Anarchy Bang: Introducing Episode 27 - An anarchist positive program

From Anarchy Bang

Alright, enough with all the negativity, and time to get positive. Now, I know very well that we don't want this, and we don't want that. This is fundamentally corrupt and needs to be destroyed, and that is entirely oppressive and needs to be abolished. This is completely fucked-up and needs to be attacked, and that thing over there... well, let's not even talk about that!

Instead, let's get clear: what exactly is it that we DO want in terms of "anarchism" and/or "anarchy"? In other words, let's say that all of the Big Bad Things are made to go away, through some means or another, then what exactly would our brave new anarchist world look like? What specifically would the people in an anarchist society (or "community", or whatever) be DOING? What is our big End Goal? What's the beautiful dream?

Back in the day, various books were written about this topic, both non-fiction such as "Fields, Factories and Workshops" (https://theanarchistlibrary.org/library/petr-kropotkin-fields-factories-...) and Bolo'bolo (https://theanarchistlibrary.org/library/p-m-bolo-bolo), and fiction such as "The Dispossessed" and "The Fifth Sacred Thing". And of course there is the whole "solarpunk" phenomena (http://theconversation.com/explainer-solarpunk-or-how-to-be-an-optimisti...) that is floating around the interwebs. We can talk about these writings, if they describe the kind of anarchist world that you would like to live in. And if not, then fuck it. What's important is your anarchist dream, your ideal world and what it would look like. Let's go into it.

Join in the conversation!

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There are 39 Comments

No.

"What's important is your anarchist dream, your ideal world and what it would look like."

How about some realism or pragmatism instead?

I'm 1000% seconding dat question. Idealism is the very last thing I want anarchism to be... whatever that is to you! Abrahamic religions have brought us way too much idealistic pipe-dreaming, and there's also the fact that idealism is making people desensitized about real-world issues felt "down in the streets".

More synthetic approaches to the world... building out of what's around, and there's so much potential for getting where you want, assuming you KNOW what you want. Oh yeah... those ideals are also in the way of knowing this stuff TOO!

Abandon priesthood and be a digger.

That's my anarchist order.

Not what I asked; I’m wondering how you lump together all the diverse traditions that claim him in terms of ‘idealism’. Ironically he was a digger not a priest himself. The ‘new atheism’ style of totally dismissing anything ‘religious’ is not a helpful tack for @s to take.

Abrahamic religions have also sown the proto-capitalist seed of property ownership, division of labor and the concept of theft in a free environment. Their idealism is a lesser concern compareď to the overriding toxicity of their selfishness.,.

Yeah you're on the right track there, salvation based organizations are fronts mostly for respectable flim-flam techniques.

my personal positive project is the ability to imagine a positive project

“a world where many world’s are possible [and none of them shit, should be added]”

if i can’t even visualize it as possible or desirable, how can i ever set out to do it?

like the open hostility towards the homeless and vagrants as an impediment for a new world, instead of hospitality, instead of vacant spaces being available by default, and anything that could serve as shelter be as inviting as possible.

but that’s “culture”, and that’s not a project, but the aggregate of customs and ways of life. how to start or encourage new “traditions”, festivals? an offering? it must be something cherished and not an imposition.

that’s why any real project must be small, closely interpersonal and easily doable. real fantasies must remain such, if not it’s a nightmare in real life.

What anarchists want has to take into consideration what a post collapse world may look like,feel like and be like.

I tend to use words like adaptive fitness and regeneration (and sarcastically, "reverting to savagery"), more than anarchy - which is more ideological and less practical.
"Savagery" is not an ideal, far less a utopia. It worked really well for 1.8 million years. And the DNA for it is still inside us.
The Collapse will not be a sudden event, but a series of converging ones dragged out over around 75 years. A VERY deep, widespread (experiential) spiritual awakening, the likes of which recorded history has never seen, could avert a full Collapse, but this is not the most likely scenario. The media cliche for this scenario would be "mass mysticism" ( plus maybe "mass anarchist madness").

Here's a postitive anarchist program. It's an intentional community using anarchist values in practice. Check it out.

