WORLD WORLDWIDE EUROPE FRANCE - news journal UPDATE - (en) France, UCL AL #350 - Culture, Read Jim Donaghey: Bakunin Vodka: punk and anarchism (ca, de, fr, it, pt, tr)[machine translation]

 The very young publishing house BPM, which "aims to create an editorial

space conducive to reflection on the connections between the political
question and music, in all their forms", releases a stimulating little
fire signed by Jim Donaghey, punk and also a researcher in social
sciences. ---- Punk and anarchism, nothing is more obvious for some.
Anarchy in the U.K. by the Sex Pistols, released at the end of 1976, is
traditionally considered the (official) birth certificate of punk. And
yet, listening (or reading) the words more closely, the "vision" of
anarchism delivered there is a caricature and has nothing to do with
libertarian practices. Just as the title, Bakounine Vodka, refers to a
phrase by Penny Rimbaud, drummer of the group Crass - punk collective
with claimed libertarian practices, precursor of anarcho-punk - who,
regarding anarchism, once said: "if we had been told about Bakunin, we
would probably have thought that it was a brand of vodka". Ultimate punk
provocation or admission of punks' distance from anarchism? No doubt
there were both in this bon mot. But Jim Donaghey, while recognizing the
ignorance among the first punks of the ideological bases of anarchism,
recognizes them for having practiced a "primitive anarchism".

It is therefore in search of this "punk anarchism" that the author
invites us in a short, but rich in references, exploration of the links
between punk and anarchism over the period 1976-1980. A journey in five
parts: shock strategy, hippie hangover, oppositional anarchism,
practical necessity and criticism of the State, in which Proudhon,
Murray Bookchin, The Clash, D.O.A. intersect. or the Dead Kennedys.

Without trying to see an anarchist behind every punk, Jim Donaghey is
interested in points of convergence. One is also obvious: the DIY
culture (Do It Yourself), strongly popularized by punk groups, "is it
not an innovative expression of libertarian self-management and control
of means of production by those who produce ? ".

David (UCL Savoies)

Jim Donaghey, Bakunin Vodka. Punk and Anarchism (trans. by Doroteja
Gajic and Julien Bordier), Éditions BPM, April 2024, 112 pages, 8 euros

https://www.unioncommunistelibertaire.org/?Lire-Jim-Donaghey-Bakounine-Vodka-punk-et-anarchisme
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