Insect

COUNCIL ECONOMICS PROJECTED.

COUNCIL ECONOMICS FOR A NEW CENTURY.

FORECASTED FUTURE OF THE C.C.A.

We propose this as the first proposed business plan of the Guerilla Press. This manuscript is available to all who are interested in joining this organisation, although it is really intended to be read by potential investors. This plan is available to all who wish to read it, although we do ask people to return this manuscript in the envelope provided.

PART I. Executive Summary. This is a proposed business plan designed to find investment for the Guerilla Press proposal to fund free books to prisoners. Part II will describe more fully who the Guerilla Press are, and consecutive parts will explain the history and purpose of this organisation. This plan is intended to be an informative view of the Guerilla Press as we exist, at the same time as being laid out in the exact same way as any other Business Plan.

Part II will describe the Guerilla Press as mentioned above.

Part III will describe in more detail the ethics of this organisation, discussing our views, what we intend to achieve in this and why.

Part IV. This section will continue to explain why we have set up, in particular introducing the politics of Council Anarchism; as a strategy and as a new philosophy. In this description of our strategy, we will discuss why we need investors, and details of our 'Membership Scheme'.

Part V is less important, but in terms of setting this out as a traditional plan, we have left this included. This section will discuss the circumstances from which we operate, and in that, why to invest.

Part VI. Financial Data. The last part of the plan before the Appendixes, this plan will detail, firstly our costs of setting up, then our running costs including financing, and then risks. Part VI will include its own charts for reference.

PART II. Business Description. Much work has been written on the politics of the C.C.A.; nearly as much as on the history of the Guerilla Press. Some of this work has been collated into Volumes of work entitled 'Chaoticism, Vols. I, II & III', essays on the politics of this organisation which are available from ourselves on request. But to explain the Guerilla Press, I feel that there should be a brief summary of why we set up, and what we hope to achieve.

In setting up, the primary point behind the Guerilla Press, was to describe the revolutionary period resulting from the uprising against the Conservatives at the start of the last decade (for example the London Poll Tax riots and the prison riots of 1990). In this the politics of the press, being a part of the then 'Cestre Cantre Advocation' (now Campaign for Council Anarchism), were in themselves revolutionary. This was not just in terms of the politics we published, but more so in the entire strategy of ourselves running a campaign. Being a single unit of a larger struggle, the idea was to set up as some sort of resistance from within a psychiatric hospital. This plan now escalates into the plan to print the philosophies of prisoners and distribute it to people in prison and secure psychiatric wards for free.

But the history of the Guerilla Press, is one of conflict within the hospital walls. Whilst having every right to set up Council Anarchism from within these walls, I have had to fight for these rights; not just for myself, but for every other prisoner of the psychiatric regime, who should want to see the freedom of expression through literature, or their work in print.

The Guerilla Press started with our first publication resulting in near censorship and an increase in medication. At that stage I had no real intentions of setting up a publishing press. The intention was, at that point, to try to escalate the views of a militant minority of prostitutes who established themselves under the front of the afore mentioned rebellion against the Conservative Poll Tax. 'How to Make a Petrol Bomb' was 101 Questions and Answers to the C.C.A., as we supported the prostitutes, ending with the Question, "How can I make a Petrol Bomb?" (and ending with a description of how to construct one following the statement "It is easy to make a Petrol Bomb"). Since this, the Guerilla Press have been concurrently subversive, and have fought authority to put the views of post Class War anarchism to as many people as we can. And in this, the Guerilla Press have not "sold out" on our politics through setting up this plan. We plan this organisation to be a platform to build this movement, and ask for investment so that we can continueate this debate.

Anyway, despite huge disapproval, and trouble, from the authority imposed within hospital, there was an enormous response from our first pamphlet. Printed consecutively on a photocopier, sometimes by sympathetic members of staff, we must have distributed nearly 500 to individuals and organisations on the extreme left. The success of this publication led directly to our next publication, also printed on a photocopier; 'Thirteen', the aims and views of the organisation above, in struggle against the state. This led us to setting up as a 'Small Press', and this is what has led us towards the strategy of Plan X. A more in depth account of the foundation and history of this movement exists as the introduction to my book, 'Chronology of a Revolutionary Press', which I intend to eventually submit for publication.

With that done with, I should digress from our history, which may or may not be of interest, and begin to explain the philosophy behind why I am asking people to invest.

PART III. Intended Campaign Description.The Guerilla Press are intending to set up entirely as a non profit group. In this, the main activity financed by everything else we intend to do, is to print and distribute the philosophical writings of class struggle prisoners for free. All funds, from both membership and investment, will be put into the Campaign.

