Pink Fire Pointer More vicious, sectarian carping

More vicious, sectarian carping


In attempting to conquer space from capitalism we must give regard to the enemy defending it. The ruling class, in the form of the state has the benefit of prior organisation. An anti-capitalist movement must be equal to this organisation otherwise it will not be effective, unless of course you intend your movement to be merely platonic.

Which begs the question, has there been a serious attempt to put together serious political economy for autonomism, beyond constructing neologisms like precariat? Don't autonomists adopt neo-liberal paradigms (such as the end of the working class, horizontal organisation, power is everywhere and nowhere, grandnarratives are oppressive etc) and simply invert them?

There are two pitfalls to a purely moral opposition to capital. One is voluntarisn, the dangerous kind that can lead to totalitarianism (or would lead, if it were not completely Utopian at this point). The other is platonic, gesture politics, the kind where a demonstration stops to work out the fine details of democratic decision making while the police are swiftly kettling it.

In order to achieve any worthwhile goal you need a tested and trusted political tradition. You can't make one up as you go, least of all pretend you don't need one. Your demonstration has to be about left or right (approximate as those political coordinates may be) or it's about nothing.

It's a shame that some people don't see any viable political tradition that can express their political will, but it's pointless crying over such things. They can't be made to see it. But there are others, often first to the megaphone, who actively seek to keep things primitive and inchoate. As far as I can see we may lose the world, but at least those people get to keep their beautiful souls.