Anarchist Developments in Cultural Studies - Post-Anarchism Today

244 Pages·2010·11.87 MB·English

by  Lewis Call

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AnarchistDevelopmentsinCulturalStudies
“Post-Anarchismtoday”
2010.1
Editorial — Post-anarchism Today
∗
Lewis Call
Welcome to Post-anarchism Today. This is certainly not USA
Today,etcen’estcertainementpasAujourd’huienFrance. Indeed,
it is a refreshing antidote to all such discourses of modern state
capitalism. Duringitsshortbutcolourfulexistence,post-anarchism
hasalwaysbeenlibertarianandsocialistinitsbasicphilosophical
outlook: that’stheanarchismpart. Butpost-@hasalsomaintained
its independence from modern rationalism and modern concepts
of subjectivity: that’s the post- part. As I survey post-anarchism
today,Ifindtomysurpriseanddelightthatbothpartsarestronger
than ever. It’s now clear that post-@ is a part of anarchism, not
somethingthatstandsagainstit. It’sequallyclearthatpost-@has
changedanarchisminsomeinterestingandimportantways.
Ispeakofpost-anarchismtodaybecauseIbelievethatweareliv-
ingthroughapost-anarchistmoment. Iknow,Iknow: theowlof
Minervafliesonlyatdusk,sohowcanIclaimtounderstandthemo-
mentI’mlivingin? Butoneofthemanygreatthingsaboutpost-@
isthatitmeanswecanbedone,finally,withHegel. Minerva’sowl
needstogetajob. Weneedanewbird,faster,moreintuitive,more
opensource: somethingmoreliketheLinuxpenguin. Thingshap-
penfasterthantheyusedto,andtherateofchangeisaccelerating.
Ourabilitytocommentonthesethingsmustalsoaccelerate. ThusI
maintainthatwemay,infact,studyourownpoliticalandintellec-
tualenvironment. Indeed,Ifeelthatwemustdothis,orriskbeing
overtakenbyevents. Post-anarchismwaitsfornoone.
∗
LewisCallisassistantprofessorofhistoryatCaliforniaPolytechnicStateUniversity,
SanLuisObispo.HeisanassociateeditorforthejournalAnarchistStudies.Heisthe
authorofPostmodernAnarchism(LexingtonBooks,2002).Hehaswrittenextensively
aboutpost-anarchistsciencefiction,exploringpost-anarchistthemesinthenovels
ofUrsulaK.LeGuin,thefilm‘VforVendetta’,andthetelevisionseries‘Battlestar
Galactica’.Hereceivedthe2007Mr.PointyAwardforbestarticleinthefieldofBuffy
Studies.
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When I speak of post-anarchism today, I also imply that there
waspost-anarchismyesterday. HereIinvokethepeculiar,powerful
alchemyofthehistorian: Ideclarethatthereisanobjectofstudy
calledpost-anarchism,andthatthisobjectalreadyhasahistory. An
outrageouslybriefnarrativeofthathistorymightgosomethinglike
this: post-@ was born in the mid-1980s, in Hakim Bey’s ‘Tempo-
raryAutonomousZone’. Throughoutthe90sitgrewandprospered
inthatera’sdistributed,rhizomaticnetworks,theInternetandthe
WorldWideWeb. Post-@wenttoschoolinthepagesofjournals
likeBritain’sAnarchistStudiesandTurkey’sSiyahi. ToddMaygaveit
aphilosophy. SaulNewmangaveitanameandaninterestinpsychol-
ogy. Iencouragedpost-@totakeaninterestinpopularculture(and
viceversa). RichardJ.F.Dayintroducedpost-@tothenewestsocial
movements: the beginning of a beautiful friendship. Thoughtful
criticslikeBenjaminFranksdevelopedintriguingcritiquesofpost-
anarchism(Franks,2007). DuaneRousselleandSüreyyyaEvrengave
post-@aReader. Andnow,hereweare! Usingthiscrazylittlething
calledpost-anarchismtoinaugurateaboldnewjournal,onewhich
promisestoexaminetheculturalenvironmentofourpostmodern
agethroughananarchistlens!
Butwaitjustaminute. May,Day,NewmanandCallsoundsmore
likealawfirmthanarevolution. Indeed,earlypost-@wasjustly
criticizedasanotherivorytowerphenomenonforwhite,male,bour-
geoisintellectuals. Luckily,post-anarchismtodayisnothinglikethat.