We intend to operate like this: Each month the Campaign will print a new pamphlet. One copy of each pamphlet will be sent out to all members, along with a copy of our manifesto and regular copies of our newsletter, 'Vectron 002'. Investors will receive ten copies of each pamphlet, each of which should retail at about £1.25. Membership will be free to all prisoners, and the intention is that future publications will be written by prisoners themselves.

The initial cost of setting up will be through equity and, from that point on, all costs will be paid for from funds collected from investment. Any profit made from this investment will go into releasing a benefit C.D., which in turn will be sold in order to finance the Guerilla Press. A more detailed plan will be circulated to members and investors nearer the date of release.

Differing political opinions and arguments will be published by ourselves but, as an organisation, the politics of setting up a non profit group in this manner are an issue for discussion. The purposes of this campaign will be to try to inspire debate, as has been the issue of the Guerilla Press so far, but our manifesto will convey a structured set of 'Aims & Views'.

To discuss this in brief, investors and members will be treated in the same way. This is, regardless to whether the individual or organisation is paying £200 for a regular order, £20 for straight membership, or whether they are a subscriber in prison paying no money at all. In this, everyone involved will have a say in any Campaign issues to which we ask for decisions from membership. Any such issues will be announced through our newsletter, and all response will be treated equally; regardless of any factor. As to this structure being announced as a rule for all membership and investment, the Guerilla Press will act as a democratic Anarchist Council. This opens the philosophy of the Campaign for Council Anarchism, and further to this, all members and investors will be asked to vote on decisions as a necessary part of being a part of the group. Council Anarchism and the politics of this democracy will be discussed more fully in the 'Manifesto of the C.C.A.'; which will be available to all members when published, and in Appendix I.

PART IV. Market and Strategy of Distribution. In the first place, it is to be said that, however many pamphlets an investor or member may be entitled to under this scheme (one copy per month to members, and ten a month per investor, twenty for a double investment and so on), there is nothing to prevent people from buying more. This is set up that it would not be difficult for an investor to make 100% profit in under four years, but also that our distribution is sorted as well. Individual pamphlets are available at a trade price of 80p each. Individual pamphlets retail at £1.25.

This strategy of funding and distribution should be seen as the backbone of the strategy for Council Anarchism as I propose it as a new revolutionary framework for our philosophy. As will be discussed in our manifesto in more depth, the C.C.A. believe that, in a post revolutionary society, the people will group together in communities that will be led by separate Councils. If people were in disagreement with the way in which their communities were run, then they would found or set up others. This is discussed in more depth elsewhere, but this plan is intended as the first example of how a Council Anarchist economy could be run; despite the fact that, by necessity, we have to set this up within capitalism to get started. This strategy is sound as it secures the distribution of prisoners philosophy, whilst inherent in the support we hope for from investors.

Investment. As a strategy for Council democracy under a libertarian diresque, we see the capital from investment as a commodity of exchange. The main reason why people will want to invest, is that this organisation is a non profit group, and that investing will be of direct benefit to people in prison. As a non profit group, the Guerilla Press will not have to account for tax, and therefore all funds can be ploughed directly into the Campaign.

Investment will be used for the purposes of printing the philosophy of prisoners who are involved with this group, and for monthly running costs. In this we expect a monthly income from investment and membership on a monthly basis, and we intend to establish as a group that will be able to run Council Economies well into the 21st Century, although our own projected forecast runs only for the five years until 2005. If we should choose to wrap up after this period, investors will still have made a profit on the £200 investment fee. However, in the course of setting up, we intend to establish ourselves and escalate; ploughing funds into benefit C.D.s' and eventually employing more people under the politics of Council Anarchism in order to become an establishment campaigning for the end of prison in a revolutionary context.

Membership. As inherent in the Campaign, membership will be free to prisoners; regardless of prejudice or what they are serving time for. This includes the prisoners of "special" hospitals. A steady income from membership and the sale of surplus pamphlets is expected to pay our monthly telephone charges etc., whilst investment will be spent on printing and the cost of benefit C.D.s'.

Whilst single membership is straightforward, we ask all members to read this plan before joining. Membership has already been discussed, but I feel this to be an appropriate place to reiterate the benefits of membership.

