Post Ananr

I can be described as a Post-Anarchist, as I do not have a set of social arrangements, or even any particular revolutionary project I engage in, but rather I have a sensibility, a specific ethos or way of living and observing the world which is impelled by me realizing the freedom that we currently posses. 

It suggest that revolution – as a method of thinking of radical political changes – is no longer operational, and I propose a notion of insurrection instead – of which we distance ourselves from power, instead of us seeking to battle against it directly creating a new rule.

In layman's terms, my strain of Post-anarchism is not one coherent theory, but rather my Anarchism of a combination of works of any amount of post-modernists and post-structuralists including Michel Foucault, Gilles Deleuze, Jacques Lacan, Jacques Derrida, Jean Baudrillard; postmodern feminists including Judith Butler; and besides those, also of classical anarchist and libertarian philosophers including Zhuang Zhou, Emma Goldman, Max Stirner (only on human rights), and Friedrich Nietzsche. And so, the terminology of my post Anarchism can vary widely in both approach and outcome.

What we call "poststructuralist anarchism", is a theory rooted in the post-structuralist understanding of power, like through the work of Michel Foucault and Emma Goldman, while I take the anarchist approach to ethics.

The "Lacanian anarchism" as proposed by Saul Newman I subscribe to utilizes the works of Jacques Lacan and to a much lesser extent (or barely) Max Stirner more prominently. 

In the vein of Saul Newman I criticize classical anarchists, like Mikhail Bakunin and Peter Kropotkin, for their assumptions of an objective "human nature" and natural order of things; we argue that from this standpoint, humans progress and are naturally well-off , with just the Establishment as a limitation that forces behavior otherwise. 

For Newman and me,  this is an outlook that depicts the reversal of Thomas Hobbes' Leviathan, in which the "good" state is subjugated by the "evil" people.

Lewis Call has tries his hand as to develop post-anarchist theory by using the work of  Friedrich Nietzsche, , rejecting the Cartesian conception of the "subject." From ths point, a radical form of anarchism is made possible: the anarchism of becoming (similar to the 4pt which I support personally, legality wise, etc see my other set of blogs for more on that). 

This anarchism does not have an ultimate goal, nor does it flow into "being"; it is not an end state of development, nor is it a static type of society, but it instead becomes permanent, as a means without end. 

I also am inspired in this by Italian autonomist Giorgio Agamben who also has written about this idea. In this respect it is akin to the "complex systems" viewpoint of emerging society we call "Panarchy". Call like me, critiques liberal concepts of language, consciousness, and rationality from an anarchist pov, arguing that they are instinctive in economic and political power within the organizations of the capitalist state 

Duane Rousselle has used the term from the perspective of Lacanian psychoanalysis in After Post-Anarchism and Post-Anarchism: A Reader. The journal Anarchist Developments in Cultural Studies has been a vital academic journal disseminating post-anarchist theory.

Deleuzoguattarian Anarchism

Deleuze and Guattari aren't political thinkers but philosophers, though even at that, something prescriptive can be had from their works Capitalism and Schizophrenia, Anti-Oedipus and A Thousand Plateaus. It is heavily discouraged to read them prior to us understanding Sigmund Freud and his successor Jacques Lacan. What are those ideas in short:

Consciousness contains three fragments: ego, superego, and id. 

Its role is to produce desires, the superego attempts to hold those desires back by morality, shame, and critique, and the ego is the judge that tries to make decisions from this dialog. 

When something goes wrong in those relations person becomes insane, and a psychologist should intervene and through dialog, calm down the id or superego. Deleuze and Guattari being part of the anti-psychiatry movement, say that this is coercion. Not only the superego, ego, and id should be free, but the id shouldn't even be whole. 

They compare it with the factory of desires, and it is inhabited by many personalities, just like the proletariat should be freed from the factory, those personalities should be freed to live separately, creating each their own desire, in short, every person should become a schizophrenic, however, they don't oppose the formation of "healthy" consciousness, they are against of formation of consciousness through coercive means by the society. 

As well they believe that all forms of society should be free to practice since telling what is normal and not is a form of fascism, for example, they believe capitalism can be practiced in the post-capitalist society, despite being Marxists in a very orthodox way.

