Jesus CHRIST shit is fucked up in the world these days. Revolt all over the Middle East? Check. Earthquakes? Check. Dead fish everywhere? Check. Nuclear fucking MELTDOWNS?! Check.
I've been going out of my mind watching the agonizing videos of the tsunami in Japan. Watching what took generations to build wiped away in a few minutes is some sobering shit to watch. It reminds us that all the energy we pump into this culture of monopoly is nothing compared to what 10 minutes of nature can do.
And as usual, statism is the chocolate center of this tootsie pop. So to speak.
In the Arab world, people have been living under oppressive regimes for decades, and have risen up to burn them to the ground. Now, before everyone decries violence, let us remember that the State started the fight. By employing various methodologies of coercian and direct violence, the State has created distortions, which in turn act as its fail safe. The people rise up, burn the government to the ground, then build a new one in its place. Rinse repeat.
Now, I don't think the State is using HAARP to start earthquakes. I do think we live on a highly active geological planet, and therefore earthquakes have been, and always will be, occurring. The issue is that the State is a system of monopoly, which means that people are often forced, directly and indirectly, into condensed areas. Now, I'm a firm proponent of mass society, but this is distinctive from social monopoly. One of the fundamentals of a free market is freedom of movement, which would regulate any mass society. But through immigration prohibition and the housing market (which traps people in debt and place), people become condensed and unmoving, and are therefore in more danger should something like an earthquake or tsunami strike. Where there is less room to breathe, there is less room to run.
Did the state kill all the fish? Popular science says it is not related to pollution, and that these are natural die offs. On the other hand, due to global climate change, could schools of fish be changing their routes and ending up in the wrong place at the wrong time and quite dead? Since the evidence does show human involvement of some degree in climate change, the State becomes suspect number one in the majority of it. The State is the world's biggest polluter. It pollutes and protects others that do. For example, if more people rode in cabs, carbon emissions would reduce. But since it is so expensive to operate a cab (and therefore expensive to ride in one), that resource of the free market is not utilized. To date, it costs 225,000 smackers to operate a cab in New York City.
Kevin Carson recently wrote a fantastic piece on how to actually ban nuclear power. He writes: "...the actual problem is that government has been actively intervening for decades to prevent the market from banning nuclear power. Precisely because the stakes are so high and there’s so much room for unforseen things to go wrong, nuclear power is uninsurable on the private market...Nuclear power is a virtual creature of the government. The nuclear industry grew directly out of the “Defense” Department’s nuclear weapons programs, and the first reactors were built as an offshoot of military production. A major portion of the cost of just about every single step in the nuclear power production chain, from the federal government providing preferential access to government land and building access roads at taxpayer expense for uranium mines, to the above-mentioned assumption and capping of liability, to taxpayer-funded storage of nuclear waste, shows up on your tax bill rather than on your electric bill."
The impending possibility of meltdown in Japan is a direct result of State action. And before you say, "No, it's capitalism that did it," dude, they're the same fucking thing. As Sam Konkin wrote, "Capitalism, then, does not describe a free market but a form of statism."
All of this madness has led folks to start talking about God and the end of the world. The apocalyptic nature of the culture of monopoly is actually quite predictable. The meme of statism is thousands of years old, and as such we have collective memories of its constant collapse. Since the advent of the State that has been its nature. Monopoly is unsustainable long term, and as such always maxes out and subsequently collapses. Authoritarian religion (yes there is another kind) provides great back up for the State. By acceding to an invisible "authority" it is far easier to accede to an actual authority. And so these collapses of the State are seen as fulfillment of prophecies, and when the world doesn't end, that's fine, because the State's cycle will always support those beliefs, which in turn will always support the masters. So, when collapse approaches, retarded fundamentalism ensues. Rinse repeat. It's actually pretty fucking sophisticated if you ask me.
On a deep level we all know this, but we are too far removed from "pre-statism" to know what the fuck to do about it, so we go on supporting villains. There are ways to change direction, of which anarchists have been talking about and doing for years and years. With the internet we now have a way of telling and showing a larger audience how they can affect systemic change and move away from this culture of monopoly. One of these, my personal bread and butter, is agorism.
We can change direction, and it begins with us as individuals. Don't let the monopoly stunt you into inaction. Start making those little cuts to the State today, and together we will bleed the fucker dry. And it will never know what hit it.
Friday, March 18, 2011
Tuesday, January 25, 2011
Cops, Drug Dealers, Baseball
I had an interesting conversation last night with this guy at the bus stop. He told me about when he played baseball in college. Now, as always goes in these sort of stories, he was exceptionally good. I made the leap and believed him. But any embellishment aside, he told me when he was growing up the local drug dealers wouldn't let anyone mess with him. That they would tell him to go away when he came around. He said this was because any young black kids that were good at sports were supported by the community, including the drug dealers. He said the dealers saved a lot of lives by keeping these kids away from them.
"Get out of here," they'd say, "you know what we do."
