(Translator’s note: The greek version of the manifesto below has been circulating across websites in the country and arrived in the blog’s inbox as well. While I might not personally agree with all points raised in the text, what I particularly liked about it is that the ideas and what it calls for could have easily been dismissed as unrealistic exactly three weeks ago, but suddenly everything and anything seems possible… I never thought I’d be here translating a call for a world revolution before the end of 2008 but then again I never thought I would see the entire of Ermou Str – Athens’ main commercial/ shopping street – up in flames. It’s about time for ideas, plans and more action to kick in!)
Planet Earth
December 27, 2008
A. The state of corporatism that we live in
The planet is under a state of siege from corporations. The people who own them (i.e. this neurotic, criminal minority) use tools such as the States in order to increase their monetary income to the maximum, to meet their desire for total authority and to maintain the postmodern industrial production apparatus called Planet Earth.
There is no doubt that it is the banks controlling the States (and not the other way round) since, as we passively observe at this moment, the masks in the birthplace state of capitalism have fallen: the US government supports the panicked moves of this Corporatist regime and prepares its army for a “possible social unrest in the face of an upcoming crisis”.
In turn, states hold the people in a divided and idle state so that they will compete with one another instead of rising up against the obvious enemy of humanity. Those in authority bring up individuals teaching them their differences to the person next to them; implanting them “values” such as the nation, gender, success, consumption, health, beauty and sanity of mind. These produce behaviours observed globally and are, more or less, known to us all: nationalism, racism, consumerism, sexism, ableism, ageism and lookism.
States would have been unable to mark our bodies with such rotten scars if it wasn’t for the Cops, the Medical Regime, the Educational Regime, the Establishment Media, Religions and Bureaucracy in all its forms.
Humans end up beings with a hyper-emphasised “ego” since they are a unique amalgan of heterogeneous identities. Proletarian and muslim. Respectable housewife and lesbian. Student and depressed. Sexist and communist. Successful yuppie and sensitive in ecological issues. Woman and nationalist. Shattered in thousands of small pieces, which prevent them from seeing who it is that enforces their repressed class status. Most importantly, they prevent them from understanding themselves as something more collective, such as the globalised neo-proletariat: all the humans of the planet, that is, who experience daily everything from the darkness and depression to the abjection and non-voluntary death. A proletariat of this type that, numerically only, prevails.
The plenitude of constructed identities creates a condition of “cultural war” in each of the planet’s societies (as well as trans-nationally) where identities compete with one another, often in favour of the Regime, as this will lead its respectable citizens to demand even tighter security.
The dictatorship of the Corporatist Bourgeois Democracy makes sure to repress all and any spontaneous resistance to the power: it sucks social nuclei of resistance into political parties, trade unions and other political formations that reek of death. It does not hesitate, only too often, to “democratise” locales of the planet, to repress liberating movements and to deny the right to self-determination (the US in Iraq; Israel in Palestine; Greece in Macedonia).
It does not hesitate to destroy the nature of Earth, exterminating whole eco-systems, altering the environment and disrupting our bodies with the quality of food we receive. All in the name of progress, science and civilisation.
The civilised world is an amalgam of all these authoritarian patterns which, over time, have convinced us of having a quality of life without which (ironically) humans lived much better in the past.
The rise of population and of the average life expectancy, with the blessings of the Medical Regime, simply increases the number of the waged slaves, shrinking, at the same time, the quality of their life to the absolute minimum.
Life in the city has distanced humans from the experience of living, observing and learning from natural phenomena; it has destroyed the experience of the physical space and has made them vulnerable in the face of experience that used to be commonplace (physical labour, outdoors survival etc).
B. The World Revolution must be against civilisation
- The catalyst of our organising is the world wide web: We call all the disgruntled and revolted to get their own voice on the web, either by sending contributions to counter-information media or setting up their own blogs, creating collective discussion boards or hacking established and capitalist websites.
- We call all workers around the world to discuss about self-organising in their workspaces and to make proposals in regard to exiting trade unions. We call them to occupy the places of production and to manage their units horizontally, in a self-organised manner, under the guidance of consensus.
- We call all high school and university students to occupy their buildings, shoving aside all political party henchmen; to co-form with tons of imagination and humour, ideas on theory and practice! To turn these buildings into nuclei of anarchist life and social outreach.
- We call all who have lived under the burden of Clinical Depression to come together, to reject the chemicals of the pharmaceutical corporations and to co-shape ideas for the destruction of the civilisation that slashed our brains.
- We call all migrants to join together their rage for the way in which the Establishment turned them into people without a place and to destroy the civilisation that alienated them.
- We call all scientists to resign from the Science Regime and to investigate autonomously and collectively how autonomous and inexhaustible energies can be provided – such as solar, wind and geothermal.
- We call all the people who have forgotten that the revolution can happen, to expropriate immediately all that belongs to them and to sabotage, to the maximum extent possible, the production line. We can hold – and it’s worth it!
- We call all bourgeois artists to stop wasting their imagination in bourgeois creations and to join in our struggle, pouring their imagination into the shaping of the World Revolution!
- We call all farmers and agricultural producers to collectivise their production and to stop over-producing for capital. To teach their co-humans techniques on how to live autonomously by farming.
- Meat production must seize immediately and all animals should be freed! Meat is murder!
We call all anarchists, communists and libertarians to not cease their actions of revolt and to continue with the counter-information, which is so important.
Sabotaging or self-organising the process of production, creating autonomous food production, expropriating existing supplies, creating autonomous zones in cities and planning for autonomous forms of energy, we can render money obsolete. We can create pockets of anarchist culture which, thanks to their existence, counter-information and the world wide web, will spread like the hot wind of freedom.
Any attempts by the states to stop us will be met with the revolted; the revolted of poverty, depression and exclusion. We’ll take time in our hands!
Let Athens’ December revolt become an organisational inspiration for revolutionaries across the world.
Humans of the world, unite!
For anarchy and libertarian communism!
For freedom!
For the absolute!
Long live World Revolution!
65 Comments
The world is ours. Long live humanity.
Ok now you lost me. I have been following your little revolt from the beginning of the blog and hoped that you change the world for a better and you come up with a wonderful plan that makes all better and you give me this. This rubbish that is overboard the scale of lunacy. As i thought communist and anarhist people can come up with only utopian like dreams that does not work never-ever in this world. You must be rather young 15-18 or rather dumb +18 to think this up. This is like the soviets wanted to create and look what kind of crap it turned out. Dumb people should never rule over majority so with sadness i must admit that your defeat would be better for mankind. You have failed the test. Now disband and let people live. Let the other revolutionals take over the fight, the ones (if there are such) who have somekind of intelligent movement in their brain.
Medal of honor: Could you come with any actual criticism that could spark any constructive discussion about your problems with this text, instead of being just vague and arrogant?
a little simplistic in its analysis and a little overreaching in its plan of action, but glad theyre calling for it.
Medal of honor;
This shouldn’t be a fully completed manifesto, it is a text that circulating on the internet, where all can take part of it and, most of all, discuss it.
To let all those people just disband their riots is not the right way. We should instead discuss all the oppurtionities to make this rioting to a good thing.
I agree in you with some of the criticism, but to reject the ideas at once isn’t very constructive. If everyone truly starts the collectivization on their on behalfs, instead of doing it because of what a leader for a worker’s party say, it is a good thing. If all people rule themselves it would be better than if selfish politician rule the people.
Furthermore, I think it’s important to say that a revolution in the hands of the people is entirely different as opposed to what happened in Russia in the early 1900s. In that place, a single party took the lead of what was deemed a “popular” revolution and so destroyed the very popularity of it, creating exactly what it aimed to fight against. This is a mistake that cannot be repeated this time around, as we have already seen the results of any such event.
It is to the people, to the masses; to decide their fate, and not some other entity.
Medal of Honour is a cop…
vegetarianism has nothing to do with being a revolutionary.
this is primitive utopian communism.
Keep the revolution alive, in the streets but also in our hearts. For those who are in the belly of Leviathan, but far away from the wounds of revolution, it’s time to spread the word and start thinking about the necessary war. Everyone is involved. Freedom belongs to everybody. Long live anarchy! Solidarity from Portugal.
Yeah, what has vegetarianism to do with the revolution? Nothing! If I can not eat meat it is not my revolution!
