articles in DN and Finansavisen.
So called heaven or not, 54% anarchism is far from the 100% anarchist ideal. Thus, it is plenty of room for improvement from anarchist perspective, and by no means time for a break in the fight against authoritarian tendencies. The revolution must be fought permanent, in the daily life, to sustain and develop further. However, as long as a) Norway stays out of EU, b) populist and nationalist tendencies are put at place, and c) the left and right tendencies outbalance each other reasonable as by now, Norway will probably stay anarchist, and be a lighthouse for EU and the rest of the world. We call for anarchist action to sustain and increase the degree of anarchy in Norway.
The Real & Green Democracy revolution in Norway and the Green Global Spring Revolution GGS. The veteran eco-anarchist and anarcha-feminist Anna Quist from the Anarchy of Norway, is elected as the official spokesperson for the GGS. She was elected 28.09.2019 unanimously by the GGS/AI- secretariat in Oslo, the capital of Norway, a country in Northern Europe, and an Anarchy (of low degree) since the velvet anarchist revolution 1994/95, also with a significant green tendency. A.o.t. there is no significant coal problem in this country. The revolution started 28.11.1994 with the EU-referendum and more actions. The Anarchy of Norway is still going strong, and in 2019 The 25th anniversary of the anarchist revolution in Norway was celebrated world wide by Real and Green Democrats Thursday 28. November, the Day of the Anarchist Revolution in Norway. "The Real and Green Democracy Revolution in Norway is a significant inspiration for The Green Global Spring Revolution (GGS) because it demonstrates fully that 1. Anarchy, i.e.liberal social democracy including a significant green tendency, works, and 2. that the GGS may very well succeed world wide! But not without hard work and using all legal means and actions!" said Anna Quist, a 1. veteran Real and Green Democracy, i.e. Anarchist, activist since 1965, also 2. activist in the Norwegian anarchist, including green, revolution in 1994/95 and later, and 3. now and in the future official spokesperson for The Green Global Spring Revolution (GGS). [Source: FB-IJ@ 4(24), 1-4(25), 1-3(26), AIT - AIIS].
There is great excitement about IIFOR's new analysis of the degree of anarchy in Norway. The results will come on Thursday 15 February 2024. Will there be an increase, no change, or a decrease in the degree of anarchy?
The effects of the climate crisis discounted, corruption and Folkeranet (the robbery of the People) among other thing are analyzed.
15/02/2024. The degree of anarchy has decreased by around a quarter of a percentage point (approx. 0.25%). The previous estimate was approx. 54.45%, and the new estimate is thus approx. 54.20%, i.e. still approx. 54% rounded.
But the development is going in the wrong direction, increased authoritarianism. Norway must become more horizontally organized, broadly defined, i.e. more socialism and autonomy in the broadest sense, in order for the degree of anarchy to increase. The estimates are somewhat uncertain, but indicate a probable tendency.
Anarchism in Norway: This document discusses how Norway has developed to anarchism, i.e. liberal social democracy. The pivotal moment was the 1994 EU referendum, where the Norwegian people rejected the marxist social-democratic course, resulting in an anarchist, bottom-up revolution. This shifted Norway’s political system towards anarchism, albeit to a low degree.
Anarchist Transition: After the referendum, Norway's political system shifted from a state-dominated "top - down", marxist social democracy to a system that embraced more individualism and autonomy, i.e. anarchist social individualism. The new system combined real democracy with a significant green, environmental tendency.
Current State: As of 2024, Norway is described as being about 54% anarchist. Although this is a significant degree of anarchism, the country is still far from the anarchist ideal of 100% degree of anarchy, leaving room for further improvement. Norway remains a beacon of "real and green democracy" but continues to face challenges in reducing authoritarian tendencies.
Continued Revolution: The document emphasizes that the fight against authoritarianism must continue in daily life to maintain and increase the degree of anarchy. It outlines key conditions for preserving this system, including staying out of the EU and balancing left and right political tendencies, and stop populist/fascist tendencies.
Global Leadership: Norway is seen as a model of an anarchist system for the rest of the world, particularly for the EU. The document calls for global cooperation to promote anarchist and green democratic values worldwide.
Green Global Spring Revolution (GGS): The document also mentions the rise of the Green Global Spring (GGS), with veteran anarchist and eco-feminist Anna Quist as its spokesperson. Norway’s anarchist revolution, with its focus on environmental sustainability, is portrayed as a key inspiration for global movements toward green democracy.
In conclusion, the document positions Norway as a leading example of a functioning anarchist society, highlighting the significant, ongoing anarchist revolution that began in 1994 and the need for continued efforts to reach a fuller realization of anarchism.
Resolution, decided with general consent, by AFIN, AIIS, IIFOR, AIUF and:
The International Anarchist Congress
The 11th Anarchist Biennial 27-28.11.2010
International Congress-Seminar on Anarchism
The AI/IFA network represents more than 50 000 anarchist world wide
To see the Website of the Congress - Click here!
Updated
*) Switzerland became an anarchy (significant) in 1999/2000, but was close to anarchy for several years, also in 1994/95, and thus had a relatively high libertarian degree in 1994/95. In the updated theory of anarchism related to the economic-political map, outside the anarchist quadrant on the map, the concept libertarian degree is used, while anarchy degree is only defined for systems within the anarchist quadrant. However in 1994-1996 the term 'anarchy degree' or 'degree of anarchy' was used sometimes also for systems outside the anarchist quadrant.