Without the participation of local forces, without an organization from below of the peasants and workers themselves, it is impossible to build a new life.

It would seem that the soviets should have served precisely this function of creating an organization from below, but Russia has already become a Soviet Republic only in name. The influx and taking over of the people by the “Party,” that is, predominantly the newcomers (the ideological communists in the urban centers), has already destroyed the influence and constructive energy of this promising institution – the soviets. At present, it is the party committees, not the soviets, who rule in Russia. And their organization suffers from the defects of bureaucratic organization.

To move away from the current disorder, Russia must return to the creative genius of local forces which as I see it, can be a factor in the creation of a new life. And the sooner that the necessity of this way is understood, the better. People will then be all the more likely to accept [new] social forms of life. If the present situation continues, the very word “socialism” will turn into a curse.

With comradely greetings,

P. Kropotkin

Kropotkin writes to Lenin, 1920

The power of each fighter does not rest simply within himself, his weapon, and his unit. He is the incarnation of the will of the people to struggle, of the resistance, of the anonymous and innumerable ways in which the people seek to harass the oppressor and refuse to collaborate with him. This is the only “magic” the guerrillas have–that they are the representatives of a social force immensely superior to their own numbers and power, a social force that constantly encircles…the enemy.

–adolfo gilly, introduction to frantz fanon’s a dying colonialism

A hair too close to “the people themselves drive Mercedes by proxy” for my taste, but,

Honoring a diversity of tactics means refraining from attacking those whose chosen approaches seem to you to be ineffective, and instead focusing on what missing elements you can add to make their efforts effective. Thus, it reframes the question of strategy in terms of personal responsibility: at every juncture, the question is not what somebody else should be doing, but what you can do.

The importance of a diversity of tactics doesn’t apply only when it is convenient for you. Don’t claim to support a diversity of tactics and then argue that–just in this particular case, of course–others should prioritize your agenda over their own. Recognizing the value of diversity of tactics means taking into account that others will make different decisions based on their differing perspectives, and respecting this even when their decisions baffle you.

–recipes for disaster, p. 20

This strikes me as a favorably-phrased but still problematic presentation.

In the eyes of the media–which, real talk, are  the eyes actors in a movement are largely performing for–the most militant wing of a movement becomes a de facto vanguard. The actions of the most militant wing inevitably earn the lion’s share of media coverage, and those whose styles are less militant wind up spending their time doing damage control over broken windows instead of building power.

The suggestion, made here and elsewhere, that there can be a casual coexistence between them spoiling for a riot and them singing “We Shall Overcome” is disingenuous at best; I support a diversity of tactics employed in the service of a broad movement-building strategy, but let’s not pretend like anybody’s running clips of foreclosure defense when there’s a dumpster on fire to run footage of.

still fighting.

so worth it.

the soundtrack:

PS: i kind of miss DJing.

can we do a street party blockade already?

I reflected for a moment–between the Thanksgiving ritual, Russell’s prayer, the Quaker notion of meetings as spiritual events–whether there was some significance to the fact that the “process” anarchists are so obsessed with is always, elsewhere, seen as a partaking of the sacred.

Creating accord is the creation of society. Society is god. Or, perhaps, god is our capacity to create society. Consensus is therefore a ritual of sacrifice, the sacrifice of egoism, where the act brings into being that very god.

–graeber, in direct action: an ethnography

There is a well-known Yugoslav political joke expressing the quintessence of this: “In Stalinism, the representatives of the people drive Mercedes, while in Yugoslavia, the people themselves drive Mercedes by proxy, through their representatives.”

–zizek, in the sublime object of ideology

“your poems about the girls will still be around 50 years from now when the girls are gone,” my editor phones me.

dear editor:
the girls appear to be gone already.

-from Love is A Dog From Hell by Bukowski

Then 2011 happened.

I recorded an album’s worth of songs.

I joined a burgeoning and ambitious startup, and somehow I wound up with the title of “Interactive Director.” I put together art events, and promoted the hell out of them. I made good friends. Really good friends.

I took up DJ’ing. I played an international electronic music festival. I opened for one of my favorite artists.

I learned how to do media relations for a small group of upstarts that were trying to do something good.

Sadly, like so many startups crippled by a combination of ambition and miscommunication, it fell apart in our hands. I spent August and September spinning my wheels, trying to figure out where to put my ambition and what to do with myself.

On September 20th, I caught a segment on the news about something called “Occupy Wall Street.”

I went to New York to meet Doug Rushkoff and see Zuccotti Park for myself, and I joined the media team of OccupyDC as fast as I could. Now, 2011 into 2012, we’re the last big camp standing on the east coast. I’m goddamn proud of that–glad for what it says about our camp, and the people in it, and glad for what it says about our democracy that our federal government makes a point to let us stand.

As I write this we’re approaching #J17, also known as “Occupy Congress,” a massive day of protest on the National Mall that I’m helping spearhead. I don’t know that thousands gathered will make the government hear us, but I know the people will see us. Their support is what matters.

After too many quiet nights of silent desperation the radical hiding in my heart has found his way out again. After resignation to the omnipotence of capital, after giving up on the power of people to change the world, I’m alive in a way I haven’t been in years.

There have been other details–girls, songs, arrests–but what I’ve learned most this year is easy to summarize: I want to change the world. And now I know that together we can.

Let’s fucking get it.

2012, motherfuckers.

Our aim is not to overthrow the state, but to ignore it.  Anyone who wants to continue to support the state and obey its laws is free to do so, so long as they leave us alone.  Our goal is to build the kind of society we want, and prevent the state from overthrowing us while we’re doing it.  The last person out of the state can turn off the lights.

Kevin Carson reviews Black Flags & Windmills: Hope, Anarchy, Katrina & the Common Ground Collective