For the record, I don't give a shit if people want to buy, sell, and/or do drugs. However, the drug trade as it is now is largely part of the red market (violent and degenerate) due to state prohibition. Many of these street dealers are violent, coercive thugs, despite the fact that they often help and protect people in their community.
Police can be described in much the same way. Their organization is not a product of the free market, but IS a product of state mandate (violent and coercive means). As an organization, they are often brutal, and violent, despite the fact that many cops help and protect people in their community. They are also part of the red market.
However, when a street dealer is shot, there are no road blocks, man hunts, or any other kind of massive state mobilization. When these folks are killed on the job it is written off as their own fault. They chose that life. They chose to behave in immoral fashions and had it coming to them. If you break the law, you face the consequences.
Two kinds of workers, both red market, both capable of charity, and both built on a foundation of violence and coercion. Yet, somehow, this culture deems one moral and virtuous, and the other, not.
And that, dear readers, is stupid.
"Get out of here," they'd say, "you know what we do."
For the record, I don't give a shit if people want to buy, sell, and/or do drugs. However, the drug trade as it is now is largely part of the red market (violent and degenerate) due to state prohibition. Many of these street dealers are violent, coercive thugs, despite the fact that they often help and protect people in their community.
Police can be described in much the same way. Their organization is not a product of the free market, but IS a product of state mandate (violent and coercive means). As an organization, they are often brutal, and violent, despite the fact that many cops help and protect people in their community. They are also part of the red market.
However, when a street dealer is shot, there are no road blocks, man hunts, or any other kind of massive state mobilization. When these folks are killed on the job it is written off as their own fault. They chose that life. They chose to behave in immoral fashions and had it coming to them. If you break the law, you face the consequences.
Two kinds of workers, both red market, both capable of charity, and both built on a foundation of violence and coercion. Yet, somehow, this culture deems one moral and virtuous, and the other, not.
And that, dear readers, is stupid.
Friday, January 7, 2011
That Beaver is Going to Sue You: Property Rights in the Non-Human World
I feel like a real asshole when I destroy a spider web. They are fucking lovely, and they probably took an insane amount of time and work to make. Not only that, but it's the home of a living creature. But, dammit, why did you have to build in across the walkway leading to my backyard? Or between my bike and the window sill? WHY, SPIDER, WHY?
So, I ask myself, why do I feel so bad? Have I violated some natural law and feel like shit for it?
Yes, I have.
One of my main criticisms against libertarian anarchism is that there is a tendency to lose sight of our neighbors on this planet. For as much as we espouse moral codes and ethics, with the exception of our funny cat and dog motivational posters, or our photos of pets at home, we don't really talk much about the other creatures of this planet who have as much right to self ownership as we do.
Now, there's no doubt in my mind that real property rights (and not the concept as co-opted by the state, which is meant to protect the "property" of special interests, which is not property but actually theft), provide the most straight forward, consistent philosophy leading to ecological harmony in terms of the human animal and its neighbors on this planet. If individuals own themselves and the fruit of their labors, than they are more likely to take care of them. Therefore, if someone homesteads a spot and builds it up as a dwelling for themselves and their kin, collective, etc, and are left alone in absolute freedom, they will protect their spot.
As the saying goes: nobody washes a rental car. In India, where pollution is staggeringly awful, the state "owns" most of the land. Take away individual property rights, and disaster ensues.
So what about other animal communities? A beaver dam is awesome. It is a very cool feat of engineering. It is a spot that has been homesteaded, and which the beaver may fight to protect if young are present. These are the basic tenants of property rights. The beaver owns itself, the fruits of its labor, and has the right to protect it.
All life owns itself, and as such will fight to live. This is the core of self-ownership.
Do violations of life's property rights occur? Yes, all the time. Would they occur in a free society? Yes. The difference is that when the human individual has real rights to property, their actions will fundamentally be different. Therefore, poisoning the air is a violation of other creatures' right to self ownership, as is poisoning the water, and clear-cutting track after track of forest.
In short, a free society will have minimal violations of the rights to property, limited to the normal cycles of life, which are anything but utopic, but are FAR more preferable to the long term health of the animals and life systems of this planet.
So, try not to wreck the spider web or the beaver dam, because they'll fucking sue you.
So, I ask myself, why do I feel so bad? Have I violated some natural law and feel like shit for it?
Yes, I have.
One of my main criticisms against libertarian anarchism is that there is a tendency to lose sight of our neighbors on this planet. For as much as we espouse moral codes and ethics, with the exception of our funny cat and dog motivational posters, or our photos of pets at home, we don't really talk much about the other creatures of this planet who have as much right to self ownership as we do.
Now, there's no doubt in my mind that real property rights (and not the concept as co-opted by the state, which is meant to protect the "property" of special interests, which is not property but actually theft), provide the most straight forward, consistent philosophy leading to ecological harmony in terms of the human animal and its neighbors on this planet. If individuals own themselves and the fruit of their labors, than they are more likely to take care of them. Therefore, if someone homesteads a spot and builds it up as a dwelling for themselves and their kin, collective, etc, and are left alone in absolute freedom, they will protect their spot.
