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Question to Anarchists and a request for everyone to vote.
I wonder what the anarchist alternative is to the real existing world where in the USA we have a complex society of 280 million and world wide we need planning and sharing to allievate poverty and end environmental destruction.
So, Im just typing this offline but on screen. I have no idea how much I can type into this screen. Usually I do video. I hope to keep it brief.
Voting is not just about personalities at the top of the ticket.
Many important policy decisions at a local, county and statewide level. things on the ballot accross these domains include urban growth, drug policy, funding for education and more.
While all this might seem overwhelming, there are voter guides out there from every perspective. Find one from someone you respect, add your own feelings and get in line with your neighbors to cast your ballot. Short of continuous organising and lobbying, not a bad idea, it's the main thing we have.
I will go on to say that we are (we being the imc movement) are part of a global revolution, one whose ultimate outcome will be determined on many levels.
Voting is part of that. Being on the street is part of that. CD is part of that. Confrontration is a part of that. Being in the background, voluntering at an IMC, making sure the world knows is a part of that.
Cuba and Venezuela just made adeal to exchange oil (for Cuba) and doctors and sport coaches (for Venezuala).
This challenges corporate power.
Where ever, how ever. This must be the goal.
Tactics consistent with giving people on the ground who have a story to tell, that know one else is telling, can be our only goal.
There is a continuity between challenging corporate poer and giving under-representated voices a place.
Some say that is a white, elitist thing. Maybe so. But is our place to do this and use our privelige as best we can. Some of us even get clubbed, beaten and arrested to make the point.
One struggle, many fronts.
Vote, write, interview, videotape, agitate.
What you do you do for all.
Whether Gore or Bush is elected, 80% of the people in this world will suffer because of decisions they make.
Voting is not just about personalities at the top of the ticket.
Many important policy decisions at a local, county and statewide level. things on the ballot accross these domains include urban growth, drug policy, funding for education and more.
While all this might seem overwhelming, there are voter guides out there from every perspective. Find one from someone you respect, add your own feelings and get in line with your neighbors to cast your ballot. Short of continuous organising and lobbying, not a bad idea, it's the main thing we have.
I will go on to say that we are (we being the imc movement) are part of a global revolution, one whose ultimate outcome will be determined on many levels.
Voting is part of that. Being on the street is part of that. CD is part of that. Confrontration is a part of that. Being in the background, voluntering at an IMC, making sure the world knows is a part of that.
Cuba and Venezuela just made adeal to exchange oil (for Cuba) and doctors and sport coaches (for Venezuala).
This challenges corporate power.
Where ever, how ever. This must be the goal.
Tactics consistent with giving people on the ground who have a story to tell, that know one else is telling, can be our only goal.
There is a continuity between challenging corporate poer and giving under-representated voices a place.
Some say that is a white, elitist thing. Maybe so. But is our place to do this and use our privelige as best we can. Some of us even get clubbed, beaten and arrested to make the point.
One struggle, many fronts.
Vote, write, interview, videotape, agitate.
What you do you do for all.
Whether Gore or Bush is elected, 80% of the people in this world will suffer because of decisions they make.
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"wonder what the anarchist alternative is to the real existing world where in the USA we have a complex society of 280 million and world wide we need planning and sharing to allievate poverty and end environmental destruction."
No time to develop on anarchist perspectives on a new economy, real democracy, social organisation, ecology, world developement, education, science and progress etc.
Just a few comments.
Again same sort of arguments used by pro-neoliberal economy and pro-duopoly against electoral Greens. In a mainstream pro-corporation/pro-WTO-IMF point of vue , Green alternative is described as (and maybe sometimes really understood as) a crazy speech, conservative ad disconnected from the "REAL" complex world (world of transnational financial issues, of ultra-productivist dictates, of neocolonial economy ruling foreign policy etc.).
In fact on many aspects the complexity of this world is created by and for corporations and big money, with the ultimate strategy "let's fight for our interests and against common good and make sure that it'll be impossible or very hard for people to come back" and their best tool for that is to describe the corporate greed as a necessary complexification of society (so they're the clever guys delaing with complexity and these pro-naders are irrational dreamers, disconnected from complex "Real" wolrd.
You are using the same kind of arguments against people who disagree with the perpetuation of the electoral aristocracy ad who are raising questions, alternatives and issues you don't like or don't uderstand.
My perspective is that indeed this world is complex (even a society with only 100.000 people is very complex...), anarchists are facing, challenging and working deeply and daily in this society.
But capitalism (state capitalism or private-corporate capitalism) is working as i mentionned above to be (and to look like being) more and more complex in order to perpetuate itself (to be necessary where you were not (they call it "creation of wealth") and to dismantle critics.