Kickass text.Agreed.isn’t the text that can change the things you assholes who say it can’t happen,its the will of who texted it,and the will of who agrees with it.and yes this is happening..right now everything seems like a social trap for any anarchist,everything seems “too late”..thats exactly why this is gonna wrk out,simply bkouse its too late,but too late for the authority,fascists,capitalists nd opressors to fightback this revolution.becouse in their own arrogance,they really believed that shooting Alexandros would be a celebrating of their illusive power,but it wasn’t.how am i so sure?authority its simply a parasitic nation,who cannot actually sustain it own existence alone,so they try to use us to serve them.therefore,we’re obviously smarter,stronger.btw,speakin on world wide web..i bet most businessmen wouldn’t even survive in this planet for a month if the global network would shout down to their capitalist world,now would they?
this isnt the beggining of a revolution anyway,it is the ending and the victory,remember tht.
p.s.vaillant tb sou d portugal,cumprimentos laveyanos
medal of honor, we have heard such tried ramblings before. go back to sleep. the revolution will wake you up.
Medal of Honour – World Revolution is a left communist (anti-Stalinist communist) organisation: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/World_Revolution_(party) Their document is being reproduced here somewhat critically by the author of the blog in order to engender debate I suppose.
FAO the blog’s author: without meaning to criticise what is an excellent resource, perhaps it could be good in future to add context which enables the comprehension of characters such as Medal of Honor (who apparently does not hail from the libertarian milieu). Presumably you want your readership to spread beyond anarchists.
Also, did you hear about the Bulgarian union activist suffering a horrific acid attack in Athens? http://www.bgnewsnet.com/story.php?lang=en&sid=23522. A Greek poster on Libcom claims that in response unionists have occupied their HQ: http://libcom.org/forums/news/police-shoot-dead-16-year-old-demonstrator-athens-06122008?page=6 (check Sotev’s post).
Greetings, and solidarity from the northern woodlands!
“The world is ours. Long live humanity”
…or: Long live Dualism – Down with Revolution
This is really something to be discussed. One of the most profound arguments against the civilized, anthropocentric world view (or actually against the hierarchical human/nature dualism) is made by anthropologist Tim Ingold:
“For the Koyukon, as for other hunting and gathering peoples, there are not two separate worlds, of humanity and nature. There is one world, and human beings form a rather small and insignificant part of it. Given this view of the world, everything depends on maintaining a proper balance in one’s relationships with its manifold powers. Thus, rather than saying that hunters and gatherers exploit their environments, it might be better to say that they aim to keep up a dialogue with it.”
“For hunters and gatherers, animals and plants in the environment play a nurturing role, as do human caregivers. (…) Thus in their nurturing capacity, these non-human agencies ‘share’ with you, just as you share what you receive from the environment with other people. Both movements, from non-human to human beings and among the latter themselves, are seen to constitute a single ‘cosmic economy of sharing’.”
“[For Koyukon hunters of Alaska,] there is no conceptual distance at all [between humanity and nature], or rather that what we distinguish as humanity and nature merge, for them, into a single field of relationships. (…) The transition from hunting to pastoralism led to the emergence, in place of egalitarian relations of sharing, of relations of dominance and subordination between herding leaders and their assistants. Evidently a transition in the quality of relationship, from trust to domination, affects relations not only between humans and non-human animals, but also, and equally, among human beings themselves.”
(From trust to Domination, in Tim Ingold: The Perception of the Environment. Essays in livelihood, dwelling and skill. Routledge 2000)
I’m not saying that we should ‘go back’ and universally adopt some idealized hunter-gatherer form of life, but I think that in our analysis of domination and hierarchy, we really should look back further and deeper than to the beginnings of capitalism or feudalism. Accounts of hunter-gatherer life could serve as an inspiration when we start exploring the potentials of humanity.
Another profound analysis and argument against human/nature dualism is Val Plumwood’s “Feminism and the Mastery of Nature”. She argues that the domination of man over woman is essentially of the same root as domination of intellectual class over manual laborers, European over non-European, spirit over matter, creation over destruction etc… and this all rests on the basic dualism between Man and Nature. Everything that is represented as being closer ‘Nature’ (female non-european black manual-laboring child matter destruction) is inferior to everything closer to ‘Man’ or ‘Culture’ (male european white intellectual adult spirit creation).
These accounts suggest that we should not only resist hierarchy and authority in human relations, but also resist them in our relations to non-human others. Basically this would mean creating ways of living that are not based on imposing our will on the non-human others, but establishing a dialogue and relations of sharing with the non-human others in our environment also.
Why has the world revolution to be against civilisation? What definition of civilisation is at use in this manifesto?
Probably the best thing i’ve read from the greece riots come from “proletarians” – http://news.infoshop.org/article.php?story=20081217200907717. This is probably the worst thing i’ve read so far coming from the greece uprising. This manifesto is written so that a few percent of the participants in the riots can relate, and it’s ignoring the other part of the population which is not labeled “anarchist” or “libertarian communist”.
The world revolution must be against capital – the everyday life of today, not the vague concept “civilisation”. Some may think that we have to go back to before civilisation to become free, which is not true (it’s a way to less freedom). By challenging the everyday life of capital (not just the economic notion, but the social relation), we will free ourselves. This does not demand us to go back to the time before capital, but take the wealth we have created in service of mans needs (the need for human relation- and fellowship, freedom of creation, power of your everyday life and a healthy nature and so forth).
What has vegetarianism and civilisation to do with freeing ourselves? The text puts out some important points, but misses to reach out to people by including unnecessary things like not eating meat. While focus should be put at the 90% of all working places that are useless for humans wellbeing (while food is not). The meat-debate can be taken in a free society as well.
Greetings, and solidarity from the northern
woodlandsindustrial tree monocultures.Here is a short piece I wrote inspired by the insurrection. Apologies for all the clumsiness in translation…
In Greece, The Old World is Burning
Life is a process where old dies, decays, turns to dust from which new forms of life again spring. Birth and death, creation and destruction, they are not opposites to each other. They are the two knots of life that connect the two dimensions of life: the Present and the Beyond. In the Beyond hide all the past and forthcoming forms of life. It is not a distant heaven where we would be forever safe from death: it lies within everything presently living, within our bones and marrows. When we die, we melt back at one with our greater self and are born again in millions of various forms. Everything is related. (Think about that when you next encounter an other…)
So death is not the opposite of life: lifelessness is. To sit stoned and petrified at the screen for hours. To do monotonous, routine work hour after another, day to day, year to year. To hide afraid at home, with the heavy weight of lifeless Moral – the church, the law, the psychiatry – on your shoulders. To behave obediently, to choose restraint and suffering instead of pleasure, waiting for the place in heaven they promised you as a child – that will never come.
Life is forever now. The choice is now. As the lifelessness, to which this world has been subjected and suffocated, surrounds us everywhere and penetrates under our skin, the protectors of life have no other option than to hasten the decay of the old world, so that a new one can rise from its ashes. Don’t fear destruction any more than you fear creation. Fire is our element.
How to make the fire spread? The language of the old world speaks of overreaction, economic situation, employment, citizens and shopkeepers, it speaks of calming the situation, of iron discipline and order, perhaps sympathetically of helping the ‘disadvantaged’. Following the controlled media, one might get the impression that everybody is speaking that language, that no other language exists. That I am alone with my feelings. Action is the language of insurrection, and if we want to find out how many really are speaking it, or are willing to learn, we must make practical initiatives now.
“Waiting only teaches waiting; in acting one learns to act.”
It is about taking back our life, not alone but together.
Dear comrades,
I have a request to the comrades of Greece specially to march for Palestine cause.Current attacks on Gaza by Israel is a gross violation of human rights.More than 260 people have died and 700 are said to be injured.This is a clear cut case of massacre.
No government in the world is openly condemning these atrocities.The Greek revolt has send a strong message against Capitalism and and has rejuvenated the hopes for a revolutionary socialism all across the world. Now if the revolutionaries in Greece will march against the Israeli attacks on Gaza strip I hope there will be a series of protest all across the Europe and world against this brutal terror on Palestine people.I request to my comrades of Greece to plan a radical demonstration against the killings of Palestine people inorder to pressurize EU and the entire world to take a tough stand against Israeli government.
Long Live socialist Internationalism!
Solidarity forever ,
Chirag.Suvarna
Hmmm…
almost even looks like it was written to discredit the movement.
Free the animals and the sort?
Bizarre, on with the revolution as it WAS happening.
Why has the world revolution to be against civilisation? What definition of civilisation is at use in this manifesto?
Probably the best thing i’ve read from the greece riots come from “proletarians” – http://news.infoshop.org/article.php?story=20081217200907717. This is probably the worst thing i’ve read so far coming from the greece uprising. This manifesto is written so that a few percent of the participants in the riots can relate, and it’s ignoring the other part of the population which is not labeled “anarchist” or “libertarian communist”.
The world revolution must be against capital – the everyday life of today, not the vague concept “civilisation”. Some may think that we have to go back to before civilisation to become free, which is not true (it’s a way to less freedom). By challenging the everyday life of capital (not just the economic notion, but the social relation), we will free ourselves. This does not demand us to go back to the time before capital, but take the wealth we have created in service of mans needs (the need for human relation- and fellowship, freedom of creation, power of your everyday life and a healthy nature and so forth).
