Topic of the Week - The our culture of systematic hierarchy and exploitation has permeated every aspect of our way of life to the point where one feel as though they must tread water or drown in it. The infrastructure of this machine of slavery and death is now actively implementing a new greater totalized state of centralization and control. Even within individuals these prisons are being built and rebuilt. On every level the society arounds us seeks to make us expandable pieces in its own mechanized self-perpetuation to the point where every other lifeway is foreclosed upon or recuperated into its function so that not only is going along with the program always easier feeling, but we are rapidly approaching a either such diffused spectacular culture that there are shrinkly few ways not to be a patriot or a brutal and violent reconstruction of the settler-colonial white supremacist core of the empire, at expense of all others. Each of these paths does little to mitigate the problems that spawned them. In this increasing state of normalized exceptions anarchists are pulled into the universalization of this process through the recuperation of their subcultures and the rejection of the now carved out hollow paths of subcultural divergence.
The sky is dark but the horizon is bright. Too bad its smoke and fire and no dawn is sure to come. What could it mean to find AN (not THE) anarchistic fluid and holistic lifeway within this inferno? Is there a way to become indigestible to the system?
Comments
The only cool counter…
triviabot (not verified) Tue, 11/18/2025 - 00:13
The only cool counter-culture I've seen much of lately is the phenomena of a "Gen Z protest" spanning across the globe, including most recently, Mexico City. If being a different generation from the opressors is the only thing that can really unite rebellious factions, hey, I'm all for it. Also tracks with historical counterculture movements as being youth based.
The Mexico City shit is…
anonymous (not verified) Tue, 11/18/2025 - 18:36
In reply to The only cool counter… by triviabot (not verified)
The Mexico City shit is straight out of a Pentagon basement.
Gen Z are perhaps the most…
anonymous (not verified) Thu, 11/20/2025 - 21:14
In reply to The only cool counter… by triviabot (not verified)
Gen Z are perhaps the most conservative youth since like the '80s, so no, the "youth protesting" isn't always anarchistic. Some of these protests ended up with military coups and the ones in Mexico are fully supported by crooked billionaires and anti-Left politicians.
I hate it when some anarchists seem to believe that any popular uprising or revolt is cool just because it's massive, riotous and there's a lot of youngsters involved. Don't be so sloppy.
Not commenting on the…
anonymous (not verified) Sat, 11/22/2025 - 00:04
In reply to Gen Z are perhaps the most… by anonymous (not verified)
Not commenting on the political orientation of the riotous protests in Mexico last week, but the idea that "Gen Z" are the most conservative youth since the 80s is completely absurd. Even more laughable when you are talking about youth across the globe, not just USA.
not to mention they are all…
anonymous (not verified) Tue, 11/25/2025 - 08:47
In reply to Gen Z are perhaps the most… by anonymous (not verified)
not to mention they are all addicted to their phones, slaves to the techno-culture and all that means.
wild generalizations ftw! go…
anonymous (not verified) Tue, 11/25/2025 - 11:02
In reply to not to mention they are all… by anonymous (not verified)
wild generalizations ftw!
go listen to john zerzan with the rest of the nostalgic octogenarians.
how could that possibly be a…
anonymous (not verified) Tue, 11/25/2025 - 11:47
In reply to wild generalizations ftw! go… by anonymous (not verified)
how could that possibly be a "wild generalization"? what the fuck back attcha!
show me anything that contradicts this that is not some minute detail of some brief moment.
and no thanks on listening to jz, nothing interesing there.
SOME people have only one…
anonymous (not verified) Tue, 11/25/2025 - 11:00
In reply to Gen Z are perhaps the most… by anonymous (not verified)
SOME people have only one metric to measure conservatism by, and also a wildly wacky criterion to measure OTHER people by.
what revolutions have you been in that DIDN'T lead to military coups or some other kind of conservative smackdown?
Hello CIA. If a regime…
anonymous (not verified) Tue, 11/25/2025 - 19:56
In reply to SOME people have only one… by anonymous (not verified)
Hello CIA. If a regime overthrow is followed by a military coup or a conservative putsch, then it's clearly not a "revolution", dumbass; it's just an overthrow. Or a regime change.
When some people are sticking to normative values, make the specter of "CRIIIIME" their leading grievance, and are embracing the full power of big tech overlords like they're their saviors, you're pretty sure you got a conservative culture right there.
I fucking KNEW, back in the days, where the Libyan "revolution" and the Syrian "revolution" were going. Like Salafists taking over, and establishing of the Sharia law. Tho I couldn't imagine it'd get as bad as the legalization of... slave trade.
