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Advertising Anarchism:
The Pitfalls and Possibilities of Propaganda


For some, the word “propaganda” elicits fear. For others, it suggests a musty sort of nostalgia for the early part of the twentieth century when anarchists and revolutionaries used it to promote alternative visions of social organization. With the rise of advertising and government agencies entirely devoted to shaping public opinion, “propaganda” took on frightening connotations of manipulation and deceit.


With state and corporate appropriation of propaganda, anarchists and revolutionaries shied away from rhetorically superior forms of persuasion. The anti-authoritarian impulse to shun all forms of coercion is fraught with an obvious problem. How can anti-authoritarians persuade their audiences of the virtues of their visions of social transformation without resorting to tried rhetorical methods often dismissed as “propagandistic?”

By negating strategies of advertising, branding, and propaganda, anarchists and revolutionaries have often failed to successfully create winning campaigns in the marketplace of ideas. The sad result is that by waging poorly conceived campaigns, anti-authoritarians have defeated their visions before communicating them to the public at large. Without a viable communication and public relations strategy, anarchism has turned into an anachronism.


In an effort to remedy this perilous defeatism, artists, activists, propagandists, historians, technologists, psychologists, theorists, and cultural critics are hereby invited to submit essays for an upcoming anthology tentatively titled: Advertising Anarchism:The Pitfalls and Possibilities of Propaganda. Starting with the premise that anarchists do have something valuable to communicate, many provocative and vital questions emerge.

July 26th 2006 Communiqué from the Intergalactic Commission of the EZLN
Translation El Kilombo Intergalactico

ZAPATISTA ARMY FOR NATIONAL LIBERATION

MEXICO

July, 2006

Compañeros and compañeras adherents of the Zezta Internazional,
Brother and Sisters of Planet Earth:

This is Insurgent Lieutenant Colonel Moisés writing to share with you the results of more than seven months of consultation on the next Intergalactic Encounter. As we said in our November 2005 communiqué, the objective, the idea that is, of the Intergalactic is that it is really up to all of you to determine how we organize this Encounter.

We truly want all adherents to participate in its organization, that the Intergalactic not be a decision of the EZLN. In the seven months of consultation that have passed since December 1st, 2005, there have been preparatory meetings in different countries, as well as cybernetic consultations. From these meetings we have received proposals for the Intercontinental, on themes to be discussed as well as the date and place for the Encounter.

Like we said above, here we want to report on how the consultations have gone up until now, and the proposals and discussions that have come up. You should let us know if we are missing something and what it is that we are missing. We will be here working, and waiting for your input.

Our opinion is that we continue with more discussion and more proposals. We think it is necessary to continue thinking and accumulating ideas before coming together at the Encounter, seeing as it’s a fact that we’re going to have the Intergalactic, and that it will belong to all of us that create it.