Fair trade is on concrete example that shows the complexity of capitalism and at the same time demonstrate that this complexity is artificial, manipulative and authoritarian. (I won't give you the example of fair trade coffee or chocolate, you know it, if you don't ask to fair trade activists)
If the human beings work for it, they will dismantle the artificial compexity of the oppressive system we are living in, to have a good coffee or a real salad we don't need 10 capitalists companies (or 20 state capitalist bureaucrats disconnected from production and consumers needs) beetween people producing and people taking profits!
This is what anarchists are saying and fighting for since years : we want to build an economy based on needs, possibilities, desires and ressources available. The fair trade case shows in a concrete way how anarchist economy is realistic.
To have a serious alternative to the logic of profit, domination and artificial complexity (or the use of "natural" complexity to find new perspectives of profits and power) the anarchist perspective is that the whole economical and political (mis)organisation has to be changed. That means to abolish private property (bolchevic and marxists abolished private capitalist property and created a centralized-planned-unefficient state capitalist property ruled by a new elite) but not individual property (my home is mine cause i live in it with my family, but i can't have 5 buildings in the city and make profits and create a domination relationship with people that need a place to live in and a state to educate, program, drill, reward and punih humans in order that they don't question it, such a system is totalitarian).
There is and there will be concrete ways to build alternatives to the complex totalitarian system and build a less complex human, democratic system.
These experiences, practices and struggles for revolution are going on in anarchists initiatives for real democracy: no transcendental, irrational schemes; a decentralized way of working for changes, a non-hierarchical, non-politician, open organisation; post-capitalist and post-state perspectives (and great discusssions with persons that wanted to know more about anarchism); many ways of fighting for justice and new economy but electoral governemental vote is a probably not a progressist act.
Most Anarchists don't believe that electoral aristocracy, delegation and ruling the state will change it (you don't change or use the state, even if you have a lot of nice key propositions, the state rules you, the state, the executive, legislative, judicial, administrative and police structures are not neutral, they are capitalist tools). Human economy will be decentralized, non-capitalist (no state, no small capitalists and not corporate), considering the needs and abilities of individuals and groups (workers and consumers/users) wich is much more efficient (less efficient for the minority of "winners") than capitalism&state duopoly, even reformed.
Again no time to explain more about anarchist perspectives on economy, i regret because it is a great, fascinating and complex topic. Unfortunately i spend a lot of time working for concrete, decentralized and efficient change in anarchists experiences (actually in a democratic structure of hundreds of persons, growing and experiencing every months, amazing).
There's a recent great book about anarchist economy in Spain during 1936-37. Unfortunately it is available only in french and spanish (I had informations about the book on the french site http://www.monde-diplomatique.fr, site of a french reformist good magazine)
Also many infos on the web concerning anarchists views and perspectives on economy and political changes. If you have questions, if you want infos, go and see.
One gate to information (amongst many others): http://www.infoshop.org
"Government cannot exist without the tacit consent of the populace. This consent is maintained by keeping people in ignorance of their real power. Voting is not an expression of power, but an admission of powerlessness, since it cannot do otherwise than reaffirm the governmnet's supposed legitimacy."
-- Fred Woodworth, Anarchism
No time to develop on anarchist perspectives on a new economy, real democracy, social organisation, ecology, world developement, education, science and progress etc.
Just a few comments.
Again same sort of arguments used by pro-neoliberal economy and pro-duopoly against electoral Greens. In a mainstream pro-corporation/pro-WTO-IMF point of vue , Green alternative is described as (and maybe sometimes really understood as) a crazy speech, conservative ad disconnected from the "REAL" complex world (world of transnational financial issues, of ultra-productivist dictates, of neocolonial economy ruling foreign policy etc.).
In fact on many aspects the complexity of this world is created by and for corporations and big money, with the ultimate strategy "let's fight for our interests and against common good and make sure that it'll be impossible or very hard for people to come back" and their best tool for that is to describe the corporate greed as a necessary complexification of society (so they're the clever guys delaing with complexity and these pro-naders are irrational dreamers, disconnected from complex "Real" wolrd.
You are using the same kind of arguments against people who disagree with the perpetuation of the electoral aristocracy ad who are raising questions, alternatives and issues you don't like or don't uderstand.
My perspective is that indeed this world is complex (even a society with only 100.000 people is very complex...), anarchists are facing, challenging and working deeply and daily in this society.
But capitalism (state capitalism or private-corporate capitalism) is working as i mentionned above to be (and to look like being) more and more complex in order to perpetuate itself (to be necessary where you were not (they call it "creation of wealth") and to dismantle critics.
Fair trade is on concrete example that shows the complexity of capitalism and at the same time demonstrate that this complexity is artificial, manipulative and authoritarian. (I won't give you the example of fair trade coffee or chocolate, you know it, if you don't ask to fair trade activists)
If the human beings work for it, they will dismantle the artificial compexity of the oppressive system we are living in, to have a good coffee or a real salad we don't need 10 capitalists companies (or 20 state capitalist bureaucrats disconnected from production and consumers needs) beetween people producing and people taking profits!
