People say Anarchy won't work. They say this because it is radically different from the way that they've been programmed since they could absorb information. Anarchy won't make sense at first to people that know nothing except being a wage-slave, being a cog, a number, a commodity. To be truthful, I struggle with the idea myself as well from time to time, and this is to be expected, because I am reprogramming myself. I am manually reprogramming how I think, and all for the better. The constant examination of my Anarchist Philosophy will only make it more sound.
Bakunin was right--the only way we can win is to banish the ignorance, apathy and laziness of the masses. We need to get the message out, we need to wake up all the sleepwalkers who assume that they are in control of their lives, when in reality a CEO or President or manager is pulling every string.
We can't forget that when we fight the machine, when we fight the system, we are fighting for all of the people being abused by it. Even when they attack us or revile us or don't understand us, we are trying to break their chains.
These same people classify Anarchy as radical. I ask you this--Is wanting something different really radical? Is wanting real change, wanting peace, wanting food and housing for everyone, is this radical? Is wanting a true LIFE outside of the slavery of Capitalism, a life where we can experience the true nature of what living should be, is that so radical? Is it dangerous? I think not. I think it is beautiful.
Fight on, and don't ever get discouraged. As long as one of us keeps the struggle going, Anarchy and the beauty of it will live on.
Never Surrender.
Saturday, January 31, 2009
Thursday, January 22, 2009
Anarchists and Materialism II
I wanted to explore this topic a little further, as my last post about it was jumpy and a little sporadic. What I mean to say is this--Everything in moderation. This can apply to almost everything in our lives, but in this case it applies perfectly. There is a difference between cherishing something and coveting it. To me, cherishing is loving something purely because of its inherent good to you. Coveting something is greed, a desire to have and hoarde and be selfish. Often do I cherish things that I cannot physically hold--Music, Philosophy, Literature. But, I do cherish some of my possessions, whether this be for the memories attached to them, or for the possible memories I could make with them. I don't see anyhting wrong with that.
Everything in moderation...
I suppose that all temporal things (possessions, physical things) are just that--temporal and inconstant. The temporary, as recounted in Plato's 'Phaedo' and in Buddhist texts, often does lead to nothing but fleeting joy, and a more constant sorrow, because you become attached to them. But, this being the case, I will say I have a love for a few of my possessions. The point is, I do not covet them, I do not put them above other things that are more important. People are more important than temporal things. Feelings and emotion are more important than temporal things. Creativity and Will are more important than temporal things.
It is when temporal things overpower the inherently good and noble things that we become greedy and materialistic.
The bottom line, I guess, is as simple as what I have said above. Just take everything in moderation, and you'll be alright.
--Wrench
Everything in moderation...
I suppose that all temporal things (possessions, physical things) are just that--temporal and inconstant. The temporary, as recounted in Plato's 'Phaedo' and in Buddhist texts, often does lead to nothing but fleeting joy, and a more constant sorrow, because you become attached to them. But, this being the case, I will say I have a love for a few of my possessions. The point is, I do not covet them, I do not put them above other things that are more important. People are more important than temporal things. Feelings and emotion are more important than temporal things. Creativity and Will are more important than temporal things.
It is when temporal things overpower the inherently good and noble things that we become greedy and materialistic.
The bottom line, I guess, is as simple as what I have said above. Just take everything in moderation, and you'll be alright.
--Wrench
Monday, January 19, 2009
Anarchists and Materialism
Materialism sucks. I think that that is plain and simple. People that covet things (money or material objects) over relationships, knowledge, or really just the betterment of themselves and others are leading completely hollow lives. But, looking deeper, I can't see anything wrong with loving the things that you glean from hard-work or preserverance.
For example: I love my bass guitar. I love it. I worked in this damn Capitalist institution and bought it through the sale of my labor. Yes, there are numerous flaws with the whole thing, but am I happy I got my bass guitar? Yes. I think that the means of my work don't justify the ends. Sometimes, however, they do. My instrument widens the borders of my mind and provides a healthy outlet for my energy, all while letting me have fun! Yeah, I worked as a cog in the Capitalist machine to get it, but I believe I can justify this by all of the things that I've done to nullify this--all my direct action, my solidarity, my sabotage. Combine all of these things that I do to detract from the Capitalist society we live in with the things that I do to 'promote' it, and I think the scales will be tipped my way, heavily.
The truth is, we're stuck knee-deep in this system, and we have to fight to get out. BUT, if all we did was fight, if every scrap of energy was spent rejecting this system, and none spent enjoying some of the things that an Anarchal Society will eventually bring (relaxation, creativity, peace, joy, happiness) right now, we would surely go insane. All work and no play makes the Anarchist a dull human.
