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Theory

Jason Adams writes:

I just wanted to submit my webpage as a link suggestion.

Jason

***

The Postanarchism Clearinghouse

http://www.geocities.com/ringfingers/postanarchism .html

"neither the normalization of classical anarchism nor the depoliticization of poststructuralism"

what is "postanarchism"?

first of all consider what is not; postanarchism is not an "ism" - it is not a coherent set of doctrines and beliefs that can be laid out *positively* as a bounded totality. as used here, this profoundly *negative* term refers instead to a broad and heterogeneous array of anarchist and "anarchistic" theories that have found that have been rendered homeless by the overly normalized doctrinarity of most of the classical anarchisms such as syndicalism, anarchocommunism, and platformism as well as their contemporary descendants (like social ecology). this situation is reflected not only in theory but also in the practice of such groups as the antiborder movements, people's global action, the zapatistas, the autonomen and other such groups that while clearly "antiauthoritarian" in orientation, do not explicitly identify with anarchism as a *tradition* so much as they identify with its *spirit*. the absolute origin of the term, is from the title given to a concept developed by saul newman in his book "from bakunin to lacan: antiauthoritarianism and the dislocation of power" where it refers to a theoretical move beyond classical anarchism into a more open and hybrid theory, achieved through a synthesis with key concepts and ideas from poststructuralist theory. in this sense it is quite similar to the "postmarxism" of ernesto lacalau and chantal mouffe in that while it is *post*anarchist it is also post*anarchist* - in other words it is not a complete rejection of classical anarchism but rather a step beyond the limits defined for it by enlightenment thought. yet this definition is contested and is now and probably always will be unstable - others have have chosen to define the term more broadly, including also ideas and concepts from critical theory, post-leftism, situationism, postcolonialism, autonomism, postmodernism, existentialism, postfeminism, zapatismo and other contemporary critical-theoretical tendencies. still others sympathetic to such a project yet skeptical of the urge to move beyond, explicitly reject the term "postanarchist" and argue that by keeping the term anarchist intact, but adding the adjective "poststructuralist" before it, anarchists preserve what they see as the historically continuous antimodernism that can be found even in classical theorists such as mikhail bakunin.

jason adams writes:

"The Constellation of Opposition"


Jason Adams

  • Introduction: The Constellation of N30

  • The protests that occurred around the world on November 30, 1999 (N30) were truly without precedent. They mark an important turning point in what had become increasingly fragmented struggles of new social movements constructed around various forms of antiauthoritarian politics, identity politics and ecological politics as well as traditional class struggle politics. In the cultural rebound against universalism after the 1960s, new social movements continuously sought to create autonomous space for the particularity of youth, queers, women and people of color as well as for the general ecology of the planet. While there have been enormous strides made since that time, the downside has been that in general, they have not succesfully articulated the intersectionalities of these various oppressions and resistances.

    These notes were transcribed at a'conference' organised by Officine Precarie in Pisa.

    Anonymous comrade writes:

    Public sphere, labour, multitude: strategies of resistance in Empire.

    "Sfera pubblica, lavoro, moltitudine. Strategie di resistenza nell'Impero".

    Con: Toni Negri, Paolo Virno. Coordina Marco Bascetta'


    Toni Negri:


    I am perplexed when I confront the issue of the common. Every time I start
    to follow this theme -I don't know why- it flees in all directions because
    it is so pregnant with modern and ancient ideological suggestions...In
    fact, any attempt to distinguish it from the private, or the state, or the
    public in the French sense, is almost impossible, at least for me, for how
    my head works. Hence, I don't claim to provide a conclusive definition and I
    have reservations with regard to definitions of strategy.

    Salvation Isreal writes:
    Accumulation Of Capital In a Geographical Dimension




    The Essence of Internationality in Capitalism



    “Capitalism is inherently international,” argued K. Marx and thus, workers of the world should unite. The rigid distinction between the empirical and the theoretical drove many of the old orthodox economists away from anticipation of the future. What was told in Communist Manifesto was not clearly being observed during those years but it is observed explicitly and dramatically today. Capital is and must be –to survive- international, hence from that time Manifesto was declared on the earth is experiencing the transformation from the national to the transnational within capitalistic mode of production and consumption. The core question is why the capital feels the need for this formation and howcome this becomes the essential reality.

