Agenda for the Global South After COVID-19 03:34 Jun 28 1 comments Another Sanders Betrayal 23:08 Apr 15 4 comments Contradictions of Post-Soviet Ukraine and the New Left 04:54 Mar 11 0 comments An inevitable division: the politics and consequences of the Labour split 18:03 Feb 27 0 comments La ofensiva contra el chavismo fracasó. No pudieron y no pasaron 04:16 Feb 27 1 comments mehr >> |
Recent articles by Aidan Rowe
Le politique évité : réflexions sur le mouvement « Occupons X » 0 comments Recent Articles about International The LeftAn Anarchist View of Trotsky’s "Transitional Program" Nov 22 23 Reflections on Identity Politics and Revolutionary Organizing Jun 28 23 An Anarchist Guide to The Communist Manifesto of Marx & Engels Mar 19 22 Politics averted: thoughts on the 'Occupy X' movement
international |
the left |
opinion / analysis
Wednesday October 12, 2011 23:41 by Aidan Rowe - Workers Solidarity Movement
What are we to make of the global 'Occupy X' movement which has exploded onto the streets of cities across the world, turning public spaces into campsites of opposition? Certain things are obvious: Firstly, the fact that there are thousands of people across the world taking over public spaces to express their anger at the financial system is undeniably a good thing. Having camped out outside the Central Bank on Dame Street on Saturday night, I can also say that these protests exude a positivity and hopefulness that is so often lacking from the ritualistic parades of anger that make up most protest marches. But there are also, in my view, serious political problems that prevent the movement from moving beyond a 'radical sleepover' and becoming a genuine anti-austerity grassroots resistance movement. [Français] Politics averted: thoughts on the 'Occupy X' movementNon-politics, incoherence, (neo)liberalismThe 'Occupy X' movement has since its inception shown an extreme aversion to being seen as political. Some aspects of this, such as banning political party banners, are an understandable pragmatic reaction to the tendency of various Leninist parties to hijack these kinds of events by swamping them with flags, banners and paper-sellers. But the anti-politics of the movement, at least on the part of the organising core and the Adbusters collective who issued the call for the original Wall St. protest, is also ideological: an odd synthesis of post-leftist anti-organisationalism (which sees formal political organisations, trade unions, etc. as being necessarily oppressive) and neoliberal post-politicism (which sees a Left vs. Right contest of ideas as being largely irrelevant after the fall of the Berlin Wall). After decades of neoliberal governance and media spin attempting to drive ideology and politics out of public discourse in order to enshrine the liberal-capitalist consensus as being 'above politics' and to reduce political questions to technical ones best dealt with by 'experts', it is perhaps unsurprising, but nonetheless disheartening, to see this depoliticisation reflected in contemporary forms of resistance. Most obviously, this has been expressed in the movement's unwillingness to attempt to agree on a coherent set of positions beyond some very basic points of unity with no underlying analysis of society. Instead, the occupied space is used by individuals to express a range of incoherent and often mutually contradictory ideas which are related only by being in some sense opposed to the status quo and the political and financial elites. On Saturday, I spoke to individuals who believe in everything from Rawlsian social democracy, to anarchism, to paranoid crypto-anti-Semitic conspiracy theories (the New World Order, etc.), to Stalinism. Of course, the advantage of this is that it's extremely inclusive - the only requirement to participate is a sense that things are not as they should be and that the financial sector and the state are in some way to blame - but this also means that reactionary ideas are treated the same as progressive ones rather than being robustly challenged. In practice, this means that the ideas that come to the fore tend to be those that are already dominant in society: the ideas of the ruling class. In the US context, the dominant messages from Occupy Wall Street have been liberal, reformist and nationalistic: those that posed the least threat to the establishment. For example, a call to "make Wall Street work for America" amounts to little more than a call for increased exploitation of the Third World as an alternative to imposing austerity. A call to reform banking practice to constrain "corporate greed" is merely a call to stabilise capitalism so that the course of exploitation runs more smoothly. The problem is capitalism, not regulatory failure, or corporate greed or a lack of economic patriotism, and the inadequacies of these analyses need to be exposed rather than uncritically welcomed. The Irish protest seems to be following a similar pattern, with a particular anti-IMF/EU flavour. The theory underlying this anti-politics, so far as I can gather, is this: no two people experience oppression in the same way, and thus any attempt to unite people under a political programme inevitably ends up erasing some people's perspectives. This is superficially quite a pleasing analysis, since it creates a framework under which all ideas can be understood as equally valid, since they all derive from lived-experience, but it's extremely problematic. Implicitly, it denies the possibility of coming to an inter-subjective understanding (i.e. one based in mutual recognition of shared experiences and understanding of differing ones) of oppression through collective discussion and compromise, and instead collapses into a naive relativism that produces a vague and weak politics, which plays into the hands of those who wish to dismiss the protesters as 'hippies' who don't understand the complexities of capitalism. In any case, it's easy to overstate the case for subjective perspectives and ignore the objective factors that shape experiences: the processes and structures of capitalist domination.Bring back the working-class!One of the major victories of neoliberalism is the eradication of the working-class from the popular consciousness. One of the results of this is the prevalence of the idea among certain sections of the left that the working-class is no longer relevant to understanding power in the modern world - an outdated idea clung to by old-left dinosaurs. This is reflected in the idea of 'the 99%' which has become the slogan of the 'Occupy X' movement, which expresses a very crude understanding of class, where the ruling class are an arbitrarily defined proportion of the wealthiest people in society. This