What I'm saying (again I stray off topic...) is that materialism is mostly bad, but not completely bad. Nothing can be absolute. Enjoy the things you have, but don't covet them, don't place them above people or life. Your car, all that money, that's really not that important. Material possessions are nice, but they can't be put ahead of things that are more important--see above.
What I'm saying to the anarchist is this-- Don't be ashamed because you bought a video game that you can have fun with, or because you decided to buy a book from Barnes & Noble once, and not steal it. Expecting to wade through all this mud and not get dirty at all is a fantasy. Just my thoughts.
--Wrench
For example: I love my bass guitar. I love it. I worked in this damn Capitalist institution and bought it through the sale of my labor. Yes, there are numerous flaws with the whole thing, but am I happy I got my bass guitar? Yes. I think that the means of my work don't justify the ends. Sometimes, however, they do. My instrument widens the borders of my mind and provides a healthy outlet for my energy, all while letting me have fun! Yeah, I worked as a cog in the Capitalist machine to get it, but I believe I can justify this by all of the things that I've done to nullify this--all my direct action, my solidarity, my sabotage. Combine all of these things that I do to detract from the Capitalist society we live in with the things that I do to 'promote' it, and I think the scales will be tipped my way, heavily.
The truth is, we're stuck knee-deep in this system, and we have to fight to get out. BUT, if all we did was fight, if every scrap of energy was spent rejecting this system, and none spent enjoying some of the things that an Anarchal Society will eventually bring (relaxation, creativity, peace, joy, happiness) right now, we would surely go insane. All work and no play makes the Anarchist a dull human.
What I'm saying (again I stray off topic...) is that materialism is mostly bad, but not completely bad. Nothing can be absolute. Enjoy the things you have, but don't covet them, don't place them above people or life. Your car, all that money, that's really not that important. Material possessions are nice, but they can't be put ahead of things that are more important--see above.
What I'm saying to the anarchist is this-- Don't be ashamed because you bought a video game that you can have fun with, or because you decided to buy a book from Barnes & Noble once, and not steal it. Expecting to wade through all this mud and not get dirty at all is a fantasy. Just my thoughts.
--Wrench
Friday, January 16, 2009
TOTSE Closing Its Doors
After 20 years of free information, lulz, shock videos and thoughtful flames and discussion, The Temple of the Screaming Electron is shutting down. TOTSE, or totse, or &t, was one of the largest text-file databases on the internet. Topics ranged from Anarchy to drugs, to politics in general, and so much more. If you want to know where a young radical got started, it was here. The sheer multitude of input from thousands of people was an amazing thing, and even though everyone got pwned at some point, all the n00bs had some sort of strange, masochistic/sadistic kinship with each other. I'm sorry to see it go. It was one of my favorite places to go in the internet.
Wrench
Wrench
Tuesday, January 13, 2009
Chains II
This is the second part of my "critique" of capitalism today.
I'd like to start off by saying that I understand the benefits of Capitalism. I might have made mention of this last time, but I would like to spell it all out right now. Capitalism was the economic system needed to increase developing nation's wealth and get things moving, politically and otherwise. Capitalism jump-started many wanna-be nations into working countries, and even, dare I say it, strengthened communities and more. My electricity, the water in my home, and more are all provided by the economic philosophy that is Capitalism. the question is,
at what price?
In my opinion, just like the feudal system, Capitalism has grown rotten with age. It was the Capitalists that toppled Monarchal and Feudalistic societies, leading to major progress as a human race. But, just as the people outgrew the increasingly corrupt and self-serving Feudalistic state, so do we NOW outgrow Capitalism. We can live with Capitalism now, but to me it just seems like we're prolonging the inevitable, and we're warping the old notion of what capitalism means (and it was pretty fucked up originally) into something even more monstrous.
I understand that the days of unregulated Capitalism are long over. The labor unions helped dissolve this. But what is left, this amalgam of government regulation that is in most cases just as corrupt as unregulated methods, and weak socialist programs (Social Security, etc) is an aberration. It seems to me to be the same as mixing opposing blood types--one rejects or outrightly negates the other. I will say that the slow chug to a more Socialist state is better than a straight Capitalist one, but even Socialism, in the form that it is recognized today, can lead to an oppressive and confining State that is just as bad as the coercion present in a Capitalist one.
Anarchist philosophy and theory is deeply rooted in Socialist concepts, that I can't deny. What I am asserting is that the form of Socialism that Karl Marx was talking about is skewed to the side of authoritarians and bullies. I will not debate the worth of Marx's Communism here, though I might in a later entry. Let me just say that, unlike some Anarchists, I do respect Karl Marx and his political theories.
Back to Capitalism though....