What has vegetarianism and civilisation to do with freeing ourselves? The text puts out some important points, but misses to reach out to people by including unnecessary things like not eating meat. While focus should be put at the 90% of all working places that are useless for humans wellbeing (while food is not). The meat-debate can be taken in a free society as well.
—
And to “chirag suvarna”. Why march for palestine when they’re currently fighting for freedom in greece? Why is palestine so important when people are getting killed everywhere, even in israel?
Myles, should there be a list of topics that we are not supposed to discuss during the revolution? Then perhaps we need some sort of revolutionary authority to enforce the list?
But seriously. The animal question may not be a first order issue at this moment, but it should not be rejected out of hand. It is generally related to the issues of livelihood, food and energy for instance. An anarchist/communist revolution is not a simple socialization of capitalist forms, it is a profound transformation which extends to our relations with non-human beings and environments.
Of course animal liberation as a single issue movement is not beyond criticism. Rather than accusing and blaming, on plain moral grounds, the farmers & workers who are involved in animal industry, I would argue that industrial mass production and the division of labor it requires should be the target of criticism. They render both the workers and the animals to a purely instrumental position.
“The World Revolution must be against civilisation” Yes, it would seem that the likes of John Zerzan and his band of merry “anarcho”-primitivists would feel quite at home with statements such as these.
The promotion of vegetarianism as a central aspect of a so-called revolutionary praxis is the hallmark of privileged children playing at being revolutionaries. “Meat is murder!”, fer chrissakes, is this a Morrissey concert packed with angst-ridden middle-class white kids??
Here we have a comrade from Palestine asking for a show of solidarity against the truly horrific crimes being perpetrated indiscriminately by the criminal apartheid Israeli state against all Palestinians: “More than 260 people have died and 700 are said to be injured” and the political discourse being offered is a call to end civilization and that meat is murder with, of course, the requisite photo of shit on fire. So hardcore…
I totally understand all those costumbrated meat eaters, but if we don t make this change in aliment production we really will have food problems.WE should devlop new vegatarian product which are really close to meat cause normally to produce one kilo meat you need 7 kilo vegetable food.
So I think the people who really like meat should organise themselves to get it and stop buying it in´the supermarcets.
You are just conditioned to eat meat many years before there was no such a stron meat production and once a week it was allrigt, you see all these meat realted deseases.
I respect you but just think about it . I for myself I am happy about reading this proposal for a different kind of nutritation,
Medusa: authoritarianism, ageism and disrespect coming out of your post is inappropriate.
Are you really arguing that because Israeli army is committing atrocities in Palestine, it should be not allowed to criticize civilization and the way animals are treated in our society?
About your dismissing of critique of civilization, i will just offer a quote from Jason McQuinn:
“…over time the most valid critiques now identified closely with primitivism will be increasingly incorporated into and identified closely with the anarchist milieu, both within anarchist theory and anarchist practice. Anarcho-leftists won’t like this process. And neither will anarcho-liberals and others. But the critique of civilization is here to stay, along with its corollary critiques of progress and technology. The continued deepening of worldwide social crises resulting from the unceasing developments of capital, technology and state will not allow those anarchists still resistant to the deepening of critique to ignore the implications of these crises forever.”
http://www.insurgentdesire.org.uk/notaprimitivist.htm
This is a passionate message and I fully appreciate its intent, however i detect a note of anarcho primitivism ? –
I consider anarcho primitivism a death sentence for humanity, any future anarchist society should be based around the democratic organization of the workplace, public capital and participatory community councils. However technology should be embraced, used and advanced for the benefit of man ,casting technology aside strikes me as unbelievably regressive.
As for the meat comment – If your a Buddhist or something then I fully respect your moral views – however I don’t share them. I don’t think animals have the capacity to appreciate life or comprehend their condition in relation to humans – I think vegetarians engage in anthropomorphism leading them to a naive yet understandable conclusion.
Any future society should be based on the ELIMINATION of the workplace, the elimination of the difference between “Life” (what you enjoy) and “Work” (what you do because you have to).
I dont agree with primitivism, but whoever does agree with it, I think, should be left to believe what they want. The strength is in cooperation, not in seperating and classifying every single entity. That would only make everything worse. I say, if one believes in primitivism, then he should go about doing what he wishes, and the more technologically-based anarchists will go about doing what they please.
The strength is in coexistence and generally similar principles, and not in entire unanimity.
I would be the first to dismiss primitivism and agree with Syndicalist, but at the same time I believe we do and should share some of the same goals. Even as a syndicalist I would say that our first goal needs to be ecological sustainability. There’s no question that the survival of humans is based on a respect for the Earth. If I happen to seek the survival of humans through respect for the Earth, and primitivists seek first what’s best for the Earth and place man’s role as secondary, well, so be it. I have had the pleasure of meeting a few staunch primitivists that I deeply respect, and, as much as I disagree, I don’t see any reason I can’t accept this manifesto while disagreeing with it. I believe that though, our goals are different, we share enough in common that we can have all our dreams at once.
So solidarity from the belly of the beast, I am inspired and hope that the revolution continues. That said, I will continue to eat meat and enjoy running water. I will only add that I hope this fellow respects everyone else’ revolution in the same way I respect his. Please continue and thanks for all the hard work.
I hope to toast the New Year to your continued success.
chirag suvarna,you must know that before that striking from israel,the hamas fired more than 100 missils against israeli citizens.its interesting how the media tried to opress that new while its promoting now israel as a firestarter.think for a second on the hamas missile strike.i am not taking sides,my side its always the anarchist side and everyone within it,so to me both countries,as countries,flag and government are not right.how can something like the hamas,considered to be “terrorist”,illegal,and so “out of the horizon” to everyone,suddenly show up with such massive attack?seems like someone has a big interest on a new conflict in the area,and has the cash for it…crossing exactly 20january?the US (and Japan) are compromised to protect Israel against foreign strikes,this was a G.W.Bush tactic.So..looks like they want to get the US even more burried in the middle east,not giving time to the new administration to be prepared for such thing.I’ve seen a lot of manifestos against the israeli occupation in the middle east,but we cannot condemn everyone who lives and was born there simply becouse of governmental decisions made that long ago.we should condemn the government,not just of israel,but everyone who helped this to come like it is now.the nazi for starting.its pitty that everyone tends to say the jews shouldn’t be there with such rage,but no one told back to another period of history they shouldn’t be in the concentration camps.in this conflict,for sure i won’t defend the israeli,nor the palestinian.i will defend anyone who’s on both countries and has nothing to do with it.who’s not religious,who’s a seeker of freedom and truth like i am,and probably got hurt on this DUAL strikes.remember,the process for authority to rise up as one massive world government its a chair game,dismissing one country and its people at time.hyperborea,agreed,and yes destruction(revolution) is the first condution for evolution,creativity and community is the next one.the media tried very hard to distort the truth about what was going on,and of course the government made it clear how they want to treat the anarchists all over the planet basing on their “anti-terrorist” laws.firstly they came up with the “anti-daemons” laws.now its “terrorism”…whats next?”aliens”?
the enemy of humanity is much less fearful – authority,desinformation and opression
Yes, dear friend, let’s bombard and kill arabs because they throw us some rocks…
The same situation in Greece : let’s kill a 16 years old kid because A FRIEND throw a plastic bottle…
YOU ARE STUPID.
Like a friend of mine once said, if your your anarcho-primitivist for more than a year your a mental.
However lets not get distracted by one text. Its contributing to a debate though needless to say it adds nothing. It hasn’t come from any mass assembly or occupation and is the work of a few people. In won’t have any resonance in amongst society or outside radical movements and I doubt it will even amonsgt radical movements.
Lets just get on and learn from the experiences in Greece, publicising what has occurred to other working class and marginalised people in the places we live and work and lets get organised over the next year to put anarchist ideas globally on the map.
Towards the Anarchist International!
Those of you who so vehemently react against anarchoprimitivism should read what Uri Gordon has to say about anarchism and technology in Anarchy Alive!. Just like him, I consider myself not a primitivist, but I do reccon that many of today’s technologies are only serving centralisation.
Also, could we please embrace diverging opinions, instead of swearing and yelling at each other?
Wow, there are so many troubling comments here, it’s difficult to know where to begin but here’s my attempt:
One cannot place on equal footing the atrocities committed by a state (i.e. Israel with backing from the US) engaged in an imperialist project aimed at consolidating its (internationally-recognized and UN condemned) theft of land from the people indigenous to the area with the subsequent attacks from those very people. This is where a structural and systematic analysis becomes useful in understanding the imperialist as well as capitalist interests involved here.
