sweaty
“I have the feeling of always wandering around, kind of alone, irresponsibly, while you’re sweating over capitalism. How could I possibly help you?”– Félix Guattari, The Anti-Oedipus Papers
This weekend there’s a convergence in Melbourne to discuss the formation of an oceanic anarchist (+communist? +autonomist?) federation. Oceanic as in the region of Oceania, but there are likely to be some oceanic feelings involved as well, a la Freud. A bit of desire for transcendence, a bit of a lean towards hanging onto the skirts of Mother Anarcho with a capital A.
I do tend to wander alone, irresponsibly, while other people do the sweating bit (well, who’s to say wandering irresponsibly isn’t its own form of sweating over capitalism?) but I’m kind of in a mind to attend the convergence. And maybe put in a word for the impossibility of a ‘common politics’, and against the federation being made in the name of anarchism. And get shot down, obviously, but hey…
hanging onto the skirts of Mother Anarcho with a capital A
Yes. For whatever reason, I’ve been feeling more anarchisty the past few months, and so I’ve been hanging more (virtually, mostly) in avowedly A circles. I’d forgotten how damned dogmatic anarchists can be: defining what anarchists are and what anarchism is, disdain for struggles they consider insufficiently anarchist. Blech.
Comment by Eric — March 20, 2008 @ 9:11 pm
One of the reasons I’m going is that lately, around here, some interventions/actions have been initiated by groups that call themselves anarchist, but seem to be much more open to other forms of politics. I’m hoping that this might translate into something more interesting than dogmatism.
But my sympathies on your blech, Eric. An elder of the Melbourne anarchist scene once called me out as a ‘lifestyle anarchist’ at a conference. Apparently, independent media, zines, queer and no-border struggles were just not waging enough class war to count as anything but posturing.
Comment by Az — March 21, 2008 @ 2:05 pm