Slave. Trade.
...yet both of these movements have surprisingly enjoyed the relative support of Western anarcho-liberals. I'm not seeing these places getting any closer to an anarchy soon... save even a liberal democracy, and much less socialism.
i accept the "CIA" criticism…
anonymous (not verified) Wed, 11/26/2025 - 07:52
In reply to Hello CIA. If a regime… by anonymous (not verified)
i accept the "CIA" criticism. i was trying too quickly to both trouble the concept of revolution and to say that things change, responses happen, we are always in motion, we can only do what we can do.
To late, my days at school…
anonymous (not verified) Tue, 11/18/2025 - 04:34
To late, my days at school put my anger through its filtered behavioral autotune curriculum and now my rebellion is concerned with the amount of microplastics in my hamburger meat.
Cancel culture is now the…
anonymous (not verified) Tue, 11/18/2025 - 18:35
Cancel culture is now the dominant culture and as long as it and idpol reign free in our communities, we will find no poles to gravitate towards, anyone doing the work to create a new culture with their friends will be buried.
Ever been to a Rainbow…
anonymous (not verified) Wed, 11/19/2025 - 07:59
In reply to Cancel culture is now the… by anonymous (not verified)
Ever been to a Rainbow gathering? Last time I checked there wasn't much ID pols even tho there's other crass bullshit, but way, way less totalitarian toxicity than the ID pols. Go to Croatan Beach and leave the fucking colleges and cities to their regimes! Just don't bring your own toxic shit baggage there, plz.
Where ooOooh where have all…
anonymous (not verified) Wed, 11/19/2025 - 17:17
Where ooOooh where have all the hazy lazy crazy days of individualist anarch rebellion gone,,,sigh
I’ve always conceptualized…
anonymous (not verified) Thu, 11/20/2025 - 17:55
I’ve always conceptualized anarchism as “anti-culture.” When possible, we should avoid dogmatic cultural systems and practices, as these will aliente cultural outsiders. Non-punk anarchists are one example of this, they’re nerds, ravers, vegans, artists, but because they don’t subscribe to the dominant anarchist cultural form, they’re often not included as they could be or even treated with suspicion (e.g. seeming too normie.)
I think the anarchist way to navigate culture and counter-culture is to spread our tendrils far and wide. Making in-roads with various different “normie” cultures, sub-cultures and counter-cultures is something we should continue to do. Maybe you think you’re only anarchist in your niche sub-culture? You’re probably not. Even if you were, bring some anarchists and get them into it too.
Overt counter-culture is clearly right up our alley, but it doesn’t necessarily have to be. Nazis could also be considered “counter-culture.”
Please shout out the Sonoran Anarchist Convergence on November 29th in Phoenix, AZ.
"Making in-roads with…
anonymous (not verified) Thu, 11/20/2025 - 20:39
In reply to I’ve always conceptualized… by anonymous (not verified)
"Making in-roads with various different “normie” cultures" is a stupid plan tho. Normie cultures are about conformity... which is rather what fascists and bland conservatives are into. Furthermore this is the age of cops in full-body tattoos and Karens with colored hair. What's even the use of seeking to be normative?
Nobody (especially…
anonymous (not verified) Sun, 11/23/2025 - 19:33
In reply to "Making in-roads with… by anonymous (not verified)
Nobody (especially anarchists) seek out normie culture explicitly. However, we all have different interests and tastes, and will engage with mainstream culture. Inroads could be made with the garden club, the sci fi bookclub, gen zers, etc. which you already interact with. Things like these are aspects of mainstream culture (maybe some border more of subcultural) that anarchists sometimes pass by, because they refuse to engage with “normies.” Essentially there’s no reason to not make inroads with the culture of the people you already interact with, which inevitably won’t be exclusively counter-cultural.
Yea, sure... I've done and…
anonymous (not verified) Sun, 11/23/2025 - 22:26
In reply to Nobody (especially… by anonymous (not verified)
Yea, sure... I've done and seen far too many in-roads the past years, and would just love to get back on a main road (not referring to the mainstream, but the contrary acktchually). And, know what? All these nice lil roads end up leading to Rome, when it's not to Croatan.
ya ask about culture,…
anonymous (not verified) Thu, 11/20/2025 - 18:48
ya ask about culture, seemingly bc like lots of us you want to be able to make friends and run into people who are already trying to be anarchists. wouldn't that be nice! but culture sure is a large hyperobject, and arguably it's impossible for it to be intentionally formed. the forces at work in cultural formation are kinda impersonal. but some other things can still be touched by individuals: yourself, your friends, the ground and sky. how could i possibly embark on a journey of irreversible transformation with my friends when we all spend most of our time working and doing bare minimum chores and emotional support? or is that journey well underway?