The Garden intentional community would like to welcome all people seeking a different way of life from the system to come to our intentional community, celebrate our ten year anniversary at this land, and give people the opportunity to join our various long-term projects of creating an alternative to the predominant society. Everyone is welcome with no advanced notice necessary throughout the year. We have shelters and camping space available. While you stay on the land, we ask you to contribute to chores, projects, or any activity you think would benefit this place. The address is 8967 Galen Road, Lafayette, Tennessee 37083. You can also look at our Facebook page and group for more information, updates, and to message someone on the farm.
https://m.facebook.com/groups/388751901308125?ref=bookmarks
https://m.facebook.com/shutupandgrowit/

We maintain a 21.5 acre land with gardens, shelters including a community cabin, an outdoor grill kitchen, groundwater well, outhouse, chickens, library, tool shed, and greenhouse. The community is off the grid in an effort to avoid money obligations and having to make money as well as reduce our impact on the ecology of the planet and sociological impacts of contributing to the system. We have solar panels for lights and other sources of small amounts of power. We heat spaces with wood burning stoves and use wood to cook on a grill and in an oven. We cook food, cut wood, garden, build structures, pump well water, make art, have workshops, clean up, wash dishes, have communal meals, and many other activities that contribute to the functioning of this community. This is a non-hierarchical community based on consensus decision-making by residents at the community at regular community councils. A variety of travellers and volunteers interested in sustainable and community living regularly visit this farm as it has given many open invitations on the internet throughout the years and is posted on websites for directory organizations like Work Away and Worldwide Opportunities on Organic Farms (WWOOF). We share our food, tools, and time to help each other and the community.

We are seeking a simpler way of life, one based on community cooperation as opposed to capitalistic competition but also seek to spread this idea to others about a way of living to obtain our necessities more directly instead of through contributing to the interconnected exploitive system of the global economy. Perhaps like you, we think that the issues with the system are widespread and systematic but also at the root of its inherent nature and how it functions. Therefore, we seek not to change its nature but make alternatives to it by creating autonomous zones of cooperative communities based on mutual aid that provide an outlet to exercise the way we would like the world to be.

We believe that many of us already have the resources to enable more freedom for each other if we organize ourselves not just for isolated events but sharing our lives together. This is the most valuable resource we can offer each other. When we work together directly to get what we need from the Earth and not pay for a space on it given by the system, we can directly meet our own needs and reduce our need to contribute to this system.

Many like-minded people have what we need to do this. We don't need to seize the means of production from behemoth institutions to do it. The means of production of most human needs is land, and all we have to do is discover this and freely share it with each other to get our needs from it in small, cooperative groups as we once did.

Small human groups can be based on mutual respect, not faceless masses coordinated and controlled through the coercion and incentive of capital and the authority of the state as well as modern technology. The mass-scale society is part of the result and the cause of the problems it creates. However, we do not seek to escape the world and leave it to its dire miseries, destruction, and catastrophes. We support confrontation with power as we have supported buses that have gone from this farm to Standing Rock, and other activist events and gatherings as well as other intentional communities. We have an organization called The People's Project that travels by bus to these places to raise awareness of sustainable communities and support their sustainable intentional community projects. We can mix local action with global consciousness and action.

We have an outward-looking perspective on our community activities and long-term goals also. We encourage others to share land like The Garden by inviting people through posting open invitations through Facebook, the internet, and other public information sources with minimal or no financial obligation to potential visitors and residents. People can be invited to contribute to creating and maintaining an intentional community. You can create an alternative to the system or buy land for this purpose if you can without indebting yourselves. We would like to build a network of communities that remain connected to each other through caravans that bring people and resources from community to community to share our time, assistance, and abilities as The People's Project has already been doing. If you are doing something like this or interested in it, we would love to hear from you.

We do not have to wait for the demise of capitalism for our hierarchy-free utopia if we create it for ourselves. If you are interested in this, you are welcome to come here anytime. I wish you all well and good fortune in your efforts for personal liberation and freeing others from all forms of oppression and exploitation supporting a future that is more egalitarian and ecologically balanced with the Earth. Peace.

To see some people actually DOING something regenerative. I will look into your project, and send you some stuff about the backwoods Sanctuary I'm planning way out here west.
IGNORE the cynics below who probably don't know you (or even anything about you), and are probably NOT doing anything regenerative.
P.S. I'm of redneck descent, and my dad's dad grew up in the Sequatchee Valley in eastern TN. I may be out there someday. Also a buddy in AR who has lived with Cougars (the CAT kind) for 25 years.

The cat kind are easy, ever tried living with a Cougar (the other kind) with a voracious appetite for men? Your buddy wouldn't last a week!

most intentional communities consider themselves egalitarian. many consider themselves anarchist. after spending quite a bit of time exploring several out west many years ago, i realized i could never live as a part of some pre-determined "community". the self-proclaimed "anarchist" ones being the absolute worst!

while it is surely easier to create a simple life (somewhat) removed from the institutions of domination that control modern human life with others, i have discovered that i'd still rather do it relatively alone. i guess i just refuse to suppress my own desires for some group desires that conflict with my own. people change, priorities change. the more people involved, the more difficult those changes become. my preference is to stay nimble and adaptable, which is much more difficult in some formal "community".

but the near-dead hippy in me still loves the idea of an idyllic rural, self-sufficient land project with some interesting, challenging folks that i get along with.