Existentialist Anarchism frequently has a place within Post Anarchism. The anarchism of becoming is no static state of society, nor is it the final developmental stage but instead is a means without end.

As for Ancomm, I talked about it elsewhere in my blogs but some ideas of pure communism are a bit antiquated, so we got to adjust for our contemporaries. How? Maybe Acid communism can be one way to do so. Acid Communism is base for imagining new futures and is thus compatible with my brand of post Anarchism

Post anarchism is the leftist version of Esoteric Semi Red mountain on the center Fascism.

What Max Stirner says is a word, a thought, a concept; what he means is no word, no thought, no concept. What he says is not what is meant, and what he means is unsayable." - Max Stirner

Post-Left Anarchism (which I support personally, legality wise etc as per my other set of blogs) - helps me privately (as in these blogs) move past the constraints of leftism, to better anarchism.

 Anarcho-Nihilism's crushing futility is possibly the most freeing aspect of our existence 

Like with Taoist Anarchism, I feel that from a post anarchist point of view that the anarchy that can be spoken is not the anarchy.

Soulism could be used within Post Anarchism as an optimistic tool that strives for the existence of the spiritual world and the opportunity of a better future. It would bring about anti-despair and be pro-hope via speeches like ones that saved people from giving up in really dum dum times, 

Post Anarchism also critiques Minarchism . "The problem with the minimal state such as that advocated by Nozick, is that it is never minimal in practice: on the contrary, a state which preoccupies itself with security functions – military and police force – is in fact highly interventionist, intrusive and authoritarian. The libertarian minimal state always ends up as a Leviathan state."

Here is some more post Anarchism Anarchy I support: (form Hakim Bey https://theanarchistlibrary.org/library/hakim-bey-post-anarchism-anarchy). This can address the issues with Anarchism I outline throughout these blogs and similar issues too: 

"The Association for Ontological Anarchy gathers in conclave, black turbans & shimmering robes, sprawled on shirazi carpets sipping bitter coffee, smoking long chibouk & sibsi. Question: What’s our position on all these recent defections & desertions from anarchism (esp. in California-Land): condemn or condone? Purge them or hail them as advance-guard? Gnostic elite... or traitors?

Actually, we have a lot of sympathy for the deserters & their various critiques of anarchism. Like Sinbad & the Horrible Old Man, anarchism staggers around with the corpse of a Martyr magically stuck to its shoulders — haunted by the legacy of failure & revolutionary masochism — stagnant backwater of lost history.

Between tragic Past & impossible Future, anarchism seems to lack a Present — as if afraid to ask itself, here & now, what are my true desires? — & what can I do before it’s too late ?... Yes, imagine yourself confronted by a sorcerer who stares you down balefully & demands, “What is your True Desire?” Do you hem & haw, stammer, take refuge in ideological platitudes? Do you possess both Imagination & Will, can you both dream & dare — or are you the dupe of an impotent fantasy?

Look in the mirror & try it...(for one of your masks is the face of a sorcerer)...

The anarchist “movement” today contains virtually no Blacks, Hispanics, Native Americans or children... (some Anarchists even have to invent them) even tho in theory such genuinely oppressed groups stand to gain the most from any anti-authoritarian revolt. Might it be that anarchism offers no concrete program whereby the truly deprived might fulfill (or at least struggle realistically to fulfill) real needs & desires?

If so, then this failure would explain not only anarchism’s lack of appeal to the poor & marginal, but also the disaffection & desertions from within its own ranks. Demos, picket-lines & reprints of 19th century classics don’t add up to a vital, daring conspiracy of self-liberation. If the movement is to grow rather than shrink, a lot of deadwood will have to be jettisoned & some risky ideas embraced.

The potential exists. Any day now, vast numbers of americans are going to realize they’re being force-fed a load of reactionary boring hysterical artificially-flavored crap. Vast chorus of groans, puking & retching... angry mobs roam the malls, smashing & looting... etc., etc. 

The Black Banner could provide a focus for the outrage & channel it into an insurrection of the Imagination. We could pick up the struggle where it was dropped by Situationism in ’68 & Autonomia in the seventies, & carry it to the next stage. We could have revolt in our times — & in the process, we could realize many of our True Desires, even if only for a season, a brief Pirate Utopia, a warped free-zone in the old Space/Time continuum.