    Anonymous Comrade writes "translation ; Erik erikempson@wanadoo.fr


    Bible lessons: the Empire Debate

    Audit after 3 years of discussion on Hardt and Negri's "Empire"

    "Empire has arrived" Tocotronic announce on their latest record, the Asian
    Dub Foundation brings into place the words "Exodus" against "fortress
    Europe", and Johny Cash inadvertently speaks of the 'multitude'. "Empire"
    is pop. The book of Michael Hardt and Antonio Negri can, like no other left
    wing theoretical book before it, and three years after being published, show
    substantial sales and bestseller placings as well as numerous citations.

    Anonymous Comrade writes:

    "Empire and the Multitude:

    A Dialogue on the New Order of Globalisation (*)

    Antonio Negri and Danilo Zolo (Translation by Arianna Bove)

    1. A Debate of Exceptional Scope

    D.Z. I confess that for a long time I've resisted the calls, coming from many sides, to publicly debate Empire, the book that you and Hardt have published in the US two years ago that promoted, on both sides of the Atlantic, a debate of exceptional scope and intensity. What stopped me was a sense of impotence before such a complex, ambitious and ample work.

    hydrarchist writes:

    In the autumn there was considerable discussion of two articles on the subject of sharing and its broader social consequences. This essay brings us back to similar themes in the context of a proposition for the construction of communities in relation to commons as an alternative to trite forms of political activity and representation. The essay is in two sections. All footnotes can be found at the end of the second installment.


    "Commons, Communities and Movements:

    Inside, Outside and Against Capital"

    Olivier De Marcellus

    Three proverbs:

    One for all of us: "Leave your village, but never let it leave you!" (Afghanistan)

    One for Mr. Bush and friends: "He who has no enclosures around his field, has no enemies." (Burundi)

    And one for my generation: "Experience is the comb that Nature offers us as we grow bald." (Belgium)

    A submission from Turkey? Worth publishing for this alone. Otherwise check our friends in korotonomedya.

    Salvation Isreal writes "

    Anarchism and Leftism in Anti-Globalization Movements

    Introduction

    On November 30, 1999 there was something happening on the streets of Seattle, US. Unionists, students, environmentalists, young activists, socialists, anarchists and many others were on the streets against the global corporates. These ten thousands of activists got together and did not allow the participants of WTO to meet and decide about the future of this world. A world, that belongs to all of us. Once again we remembered Marx’s words: “A spectre is haunting Europe”. Today it’s not only Europe but also the whole world that the spectre is haunting.

    This article was recently published in the the Commoner Webjournal. Maria Rosa della Costa is also the author of essays in a new volume published by Autonomedia, "Revolutionary Writing".

    Anonymous Comrade writes

    "If we submit the world "locality" to the litmus test of
    the word "hunger," we find that it is
    valid for at least seven good reasons, which means
    that it is impossible to face the problem of
    hunger if we do not take into account the question of
    "locality."

    I have reflected for years on this issue, on this
    constant creation of hunger and misery
    which, produced primarily by land expropriation, has
    characterized capitalist development since its
    origins.

    Diane Ludin writes "Hello,
    Just got this from Cyber Society List and thought to post it as
    Wolfgang Staehle is one of the artists in the show. Diane

    [Hi all, here is Paul Virilio's foreword from his "Unknown Quantity"
    exhibition at the Fondation Cartier pour l'art contemporain. It is available on the Net at the Fondation Cartier site. John.]

    ================================================== ====

    Foreword

    by Paul Virilio

    "Contemporary civilization differs in one particularly distinctive feature
    from those which preceded it: speed. The change has come about within a
    generation," noted the historian Marc Bloch, writing in the
    nineteen-thirties. This situation brings in its wake a second feature: the
    accident. The progressive spread of catastrophic events do not just affect
    current reality, but produce anxiety and anguish for coming generations.

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