How can the owners of the machinery, the bosses etc., treat us like their automatons? When we experience an economic recession or depression, the Capitalists think that they can turn off the workers (through wage freezes and pink slips) just like they turn off the heat or electricity. Capitalists see the labor force, the people doing the work for the owners of the machines, as a commodity that can be manipulated and warped. People are not commodities, and we are not meant to be used and treated like machines. In this respect I think both Marx and Bakunin were right--The State applies both alienation and coercion in equal doses on to the proletariat.
Keep in mind, the proletariat of today has changed. No longer are they the agrarian farmers, peasants and laborers of the Industrial Age. Today they encompass everyone from the dry-wall cutter to the steel-mill worker, all the way to the white-collar cubicle monkey. No one deserves to be so enslaved, in any sense of the word, and slavery is what Capitalism thrives on.
They need us, we don't need them. Never forget that.
Wrench
I'd like to start off by saying that I understand the benefits of Capitalism. I might have made mention of this last time, but I would like to spell it all out right now. Capitalism was the economic system needed to increase developing nation's wealth and get things moving, politically and otherwise. Capitalism jump-started many wanna-be nations into working countries, and even, dare I say it, strengthened communities and more. My electricity, the water in my home, and more are all provided by the economic philosophy that is Capitalism. the question is,
at what price?
In my opinion, just like the feudal system, Capitalism has grown rotten with age. It was the Capitalists that toppled Monarchal and Feudalistic societies, leading to major progress as a human race. But, just as the people outgrew the increasingly corrupt and self-serving Feudalistic state, so do we NOW outgrow Capitalism. We can live with Capitalism now, but to me it just seems like we're prolonging the inevitable, and we're warping the old notion of what capitalism means (and it was pretty fucked up originally) into something even more monstrous.
I understand that the days of unregulated Capitalism are long over. The labor unions helped dissolve this. But what is left, this amalgam of government regulation that is in most cases just as corrupt as unregulated methods, and weak socialist programs (Social Security, etc) is an aberration. It seems to me to be the same as mixing opposing blood types--one rejects or outrightly negates the other. I will say that the slow chug to a more Socialist state is better than a straight Capitalist one, but even Socialism, in the form that it is recognized today, can lead to an oppressive and confining State that is just as bad as the coercion present in a Capitalist one.
Anarchist philosophy and theory is deeply rooted in Socialist concepts, that I can't deny. What I am asserting is that the form of Socialism that Karl Marx was talking about is skewed to the side of authoritarians and bullies. I will not debate the worth of Marx's Communism here, though I might in a later entry. Let me just say that, unlike some Anarchists, I do respect Karl Marx and his political theories.
Back to Capitalism though....
How can the owners of the machinery, the bosses etc., treat us like their automatons? When we experience an economic recession or depression, the Capitalists think that they can turn off the workers (through wage freezes and pink slips) just like they turn off the heat or electricity. Capitalists see the labor force, the people doing the work for the owners of the machines, as a commodity that can be manipulated and warped. People are not commodities, and we are not meant to be used and treated like machines. In this respect I think both Marx and Bakunin were right--The State applies both alienation and coercion in equal doses on to the proletariat.
Keep in mind, the proletariat of today has changed. No longer are they the agrarian farmers, peasants and laborers of the Industrial Age. Today they encompass everyone from the dry-wall cutter to the steel-mill worker, all the way to the white-collar cubicle monkey. No one deserves to be so enslaved, in any sense of the word, and slavery is what Capitalism thrives on.
They need us, we don't need them. Never forget that.
Wrench
Friday, January 9, 2009
Chains
Unity by our individuality will be the glue that holds an Anarchal society together. When we, as people, can break free of the chains that Capitalism has attached to us (Rewarding greed, necessitating dehumanizing labor, racism and bigotry, etc) then we may fly upward, and realize the utopia that we dream about.
Capitalism is an economic system that allows the ownership of capital (land and labor) and other resources (the oceans, the atmosphere, etc.) by private individuals, as opposed to the state owning them, or a public majority ownership. From this economic system is where most, if not all, of the recurrent and monstrous social problems in the world have sprung from.
The reason for this is many-faceted, and I am not well read enough, at least in my opinion, to critique every surface of the polygon of capitalism. What I can say about it though, I will.
With the majority of the country's money in the hands of maybe 5% of the people, something is wrong. When politicians and the owners of giant corporations eat $200 meals every night and young children in trailer parks and urban ghettos sleep hungry, something is wrong. We have a problem, and that problem is the reverence we show towards the pursuit of cash, and the heartlessness and even violence we are willing to commit in defense of it.
