I've been running the blog project paradox-a.de for three years now. I
originally started the blog to have a place to publish my texts and toprovide a contact option at my lectures. In the meantime I have gained amanageable readership and have thus been able to influence theGerman-speaking debate on anarchist theory somewhat. In addition to bookreviews, event information and free reflections, I also occasionallywrite interventions on current events. Of course, texts and a blog canby no means keep up with twitter, facebook, instagram and the like interms of reach. At the same time, it is of little use to my cause toparticipate there. If you want to deal with social analysis andcriticism, you have to spend some time.My approach is that of anarchist synthesis and anarchism withoutadjectives. With this I try to connect the different anarchist currentsand to bring them into a dialogue with each other. Unfortunately,anarchist thinking is still not widespread, especially inGerman-speaking countries. This stands in curious contrast to theimportance that anarchist practices and forms of organization have incontemporary social movements. My approach is not to preach truths toother groups or people, but to give them opportunities to reflect ontheir own positions, trusting that some will recognize that these arealready essentially anarchist.The theoretical debates in the German-speaking left are stillcharacterized by prejudices. It is objected that there is no seriousanarchist theory, while recent theoretical developments are not dealtwith, anarchist concepts are tacitly but unnamed adopted andmisrepresentations about anarchist thinking circulate. One startingpoint to counteract this is to give people in anarchist scenesself-confidence and motivate them to engage in theoretical work.However, this should not be an end in itself, to be right, to develop anidentity or to feel a sense of belonging. Rather, the tools of anarchisttheory serve to analyze and criticize the existing system of rule and toshow possibilities for its fundamental transformation. In the future, Iwould like to gather committed and theoretically interested anarchiststo establish a network for the dissemination, deepening and furtherdevelopment of anarchist theory - but the people who are eligible forthis are still few and scattered.In this sense, my activities are intended to help raise awareness,encourage organizing and empower people. Theoretical work is a difficultfield. Unfortunately, it often serves to enable isolated dreamers toexplain the world to themselves, assert themselves in ideologicaldebates, or accumulate cultural capital. Instead of this dogmaticunderstanding, it is important to maintain a pragmatic understanding oftheory and thus neither over- nor underestimate theoretical work.Anarchist theory not only has to differentiate in terms of content, butalso in terms of form and method - and at the same time finds itself inthe contradictions of a differentiated, fast-moving, hierarchical andcompetition-based form of society.A topic that I have dealt with in my previously unpublished doctoralthesis is the concept of politics in anarchism, which I characterize asparadoxical. In my opinion, this perspective makes it possible to giveplural anarchism an independent theoretical basis. Anyone who thinksabout it will come across numerous paradoxes in anarchism: concreteutopia, gaps, direct action, libertarian socialism, voluntary agreement,social freedom, self-organization are, for example, concepts that haveparadoxical content. Even in debates about ends and means, violence,individualism and collectivism, spirituality and technology, it can beshown that anarchism itself is a permanent process of mediation.Dogmatists resolve this in the direction of one side. Undogmaticthinkers, on the other hand, keep them open, or create such debates inthe first place in order to find truths in a collective process. I thinkit's worth poking around a bit on my blog to get an idea of what I meanmore specifically...The job of anarchist intellectuals is to build bridges. Bridges betweenthe different anarchist currents and between the different wings insocial movements. But they are also to be built between theoretical workand practical experience and between rationality and emotionality,between the past and the future in order to inspire social-revolutionaryaction in the here and now. Anyone interested is invited to take a lookat my blog and contact me for an exchange on anarchist theory.https://direkteaktion.org/drei-jahre-paradox-a-de-einige-gedanken/_________________________________________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
Geen opmerkingen:
Een reactie posten