Of course the taking of human life is reprehensible, it is something that should sadden us all and never ever be taken lightly. But we must also be clear, the recent attacks by Hamas only took place after the complete and utterly illegal lockdown of Gaza for several months by the Israeli Defense Forces which blocked entirely the entry of food and medical supplies by anyone including the UN as well as the news media; a policy which was roundly condemned worldwide quite rightly as nothing short of a war of attrition against civilians. This, incidently, during a so-called ceasefire agreement which Israel repeatedly contravened.
Can any of us really then place on equal footing such as this the subsequent retaliatory rocket attacks by Hamas with any shred of honesty or personal integrity? Of course Hamas is problematic (as many other groups are throughout the world). I am not a supporter of any religion-based groups. However, if we don’t want to sink into the murky sludge of a totally disabling post-modernist view of everything is the same and nothing is different and thereby throwing up our hands vis-à-vis these kinds of political realities by declaiming such trite nonsense as “I am not taking sides” or “I am on the side of the anarchists”, then sadly, one must position oneself regarding this conflict. I know it’s a cliché, but the syndicalist favorite “which side are you on?” is still as relevant today as it ever was. To refuse to take a stand in this issue (or any other) is to implicitly support the continued occupation by Israel of land that has been brutally taken from the Palestinians, the Syrians and the Lebanese.
PS: Dear Rot, if what is underway in Greece right now is nothing but a youth movement made up of the sons and daughters of the relatively well-off, than it is this youth movement that is being ageist, not I. This was the thrust of my comment (and irritation). As for being authoritarian, you would not be the first person who has tried to muzzle me because I am not afraid to express what I truly think, regardless of how unpopular.
I find it ironic that whenever I challenge things here, perhaps upset certain notions, many people respond with glib automaton-type responses à la “The revolution -is- the message” or “Long live anarchy!” and things along those lines which, in my humble opinion, is far more reminiscent of a form of authoritarianism than any critique that I’ve ever shared here.
i am unsure regarding the necessity of primitivism. i would prefer the use of technology where it serves the humans without destroying the base of live of present and future generations.
nevertheless i am a bit confused about those who don’t see connections between stop/drastically cut down meat consumption and anarchy world revolution. MI did mention the enormous amounts of vegetables necessary for producing meat. additionally the avarage person in western countries produces an equal amount of greenhousegases by eating meat (methan) and driving (co2). even the already inevitable extent of climate change will cause a strong decline of crop yields in the global south. and many regions over there already have to little yields yet. so it is a matter of global justice and this is something anarchy is about, or am i wrong?
some may say we should just rise global food production, e.g. by using more fertilizers (but the natural gas it is made by is finite) or using more land for agriculture (but productive soil is finite too). we could also rip of all the concrete and factories to get more land for agriculture. but even though i think today there is a lot of stuff being produced that nobody needs, there are also billions of people who do not have what we take for granted, like washing mashines, notebooks, mp3-players, mobiles
if we want to keep this luxury devices we will have to cut down somewhere else. to me life without meat and milk is much easier than without music and a washing mashine. on a finite planet you can have it all only at the expense of others.
I was not accepting such kinds of comments to my post over here.I was stunned after reading them. I appreciate MEDUSA’s views.He has a well structured and a rational political understanding.I don’t feel like giving a reply to all those who have written against me.I would likely repeat the same things what MEDUSA has written.
I was very disappointed when I read a post which questioned that why there is a need to march for Palestine when we are fighting in Greece?Dear friend we are socialists.We are fighting for the liberation of entire human race irrespective of their nationality,religion,gender,sexuality….Our principles are based on universal solidarity for the oppressed people.Hence we should fight for Palestine cause.Also Capitalism is an international system.Hence our fight should be a global revolutionary war on Capitalism.For this it is very much important for us to make an alliance with
those people who are fighting for national liberation.They are among those people who are fighting imperialism very closely.Success in national liberation will certainly weaken imperialism and thus will facilitate global socialist movement.Theory of ‘Socialism in one country’ is a fairy tale and such systems will eventually fall or will be converted to capitalism.eg USSR,China…So we should look beyond our national border and try to unite all the oppressed people around the globe in our struggle for a better world.
I appeal to my comrades once again to march against the Israeli attacks on Palestine people.Its an attack on oppressed people who are fighting for their freedom.
Long live Socialist internationalism!
Solidarity forever
Chirag.Suvarna
It not be “last word”- it,s sure.
As anarchists we are against terrorism, whether by a state, para-state or individual. Therefore we are against the terrorisim of israel against palestinians and the terrorist attacks of hamas. The solution in Palestine is the same
1.for the development of a social struggle against the domination of islamist parties
2. the unifying with sections of israeli working class.
3. rejection of terroristic means of confrontation.
4. the formation of an international anarchist character to the struggle.
The rebellion in Greece is the most advanced insurrection this century due to the libertarian nature of its practice and organise.
@Chirag.Suvarna
“Dear friend we are socialists.We are fighting for the liberation of entire human race irrespective of their nationality,religion,gender,sexuality….Our principles are based on universal solidarity for the oppressed people.”
Is the idea of “Palestine” not just another national construct? Is the Hamas fighting against religion, gender, sexuality?
They are killing gays in Ghaza, like in lots of islamic countrys. Ok, the palestine people are suffering for sure. But show me the palestinian anarchist groups revolting against Hamas.
Why is Aegybt not opening its border to Ghaza. Why is everybody just talking about Israel. Why not about Iran? Or Darfur, Or Kongo?
Is israel been haten because its just another normal western capitalist country or because it is the state of the jews?
But maybe its not so far from anarcho primitivism to fundamentelist religion. Back to the middle ages?
Sry, its not my revolution if I can not dance naked in the sun with my transgendered body and an ice cold wodka martini in my hand.
wow, i mean.. wow. by this kind of logic, none of us would ever do anything because there is not a single individual or organisation in existence in the world that is above critique or without its contradictions (Anarchist Solidarity’s empty bravado notwithstanding).
I mean, sure, why not? Fuck the workers because they’re xenophobic, fuck the migrants because they’re homophobic, fuck the palestinians because we can’t “show [you]the palestinian anarchist groups revolting against Hamas”, fuck’em all, Fuck the whole world. Anarchism for anarchists only!
This kind of rhetoric is a total perversion of everthing the anarchist tradition has ever stood for. Have fun dancing self-righteously alone in the sun while the vast majority of the world hasn’t the privilege of doing so.
Who says we should support Hamas? People are fucking dying out there, and not suprisingly, anarchist groups are working to save them! We should side by the people in their darkest hour. This is not a black and white conflict, it is a conflict with many facets (take for example that Hamas came to power mainly because of the corruption of Fatah).
Support Anarchists Against the Wall. Or the International Solidarity Movement. Or the Shministim. There are plenty of unaffiliated groups there. They need our support!
Just to be clear, I never said we should be supporting Hamas. But I certainly believe we should be working in solidarity with the Palestinian people and vociferously denouncing Israeli aggression and apartheid.
The conflict between palestine and israel was well planned when the jewish people arrived there.we shouldn’t take political sides,i mean,we shouldn’t defend nor “israel” nor “palestine”.those are labels,nations,flags,governments,AUTHORITY.We should ONLY fight for the freedom of its people who have nothing to do with this war.We gotta face humanity as one,and not condemn entire nations for what their governments do.we gotta see that behind the hamas and behind israel there is a single interest.war.war on both sides,war that brings money,therefore we shouldn’t support the israeli situation nor palestinian.yes israel invaded that area after the WWII,but kicking out every israeli there isn’t right.see things this way…at greece,universities were invaded.police stations were burning down.firstly there were police stations with cops and universities with their own system,a moment later there wasn’t becouse of the revolution.you cannot be anarchist and exepct your occupation in a revolution to be “legal”.israeli occupation wasn’t legal too,it was wrong.but it was the consequence of a massive hunting of jews all over europe.the thing is,this question in the middle east exists centuries before the WWII happened.this is a religious war,and of course BOTH governments are getting $$$ with it.So once again,i am not defending jews,nor jihadists.i am atheist,laveyan satanist alright? i am simply defending every anarchist in both places,becouse they’re not responsable for this conflict and they’re struggling to protect their future from it.to me there are only two sides,ALWAYS,and they’re freedom fighters against authority.as anarchist i must look at this conflict as what it really is:goverments blowing up places where innocent people try to make their lives.And i suggest anyone who calls himself anarchist to understand things this way.This conflict is the consequence of a 6.000 year question,and many of the things we are seing were planned many years ago,for the sake of money.Then remember,hamas its part of the islamic revolution,wich is a religious-based fascist movement created to condemn to destruction anyone who doesn’t obbey their law.they target children with bombs,and they fired against israeli innocent people.israel makes lots of shit too.so here it goes! GOVERNMENT IS THE REAL WRONG SIDE HERE.that was the side i took,i wish my view to be well explained this time in here
and please don’t take flags as a side in a conflict,they exist to keep people like us appart
It is rather depressing that this has turned into a shallow “primitivism is stupid” thread, soaked in assumption and absurd unjustified arrogance.