Capitalism uses greed as its main motivating force. Examine the mentality of most Americans-- 'Make as much money as you can and keep it all for yourself.' I would not attempt to make a spurious generality and say that this is how all Americans think (I am an American, and I don't think that way!), but it is prevalent in the common upbringing of the typical American child. Isn't that the philosophy ingrained into us as kids? The whole, 'Value of a dollar' thing? We are not interested in benefitting society, we are in it to make it for ourselves. Screw the rest, grab as much as you can and live it up! Do whatever you ahve to do to be better than the other guy. It's a competition, a competition for the most cash, the most power.
This greed (and the 'Competition between private industry') is the driving force behind capitalism, and the subsequent culprit responisble for the ever-widening gap between the rich and poor. People get rich through some means (usually inheritance, which only further continues the seperation of classes into rich aristocracy and poor laborer) and then hoarde all of that wealth. Yes, some may do what they call 'Charity,' but, in the minds of the rich, this charity is merely a cheaper form of advertisement.
The economic system of the United States has made the majority of its residents power hungry, money-grabbing pawns, each feeding the bigger fish above him through his personal subjugation of his underlings. This goes for every Corporate CEO, every boss, every Manager, every Assistant Manager, every one who is put in a position where he may execute his authority over someone else. They all are devout in their worship of Capitalism and the dollar, and their only wish is to get to the next level of the wholly corrupt "Corporate Ladder," and they DON'T CARE WHO THEY STEP ON.
I do understand that Capitalsim has shaped this country into what it is today, but is that supposed to be a defense of it? Look what the country has become. I will not deny that compared to other places, America may seem a utopia in of itself, but we residents have our own chains too, and I will not be free until all of my brothers are free from Capitalism's bonds, at home and abroad.
There will be more to come later.
Peace and Love,
Wrench
Capitalism is an economic system that allows the ownership of capital (land and labor) and other resources (the oceans, the atmosphere, etc.) by private individuals, as opposed to the state owning them, or a public majority ownership. From this economic system is where most, if not all, of the recurrent and monstrous social problems in the world have sprung from.
The reason for this is many-faceted, and I am not well read enough, at least in my opinion, to critique every surface of the polygon of capitalism. What I can say about it though, I will.
With the majority of the country's money in the hands of maybe 5% of the people, something is wrong. When politicians and the owners of giant corporations eat $200 meals every night and young children in trailer parks and urban ghettos sleep hungry, something is wrong. We have a problem, and that problem is the reverence we show towards the pursuit of cash, and the heartlessness and even violence we are willing to commit in defense of it.
Capitalism uses greed as its main motivating force. Examine the mentality of most Americans-- 'Make as much money as you can and keep it all for yourself.' I would not attempt to make a spurious generality and say that this is how all Americans think (I am an American, and I don't think that way!), but it is prevalent in the common upbringing of the typical American child. Isn't that the philosophy ingrained into us as kids? The whole, 'Value of a dollar' thing? We are not interested in benefitting society, we are in it to make it for ourselves. Screw the rest, grab as much as you can and live it up! Do whatever you ahve to do to be better than the other guy. It's a competition, a competition for the most cash, the most power.
This greed (and the 'Competition between private industry') is the driving force behind capitalism, and the subsequent culprit responisble for the ever-widening gap between the rich and poor. People get rich through some means (usually inheritance, which only further continues the seperation of classes into rich aristocracy and poor laborer) and then hoarde all of that wealth. Yes, some may do what they call 'Charity,' but, in the minds of the rich, this charity is merely a cheaper form of advertisement.
The economic system of the United States has made the majority of its residents power hungry, money-grabbing pawns, each feeding the bigger fish above him through his personal subjugation of his underlings. This goes for every Corporate CEO, every boss, every Manager, every Assistant Manager, every one who is put in a position where he may execute his authority over someone else. They all are devout in their worship of Capitalism and the dollar, and their only wish is to get to the next level of the wholly corrupt "Corporate Ladder," and they DON'T CARE WHO THEY STEP ON.
I do understand that Capitalsim has shaped this country into what it is today, but is that supposed to be a defense of it? Look what the country has become. I will not deny that compared to other places, America may seem a utopia in of itself, but we residents have our own chains too, and I will not be free until all of my brothers are free from Capitalism's bonds, at home and abroad.
There will be more to come later.
Peace and Love,
Wrench
Update
I just wanted to give an update--
My absence has been due to a variety of Trojan's and other malicious code assaulting my computer. I had to have it completely reformatted, etc, and that sucked.
But, now that I have a working computer, I will cook up some new little articles for anyone that happens to pass by this thing.
Thanks all!!
Wrench
My absence has been due to a variety of Trojan's and other malicious code assaulting my computer. I had to have it completely reformatted, etc, and that sucked.
But, now that I have a working computer, I will cook up some new little articles for anyone that happens to pass by this thing.
Thanks all!!
Wrench
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