It’stransnational,transethnicandtransgender. Itspeaksinpopular
andpopulistvoices,notjustonthepagesofacademicjournalslike
this one. Post-anarchism today is a viral collection of networked
discourseswhichneednothingmoreincommonthantheirbelief
thatwecanachieveabetterworldifwesaygoodbyetoourdearold
friendtherationalCartesianself,andembraceinsteadtheplayof
symbolanddesire. Allthekidsaredoingitthesedays: theBlack
Bloc,thequeers,theculturejammers,theanti-colonialists. Post-an-
archismtodayisasetofdiscourseswhichspeakstoalarge,flexible,
free-wheelingcoalitionofanarchistgroups: activists,academicsand
artists,perverts,post-structuralistsandpeasants. AsFoucaultonce
said,‘don’taskwhoweareanddon’texpectustoremainthesame’.
Wearethewhatever-singularitythatlurksbehindablackkerchief.
WemightlooklikeSubcommanderMarcos,orGuyFawkes,oryour
weirdohistoryprofessor. Weareeverybodyandwearenobody. We
can’tbestopped,becausewedon’tevenexist.
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Editorial 11
WhenIreviewthebriefbutexcitinghistoryofpost-anarchismin
thisway,itsuddenlyseemsthatpost-@mightpossesseverythingit
needstoconstitutenotmerelyamoment,butanactualmovement.
Franks(2007)hassuggestedthatsuchamovementmightbeemerg-
ing. In the past I have hesitated to agree. After all, one doesn’t
liketobeaccusedofoverblown,breathlessrevolutionaryrhetoric.
Buttheexistenceofthisjournal,AnarchistDevelopmentsinCultural
Studies, has convinced me that the time to hesitate is through. A
decadeintothethirdmillennium,post-anarchismhasbecomeaself-
realizingdesire,akindofDeleuziandesiringmachine. Accordingto
theDeleuziantheorieswhichinformmostoftheessaysinthisvol-
ume,suchmachinesactuallyproducereality(Deleuze,1983). Like
allgooddesiringmachines,post-@operatesbymultiplicity. Inthese
pages, scholars of many different nationalities, languages, ethnic-
ities, genders, sexualities and theoretical perspectives have come
togethertotalkaboutpost-anarchism,itspromise,itspotential,its
problems. Thisjournalcontainsthoughtful,passionatedefencesof
post-anarchism,andequallyinsightful,equallypassionatecritiques
ofit. Someoftheessaysinthisvolumearenotparticularlypost-
anarchistintheiroutlookormethod,yeteventhesesharecertain
concernswithpost-@: concerns, forexample, aboutarchitecture,
territories,theorganizationofspace. Theseessaysfollowlinesof
flight which sometimes intersect with post-anarchism, and these
pointsofintersectionarerichwithpotential.
At least four of the articles in this issue occupy the terrain of
anarchistpoliticalphilosophy,whichsuggeststhatpost-@hasby
nomeansabandonedthecentralconcernsoftraditionalanarchism.
SaulNewman’sessayexaminesoneofthemostseriousobstacles
toanyanarchistrevolution: self-domination,orthedesirewefeel
for our own domination. Drawing on the radical psychoanalytic
tradition,Newmanarguescompellinglythatanyeffectiveanarchist
politics must directly address our psychic dependence on power.
Newman’scriticalprojectisvitallyimportant,inthatitmotivates
us to seek strategies by which we may overcome our complicity
withpoliticalandeconomicpower. ThusIhaveargued,forexample,
that the practices of BDSM or “kink” might satisfy our need for
power without reproducing statist or capitalist power structures
(Call,2011b).
ThomasSwann’sessayextendsanintriguingdebateaboutmoral
universalism. Post-@ undeniably includes a dramatic critique of
suchuniversalism. BenjaminFranks(2008)hasrespondedtothis
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critiquebydeployinga“practicalanarchism,”butSwannsuggests
thatsuchananarchismmusteitherappealtouniversalismorrisk
collapsingintomoralrelativism. Franksandhiscolleaguesmayyet
findathirdway,butSwann’scritiqueprovidestheimportantservice
ofidentifyingthecurrentlimitsofpracticalanarchism.
ThomasNail’sremarkableessayarguesthat,havingalreadyestab-
lisheditselfasavalidpoliticalphilosophy,post-@mustnowfind
awaytoengagewiththeactualpost-capitalistandpost-statistso-
cietywhichisalreadycomingintoexistencebeforeourveryeyes!