I do consider myself anti-civ, but I often have little in common with many primitivists for a number of reasons. Some of these reasons being the fetishization of indigenous cultures (hunter gather lifestyle), an often moralistic and ideological critique of society, a reductive analysis of the world that boils things down to “environment good” and “everything else bad” which perpetuates the same logic of a dichotomy between “nature” and “civ” that this society forwards, a mystical almost millenarian idea that collapse is inevitable (similar to the perceived inevitability and false duality of the coming proletarian revolution of some authoritarian leftists), and also that collapse is even desirable. These are just a few issues I have with primitivism.
But at the same time I am opposed to the biopolitical apparatus (this could be called civilization) that degrades and defines our relationships. I don’t view technology as neutral. It doesn’t not exist within a vacuum separate from all social consequences, and based on my experiences it diminishes the quality of my relationships. Where exactly did this start or where does it stop, I’m not really sure? But I do think it is important to be critical of and to define these borders ourselves based on how certain forms influence the quality of our relationships.
Sry, its not my revolution if I can not dance naked in the sun with my transgendered body and an ice cold wodka martini in my hand.
Why don’t tou fuck off?
Shitty egoist, share something with others
Plus, I don’t think that a revolution should be done for drunkhards
However,Medusa is absolutely right:
“I mean, sure, why not? Fuck the workers because they’re xenophobic, fuck the migrants because they’re homophobic, fuck the palestinians because we can’t “show [you]the palestinian anarchist groups revolting against Hamas”, fuck’em all, Fuck the whole world. Anarchism for anarchists only!
This kind of rhetoric is a total perversion of everything the anarchist tradition has ever stood for. Have fun dancing self-righteously alone in the sun while the vast majority of the world hasn’t the privilege of doing so.
What kind of moralists are you?
Who has to suffer because i dance.. in a NON-CAPITALIST world? I want a world where everybody can do this, or not. If you want to live a puritan style of life OK, do so. But dont force me or your children.
Anarchy was about freedom as long it doesnt hurt the freedom of others right?
Or in communist words(marx): “From each according to his ability, to each according to his need.”
Technic is not the enemy. Capitalism is, where technic is not for the people but for profit.
its ironic how many people proclaiming themselves primitivists are for example against high-technology,if you look at nature,around you,you’ll understand it isn’t more than a very advanced and balanced tecnological system.from the smallest organisms,plants,to the biggest animals and weather conditions,it is a system,but a balanced one.so in those terms,i think that i agree with primitivism in the way of being in balance and in collaboration with nature.nature was there before society,it will be after.but i disagree with primitivism as being a way of life in wich one must remain as the first humans came to life as school-books show.and this is becouse,if you’re up to a more ‘natural’ and ‘wild’ lifestyle,you must admit that evolution its not a condition of civilization,it is a natural process that actually,in my perspective,is the key for nature to happen and be a balanced system.to me,society,was i see it… the worthless ‘desk’ jobs,police,governments,religion… doesn’t fit becouse there is no evolution in such activities,it is a closed street.i’ve been lately feelling SO dead,and im very active myself,simply becouse i see less progression than in the 90s for example.capitalism suspended production of products of quality replacing it by a production based on quantity.and this is happening with every single aspect of my life.so i think thats the problem of authority,of having masters,you cannot follow the rythm of evolution i see in nature.and what was ok yesterday cannot happen today,so i cannot reach tomorrow.to me thats the way
as i see it*
RESPECT FROM IRELAND
on the israel-palestine war.
i don’t care how you label yourselves, whether it’s communist, anarchist, anarcho-primitivist, syndicalist, liberal or even conservative, since it’s incredibly irrelevant.
what i think is worth fighting for is the destruction of capitalism, the establishment of the human community, which per definition would dissolve the social classes of capitalism.
hence, all fighting for a more humane capitalism is nothing i support and celebrate (i do, of course, understand it, but that’s a completely different question).
i refuse to choose side in the israel-palestine war, since it doesn’t qualify as anti-capitalistic. israeli proletatians are killing palestinian proletarians.
i don’t want the palestinians to fight for national sovereignty, i want the proletariat of the world to fight for the dissolvement of the system which produces it (the proletariat) (, the system, ironically, the proletariat itself re-produces every day).
PS. i want to point out, once again, that i understand the fighting for national sovereighty and that i do not have the intention of condemning the people participating in such fights. i have a problem with the phenomenon itself.
I totally agree with MEDUSA on the Israel Palestine conflict…
Condemning the genocide against the people of Palestine is not choosing the side of Hamas… But staying silent when the State of Israel is killing hundreds of innocent civilians there is taking the side of the murderer state.
There are lots of Israeli Anarchists who refuse to do their military service and instead prefer to go to the jail. What they do can give us a clue… They are a side in the conflict and they are not with the State of Israel.
We should condemn both Hamas and the State of Israel but stay in solidarity with the innocent civilians of Palestine… Otherwise Palestine will be a post modern open Auschwitz, the biggest shame for all of us who can not choose a side… Just leave the problem of nationality and nation state aside and take the side of the innocent civilians about to be massacred.
Can’t you see? Once the world was silent when Jews were subject to genocide and now the world is silence when arabs are massacred. Can you see any difference? I can’t…
A particularly interestingly gravitating thread, with 55 comments hereunto the attraction for rejoining seems irresistible. Yet can anyone make any rational sense of the randomized hustle of topics entwining anarcho primitivism versus syndicalism, slash the Palestine Israeli conflict, plus transsexual bodies dancing in the sun?
What could I possibly say as a Jewish pro Palestine, transgendered, anarcho primitivist, hypocritically lip servicing syndicalist solutions simply for sakes of not completely negating the capitalist lifestyle that sustains the high-priced maintenance of my delightful androgynous body?
No but really without the inappropriate mocking misplaced ridiculing the seriousness of the discussion ad hoc. Perusing the various comments, I think I can comprehend the scepticism some retain towards primitivism. But I also do sense a latent communist in the syndicalist that might jump out of the box to harmonize the anarchistic activists with the silent majority once if the revolution will successfully prevail.
As for the Palestinian subject. Although I categorically deny support to any conventional freedom fight for the sovereignty of any country, I render certain absolution for the Palestinian cause, exceptionally sympathizing with their struggle. As I figure, they are down at the bottom, the most exploited and suffering the most, from the Jewish Anglo Dutch American lead conspiracy that is the global scourge of our modern times.
Then of course for the despicable decadent moral to promote the immoral hedonistic womanizing way of life of partying with beverages, snort, & promiscuous lap dances, to wit on an anarchistic oriented web-site. I think it’s an inappropriate abject remark that I strongly have to disapprove on. But hey could anyone please hook me up on a live feed…?.
Dear comrades,
I feel people out here are having little knowledge of the crises in the middle east they fail to see the brutality imposed on the Palestine people by Israeli
state is a part of an imperialist project .
The people of Palestine are living under occupation of Israeli state for more than 50 years.Palestine are denied right to life.They are amongst the most exploited people in the earth.They are under the military dictatorship of Israel.
I recommend those people who are denying to support the Palestine cause to go and read history of the formation of Israel.The formation of Israel was nothing but a imperialist project of the modern times.
I don’t support Hamas or any of the Islamist fundamentalist organization.But it is a fact that rise of Hamas was because of inefficiency of PLO to deliver to the people of Palestine.Infact PLO have done a policing role on the Palestine people and suppressed the movement.
If we don’t support Palestine cause we will only legitimate the imperialist projects and military brutality imposed on people of third world.
National struggle of Palestine people is the fight of oppressed people(similar to Nicaragua,Cuba,…).We should make them as our allies in our fight against capitalism.This can be done if we support them in their cause for national liberation.I don’t mean to support Hamas,but the Palestine people who struggling for their independence.Victory for the Palestine will certainly change the dynamics of the world politics, it would severely weaken imperialism and will facilitate the Global Socialist Movement.
Revolutionary greetings,
Chirag.Suvarna
http://www.creative-i.info/?p=3402
Adam Sheets: The Facts about Israel’s War on Gaza
31 December, 2008
It is crucial that one has her/his facts straight about Israel’s war on Gaza. What events brought about this dreadful situation? What needs to be done to make it stop? These questions will be answered in the content of this article, using concrete facts from a variety of news sources.