All subscriptions, £20 per individual (free to prisoners), will be considered equal members of the C.C.A. Membership can be seen as a mini investment, as all subscription and investment will be treated exactly as equal. The Guerilla Press are a part of the Campaign for Council Anarchism; this Plan being the initial blue print for revolutionary Councils in a modern context. All membership, from prisoners to multiple investment, will be treated exactly as equal, and postal ballots will be held, as necessary, to decide on moves played, as necessary. We stress at this point that, if anyone does not want their address to be kept on computer database, they should say so here. Council Anarchism, whilst being set up within capitalism, is in direct contravention of authority and state politics and, as our manifesto points out, is to escalate the defiance of authority through the power of the printed word.

As well as regular updates from ourselves, members will also be entitled to a copy of the 'Manifesto of the C.C.A.', regular newsletters and one copy of our latest publication each month. In addition, prisoners will be entitled to submit texts, of up to 16,000 words - acceptable in clear handwritten format - for publication. As previously stated, all members will be treated in exactly the same way as investors, exept that investors will be entitled to ten copies of each pamphlet each month.

II. Radical Presses Register. Distribution of Surplus Pamphlets.

The Radical Presses Register will be a separate body within the C.C.A. 'R.P.R.' for short, the 'Register' already exist as part of the C.C.A., although response from our literature has been very poor indeed. The R.P.R. needs to be set up as a separate entity from the Guerilla Press in itself, although it will be an important part of it. As a part of the Guerilla Press, it will be included in the running of our organisation, although all it will need is a small expenditure for propaganda and equal time on our WebSite, in our newsletter etc. Even so, the R.P.R. will be an equal part of our movement, and this is why we dedicate this separate sub-head to the issue.

The Radical Presses Register is essentially an alternative registration scheme for radical and alternative publishing. This scheme is already acknowledged by the British Library, and our first pamphlet under this scheme, 'Propaganda Groups', carries the R.P.R. number, '0002.agp.GP'. The idea behind this scheme is to propose a radical alternative to the expensive and beurocratic system of book registration already in existence, and to offer an alternative specifically for left wing books. This scheme is free, and more details are available from us.

A separate budget will be put aside for the R.P.R., but it is hoped that the literature and internet pages created for the R.P.R., will bring in more funds; the R.P.R. Web Site being a forum to sell our pamphlets, and to sell other publications registered by ourselves, and thus copies bought at the usual trade discount. More information and our newsletter, which will cover this scheme, is available from us, but a separate fund for the R.P.R. will be detailed in part VI. But, in short, the R.P.R. will be a front to sell radical books and our own pamphlets through the internet.

PART V. Operating Situation. The Campaign for Council Anarchism run the Guerilla Press, set up to raise funds for free books to prisoners through membership and investment, and through the Radical Presses Register as a smaller sub group of the Guerilla Press set up to publicise and sell off surplus pamphlets (and for other reasons mentioned above). The main front for the organisation as a whole, will be the Guerilla Press, although other parts of the group will operate at the same time.

The Guerilla Press aim to stay fairly small scale. This proposal is for a home based business, set up from the relative sanctuary of the psychiatric hospital where I am prisoner myself. This organisation already exist, albeit on a very small scale and, as mentioned in Part II, have been operating as an anarchist group for the past five years.

Running the group from within a psychiatric hospital does have its own problems, although it is far from impossible. Setting up in the future we will need to budget for a modem, mobile phone and phone charges, a photocopier and, of course, monthly costs. The initial costs of setting up and the first years costs, we intend to finance through equity. Further monthly costs and unseen expenses, we intend to finance through investments, paying membership, selling surplus pamphlets through the R.P.R. and, if released, benefit C.D.s. We will also have an account for running expenses such as Internet connection, monthly printing and postage, phone bills and such. As a non profit group, we will have planned our finances around this, and our expenditure is broken down as follows.

PART VI. Financial Plan.Graph VI. (I) lists the initial costs of setting up. To finance this, we intend to apply for equity.

GRAPH LISTED OVERLEAF.

GRAPH VI (I). The first part of this plan details the initial cost of the equipment we will need to set up. The costs of the first month are also included as the second part of the month, adding up to a total of £1380. To cover unexpected cost etc., we will be asking for an initial grant of £2000. The following graph breaks down monthly expenditure against the funds we expect to collect through membership and investment.

GRAPH VI (II). MONTHLY EXPENDITURE FORECAST. LISTED OVERLEAF.

GRAPH VI (II).This is an expected forecast of the first month of running; February 2000. As this looks to be quite a lot of money, it may be the case that we may not be able to profit every month. This is covered later in Appendix I, 'Risk'. However, if spent properly in investing in books to sell through our WebSite ('Radical Booksite'), we forecast that we will probably be able to set up to raise the necessary funds. On top of this we plan at least one benefit C.D., and we will be able to ask investors to help us with distribution (the cost of which will come out of our 'Newsletter/Advertising' budget). At present we cannot be sure how many people will want to invest, and allowances should be made for spending more or less on the cost of telephone bills and printing, as regards the scale of investment. What follows (overleaf) is a projection for the first six months since we establish in January 2000.