NailinterpretsZapatismoasanotherkindofDeleuzianmachine,the
“abstractmachine.”Thismachineisaself-initiatingpoliticalarrange-
ment which requires no preconditions other than itself. As Nail
convincinglyargues,suchmachinesindicatethatthepost-anarchist
revolutionhasalreadyhappened.
SimonChoatperformstheextremelyvaluabletaskofreinterpret-
ing post-anarchism from a Marxist perspective. As he correctly
pointsout,earlypost-@wastheoreticallyfragmented. May,New-
manandIallhaddifferentnamesforthisthingwenowcallpost-
anarchism. NewmanrecognizedtheimportanceofLacanianpsycho-
analysis,whileI,atfirst,didnot. (Ihavesincetriedtocorrectthat
oversight;cf.,Call,2011a.) Choatdemonstratesthatoppositionto
Marxismwasfundamentaltotheoriginalarticulationofpost-anar-
chism. Buthealsoshowsthedangerofsuchopposition. Itmaybe
thatthereisakindofanti-essentialistMarxismwhichiscompatible
withpost-structuralismandthereforewithpost-anarchismaswell.
SowhileChoatisrighttosaythattenyearsagoIfearedthecolo-
nizingtendenciesofMarxisttheory,Idon’tfearMarxismanymore.
Post-anarchismtodayistoomatureandtoostrongtobethreatened
byMarxism,andweshouldwelcometheoreticalallieswhereverwe
canfindthem.
Iamespeciallyhappytoseethatthisissuecontainsacoupleof
queerinterventions. MohamedJeanVeneuseoffersagroundbreak-
ing account of transsexual politics in the Islamic world. Veneuse
makesitclearthatthefigureofthetranssexualcanradicallydestabi-
lizeessentialistconceptsofgender;what’smore,Veneuseidentifies
thebenefitswhichthisdestabilizationmightoffertoanarchism. The
rejectionoffixedidentitiesandbinaryconceptsofgendersuggests
thatgendermightbebetterunderstoodasaprojectofbecoming. By
viewinggendermoreasaverbthananoun,weavoidtheauthori-
tarianismofstablesubjectpositions. Thisprojecthasclearaffinities
withpost-@.
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Editorial 13
Meanwhile,EdwardAvery-Nataleoffersaverydifferentkindof
queeranarchism. Avery-NataleshowshowBlackBlocanarchists
whomightnormallyidentifythemselvesasstraightcantemporarily
andtacticallyembraceaqueersubjectposition. Thissuggeststhat
“queer”hasbecomemuchmorethanasexuality. “Queer”nownames
asubjectpositionsoflexiblethatitthreatenstorevealtheemptiness
ofsubjectivityitself. SubjectivitythencollapsesintowhatAvery-
Natale,followingGiorgioAgamben,callsthe“whatever-singularity.”
Queernessherereferstothenegationofidentityitself. Again,this
projectisentirelycompatiblewithpost-@. Post-anarchismshares
withthe“queer”BlackBlocthegoalofdestroyingnotjustcapital
andthestate,butthe“anarchistsubject”assuch. Inthewordsof
AlanMoore’sanarchistfreedomfighterV,“Letusraiseatoasttoall
ourbombers,allourbastards,mostunlovelyandmostunforgivable.
Let’sdrinktheirhealth[...]thenmeetwiththemnomore”(Moore
&Lloyd,1990: 248).
Inthelongrun,theinterdisciplinaryfocusofAnarchistDevelop-
mentsinCulturalStudiesmaywellturnouttobeitsstrongsuit. I
amdelightedtoseethatthisinauguralissuecontainsbothanarchist
architecturaltheoryandanarchistfilmcriticism. AlanAntliffgives
usafascinatingstudyofAdrianBlackwell’s“anarchitecture.”Black-
well’sarchitectureattemptstoengineeraradicalperspectiveshift
whichmightrenderstaticpowerrelationsmoreopenandfluid. The
result,asAntliffcompellinglyargues,isauniqueformofanarchist
architecture which refuses to remain trapped within the cultural
logicofcapitalism.
Meanwhile,NathanJunoffersaveryambitiousanarchistfilmthe-
ory,onewhichundertakestorevealthe“liberatorypotentialoffilm.”
Echoing(onceagain)GillesDeleuze,Junarguesthata“genuinely
nomadiccinema”isnotonlypossiblebutinevitable,andthatsucha
cinemawillemergeatthejuncturebetweenproducerandconsumer,
whileblurringthedistinctionbetweenthetwo. Oneneedonlylook
attheviralproliferationofqualityamateurvideoproductionson
YouTubeandothersitesforevidencethatthisisalreadyhappening.