Let’s first investigate the recent cease-fire between Israel and Hamas. The cease-fire began in June 2008. The terms were as follows:
1. Israel would drastically reduce its military blockade of Gaza.
2. Israel would halt all military incursions into Gaza.
3. Hamas would halt all rocket attacks into Israel.
From the outset of the cease-fire, Israel did little to ease its military blockade. As a result, Gazans continued to suffer from a lack of food, fuel, financial aid, electricity, clean water, medical supplies, and more. This has been, inarguably, an attack on innocent Palestinian civilians.
* Gaza faces a humanitarian “catastrophe” if Israel continues to prevent aid reaching the territory by blocking crossing points, the head of the main UN aid agency for the Palestinians said on Friday… Israel had restricted goods into Gaza despite the truce, which calls on militants to halt rocket attacks in return for Israel easing its embargo on the territory… Israel also held up deliveries of European Union-funded fuel for the power plant, which generates about a third of the electricity consumed by Gazans… Ailments associated with insufficient food were surfacing among the impoverished coastal strip’s 1.5 million population, including growing malnutrition.
—Haaretz Israel News, Nov. 21, 2008 [1]
* A former UN High Commissioner for Human Rights, Mary Robinson, has told the BBC she was taken aback by the “terrible” conditions in Gaza on a recent visit. Mrs Robinson said it was “almost unbelievable” that the world did not care about what she called “a shocking violation of so many human rights”… Israel tightened a blockade on Gaza after Hamas took control there in 2007… “Their whole civilisation has been destroyed, I’m not exaggerating,” said Mrs Robinson…Israel says the blockade, under which it has allowed little more than basic humanitarian aid into Gaza, is needed to isolate the militant group and stop it and other militants from firing rockets into Israel. Israel came to a truce with Palestinian groups in June this year, but Mrs Robinson said this had had little effect on people’s lives and “just brought a bitter taste in the mouth”.
—BBC News, Nov. 4, 2008 [2]
* The UN in the Gaza Strip says it will run out of food aid in two days unless Israel’s blockade – which it describes as “shameful and unacceptable” – eases. The UN refugee agency UNWRA, which distributes food to half of Gaza’s 1.5m people, called the blockade “a physical as well as a mental punishment”. Israel is now allowing a limited amount of fuel across the border, but it is still blocking food deliveries… In a statement, UNWRA spokesman Christopher Gunness said food distribution operations would end on Thursday unless Israeli authorities allowed deliveries of wheat, luncheon meat, powdered milk and cooking oil without delay. “This is both a physical as well as a mental punishment of the population – of mothers and parents trying to feed their children – who are being forced to live hand to mouth,” he said… “It is a further illustration of the barbarity of this inhuman blockade.”… “It is also shameful and unacceptable that the largest humanitarian actor in Gaza is being forced into yet another cycle of crisis management,” Mr Gunness added.
—BBC News, Nov. 11, 2008 [3]
* International aid agencies, including the International Committee of the Red Cross, have said virtually no medical supplies were reaching Gaza.
—Haaretz Israel News, Nov. 9, 2008 [14]
* The UN has no more food to distribute in the Gaza Strip, the head of relief efforts in the area has warned. John Ging said handouts for 750,000 Gazans would have to be suspended until Saturday at the earliest, and called Gaza’s economic situation “a disaster”. Israel earlier denied entry to a convoy carrying humanitarian supplies… The United Nations Relief and Works Agency (UNRWA) distributes emergency aid to about half of Gaza’s 1.5m population. “We have run out [of food aid] this evening,” said Mr Ging, UNRWA’s senior official in Gaza. “Unless the crossing points open… we won’t be able to get that food into Gaza,” he told Reuters news agency… Also on Thursday, Israel refused permission for a group of senior European diplomats to visit the coastal enclave. It has also prevented journalists, including those from the BBC, from entering the territory.
—BBC News, Nov. 13, 2008 [4]
* Since June 2007, Israel has allowed little more than basic humanitarian aid to enter the Gaza Strip. Many there hoped that policy would change, five months ago, when Hamas and Israel agreed to a truce. But while there were some increases in the amount of aid allowed in, Israel’s strict restrictions on the movement of goods and people into and out of Gaza largely remained… Serious fuel shortages have led to widespread power cuts across Gaza City. That, in turn, has caused problems in pumping water to homes, and sewage to treatment plants. Israel is preventing many aid workers, and all journalists from entering Gaza too… “I never thought we would see days like this,” says Monther Shublak, head of Gaza’s water authority. “The water system was severely stretched even before this crisis, but now, things are much worse. For the last four days, around 40% of people in Gaza City have had no access to running water in their homes at all.”… “But we are putting all of our resources into sewage pumping. The health consequences of that system totally failing are too worrying to think about, but it could happen unless things change.”
—BBC News, Nov. 20, 2008 [5]
* Israel has refused to allow cash to enter Gaza in recent weeks to ratchet up pressure on the ruling Hamas militant group. With the supply of currency dwindling, banks have limited withdrawals over the past two weeks, and some have posted signs telling customers they cannot take out any more money… The United Nations halted cash handouts to 98,000 of Gaza’s poorest residents last week, and economists and bank officials warn that tens of thousands of civil servants won’t be able to cash their paychecks next month… “No society can operate without money, but that’s the situation we are reaching in Gaza,” said Gaza economist Omar Shaban… Israel and Egypt have restricted movement through Gaza’s border crossings since the Islamic militants of Hamas violently seized control of the coastal territory in June 2007. Since then, closures have been eased or tightened, depending on the security situation. But even in quiet times, when Gaza militants refrained from firing rockets at Israeli border towns, only limited shipments of food, medicine and commercial goods were allowed in… Shlomo Dror, an Israel Defense Ministry spokesman, questioned the seriousness of the currency shortage. “We are used to the Palestinians inventing things and we are looking into their claim,” he said.
—Washington Post, Nov. 24, 2008 [6]
Despite the intense blockade against Gazan civilians, the cease-fire held until November 4, 2008. On that date, the Israeli military made an incursion into Gaza and killed six Palestinians. The Israeli government sought to justify these actions, saying that they suspected these Palestinians of plotting to kidnap Israeli soldiers. Palestinian fighters responded to the attack by launching rockets into Israel. Thus began the unraveling of the cease-fire.
* At least six Hamas militants have been killed after Israel’s first incursion into the Gaza Strip since June’s truce. Israel said its troops had uncovered a tunnel along central Gaza’s frontier which had been dug by militants intending to abduct Israeli soldiers. Clashes ensued when troops were sent to thwart the threat, Israel said. One militant died, Palestinian reports say. A subsequent Israeli air strike on Hamas positions in southern Gaza killed at least five fighters, medics said. An Israeli army spokeswoman said the air strike targeted militants who had fired mortars at Israeli forces… Tuesday evening’s fighting broke out after Israeli tanks and a bulldozer moved 250m into the central part of the coastal enclave, backed by military aircraft, says the BBC’s Aleem Maqbool in Ramallah. Residents of central Gaza’s el-Bureij refugee camp said a missile fired from an unmanned Israeli drone flying over the area injured another three Hamas gunmen. A truce between the two sides had held since it was declared on 19 June. Israel said the raid was not a violation of the ceasefire, but rather a legitimate step to remove an immediate threat.
—BBC News, Nov. 5, 2008 [7]
* An Israel Air Force air strike in the southern Gaza Strip killed at least five militants and wounded several others on Tuesday, Palestinians said. Earlier, Israel Defense Forces soldiers killed a Hamas gunman and wounded two others on Tuesday in the first armed clash in the Gaza Strip since a ceasefire was declared in the territory in June, Palestinian medics said… An Egypt-brokered cease-fire agreement between Israel and the Gaza Strip was signed earlier this year, and went into effect on June 19. The IDF argued that the raid did not constitute a violation of the cease fire, but instead was a legitimate step to remove an immediate threat to Israel from Gaza, which is controlled by the Islamic militant group Hamas.
—Haaretz Israel News, Nov. 5, 2008 [8]
* Two weeks ago, an already fragile humanitarian situation resulting from the mounting effects of months of shortages, saw a dramatic downturn. The fighting resumed, with an Israeli army incursion into Gaza and a retaliatory barrage of militant rocket fire.
—BBC News, Nov. 20, 2008 [5]
As the cease-fire began to crumble, the violence from both sides intensified. Efforts to redeem the cease-fire ultimately failed.
* Palestinian armed groups in Gaza remain committed to a truce with Israel if Jerusalem reciprocates, Hamas’s Gaza leader said on Friday, even as militants launched more attacks from the coastal territory… “I have met with armed factions over the past two days and they stated their position clearly: they are committed to calm as long as (Israel) abides by it,” said Ismail Haniyeh, Hamas’s most senior representative in Gaza.