GRAPH VI (II).THEORETICAL PROJECTION FOR FIRST SIX MONTHS. LISTED BELOW.

GRAPH VI (III).This is a rough graph of the expected income and saving of the Guerilla Press in the first six months of campaign as financed through investment. Note April 2000. This is only a very rough estimate, as it will be impossible to calculate the cost and income past our accounted monthly expenditure. However, we do hope to be able to finance the scheme by putting money into C.D.s'. Another individual will probably be enlisted to cover this, but we hope to be able to make 400% profit on each £200 we spend on pressing them.

What follows is a brief explanation of Graph VI (III), and we intend to run this as a non profit group for the benefit of those in prison and sympathetic parties.

a) JANUARY 2000.During the first month of Campaign, there will be an outstanding fund of £1200. This will be used for the Guerilla Press in consecutive months, as for this initial six months, we will still be setting up trade. Although the primary objective of the Guerilla Press is to publish and distribute literature from prisoners, we will have to set up trading in order to do this. However, we do not intend to set up, until we have the investment of at least three people/organisations.

b) FEBRUARY 2000.After the first month of trading, we will have at least the above mentioned benefit of at least £1200. In this month, after building support from initially setting up, we will be campaigning specifically for investors. Having initially set up, we will be earning support as an actual campaigning organisation. It is only after having set up, that we think we will have the concrete support from the business, from under which the left will want to invest money. As well as this, in the first month, people will also have started to join. It is impossible to calculate the income from membership, so therefore, funds earned from membership are roughly calculated in the forecast above.

c) MARCH 2000.After this initial period of setting up, we hope to have built support from prisoners and a large part of the campaigning left; in particular the anarchists. The chances are that we will have a backlog of pamphlets to sell, and by this point we hope to have built a system of distribution. Either way, at this point we should be building one, particularly for Guerilla Press C.D.s'.

This will be the first month of pressing C.D.s', and the intention is to have a number of underground bands ready to offer music, possibly free of charge, for the benefit of the Guerilla Press as a non profit group. We hope to have this set up before we start trading in 2000. The revenue created by the distribution and sale of C.D.s' , will be of importance to the group, and we intend to plough the budget for advertising, and anything above that, into setting up distribution.

d) APRIL 2000.In this month we have our lines of distribution set up to distribute C.D.s' (and hopefully literature), for other campaigning groups on the left. However, as you can see from Graph VI (III), this is the first month that we expect not to make a profit. This shouldn't be seen as failure or a reason not to invest, as we are a non profit group, and at this point we will have set up distributing books and C.D.s' at a profit for the cause. If, on the other hand, business is not going well, we may apply for another grant at this point, to cover the running costs for a year. It is to be pointed out that the figure of little profit demonstrated in the graph is only hypothetical. We will continue to run despite this, considering this possible example of the risk that we could be dealing with. See Appendix I, for 'Risk'.

e) MAY 2000.At this stage we hope to have built into an influential campaign, and a respected distribution group. After the initial risk period of the first four months, we expect to be making enough money to be able to run effectively. As from here on we will be printing the philosophy of prisoners, and will be building support from the left. This will manifest in the form of membership and investments. As from this point, we cannot give up.

f) JUNE 2000. SUMMER SOLSTICE PROTEST.

At this point in the Campaign, the C.C.A. will become established as a working part of the left. However, at this point, the C.C.A. will have to become more overtly political. Through working to support the left, and through these new ethics for economics for revolution, people will now be starting to invest on a greater scale. The running of the Guerilla Press will involve the publication of various leaflets and newsletters, and the plan for June 2000, is to support the Convoy and the festival at Stonehenge, with everything belonging to us. In this month, we still intend to bring out a publication, but this will be directly linked to the movement of Stonehenge, and we plan a percentage for this month to go to the Stonehenge Campaign. It is in this that we intend to set up as an overtly political campaign, supporting all prisoners of the 'movement of trespass', as equal to prisoners who join.