Thatjustleavesthreewildessays,oneofwhichcontainswithin
itself(inproperfractalfashion)“ThreeWildIntersticesofAnarchism
andPhilosophy.”AlejandrodeAcostasuggeststhatanarchism“has
neverbeenincorporatedintoorasanacademicdiscipline”—though
Iwouldhastentoadd,it’scertainlynotforlackoftrying. DeAcosta
makesanarchism’sapparenttheoreticalweaknessintoavirtue,ar-
guingthatanarchismreallymattersnotasabodyofabstracttheory,
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butasasetofconcretesocialpractices. DeAcostaoffersprovoca-
tiveexamplesofthesepractices: themeditativeaffirmationsofthe
“utopians,”aspeculativeanthropologyofgeographicalspaces,anda
Situationistpsychogeography.
Theselasttwo“wildstyles”dovetailnicelywiththeconcernsof
XavierOliverasGonzález,whogivesusadramaticcritiqueofstatist
metageography,andsimultaneouslysuggestsanalternative. Olive-
rasshowsthepowerofthehigh-levelassumptionswemakeabout
geographicspaceandthewaysinwhichitcanbeorganized. Who-
evercontrolsmetageographycontrolstheterritoriesitdefines,and
sofarthestatehascontrolledthesethings. Butanarchistgeogra-
pherslikeKropotkinhavebeencritiquingthisstatistmetageography
foroveracenturynow. AsOliverasdemonstrates,itisnowpossible,
atlast,forustoimagineametageographywhichwillbeliberated
fromstatistassumptions.
Finally,ErickHerouxoffersusaveryuseful“PostAnarchiaReper-
toire.”Herouxthinksthroughtheimplicationsoftoday’spostmod-
ernnetworks. Thesenetworksfeatureextensivecooperatingtech-
niqueswhichdirectlyimplementtheanarchistprincipleofmutual
aid. Shareware,freewareandopensourcesoftwarerepresentclear
alternativestotheeconomiclogicofcapitalism. LikeThomasNail,
Herouxsuggeststhatwearenolongeranticipatingafuturepost-
anarchistrevolution. Rather,wearestudyingtheemergenceof“an
actualpostanarchistsociety.”
Sothisispost-anarchismtoday. Weoffernomorevisions,nomore
predictions, no more half-baked utopian dreams. Post-anarchism
todaydescribestheworldweactuallylivein. Itoffersinnovative,
effectivestrategiesforustounderstandthatworldandengagewith
it. Foraphilosophythatwasbuilt,inpart,ontherenunciationof
reality,post-anarchismhasbecomesurprisinglyreal. Souseitand
re-useit. Applyitanddenyit. Reviseitandrecycleit. Letitspeakto
you,myfellowanarchists,andmakeitlistentoyou. Post-anarchism
maynotbeheretostay,butitisherenow,andanarchismisricher
forthat.
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Editorial 15
References
Call,Lewis. (2011a)“BuffythePostanarchistVampireSlayer.”InPost-
anarchism: AReader(DuaneRousselle&SüreyyyaEvren,Eds.).
London: PlutoPress.
——(2011b)“StructuresofDesire: PostanarchistKinkintheSpecula-
tiveFictionofOctaviaButlerandSamuelDelany.”InAnarchism
andSexuality: Ethics,RelationshipsandPower(JamieHeckert&
RichardCleminson,Eds.). NewYork: Routledge.
Deleuze,Gilles&FelixGuattari. (1983)Anti-Oedipus: Capitalismand
Schizophrenia. (R.Hurleyetal.,Trans.) Minneapolis: University
ofMinnesotaPress.
Franks,Benjamin. (2007)“Postanarchism: ACriticalAssessment.”
JournalofPoliticalIdeologies(12)2: 127–45.
——(2008)“PostanarchismandMeta-Ethics.”AnarchistStudies(16)2:
135–53.
Moore,Alan&DavidLloyd. (1990)VforVendetta. NewYork: DC
Comics.
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AnarchistDevelopmentsinCulturalStudies
“Post-Anarchismtoday”
2010.1
PostAnarchia Repertoire
∗
Erick Heroux
Abstract
“PostAnarchiaRepertoire”isasetofdiscretepropositionsaboutpost-
anarchism.Thesecanbereadeitherasstand-aloneunitsinanyorder,
oralsoasalineardevelopmentthatunfoldsfrombeginningtoend.
Theessayattemptstoarticulatetheimpliedprinciples,themes,and
conceptsfromacrossarangeofcontemporarypostanarchistwriting.