one possible answer to your prompt is that people ARE anarchists (lots of them), that they are currently (incidentally) forming cultures and lifeways, and that it just doesn't seem like they are bc it's invisible.
not an invisible party or committee, but simply a non-movement. a departure from ressentiment and hallucinated class/idpol attachment that constantly approaches patience and acceptance. acceptance of one's inner experience, acceptance of one's outer experience, including an admission of one's capacities and infirmities. any possible choice is available to you, but there may be personal and/or physical consequences (results).
myself i'm not too worried about pushing for "anarchy progress" bc the glaciers will definitely have their say in the end. new people will continue to be born, and they will look upon their worlds with fresh eyes, until people aren't born anyone. fascism, anarchy, and apathy are all possible societal situations, and these and more will probably continue to play out according to the fickle whims of time. the "anarchy progress" itself might not look how i had thought it would, and now that i'm where i am in my life, i wouldn't think the way i thought i should, either.
GEF
anonymous (not verified) Thu, 11/20/2025 - 20:30
In reply to ya ask about culture,… by anonymous (not verified)
I think the author is relating to creating "a culture", not culture, like a generality. Street punks are a culture. Just like skateboarding, FnB, Esperanto, herbal medicine, etc. There are all cultures driven by a community of people interested in a more or less specific thing or matter.
This question is very important, as anarchist cultures seem desperate for an overhaul, or redifinition. Punk is a zombie culture and just kept being recuperated, to a point punk was hollowed of any political analysis and position. DIY got also recuperated by yuppies (fucking Burning Man).
If there's a thing that defined anarchists historically -even before they were called such- may be commoning. Like there are collective efforts out there -sometimes surprisingly well organized- that seek to be going in the opposite direction than capital; trying to free stuff, ideas, communications, even vital resources, while avoiding the usual bureaucratic trap.
Speaking of which... a culture of conspiring against bureaucracies is also needed, as they are and still remain the enemies of everyone. Reframing anarchism as specifically "anti-managerial", and leaving aside this archaic rhetoric about "bosses" and even "the State" might be very beneficial. The State is a very blurry notion that also sounds contrived. So many people are more or less discretely pissed off about the wannabe-aristocrat managers patronizing, condescending, moralizing, exploiting, cutting them and generally making their lives miserable; yet if you start talking about how "the State oppresses!" you gonna sound like a borderline whack job, in 2025. This sounds esoteric.
i did mean even that…
anonymous (not verified) Thu, 11/20/2025 - 21:14
In reply to GEF by anonymous (not verified)
i did mean even that specific mentioned subcultures are hyperobjects. they may be something you can join or mimic. but theyre not things which you can steer well thru your choices. and considering ANY nameable subculture is now significantly communicated/disseminated online, the predominant biases of online venues play a format role that precludes much of the content. the things that can be touched are not mediated by web hosts or algorithms, nor even crowd dynamics. show me (don't tell me) a fully offline venue and i'll show you the basis for a local breaking point with the existent
There's some people out…
GEF (not verified) Fri, 11/21/2025 - 08:50
In reply to i did mean even that… by anonymous (not verified)
There's some people out there doing tech-minimal (or at best zero-tech) gatherings that are as well clothing-optional and anarchistic, even if there might be your usual authoritarian buffoons. They've been going on worldwide since the '70s. They're happening in natural habitats as far as possible from society, even if that means most people relying on cars to get there (the more tough adventurous ones do it with bikes). They're also often centered around free-sharing relations that create abundance. But for this there's a need for a level of mutual trust in the principles of this culture, or else this just becomes another boring mainstream camping experience.
My only criticism - and that's a constructive one, as anarchists can come up with a better plan- is to be making these same gatherings more geographically accessible, closer to urban/suburban environments, so not only to reduce reliance on cars but also be better at creating a rupture with the tech-obsessed pop culture and its fixation with mediation of self and everyone around. Like imagine an Occupy but less stupid and in a better, more natural environment than downtown.
I like the direction this…
anonymous (not verified) Fri, 11/21/2025 - 13:14
In reply to There's some people out… by GEF (not verified)
I like the direction this idea takes an occupation of land away from the concrete fortresses of capitalism and out into harder to access and more compatible surroundings which are easier to defend and pose less a threat to the property/security complexes of downtown. More sustainable than the symbolic gesturing of the previous Occupy movement.
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