from DominicMallary at http://crimethinc.net >General Discussion:
1. The main flaw with Leftism (and all of its offshoots, yes, anarchism is leftist) is that it preceives society politically, economicly, and "rationally". However, it does not understand the world aesthetically.
2. Because of this "rational" perspective, Leftism, in Marx, interpreted the working class as the revolutionary class, as, politcally, economicly, and rationally, they had the most to gain.
3. Contrary to Leftist philosophies, humanity is a primarily aesthetic being: we are creators, not scientists, economists, or politicians. In a world without meaning, we create meanings for ourselves with our religions, our ideologies, our goals, our "Truth", etc. These are at root, aesthetic creations, works of art, lies.
4. The false nature of such creations does not make them valueless creations. A novel is not worthless because it is a fiction. The Western concept of Truth, in the absoulte sense, has mangled the aesthetic prespective, as all aesthetics are "rationally" false. This is why Western thought ultimately concludes in nihilism.
5. We must recognize the aesthetic nature of our beliefs and ethics (and in the end, our actions/lives), while at once, affirming their value as our creations.
6. The absence of an absoulte Truth does not imply realitivism. The realitivist quagmire is the product of our own distorted Western "rational" way of thought. Scientifically, nothing distingushes Beethoven over NSYNC, yet most people who honestly appreciate music would prefer Beethoven.
7. I believe we should be "anarchists" (we need a better, traditionless word) not because it is the most rational, moral, mutually benefical, or intelligent ideology, but because it is the most beautiful.
8. The Situationists, and henceforth Crimethinc, understood this better then the last two centuries of radical thought. However, they did not make the final break from the Western philosophical tradition. They couldn't abandon Hegel/Marx. Neither, it seems, can Crimethinc.
9. The most pressing question in 20th century radical thought was "why did the working class side with fascism". It is not because they were uneducated, the electors of Hitler were the best educated workers in the world. It is not merely because capitalism "brainwashed" them, though a great deal of "brainwashing" did occur. Rather, Leftism presented itself as politically, economicly, and logically preferable. However, fascism understood the aesthetic, the importance of Myth.
10. Leftism, as Nietzsche, Ted Kyzenski, and others have pointed out, is a religion, a secularized Juedo-Christianity. It is largely negative, promoting self-loathing, guilt, pity, and an overall domestication of the spirit. This is not to say its political and economic critiques have not been largely accurate and enlightening.
11. Leftism must be abandoned, as it is at root, purely metaphysical, a godless, dull, theology. We need a new, brave, artful perspective. A deWesternization of the Western mind, which has by effect of globalization devoured the Eastern mind as well.
12. Some bright lights in a beautiful direction: Nietzsche, Dada, the Situationists, Hakim Bay, Zen Buddhism, poststructuralism (Derrida, Foucault, Deleuze, etc), punk rock, William Burroughs, free jazz. Once we realize everything is a fiction, we can push the toppling Western pretension of Truth into the void of infinite possibility. Total self affirmation = total annihilation of the self.
13. The typical Leftist defense would be "easily for you to say as a straight white American male". Undoubtedly. However, a quick look at the Middle East should teach us; the wretched of the earth do not want our "standard of living" anymore then we do. They rightfully recognize it for the nihilistic beast that it is. They want meaning, they want myth, as we do. The reason why anarchism appeals in greater numbers to the American middle class rather then the American working class, is those who have to struggle for survival can find purpose in that struggle. Those who never have to struggle for material goods find little value in them, and therefore, little value in the values of consumer society.
14. The primary values of contemporary American society are comfort security, and conveinance, essentially, the absence of struggle. They are the most valueless of values, the most aesthetically ugly, the most rank. This is the actual nature of our postmodern discontent.
15. In other words, we don't need a peace movement, we need a war movement.
16. Our war is a war against cancer.
17. The State is an inheriently cancerous entity. It is the daming of the equalizing flow of power relations to form a concentration, which then pursues immortality via endless expansion, much as a tumor, a cell that refuses to die, spreads throughout the body, only stopping when its host can no longer sustain it. The State will drain the planet until both are dead.
18. This carcinogenic logic manifests itself in all of Western thought. It is the ugliest logic. It is the desire for immortality, for statis, for security, for control, to be controled, for quantity over quality, for binary systems (Good/Evil, Black/White, Gay/Straight/, Male/Female, Reason/Unreason, etc) for One as opposed to Many, for Truth as opposed to Art. Plato exemplifed this. Christianity repeated it. It infects all of us to a certain extent. It is the switch that needs to be flipped.