Themeshereinclude:transversalityacrossacentricandpolycentric
networks;thetensionbetweenthethreerevolutionaryidealsoflib-
erty,equality,andsolidarity;thepotentialconsequencesoftaking
equalityseriously;howtheanarchistcriticismofrepresentationhas
beencomplicatedbytheparadoxesofdeconstruction;thenecessity
ofdissensusandtheappealofparalogyandthedialogical;andfinally
whyapolytheticdefinitionofanarchismismoresuitablethanan
essentialistdefinition.
Wedonotlackcommunication.Onthecontrary,wehave
toomuchofit. Welackcreation. Welackresistanceto
thepresent. Thecreationofconceptsinitselfcallsfora
futureform,foranewearthandpeoplethatdonotyet
exist[...]Thispeopleandthisearthwillnotbefound
inourdemocracies. Democraciesaremajorities, buta
becomingisbyitsnaturethatwhichalwayseludesthe
majority
—Deleuze&Guattari
Howdidwegetsosad? The20thcenturyisthestoryoffailedrevo-
lutionsagainstbothcapitalismandempire;thatis,ofthecommunist
and anticolonialist revolts. Instead, capitalism has never been so
widelyembracedandembracing,meanwhiletheempirere-insinu-
atesitselfinneocolonialexploitationandpostcolonialnationalist
∗
Forthepastdecade,ErickHerouxtaughtculturaltheoryandliteratureatseveral
universitiesinTaiwan. HenowresidesinOregonandiswritingabookoneco-
[email protected]
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regimesthatgrotesquelyabusetheirowncitizens. Thecenturywasa
trap. Whenitwasn’tfascistviolencethatdestroyedanarchismasin
Spain,thenitwastotalitarianviolence. Whenitwasn’tcolonialvio-
lence,thenitwaspostcolonialviolence. Whenitwasn’tnationalism,
thenitwasterrorism. Whenitwasn’tovertviolence,itwasaneven
moreinsidious,becausecovert,formofcontrol: aneconomicand
technicalcontrolofpopulationsandofindividualsthatwasdifficult
toname,muchlesstoresist. Wearesadbecausewewereseduced
andabandoned,forlornloversofhumanity. Thislastcenturywas
notoneofconspiracy, thoughmanyconspiraciessucceeded. The
onlyconspiraciesallowedtosucceedwerethosethatconformedto
andfurtheredthetotaldriftintoglobalcapital. Inaneraofeconomic
hierarchy,onlytheviolenceoftheeconomyispermitted.
Past,present,future. Anarchism,itisoftensaid,haspassed. It
wasa19thcenturyideologythatfoundexpressioninafewbombs
andassassins,the“propagandistsofthedeed.”Itsfullestcommunal
expressionwasinSpainbeforethefascistsviolentlyoverthrewthe
RepublicinthatultimatepreludetoWWII.Hence,allanarchismhas
isapast,ahopelesscauseinamatureworldofdemocraticstates.
Sogoesthemanagedfolklore. Nevertheless,anawkwardpresent
throwsinwithacertainreturnofanarchism,the“newanarchists”,
the “black blocs”, the intentional communities, the temporary au-
tonomouszones,theexperimentalsocialcenters,theresurgenceof
publishinganarchistanthologies,classics,rereadings,andthestar-
tlingreappearanceofthesymbolofanarchyeverywhere: asserting
that true order grows from anarchic liberty. It is no small irony,
historicirony,thatthestatusquosystemofwelfarestatepluscapi-
talismistheonlyonetohaveannounceditsownlackofafuturity:
thishasbeencalledthe“endofhistory”and“theendofideology”.
Thepresentistheultimateattainmentofhumanabilities,thewisest
compromiseisconvenientlylocatednearby: thestatusquoturns
outtobeunsurpassable, aneternalpresentthatwouldbeuseless
tooppose,sinceallcompetingalternativeshavefailed. Yetlikean
uncannyghost,anarchismthenreappearstoannouncethatreports
ofitsdemisearepremature. Onthecontrary,itnowisreinventedas
“post-contemporarytheory”,callingattentiontoa“comingcommu-
nity”(Agamben)a“democracytocome”(Derrida)a“peoplethatdo
notyetexist”(Deleuze&Guattari)inaparadoxically“unavowable
community”(Blanchot)inwhichtherising“multitude”consistsnot
of identities but instead of “singularities” (Hardt & Negri). These
theories of libertarian communalism do not name themselves as
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