[iDC] A Reflection on the Activist Strategies in the Web 2.0 Era

[Michael Bauwens]

Yes John, of course, there have been many constant attempts at reconfiguration, and while they have not lead to any total victory, they have been the basis of most social advances; for example, there would be no social security, without the prior mutualism of the workers;

It is of course true that 'capitalism' and the 'market' pervades everything, but so do the desires and actions for alternatives ...

Assuming someone has a psychological problem, would we want to spent our lives doing a psycho-analysis, or would we at some point rather go on with the business of creating our lives.

Assuming that an infinite system of growth is incompatible with the survival of our planet, would be then not be better to assume, despite it's present wounded vivacity, that the animal is dead already, and go on with the business of creating the life we want, even if we know we can only make a number of small advances?

I think one of the for me powerful analogies that Negri used in Empire, was the example of the christian communities, who didn't fight the emperor, but busied themselves creating alternative infrastructures, and when the old macrosystem collapsed, became the vehicle that the new overlords had to adapt.

What I propose to do is to rigorously note the manyfold attempts at more autonomous living through p2p infrastructures in media, energy, and money, interconnect them to a maximum extent, change the forms of consciousness and paradigms (they are changing without us of course, but we can put some grease in the system)

By all means analyse, by all means resist,  but only that?

Michel



----- Original Message ----
> From: John Hopkins <jhopkins at tech-no-mad.net>
> To: idc at mailman.thing.net
> Sent: Tuesday, January 27, 2009 1:43:46 AM
> Subject: Re: [iDC] A Reflection on the Activist Strategies in the Web 2.0 Era
> 
> hei Michael
> 
> >but I think that there is one more missing element, i.e. using the tools at our 
> disposal, not just for a critical imaginary, but for a counter-construction of 
> new forms of life, relationships, work et... and it is my, I guess optimistic, 
> opinion, that we are in the midst of such reconfiguration.
> 
> hasn't there been a constant effort of counter-construction, counter-use of the 
> Master's tools?  Every time someone purposefully uses language in a new way, to 
> circumscribe their own idiosyncratic world view, this is a  
> counter-construction.  Of course, it is critical to use the re-formed tools to 
> create new lived practices.  It would seem that this has gotten more difficult 
> given the pervasiveness of the Market, but surely these are constants in the 
> human struggle for authentic autonomous be-ing.
> 
> >But first is letting go of the hold of a 'permanent capitalism' in our own 
> consciousness,
> 
> I think the new US regime will force us to face the fact that there are MANY 
> many deep onion-skinned levels to the affects of 'permanent capitalism' in our 
> self-systems...  (for example, what is consumer capitalism "with a friendly 
> face?")
> 
> Jh
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