Some time has passed on since the Norwegian People turned their back against the main economic political course of the 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 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, and thus the living Anarchy of Norway (AoN) is still going strong.
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 develope 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.
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 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-secretariate in Oslo, that had been doing media and information work all of the time since the founding of AFIN 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. The AIIS is industrially and with respect to copyright a co-operative branch of IJ@/fb ISSN 0800-0220.
You are very welcome to read about the history of Norway from 1200 - 2002, and the development of the Anarchy since 1994:
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 AND THE EU REFERENDUM
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 IN 2001-2
A. THE
TAMPA CASE
B. THE
STORTINGS ELECTION
C. THE
TERRORIST PROBLEM
D. THE
NOBEL PEACE PRIZE 100 YEARS - T. HEYERDAHL IN MEMORIAN
E. OIL
PRICE AND ANARCHY
F. CONCLUSION
A. INDEPENDENT COUNTRY - VASSAL STATE - BREAKAWAY REVOLUTION, 1200 - 1905, INDEPENDENCE 1906 - 39
Several hundred years ago Norway was also an independent land.
NSF was a revolutionary syndicalist organization, with syndicalists and anarchists, anarchosyndicalists included. The syndicalist faction was however not only anarchistical. 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".
The history of anarchism in Norway should also be seen in connection to the general development of anarchism and its methodology, see http://www.anarchy.no/a_e_p_m.html .
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 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", 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 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 17", 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 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, powerty 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 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 militisia 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 the Quisling regimes national socialist centralized state institutions, say, the Price-department/Price police, the nazi-economists with Odd Aukrust in front at the Central Bureau of Statistics, SSB, quickly turned into social democrats, the Finance-department (Treasury) turned into something like a stalinist "Gosplan" office, "five/four" years economical plans set at work, stateowned "corner stone" enterprises were introduced, as well as 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 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 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 properties 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 whorshipers 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 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 in Norway for a while, and was 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, at this time started to develope to a significant libertarian socialist. His famous note from 1961 on EEC/EU as "Det uopplyste pengevelde", "The Unenlightened Plutarchy", may be mentioned.
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, 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. Politically Bjørneboe was early influenced by liberalism and the syndicalist populism and the quasiscientifical "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 scientifical, 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 quasiscientifical 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 scientifical, 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 quasiscientifical 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 scientifical. 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., also a lawyer, at that time a leader at the "Fri Rettshjelp" (free legal action support), 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 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.
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 significant 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 AND THE EU REFERENDUM
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, kept a low profile in the newsmedia, retired to significant confederal/central administration only, and left the system significant to anarchy rules - OK - in the following time.
After the referendum the CNN (after a little help from the AIT/AIIS) reports: "an almost perfect society", about the Norwegian economic-political system..
The Northern Anarchist Confederation - Anarkistenes organisasjon i Norden, 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 develope 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.
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. 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 was still going strong in 2002.
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 congress. 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:
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).
The figures in brackets are the number of local communes 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 representants, 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, or the state council (STACO), 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.
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.
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. 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 IN 2001-2
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, 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 temporarely 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-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, is an open question. 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 .
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.
D. THE NOBEL PEACE PRIZE 100 YEARS - T. HEYERDAHL IN MEMORIAN
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 whish 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.
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.
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 develope 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.
Some time has passed on since the Norwegian People turned their back against the main economic political course of the 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 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. The system has moved a little to the right, but not very significant. The first half year of 2002 confirms this tendency.
Thus, so far 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 at about 53% degree of anarchism.
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 http://www.anarchy.no/report1.html , 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.
In June 2002 a libertarian direct action against the World Bank's reactionary policy in Oslo once more confirmed that anarchy is significant on in Norway, see http://www.anarchy.no/abcde.html .
So called heaven or not, 53% 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 develope 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. [Source: FB 4(24), 1-4(25), 1-3(26), AIT].