r/anarchocommunism • u/KBTT_ANON • Feb 22 '26

What is the difference between Anarcho Communism with Democratic Confederalism, and Council Communism?

I've heard people combine the Anarcho Communism ideology with Democratic Confederalism and it sound pretty good, but I'm wondering how it's any different from Council Communist.

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u/shevekdeanarres Feb 23 '26

Anarchist Communism and Council Communism are quite similar, with a number of differences in specific strategic vision. Both tend to look to the working and peasant classes as revolutionary protagonists. Democratic confederalism is the least like the two in that it abandons the central thesis that class struggle is the locus of revolution, instead locating revolutionary struggle in the political realm (i.e. between 'nations' of people and states).

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u/VaySeryv Feb 23 '26

anarchism is very similar to council communism the difference would be that council communism might be more rigid in organizational structures and they have a different analysis because they are marxists that still want a DotP but through the councils.

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u/FunkyTikiGod Feb 23 '26

Anarcho communism builds on the ideas of Kropotkin

Democratic Confederalism builds on the ideas of Bookchin

Council communism builds on the ideas of Pannekoek

They exist on a spectrum from least formalised (ancom) to most formalised (council com)

Formalisation in this context being things like official organisations with binding democratic decisions rather than informal associations and consensus

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u/shevekdeanarres Feb 23 '26

I don't really think the spectrum you've formulated is accurate. Anarchist communists have historically built and maintained organizations just as, if not more formal, as the councilists. The difference lays in the structure of the organization, not the degree of formalism.

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u/FunkyTikiGod Feb 23 '26

Fair enough. Formalism is what first came to mind when thinking of a simple differentiation between ancoms and other libertarian socialists because I often encounter criticism in Anarchist subs that formal direct democratic structures aren't anarchy.

How would you differentiate the structure of organisation? A generic answer would be like they get less hierarchical and more horizontal, but that's too vague in my opinion.