19. We must no longer define ourselves as in opposition. Anti-globalization, Anti-sexism, Anti-war, Anti-homophobia, Anti-rascism, Anti-capitalism, Anti-speciesism. These are (despite their entirely noble goals) the symptoms of a decadent, Leftist, mindset, intoxicated to the point of immobilitiy on its own repressed metaphysic.
20. Returning to my first points, Marx defined the working class as the revolutionary class because, in the dull light of Western reason, they had the most to gain. I propose that since the aesthetic prespective, the creative mindset, is the most discouraged and therefore alienated segment of society, the artistic class is the revolutionary class. This is easily demonstrated in history, the most welcoming home for revolutionaries has always been the neighborhoods of the artistic urban Bohemians. In turn, the working class is one of the least revolutionary classes, as it already has a function, a meaning, built for it by capitalist society. They make the machine run. The ultimate modern human sacrafices. It should be noted here that I am from a working class background.
21. If we are interested in changing the world, politcal action (pamphelts, demonstrations, petitions) is self-defeating. We need aesthetic action, as Trocchi said "The Invisable Insurrection of a Million Minds". The system is impossibly strong from a political and militaristic standpoint, yet shockingly vulnerable from a philosophical, aesthetic view. A simple undermining of the cancerous logic, and the whole facade collapses. This isn't to say this will be easy, or even likely. This is only to say there is hope.
22. The system functions due to the collective belief in total falsehoods. Money is money because people believe it is money. Even assumeing money is money, the American Dollar is valueable in relation to other currancy only because there is so much faith in it, as our massive trade deficets and national debt have effectively drained even any symbolic value from the dollar. It, like nearly all of the system, exists simply because we believe it exists. The only necessary action to make it simply disappear is once again, to make that leap into the void. Realize Nothing, and everything follows.
23. The ultimate conclusions of Zen Buddhism, poststructuralism, Dadaism, Nietzsche, and anarchism are very similer and warrent extensive investigation. However, no more "papers" should be written. Only communiques and poetry. This, by the way, is a communique.
24. Due to the aesthetic nature of humanity, things cannot simply get worse. There will at some point be a reaction. If this reaction fails, the world may very well die. It is important that such a reaction be active and not reactive, positive and not negative, creative and not resentful. Talk of "justice" only furthers the language of tumors. In short, it cannot be Leftist.
25. One of the essentials of carcinogenic logic is the law of contradiction. Western thought seems convinced that a statement such as "God both does and does not exist" is nonsensical. I would counter that within the enigma of the contradiction lies the apex of thought.
26. Spirituality, as long as it is understood outside of cancerous thought, is a creative, positive force. The perversion known as religion is spirituality molested by Truth. This is not an invitation for New Age charlatanism. A spirituality that proposes a higher world to this one is of no use. Unless heaven is here, then it is hell.
27. If one assumes revolution is impossible, that everything is only going to get progressively worse, etc, and they still would want to call themselves revolutionaries then they might understand what I am talking about. Once again, because it is a beautiful way to live, not for any transcendant armeggendon, ethics, logic, etc.
28. Anarchism itself is a lie and a religion worshipping Man as God. We must escape all conceptions of an essentially "good" human nature or even the concept of Good. By now, this should be obvious.
29. So what is our basis of revolution? By what ethics do we justify prefering anarchy to fascism? Because it is more beautiful, that should be enough, without counting corpses. This is the northwest passage out of postmodernism.
30. All of the above is false, including this statement. If I have stated myself correctly, what I have said should be frightening. What we lack most is courage. The challenge is to make love to the absurd, to fall into that complete absence and come out the other side, affirming Nothing and therefore Everything again and again. I argue only that these are the best lies around. So make up better ones.
31. The only alternative is the oblivion of eternal survival, ultimate stagnation, statis forever, complete control, total security, total solidification, centralization, and depersonalization of Power, the most revolting and hideous of Western desires, the epitome of cancerous thought.
32. All philosophers thus so far have attempted to change the world, the important thing, however, is to stop believing in it.
Nicely written as usual.
Nicely shallow as usual.
Crimthinc should re-model themselves as a PR agency for groups with substantial thouht behind their politics so it comes across interesting to read but with subtsance instead of nice to read with no substance or too intellectual to understand with no beauty.