This is what anarchists are saying and fighting for since years : we want to build an economy based on needs, possibilities, desires and ressources available. The fair trade case shows in a concrete way how anarchist economy is realistic.
To have a serious alternative to the logic of profit, domination and artificial complexity (or the use of "natural" complexity to find new perspectives of profits and power) the anarchist perspective is that the whole economical and political (mis)organisation has to be changed. That means to abolish private property (bolchevic and marxists abolished private capitalist property and created a centralized-planned-unefficient state capitalist property ruled by a new elite) but not individual property (my home is mine cause i live in it with my family, but i can't have 5 buildings in the city and make profits and create a domination relationship with people that need a place to live in and a state to educate, program, drill, reward and punih humans in order that they don't question it, such a system is totalitarian).
There is and there will be concrete ways to build alternatives to the complex totalitarian system and build a less complex human, democratic system.
These experiences, practices and struggles for revolution are going on in anarchists initiatives for real democracy: no transcendental, irrational schemes; a decentralized way of working for changes, a non-hierarchical, non-politician, open organisation; post-capitalist and post-state perspectives (and great discusssions with persons that wanted to know more about anarchism); many ways of fighting for justice and new economy but electoral governemental vote is a probably not a progressist act.
Most Anarchists don't believe that electoral aristocracy, delegation and ruling the state will change it (you don't change or use the state, even if you have a lot of nice key propositions, the state rules you, the state, the executive, legislative, judicial, administrative and police structures are not neutral, they are capitalist tools). Human economy will be decentralized, non-capitalist (no state, no small capitalists and not corporate), considering the needs and abilities of individuals and groups (workers and consumers/users) wich is much more efficient (less efficient for the minority of "winners") than capitalism&state duopoly, even reformed.
Again no time to explain more about anarchist perspectives on economy, i regret because it is a great, fascinating and complex topic. Unfortunately i spend a lot of time working for concrete, decentralized and efficient change in anarchists experiences (actually in a democratic structure of hundreds of persons, growing and experiencing every months, amazing).
There's a recent great book about anarchist economy in Spain during 1936-37. Unfortunately it is available only in french and spanish (I had informations about the book on the french site http://www.monde-diplomatique.fr, site of a french reformist good magazine)
Also many infos on the web concerning anarchists views and perspectives on economy and political changes. If you have questions, if you want infos, go and see.
One gate to information (amongst many others): http://www.infoshop.org
"Government cannot exist without the tacit consent of the populace. This consent is maintained by keeping people in ignorance of their real power. Voting is not an expression of power, but an admission of powerlessness, since it cannot do otherwise than reaffirm the governmnet's supposed legitimacy."
-- Fred Woodworth, Anarchism
For more information:
http://www.infoshop.org
>I wonder what the anarchist alternative is to the real existing
>world where in the USA we have a complex society of 280
>million and world wide we need planning and sharing to
>allievate poverty and end environmental destruction.
Despite what the evening news may tell you, poverty and environmental destruction are not just organic processes that happen by themselves. They involved complicated social structures to make them happen. The only thing that keeps the poor living in the Tenderloin and not in the posh apartments on Russian Hill is the threat of police violence. Likewise environmental destruction would not be possible but for governmental complicity, with the ultimate threat of governmental violence. . The anarchist answer to these problems is quite simple. Smash the state and you take away the ability of Monsanto and Citibank to commit atrocities.
Trying to sell electoral politics to an anarchist, by the way, makes as much sense as trying to sell cigarettes to a fish. The fundamental idea of anarchism is that *ALL* government is oppressive. (Yes even Ralph.) Voting is the same game your parents played when you were a child and they would send you out to get a branch to spank you with. Evety four years you get the honor of deciding who your oppressor will be for the next four years. There is much truth to be gleaned from the saying "If voting could change anything, it would be illeagal."
>world where in the USA we have a complex society of 280
>million and world wide we need planning and sharing to
>allievate poverty and end environmental destruction.
Despite what the evening news may tell you, poverty and environmental destruction are not just organic processes that happen by themselves. They involved complicated social structures to make them happen. The only thing that keeps the poor living in the Tenderloin and not in the posh apartments on Russian Hill is the threat of police violence. Likewise environmental destruction would not be possible but for governmental complicity, with the ultimate threat of governmental violence. . The anarchist answer to these problems is quite simple. Smash the state and you take away the ability of Monsanto and Citibank to commit atrocities.
Trying to sell electoral politics to an anarchist, by the way, makes as much sense as trying to sell cigarettes to a fish. The fundamental idea of anarchism is that *ALL* government is oppressive. (Yes even Ralph.) Voting is the same game your parents played when you were a child and they would send you out to get a branch to spank you with. Evety four years you get the honor of deciding who your oppressor will be for the next four years. There is much truth to be gleaned from the saying "If voting could change anything, it would be illeagal."
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