makes for some great chanting - "we are the 99%!" - but is a poor criterion for membership of an anti-capitalist or anti-austerity movement. Put bluntly: there are an awful lot of capitalists, bosses, managers, bankers, CEOs, politicians, police, prison wardens, pimps, heroin dealers, etc. in the 99%. Properly understood, class is not a classification system of individuals based on how much money they have, it's a social relation between people that derives from the organisation of labour under capitalism. In other words, it's the way people are forced to relate to one another in order to participate in capitalist society. Class oppression is not a small cabal of the ultra-rich in Wall Street or Washington or Leinster House, it's in every workplace, every police station, every dole queue, every courtroom, every prison and every territory occupied by Western militaries, and can only be sensibly understood as such.ConclusionThe radically democratic nature of the occupations creates the potential for the movement to evolve in any number of possible directions. Whether or not they become genuine resistance movements depends largely on how much the radical left are willing to engage with them, and re-assert the importance of class politics in understanding and countering oppression, by participating in the actions, discussions, and assemblies. A key hurdle has already been overcome: people are on the streets, expressing their dissent, reclaiming public spaces; it remains to be seen what comes of it. |
HauptseiteSupport Sudanese anarchists in exile Joint Statement of European Anarchist Organizations International anarchist call for solidarity: Earthquake in Turkey, Syria and Kurdistan Elements of Anarchist Theory and Strategy 19 de Julio: Cuando el pueblo se levanta, escribe la historia International anarchist solidarity against Turkish state repression Declaración Anarquista Internacional por el Primero de Mayo, 2022 Le vieux monde opprime les femmes et les minorités de genre. Leur force le détruira ! Against Militarism and War: For self-organised struggle and social revolution Declaração anarquista internacional sobre a pandemia da Covid-19 Anarchist Theory and History in Global Perspective Capitalism, Anti-Capitalism and Popular Organisation [Booklet] Reflexiones sobre la situación de Afganistán South Africa: Historic rupture or warring brothers again? Death or Renewal: Is the Climate Crisis the Final Crisis? Gleichheit und Freiheit stehen nicht zur Debatte! Contre la guerre au Kurdistan irakien, contre la traîtrise du PDK Meurtre de Clément Méric : l’enjeu politique du procès en appel International | The Left | en Thu 28 Mar, 22:22 Listen, Trotskyist! 07:37 Tue 31 Oct 2 comments An anarchist leaflet given out at a conference of the International Socialist Organization in NYC which challenged its Trotskyist views. Murray Bookchin 04:50 Fri 11 Aug 0 comments La creación de una tendencia que el llamó "comunalismo", criticada por muchos fundamentalistas "superrevolucionarios", que ni siquiera se toman la molestia de estudiarla a la luz de las experiencias actuales, constituye un camino de construcción altamente valorable y necesario, en los tiempos en que los movimientos sociales se encuentran con tan baja autoestima y grado de fuerza. Murray Bookchin has passed away 17:57 Mon 31 Jul 7 comments BURLINGTON, Vt. -- Murray Bookchin, an early proponent of what he described as social ecology, died at home early Sunday at the age of 85. Zapatistas announce details of organisation of Intercontinental encounter 18:36 Tue 29 Nov 3 comments The Sixth Declaration of the Selva Lacandona proposed a new Intercontinental encounter to follow up those held in the 1990's in Chiapas and the Spanish state. This communique announces details of a consultation to take place until June 30th on holding it that proposes that “Intergalactic Committees” be formed on the five continents. Reflections on Identity Politics and Revolutionary Organizing Jun 28 3 comments Critical reflections on identity politics and separatism, acknowledging intersectionality and getting inspiration from the revolutionary struggles in Turkey and Kurdistan. An Anarchist Guide to The Communist Manifesto of Marx & Engels Mar 19 5 comments Marx & Engels Communist Manifesto from the perspective of an anarchist. Most of its class analysis is still valuable, but anarchists reject much of its political and economic program. Broken world, broken people – we need a path to a better future Feb 01 3 comments We are living in a world that for most people is broken and that has broken most people. It is not a god given world, but one that has been constructed by those in power and that has left most people mired in deprivation. Under COVID-19, this world has sunk to new lows. All is not lost though. There has historically been a section within the progressive movement – in different parts of the world and in South Africa – based around forms of radically democratic socialism that has not only tapped into the righteous anger of the working class, but has also sought to create a home and sense of belonging for people based on progressive values and principles such as mutual aid, solidarity and even love. If we want a better world, we need to revive the popularity of the types of politics, ethics, values, principles and practices that formed the essence – at their best – of such movements and update it for the context of the 21st century. A Fundamental Thesis of Revolution and the State Nov 14 2 comments A fundamental thesis which all varieties of revolutionary socialists and anarchists once generally accepted: this state cannot be used to create socialism (communism or anarchism). It must be overturned, destroyed, and replaced by alternate social forms. Book Review: 'For Workers' Power' Sep 28 0 comments A review of the selected writings of Maurice Brinton. more >>Murray Bookchin Aug 11 0 comments La creación de una tendencia que el llamó "comunalismo", criticada por muchos fundamentalistas "superrevolucionarios", que ni siquiera se toman la molestia de estudiarla a la luz de las experiencias actuales, constituye un camino de construcción altamente valorable y necesario, en los tiempos en que los movimientos sociales se encuentran con tan baja autoestima y grado de fuerza. Zapatistas announce details of organisation of Intercontinental encounter Nov 29 EZLN 3 comments The Sixth Declaration of the Selva Lacandona proposed a new Intercontinental encounter to follow up those held in the 1990's in Chiapas and the Spanish state. This communique announces details of a consultation to take place until June 30th on holding it that proposes that “Intergalactic Committees” be formed on the five continents. |