* The movements criticized in this article, including the author, include the
libertarian left, the so-called "new left", and anarchism, as well as someliberals and NGOs. They differ greatly from each other, but are characterized byanti-capitalism, anti-discrimination, environmentalism, anti-authoritarianism(and often anti-statism). ---- "So long as we believe (in our hearts) thatcapitalism is bad, we are free to continue to participate in capitalistexchange." - Mark Fisher ---- In the modern era, we all have access to all typesof information - the outright censorship of the past is gone - and as a result,more and more people are "waking up", learning about the wrongs of the neoliberalsystem and taking up activism, determined to change themHowever, they are gripped by a rare type of sleep paralysis - even awake, theyare unable to move and actually change anything. The reasons for this are variedand difficult to resolve, but not impossible.Avoiding commodificationHow strange that they have not yet done a massive marketing campaign sellinganti-capitalism as a cure for the stress caused by the capitalist system and itsderivatives! How unpredictable of them...Feeling drained and stressed, stuck in the hamster wheel of productivity?Oppressed, discriminated and rejected by society? Are you tired of your gray,miserable, completely meaningless and alienated life? Don't hesitate, go to aDISCUSSION MEETING!Release all your emotions and frustrations! Analyze the cause of all yourproblems! Learn the necessary theory and jargon, talk to like-minded people, andyou're guaranteed to feel smart, popular, and understood at least once in yourlife! Take a breath and taste the freedom! Get back to your normal routine, moreproductive than ever, recharged and ready for the man-made horrors that tomorrowbrings!(For 2 purchased DISCUSSION MEETINGS you get one free day on ACTIVISTS INSTAGRAM)Seemingly revolutionary slogans and ideas can be printed on t-shirts and badgesand sold back to the people who created them. If someone says yes in a sociallyunacceptable way as a sign of provocation, the clothes and accessories will notbe banned or punished as under socialism, but simply swallowed up as part of themodern hell of fast fashion fueled by cruel exploitation of labor and destructionof nature, they will sell us "alternative" clothes designed to tear, throughmarketing they will encourage us, and through social networks we will reproduceit ourselves, to buy new and new things from new and new trends, to we consumemore and more.And this is only the tip of the iceberg. Not only ideas and aesthetics and theaesthetics of our movements are appropriated, but they themselves. Greenwashing,for example, is the cynical appropriation and exploitation of eco movements bycorporations and states to use them for personal business interests, renderingthe movement toothless. Personal consumer choice is presented as a panacea forenvironmental action to distract people from civic or political action.Action over aestheticsThe counterculture must fundamentally change. We should not prioritize ideas, butactions, concrete things to do in our lives. Our spaces should be built aroundDOING SOMETHING. Community, creativity, discussion of problems, all this is goodand necessary, but the basis and foundation of every single event must be ACTION,STRATEGY. Without it, it's like choosing furniture and tiles for a house withoutwalls. Having some kind of community that gathers people with similar values isjust the foundation. For years we've been sitting with some foundations, weakones at that (eg people who are only in this space to blow off steam and feelgood and feel like good people, and not inclined to take any particular action,and yes, the author of this article was often one of those people) and somefurniture. Building the walls is difficult, dangerous, bricks can fall on yourhead, the house can collapse at the first storm - and storms abound - if they seeyou doing something meaningful that really threatens them, the authorities willrespond accordingly. We need a determination and a readiness for violence that isnot used indiscriminately and recklessly, but that it is clear that we arecapable and will not hesitate when necessary. The depressing fact is that all theleftists in Bulgaria are pacifists or, if not, only idealize simultaneousrevolutions, being afraid to repeat them now. For people who so idealizerevolution, we are very afraid to be revolutionary. which is not to be usedindiscriminately and recklessly, but to make it clear that we are capable andwill not hesitate when necessary. The depressing fact is that all the leftists inBulgaria are pacifists or, if not, only idealize simultaneous revolutions, beingafraid to repeat them now. For people who so idealize revolution, we are veryafraid to be revolutionary. which is not to be used indiscriminately andrecklessly, but to make it clear that we are capable and will not hesitate whennecessary. The depressing fact is that all the leftists in Bulgaria are pacifistsor, if not, only idealize simultaneous revolutions, being afraid to repeat themnow. For people who so idealize revolution, we are very afraid to be revolutionary.Mutual aidMore mutual aid organizations - Food Not War is a perfect example - still this isa great fight against the commodification of basic human needs and profiting fromthem, it attracts more