If the A.O.A. retains its affiliation with the “movement,” we do so not merely out of a romantic predilection for lost causes — or not entirely. Of all “political systems,” anarchism (despite its flaws, & precisely because it is neither political nor a system) comes closest to our understanding of reality, ontology, the nature of being. As for the deserters... we agree with their critiques, but note that they seem to offer no new powerful alternatives. So for the time being we prefer to concentrate on changing anarchism from within.

Here’s our program, comrades:

Work on the realization that psychic racism has replaced overt discrimination as one of the most disgusting aspects of our society. Imaginative participation in other cultures, esp. those we live with.

Abandon all ideological purity. Embrace “Type-3” anarchism (to use Bob Black’s pro-tem slogan): neither collectivist nor individualist. Cleanse the temple of vain idols, get rid of the Horrible Old Men, the relics & martyrologies.

Anti-work or “Zerowork” movement extremely important, including a radical & perhaps violent attack on Education & the serfdom of children.

Develop american samizdat network, replace outdated publishing/propaganda tactics. Pornography & popular entertainment as vehicles for radical re-education.

In music the hegemony of the 2/4 & 4/4 beat must be overthrown. We need a new music, totally insane but life-affirming, rhythmically subtle yet powerful, & we need it now.

Anarchism must wean itself away from evangelical materialism & banal 2-dimensional 19th century scientism. “Higher states of consciousness” are not mere spooks invented by evil priests. The orient, the occult, the tribal cultures possess techniques which can be “appropriated” in true anarchist fashion. Without “higher states of consciousness,” anarchism ends & dries itself up into a form of misery, a whining complaint. We need a practical kind of “mystical anarchism,” devoid of all New Age shit-&-shinola, & inexorably heretical & anti-clerical; avid for all new technologies of consciousness & metanoia — a democratization of shamanism, intoxicated & serene.

Sexuality is under assault, obviously from the Right, more subtly from the avant-pseud “post-sexuality” movement, & even more subtly by Spectacular Recuperation in media & advertising. Time for a major step forward in SexPol awareness, an explosive reaffirmation of the polymorphic eros — (even & especially in the face of plague & gloom) — a literal glorification of the senses, a doctrine of delight. Abandon all world-hatred & shame.

Experiment with new tactics to replace the outdated baggage of Leftism. Emphasize practical, material & personal benefits of radical networking. The times do not appear propitious for violence or militancy, but surely a bit of sabotage & imaginative disruption is never out of place. Plot & conspire, don’t bitch & moan. The Art World in particular deserves a dose of “Poetic Terrorism.”

The despatialization of post-Industrial society provides some benefits (e.g. computer networking) but can also manifest as a form of oppression (homelessness, gentrification, architectural depersonalization, the erasure of Nature, etc.) The communes of the sixties tried to circumvent these forces but failed. The question of land refuses to go away. How can we separate the concept of space from the mechanisms of control? The territorial gangsters, the Nation/States, have hogged the entire map. Who can invent for us a cartography of autonomy, who can draw a map that includes our desires?

Anarchism ultimately implies anarchy — & anarchy is chaos. Chaos is the principle of continual creation...& Chaos never died. — A.O.A. Plenary Session

March ’87, NYC

However, I also fuse my post structuralist post anarchism with the ideas laid out by Allan Antiff here

In particular  I draw on the history of the Russian Revolution's abundantly clear concept of “classical” anarchist positive theory of power more so than I use the post structuralist post anarchist positive theory of power.  t

I use the history of the Russian Revolution as an alternative ground for me theorizing the social conditions of freedom and a critical understanding of power and liberation as perpetually co-mingling with and inscribed by a process of self-interrogation and self-overcoming that is pluralistic, individualist, materialist, and social. 

This has the advantage of an historical record: this theory has been put into practice, sometimes on a mass scale.

So I marshal classical anarchism to interrogate poststructuralism, instead of the other way around. 

Classical Anarchism offers a better method to do what post structuralist post anarchism tries to do (or at worst can supplement it well). See here for example