I appreciate you sharing your thoughts. I have learned from individualistic perspectives also. There are travelers who visit here, and i appreciate their culture and their lifestyle and their bravery for deciding not to be exploited by the system.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BBO92FFNUic
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9sSjUwEb3bw
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wl0qxq0F4yE
These are rap songs about The Garden intentional community in Tennessee and trying to promote tribal, anarchistic living in practice and encourage others to share land in anarchistic intentional communities. Anyone is welcome to come and help. There is also a traveling bus based from this farm that travels to different places and communities called The People's Project.

I think this would have been a very interesting project to discuss during that anarchy bang episode, given the topic. i would have really enjoyed it if you would have called or sent an email. i encourage to call or email for the next episode, even if it's not related to the topic they choose for that day, since they really need callers and would not reject a quick discussion of an anarchy related topic, even if it is a quicl callback to a previous episode's topic.

I have been listening to this show and the brilliant and free radical radio for years. As well as other podcasts. And I would love to call in and have thought about doing so before. I have gone to the chat room before which is fun. I'll try to call in this sunday.

These kids have been duped into joining a psuedo-religious hierarchical organization under the delusion of a coming apocalypse. If this isn't evidence of a lingering Christian eschatological mindset seeking a miraculous futile salvation for a non-existent threat then I don't know what is.

As opposed to unlimited growth economics, you mean? Also a pseudo-religious cult yo. With the added bonus of creating very real threats to the biosphere,

What desires? I didn't state any. You have a bad habit of strawmanning. I'm just stating a fact that unlimited growth economics requires magical thinking. This is not controversial, not my opinion. Would you like me to provide links on the topic?

All cults being equal, I'd choose a handful of hippy kids on a land project every time.

Your desires were your inference that you would like a zero growth decreasing energy using society to live in. I'm not strawmanning when I can accurately profile the politics of a commenter, I'm just throwing your same rhetoric back into your physiognomy.

^this is just flailing assertion on your part.

For the last time, just pipe "unlimited growth model critique" in to a search engine or something. This is basic stuff, nothing to do with me or what I want.

Maybe you're used to arguing with folks who can't separate theory from their own identity?

I'm referring to quantitative data as over influencing and creating dominant theory prevalence.

I just hang around here and snark when I'm bored at work, you'll get used to it.

Mmk.

OK sillyoldtroll, maybe I'm a bit harsh on the "handful of hippy kids on a land project" , I'll swallow my cynicism this once and give their project the thumbs-up. Naive idealists FTW !!

they are naive, they are ridiculous, they are idealists, but they’re also living the dream no holds barred. if they learn from their mistakes, if they become bitter and jaded from their failures, they’ll have earned their wisdom. unlike many like me, who are quick to disqualify and discard, without having ventured even once. they have the practical skill of daring and initiative, while many have hones the skills of mourning their regrets of things never attempted, or of sour grapes.

Thank you. I appreciate that. It is a learning experience. We are all human and learning from each other and doing the best we can. It can be stressful sometimes but beautiful in its challenges and lessons. And living it. And not waiting. It feels just like crimethinc says and totally different and wonderful. Anarchy is a beautiful idea, and it's an even more beautiful reality. And I am thankful everyday for both those who hold the anarkey and have given it to me to open the door to this beautiful place called Earth.

There is no assigned spiritual or religious belief at this intentional community if that's what you mean. Not about the apocalypse either. It is not hierarchical. We have egalitarian structure and make decisions where everyone has an equal voice. Popular culture has portrayed peacefully cooperating groups of people living together communally for its own reasons. Capitalism says it likes competition, but it actually hates it in my perspective. That is my opinion and not said in hostility but simply in response. Thank you for sharing your perspective.

Actually I already admitted to another poster that I had been extremely harsh and cynical in my opinion about this intentional community and had really messed up with my comments. I am the first to admit that I can be an ass sometimes. Good luck with your endevours.

Thank you. It can be a cruel and cold world especially living in this society. It's understandable to be cynical. I appreciate your thinking about it and telling me this.

Actually I enjoy being cynical yet humorous about things at the same time, I think the term is satirical. Everyone in the whole world should be more cynically satirical, and then POP! things would get better. Keep it fun and you have my support.

Me too. This world is ripe for satire for sure and I often have fun laughing at it. Why so serious? Because the schemers want you to be. They don't get the joke. Or they do and they are laughing at the joke they are playing on us all. It's more observant to me to see that it is a joke than being the target of the joke.

May I join into this interesting thread and just say that I cannot see how schemers can be creative humorous clowns when they spend their whole time producing pain and misery upon others and wearing serious frowns upon their faces. Genuine bellylaugh is not an evil maĺicious mwuhahahaaa, and they do not coexist.

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