people, let's not forget that the school feeding programis one of the things that made the Black Panthers the most dangerous group forthe state in the 1960s in the United States.FocusMore focus is also needed on specific individual problems in our immediateenvironment. Of course, it is important to have intersectionality, connectivityand solidarity. But if a person tries to solve all the 99235589932 world problemsthat surround him, doing a little something for each one, in the end there willbe no visible results, the person will overheat and feel useless. Therefore, asthe people have said, one should think globally but act locally. To choose aniche according to one's skills, interests, circumstances and position in society.I will emphasize the position because class and class organizing seems to havefallen out of fashion in the modern left. When he organizes in the very placeswhere he lives, studies or works, he has an emotional connection to the cause andpersonal experiences that motivate him. And most importantly: there is a spacewhere he could organize with people who share his problems and interests, forconcrete change. It's good to have spaces where we can escape from oppression andsocial problems - but the most important thing is to organize in the very placeswhere the problems are happening, with the very people who are directly affectedby these same problems. Why are there almost no independent unions (nurses' seemto be an exception), truly independent local school and student organizations,neighborhood associations (communes?), real organizations based on specificlocations, social groups and issues, with a focus on something specific??? Why ispolitics based only on general ideas, on universal morality, "citizenship" and"fellowship", and not on real connections between people, problems and interestsin real life??We are so alienated from each other. We cannot even see the other againstourselves, recognize the common struggle and the common goal, and the commonenemy, and develop our ideas and strategies from there. Instead, we look toforeign, ready-made ideas and strategies, and those from the past. We treat ourideologies as ready-made shiny products for us to buy. And not as something thata person builds on his own, with the materials he has, like a scavenger or acraftsman.Aesthetics, after allAlthough our movements should not be commodified and become purely aesthetic, themodern obsession with images and aesthetics can be used: for example, concerts ofreal DIY bands, or selling art, to raise money for some progressive cause. Spaceslike Fabrika Autonomy and others are great in this regard.Propaganda is not everythingWhy the hell do we only do propaganda? It is definitely necessary - the author ofthis article has developed his views precisely through books, articles and evensocial media - but it is by no means the most important thing. Certainly creatingand spreading propaganda, especially on social media, is the easiest action onecan take and a quick way to feel smart, useful and active. Yes, it brings peopletogether to do... what exactly? To create more propaganda? It should appeal tothem for something practical, mutual aid, political pressure, a strategy toachieve a certain goal... not just everyone spreading their ideas over and overto no avail until they burn out and despair.Visions and utopiasMuch of today's activism is reactive instead of proactive: people pay moreattention to what they hate and fight against than what they want to achieve.Inventing and constructing utopias and visions of the future is key to combatingthis problem - although the grand and universal narratives spanning all ofhistory inherent in modernism should be avoided. Each community and eachindividual has its own personal utopia, and in a just world each of them shouldbe realized as long as it does not violate the freedom of others.ConclusionIn any case, this essay does not offer ready-made, definitive answers, but onlysuggestions refracted through the lens of the author's subjective awareness andexperience. As well as a question for all readers, leftist or otherwise: whatwould utopia look like to you?"We have nothing but our freedom. We have nothing to give you but your ownfreedom. We have no law but the single principle of mutual aid betweenindividuals. We have no government but the single principle of free association.We have no states, no nations, no presidents, no premiers, no chiefs, nogenerals, no bosses, no bankers, no landlords, no wages, no charity, no police,no soldiers, no wars. Nor do we have much else. We are sharers, not owners. Weare not prosperous. None of us is rich. None of us is powerful. If it is Anarresyou want, if it is the future you seek, then I tell you that you must come to itwith empty hands. You must come to it alone, and naked, as the child comes intothe world, into his future, without any past, without any property, whollydependent on other people for his life. You cannot take what you have not given,and you must give yourself. You cannot buy the Revolution. You cannot make theRevolution. You can only be the Revolution. It is in your spirit, or it is nowhere."Molotovkahttps://www.anarchy.bg/_________________________________________A - I N F O S N E W S S E R V I C EBy, For, and About AnarchistsSend news reports to A-infos-en mailing listA-infos-en@ainfos.ca
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