—Haaretz Israel News, Nov. 21, 2008 [9]
* Hamas announced on Sunday that militant groups in Gaza have agreed to cease cross-border attacks if Israel opens crossings into the coastal territory, Ma’an news reported.
—Haaretz Israel News, Nov. 24, 2008 [10]
* After expressing contradictory positions on Sunday, Hamas’ leadership on Monday adopted a united stance: The cease-fire with Israel, which expires this Friday, will not be extended… Hamas’ spokesman in the Gaza Strip, Ayman Taha, said the movement had concluded that there was no point in extending the truce “as long as Israel isn’t abiding by its terms” – though he added that talks on continuing the cease-fire were still taking place. Specifically, Taha said, Israel was supposed to have expanded the truce to the West Bank – something Hamas demanded but Israel in fact never promised – and opened the Gaza border crossings, and “this hasn’t happened.”
—Haaretz Israel News, Dec. 16, 2008 [11]
Following the end of the cease-fire, Israel moved closer to an invasion of the territory. The Israeli government claimed that this was the only remaining option to eliminate rocket attacks from Gaza. However, as cited in the sources above, this was clearly not the case. Israel had failed to abide by the terms of the cease-fire. For the overwhelming majority of the six-month truce, Israel had refused to ease its military blockade of Gaza to any significant degree. In addition, it was the initial violator of the cease-fire when it sent tanks and aircraft into Gaza and killed six Palestinians on November 4, 2008. In fact, there is evidence that Israel was planning to strike Gaza even while the cease-fire was still in effect.
* Barak told the assembled lawmakers that the defense establishment spent months preparing for the Gaza operation.
—Haaretz Israel News, Dec. 29, 2008 [16]
In the interest of peace, Hamas, and especially Fatah, have firmly established that they are willing to participate in negotiations that are based on internationally recognized borders and rights.
* On June 6, 2006, Haniyeh met Dr. Jerome Segal of the University of Maryland in the Gaza Strip… At the end of the meeting, Haniyeh dictated a short message he asked Segal to transmit to President Bush… In the second paragraph, Haniyeh laid out the political platform he maintains to this day. “We are so concerned about stability and security in the area that we don’t mind having a Palestinian state in the 1967 borders and offering a truce for many years,” he wrote… Haniyeh called on Bush to launch a dialogue with the Hamas government. “We are not warmongers, we are peace makers and we call on the American government to have direct negotiations with the elected government,” he wrote… In his own letter, Segal emphasized that a state within the 1967 borders and a truce for many years could be considered Hamas’ de facto recognition of Israel. He noted that in a separate meeting, Youssuf suggested that the Palestinian Authority and Israel might exchange ambassadors during that truce period. This was not the only covert message from Hamas to senior Bush administration officials. However, Washington did not reply to these messages and maintained its boycott of the Hamas government.
—Haaretz Israel News, Nov. 14, 2008 [12]
* The Hamas leader in Gaza, Ismail Haniyeh, said on Saturday his government was willing to accept a Palestinian state alongside Israel within the 1967 borders… Haniyeh told his guests Israel rejected his initiative… He said the Hamas government had agreed to accept a Palestinian state that followed the 1967 borders and to offer Israel a long-term hudna, or truce, if Israel recognized the Palestinians’ national rights… In response to a question about the international community’s impression that there are two Palestinian states, Haniyeh said: “We don’t have a state, neither in Gaza nor in the West Bank. Gaza is under siege and the West Bank is occupied. What we have in the Gaza Strip is not a state, but rather a regime of an elected government. A Palestinian state will not be created at this time except in the territories of 1967.”… “Our conflict is not with the Jews, our problem is with the occupation,” Haniyeh said.
—Haaretz Israel News, Nov. 9, 2008 [14]
* The Palestinian Authority has placed a full-page advert in Israel’s Hebrew newspapers to promote an Arab peace plan first proposed in 2002. The Saudi-backed initiative offers Arab recognition of Israel in exchange for an end to Israel’s occupation of land captured in the 1967 Arab-Israeli war. It also proposes what it calls a just solution for Palestinian refugees. The Israeli government has noted “positive aspects” in the plan but has not formally accepted it… Peace Now, and Israeli campaign group, welcomed the publication of the adverts. “On behalf of a majority of Israeli citizens who support peace with the Palestinian people on the basis of a two state solution – we embrace the Arab Peace Initiative and urge both governments to endorse it and negotiate the final status agreement in its spirit,” a statement from the group said… The text reads: “Fifty-seven Arab and Muslim countries will establish diplomatic relations with Israel in exchange for a full peace accord and the end of the occupation.”
—BBC News, Nov. 20, 2008 [13]
* U.S. President-elect Barack Obama proclaimed himself “very impressed” with the Arab League’s peace plan when he discussed it with President Shimon Peres during a brief visit to Israel four months ago, Peres said Tuesday… The plan, originally proposed by King Abdullah of Saudi Arabia in 2002 and later adopted by the Arab League, states that Israel would receive full relations with the entire Arab world in exchange for a full withdrawal from all the territory it captured in 1967, including East Jerusalem, plus a solution to the refugee problem. The Bush Administration has said it views the plan positively, but its own road map peace plan and the understandings reached at last year’s Annapolis summit have served as the basis of its diplomatic program.
—Haaretz Israel News, Nov. 19, 2008 [15]
Since Israel began its strike on Gaza, 4 Israelis and 391 Palestinians have been killed [18]. The White House said that Israel will cease its attack when Hamas has agreed to a truce. Hamas said they are open to any cease-fire propositions. A cease-fire has been proposed, but Israel rejected this offer.
* “In order for the violence to stop, Hamas must stop firing rockets into Israel and agree to respect a sustainable and durable ceasefire,” White House spokesman Gordon Johndroe said.
—BBC News, Dec. 29, 2008 [17]
* Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Olmert has rejected international calls for a 48-hour truce in the Gaza Strip to allow in more humanitarian aid… The 48-hour ceasefire plan to allow more aid into Gaza, was proposed by French Foreign Minister Bernard Kouchner. Hamas spokesman Ayman Taha told AFP news agency that his group was open to any ceasefire propositions as long as they meant an end to the air strikes and a lifting of the Israeli blockade of Gaza.
—BBC News, Dec. 31, 2008 [18]
The international community must continue to demand that a cease-fire be implemented. In order to be successful, any agreement must call for 1) an end to Israel’s blockade of Gaza, 2) an end to the Israeli invasion of Gaza, and 3) an end to all rocket attacks into Israel.
References:
[1] “UNRWA chief: Gaza on brink of humanitarian catastrophe.” Haaretz Israel News 21 Nov. 2008. http://www.haaretz.com/
[2] “Gaza residents ‘terribly trapped’.” BBC News 4 Nov. 2008. http://www.bbc.co.uk/
[3] “UN warns over Gaza food blockade.” BBC News 11 Nov. 2008. http://www.bbc.co.uk/
[4] “UN ‘has run out of Gaza food aid.” BBC News 13 Nov. 2008. http://www.bbc.co.uk/
[5] “Gazans despair over blockade.” BBC News 20 Nov. 2008. http://www.bbc.co.uk/
[6] “Gazans using tattered notes because of cash crunch.” Washington Post 24 Nov. 2008. http://www.washingtonpost.com/
[7] “Palestinians die in Gaza clashes.” BBC News 5 Nov. 2008. http://www.bbc.co.uk/
[8] “Hamas: Six Palestinians killed in first IDF raid since Gaza truce.” Haaretz Israel News 5 Nov. 2008. http://www.haaretz.com/
[9] “Haniyeh: If Israel abides by truce, so will Palestinian groups.” Haaretz Israel News 21 Nov. 2008. http://www.haaretz.com/
[10] “Report: Gaza militants agree to cease rocket fire if Israel opens crossings.” Haaretz Israel News 24 Nov. 2008. http://www.haaretz.com/
[11] “Agreement in Hamas: Cease-fire to end Friday.” Haaretz Israel News 16 Dec. 2008. http://www.haaretz.com/
[12] “Haniyeh recognized Israel in 2006 letter to President Bush.” Haaretz Israel News 14 Nov. 2008. http://www.haaretz.com/
[13] “Arab plan explained in Hebrew ads.” BBC News 20 Nov. 2008. http://www.bbc.co.uk/
[14] “Haniyeh: Hamas would accept state under 1967 borders.” Haaretz Israel News 9 Nov. 2008. http://www.haaretz.com/
[15] “Peres: Obama ‘very impressed’ by Arab League peace plan.” Haaretz Israel News 19 Nov. 2008. http://www.haaretz.com/
[16] “Barak: We’ll use every resource to stop ‘criminal’ rocket fire from Gaza.” Haaretz Israel News 29 Dec. 2008. http://www.haaretz.com/
[17] “Israel vows war on Hamas in Gaza.” BBC News 29 Dec. 2008. http://www.bbc.co.uk/
[18] “Israel rejects Gaza truce calls.” BBC News 31 Dec. 2008. http://www.bbc.co.uk/
i do, of course, view both ww2, the holocaust and the israel-palestine war as horrible phenomena.
however, both these two are, of course, products of society. we should criticize both of them, but not without the critique all the other aspects of the the capitalist world/way of life.
to fight for a better capitalism, a better way of life during capitalism, is more than understandable, even more so when the conditions are so horrible that one may not make it through the day. but it’s hardly revolutionary.