GRAPH IV (IV).The above demonstrates a possible outcome for the first six months of campaign. This business will be run like any other campaign, according to this plan listed, although we will be financed through investment. The Graph following is a extended diagram, starting with the first six months as listed, and continuing until the year 2005. This plan, however, is only theoretical; there may be more or less money earned, and allowances will sometimes have to be made, to use the mobile phone less, to spend less on printing, possibly to delay publications and so forth. At the same time, it will be difficult to forecast how many people will want to invest or join, and funds may be more than currently expected. Therefore this graph is theoretical, in the sense that we just dont know how popular this group is going to be. We will be asking people to view us with the trust we earn, and refer potential investors to Appendix I, 'Risk', in order to consider the possibilities of the Guerilla Press making a loss, and to reassure people who may be worried by the forecast for April.

APPENDIX I. RISK.At this point in the plan, this entire essay becomes hypothetical. Instead of setting up business on the First 2000, this date becomes our date of foundation, and the first month of trading really becomes the Third of March 2000. At this date we intend to put aside the first £8520, that we ask for as equity, for our first year until March 2001. However, this risk is not definitely going to be apparent. People wishing to donate money or invest, should take the following points into account.

1.This plan does not cover the amount of people who we hope, or expect, will be likely to invest. The hope is that there will be many more people investing before 3/3/00, and that still more people join.

2.This does not account for the funds created from the sale of our benefit C.D. As will be apparent from the previous graph (graph IV (IV)), funds created from the sale of our C.D. are calculated separately from income and monthly running costs.

3.This plan does not account for the £8520 running costs which will be spent from the first year from 3/3/00 - 3/3/01. As regards this fund, it will make all forecasts of Financial Situation completely different in the event of our not being able to raise equity. With these costs accounted for, we hope to be able to pay back a loan easily over the five year period forecasted in this Plan.

Therefore, all considerations in membership or investment, should take into account that in the first year, that being the year in which we intend to set up as a campaigning non profit group, we will only be gaining funds. This is in order to establish ourselves as a successful campaign, and so that we will be able to pay back any debt incurred after the first year of campaign. However, although we intend to raise these funds through equity, this should be no reason not to invest. The entire plan behind this scheme, is to raise funds for printing from the debate in prison politics, and in this to found Council Anarchism (see Appendix II). In the event of our losing money in a five year period, we will have a deficit fund for use in utilising our established lines of distribution to sell C.D.s', until the end of our forecasted period until 2005. Still, it is unlikely that it will come to this, and this statement is written to declare our contingency, should this take place.

APPENDIX II. THE POLITICS OF COUNCIL ANARCHISM.In times of unrest, it is right for anarchists to consider the politics of unrest. However, as we enter a new century, the politics of capital are the politics that look set to dictate. Anarchists should account for this; using this plan for inspiration to found their own groups. To found a working resistance. This plan works on the premise that a council can be established, exploiting capital, to set up Councils, which in turn exploit capital further. In this, we do not see that we have set up to uphold the State. We see it more as an example of how a group can be set up to challenge the very nature of a system that goes out to exploit the people to such extremity, that the poor have never had a chance under the system that controls our lives. Whilst capitalism goes out to exploit the people to an extent such as this, we must analyse how capitalism works as an entity within itself, and we must analyse how it can be brought down.

Plan X aims to propose a view of economics as exists in the current day, but one that can be successfully be employed in any situation of revolution. The C.C.A. study the mechanics of peoples revolt, and have drawn up this plan to escalate our own moves towards utopia.

Of course, once the revolution has taken place, we will be dealing with the raw commodities without money, and we will be dealing with a different set of politics. But a revolutionary council must be set up to support this. That is the C.C.A.

Anarchists have rarely given time to study their own economics. This is where Plan X sets out to analyse the economics that could lead to our emancipation, before setting out to give an example of how economics will work in any post revolutionary council society. For example, to set up autonomous workers councils of production, icons of capital will have to be put into the democratic communities that set up to provide a means of capital, if such a thing should exist, post revolution. Obviously, without money things will be dramatically different, but this plan goes out to demonstrate how surplus can be generated to thus benefit those in a more restrictive situation. An example of this is in how the entire structure of this plan sets out to create a surplus in order to distribute a commodity for free. How difficult can it be to give this stuff away?

In short the example is this. We own the means of production as the workers in charge of our own production. Initial funds will be put into the campaign to allow us to stay in production. A steady stream of investment will allow us to keep producing, thus paying a minor part of the capital being entitled to a steady percentage of what we produce. The result of the income from exchange allows us to put the means of production into giving free pamphlets to the prisoners we publish. With some analysis of Karl Marx, it can be seen how this structure could work as a post revolutionary model of workers production. We will be an autonomous co operative.

This is what Council Economy comes down to. Revolutions make themselves. Anarchists must set up now; set up revolutionary councils to discuss economics. Set up within the established system now, comrades. Then the revolution will be difficult to overthrow.