I think the reason why I admire the autonomist movement as a (relatively) successful implementation of spontaneous action is because of the way the action was coordinated. Both the German and Italian autonomist movement had large sections who were opposed to all organization (in Italy it was the Autonomia Creativa and in Germany they were known as “Spontis”, short for spontaneous obviously), but a large section of the Italian autonomia was devoted to “transforming spontaneous revolts to a continuous attack on the capitalist system” - this was the Autonomia Operaia Organizzata. The AOO regarded Autonomia Creativa’s tactics as “attempts to escape the system rather than destroy it” and I totally agree with that.
But I think the reason why organization wasn’t as pivotal to autonomism was because autonomists sought to insight insurrection (or “provoke social tension”) through ways other than streetfighting, which is something I don’t see actively attempted by most anti-organizational anarchists. “Their political practice was based on the politicization of everyday life. Outside of the universities, the antiauthoritarians were active in self-managed kindergartens, autonomous youth centers, self-help groups, neighborhood initiatives, and solidarity groups for marginalized communities.”
Although their approach to organizing the working class seemed to be much more receptive than that of the Marxist-Leninist parties, I don’t think it was organized and sustained enough - though they did form “Workplace Project Groups”.
Their actions with housing were fucking glorious though. One autonomist zine wrote: “To squat means to destroy the capitalist plot for our neighborhoods. It means to refuse rent and the capitalist shoe box structure. It means to build communes and community centers. It means to recognize the social potential of each neighborhood. It means to overcome helplessness. In squatting and in rent strikes we can find the pivotal point of anticapitalist struggles outside of the factory.”
I don’t know, I guess that’s my opinion of autonomism so far. Sympathetic if not positive. It’s definitely changing my opinion on organization in revolutionary struggle.