Although the critiques and commentary on Primitivism are interesting, i don’t actually see any statements in this manifesto that clearly take a pro-primitivist stance, as far as i can tell the author/s advocate the redirection of technology (including the use of the net, science and the means of production) to meet the needs of the people under self management not their abolishment. This seems to me an intelligent and anarchistic position to take, it is not science, production itself etc which is inherently capitalist but the manner which these are directed currently to benifit the few at the expense of the majority.
The state and corporate sector shower funding on those willing to direct their scientific knowledge and skills towards futhering the interests of the ruling elites; on expensive and sophisticated surveillance technology, weaponry and tech for the military-industrial complex, trivial and frivolous ‘innovations’ in the range of rotten chemical laden products and ‘treats’ filling the aisles of supermarkets rather then towards technology of practical benifit to humanity.
As far as i can tell it is the vague condemnation of ‘civilisation’ in this peice which evokes a connection with primitivism. Yes it is a rather vague and ill defined sentiment repeatedly stated, but i assumed that by ‘civilastion’ the authors may have been refering to the current socio-cultural, economic and political matrix of capitalism as they seem to advocate the use of technology and science in the service of radical social change.
I agree that this may be a sweeping manifesto which lacks a careful critique and explaination of the terms it repeatedly utilises, but it is still inspiring and obviously has sparked a lot of debate which i see as a good thing.
As for ‘Medal of Honour’, in the unlikely case that you are not a cop, i say to you get off your ass and educate yourself, write your own goddamn manifesto within your own collective, contribute with your own vision of social change to make ‘the world a better place’, or at least contribute something positive – whether critical or not – to this forum rather then standing back and throwing (rather poorly aimed and unintelligent) stones at those who actually are.
No one is here, nor in Greece to please you or provide you with the answers let alone pass some ‘test’ you’ve unilaterally created in your brain and fail to share with us.
Yes dumb people should never reign over the majority, which is precisely why capitalism, the state and their henchmen will fall and no undercover cop, crypto-fascist or armchair cynic can prevent this.
As for drawing an anology between what is happening in Greece and Soviet Russia, you really need to pick up a good history book.
Here, start with these:
http://lists.labourhistory.net/pipermail/labnet/2008-October/000477.html
http://libcom.org/history/chronology-of-russian-anarchism-1921-1953
http://www.spunk.org/library/places/russia/sp001839.html
http://www.spunk.org/texts/places/russia/sp001861/bolintro.html
… Good Luck.
To everyone revolting in Greece, my love and solidarity.
Moralism aside, meat is an unecessary waste of precious and declining resources (particularly clean water).
Even seperate to an understanding of the cruel and objectifying treatment of animals under capitalism (people and animals alike are reduced to mere commodities) anyone who has looked even superficially into the environmental costs of meat production could tell you that it is highly unsustainable and wasteful as well as inhumane. The factory farming/ meat industry pedals the myth of the benifits of eating meat excessively (humans are biologically ill equipped for excessive meat consumption with a stomach acid and an intestinal length similar to herbivores rather then carnivorous animals) but nowhere do they warn of the health effects of excess meat consumption (heart disease, higher levels of cancer and cholesterol) let alone the carcinogenic hormones and antibiotics they pump into the animals they keep caged for slaughter to fill your burgers.
The meat industry is wasteful, inhumane and produces an excess of what we don’t actually need to survive, let alone the rediculous amounts we currently consume. The price of this industries operations are high environmentally, from the website of the International Development Research Centre:
“Introduction
With world population projected to increase by 50% to 8.8 billion by 2030, our ability to adequately feed people will face growing challenges (Brown and Kane 1994). Scaling back on heightened levels of resource-intensive meat production may be the best way to ensure food security for all people into the next century.
Essentially, the world is experiencing an overpopulation in farm animals. Between 1950 and 1994, global meat production increased nearly fourfold, rising faster than the human population. During this period, production rates jumped from 18 kg/person to 35.4 kg/person (Brown and Kane 1994; FAO 1997). The combined weight of the world’s 15 billion farm animals now surpasses that of the human population by more than a factor of 1.5 (Table 1).
In many countries, the affluent are eating the most meat, often at the expense of poorer people who depend on grain supplies increasingly diverted to feed livestock. In China, grain consumption by livestock has increased by a factor of five since 1978 (Gardner 1996).
Any discussion of overpopulation should surely include domesticated animals that, like people, depend on food, water, shelter, and mechanisms for heating, cooling, and transport. The many farm animals are straining resources and causing environmental harm as a result of their voracious appetites for feed crops and grazing.
Figure I. The average area of land devoted to agriculture in North America is 1.4 ha (3.5 acres) per capita (adjusted for the exporting of grain). With a big cut in meat production, this area could be reduced to as low as 0.2 ha (0.5 acres) per capita, the rate in many Asian countries. The huge area saved could be used for reestablishing wilderness or for growing more food for people.
(A) Sketch of 1.4 ha of farm land. (B) Sketch of 0.2 ha of farm land.
about one-sixth of the manure from hog-raising operations in the United States is used (USDA 1986, cited in Durning and Brough 1991). Excess animal waste often ends up in rivers and in groundwater, where it contributes to nitrogen, phosphorus, and nitrate pollution (Durning and Brough 1991).
Livestock grazing
Roughly one-fifth of the world’s land area is used for grazing, twice that for growing crops (FAO 1997). In a natural state, grasslands are healthy ecosystems supporting a diverse range of plants, birds, rodents, and wild grazing animals. Grasslands are often unsuited for cultivation, but with care they can generally be used sustainably for livestock grazing. Cattle, sheep, and goats are ruminants. They fare best on a diet of grass. In the West, cattle still spend most of their lives grazing and are only fattened on an unnatural diet of grain and soy before being slaughtered.
With most of the world’s rangelands grazed at or beyond capacity, the prospects for increasing the production of grass-fed beef and mutton are unfavourable (Brown and Kane 1994). Gains are made in grazing land increasingly at the expense of wilderness areas. More than one-third of the forests of Central America have been cut since the early 1960s, but pasture land has increased by 50% (FAO 1990, cited in Durning and Brough 1991). In India, tiger reserves, national parks, and tree planting efforts are increasingly threatened by cattle and goats invading and eating young plant shoots (Gandhi 1996).
In dryland regions, cattle can overgraze perennial grasses, allowing annual weeds and scrubs to proliferate. The new weeds lack extensive root systems to guard soil against erosion. As the former diversity of plant species is lost, wildlife also declines (Durning and Brough 1991). According to a United Nations study, “The Global Assessment of Human Induced Soil Degradation” (ISRIC 1990), about 10.5% of the world’s fertile land suffers from moderate to extreme degradation. Overgrazing by livestock and current farming practices are the principal causes of this degradation (ISRIC 1990).”
Nobody’s consciousness or understanding springs forth fully formed. It is good to see someone putting out a call for a world revolution. The best school for revolution is learning from one’s own mistakes. My only criticism would be that instead concentrating on taking over and building the Insurgent Workers Assembly, the movement seemed to have dissolved itself in riots.
Long live the worker’s assembly!
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Oh. What group of fanatical mongrels is this then? I was google-ing “Scorched Earth” for a school project on Russian war measures… and I find a forum of insane Marxist idealists who think all the world’s problems can be solved by creating anarchy, becoming vegetarians and crashing any hint of systematical production? Wonderful. This idea is about as brilliant as the “Why should we have an army? Disband it!” argument. To be honest, there is a vague point in there somewhere, but I have seen better points made by Hitler! This is looking suspiciously like an attempt to Leninize the world. The word revolution is disgraced by your use of it! Napoleon Bonaparte would shake his head in shame at what you use the ideals of revolution for! This is the hatred of all who succeed, this is idiocy on the line with Westboro Baptist Church, the one who’s bishop has been declared Idiot of Month three times in a row! You people are clearly extreme idealists, the very optimistic kind that turn around and begin the Final Solution once again.
- A Concered 15 Year Old
This website was… how do you say it? Relevant!! Finally I’ve found something which helped me. Kudos!
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