Class War - "We Must Devastate the Avenues Where the Wealthy Live"

Class War - "We Must Devastate the Avenues Where the Wealthy Live" Class War, 1983

Class War, an anarchist organization founded in the early 1980s, gained notoriety for its provocative tactics and self-titled newspaper, Class War, subtitled Britain's Most Unruly Tabloid.

On the front cover of the first issue, in May 1983, Class War reproduced an 1885 quote from Lucy Parsons, founder member of the Industrial Workers of the World (IWW).

The newspaper reported on acts of violence against the police and the wealthy, while the group organized shocking activities such as disrupting elite events like the Henley Regatta. These actions were intended to challenge class inequality and provoke a reaction from the establishment. The group’s tactics highlighted the deep class tensions in Thatcher-era Britain.

During the 1984 Miners' Strike, Class War advocated for opening a 'second front' by mobilizing working-class communities on estates across the country. This was intended to divert Government and police resources away from attacks on the striking miners.

Class War’s legacy and influence can be seen in later anti-capitalist and anarchist movements, underscoring their role in the history of British radical politics.

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The 1980s and 90s in the UK were the time of Thatcher, mass unemployment, the Printers and Miners Strikes, and Poll Tax Rebellion.

Culturally, supported by a benefits system that allowed creative talent to bloom (and cheap transport), there was an explosion of music, alternative comedy, cooperatives and community theatre.

Campaigns around the Miners Strike and the opposition to the Poll Tax in particular drove a spirit of solidarity and class consciousness throughout communities across the country.

Concurrently, new technologies, for example the launch of the first AppleMac, with its 6 inch screen and Pagemaker software, enabled a new method of design in posters and campaigning posters burgeoned.

We have reproduced some of those posters - posters we saw on many peoples' walls at the time.