As the saying goes: nobody washes a rental car. In India, where pollution is staggeringly awful, the state "owns" most of the land. Take away individual property rights, and disaster ensues.
So what about other animal communities? A beaver dam is awesome. It is a very cool feat of engineering. It is a spot that has been homesteaded, and which the beaver may fight to protect if young are present. These are the basic tenants of property rights. The beaver owns itself, the fruits of its labor, and has the right to protect it.
All life owns itself, and as such will fight to live. This is the core of self-ownership.
Do violations of life's property rights occur? Yes, all the time. Would they occur in a free society? Yes. The difference is that when the human individual has real rights to property, their actions will fundamentally be different. Therefore, poisoning the air is a violation of other creatures' right to self ownership, as is poisoning the water, and clear-cutting track after track of forest.
In short, a free society will have minimal violations of the rights to property, limited to the normal cycles of life, which are anything but utopic, but are FAR more preferable to the long term health of the animals and life systems of this planet.
So, try not to wreck the spider web or the beaver dam, because they'll fucking sue you.
Friday, December 3, 2010
Taking a Wikileak on the State
I have a man crush on Julian Assange. What a bad motherfucker. In the resistance against the the state, Wikileaks has provided a great service. In agorism, part of the counter-economy is a free market of information, with the understanding that with information individual behavior can change, if only slightly. One of the more intriguing aspects of revolutionary market anarchism is that it delivers system disruption via millions of little cuts. Combine this with our comrades in the resistance taking larger, more dramatic steps (breaking windows, burning cop cars, tree sitting, etc.) and you have a formula for large scale shifts, as opposed to the highly toxic, collectivist notion of mass movement.
A few of these slight changes in behavior that deliver little cuts to the state can be giving a bit of cash to a houseless person, not casting one or two votes, quitting voting altogether, grow a garden, save some tadpoles , buying a bit of junk silver, and on and on. Agorism relies on invisibility, and conscious, small acts of resistance throughout ones day are possible for anyone in any environment.
The counter-economy encompasses far more than free market money and trading, it also encompasses small acts of infrastructure rebuilding, wherein the individual is empowered in the details of their lives, and adds that bit of energy to building the new within the shell of the old.
Organizations like Wikileaks help give us a bit of fuel in agorism, for information is a powerful thing, and if it helps us change direction, if only slightly, that is far better than business as usual in this culture of monoply.
A few of these slight changes in behavior that deliver little cuts to the state can be giving a bit of cash to a houseless person, not casting one or two votes, quitting voting altogether, grow a garden, save some tadpoles , buying a bit of junk silver, and on and on. Agorism relies on invisibility, and conscious, small acts of resistance throughout ones day are possible for anyone in any environment.
The counter-economy encompasses far more than free market money and trading, it also encompasses small acts of infrastructure rebuilding, wherein the individual is empowered in the details of their lives, and adds that bit of energy to building the new within the shell of the old.
Organizations like Wikileaks help give us a bit of fuel in agorism, for information is a powerful thing, and if it helps us change direction, if only slightly, that is far better than business as usual in this culture of monoply.
Monday, November 15, 2010
The School of Being Ripped Off
A friend of mine who is infuriatingly brilliant (note both my sarcasm and jealousy over his powerful mind), has to retake the GRE because his scores passed some sort of cutoff date. While he agrees with me that this is a complete scam, he argues that state regulation is needed to get rid of these scams. My retort is simply that the hidden costs of regulating said scam is a scam in and of itself, and it becomes a matter of which set of pigs will do the stealing.
The political class, whether capitalist pigs, or state pigs, have no interest in providing accessible, quality education. In other words, we are not dealing with a niche-based, freed market education environment. In even more other words, education in this culture is another mechanism of control on the part of those at the top of the pyramid. Said control is for profit/politics, and NOT for the consumer. If it truly WAS for the consumer then they would be BEGGING my brilliant friend to come to their school.
In a freed market, colleges would actually have to compete. They would have to build a solid, long term reputation for high quality turn out of students. They would also be subject to the desires of the students (customers), and not to the state, or Pepsi, or other kinds of nonsense.
Schools would have to teach what people truly desire to learn.
In a context of state capitalist power and fiat currency, there are virtually NO incentives for real competition.
There is a fundamental reason the political class does not desire a freed market, and this is not because the children need to be protected. This is because in such an environment the power shifts to individuals.
This is not to say that one can't wring a quality education out of this culture of monopoly we live in, it's just to say that it will come through being stolen from by pigs.
The political class, whether capitalist pigs, or state pigs, have no interest in providing accessible, quality education. In other words, we are not dealing with a niche-based, freed market education environment. In even more other words, education in this culture is another mechanism of control on the part of those at the top of the pyramid. Said control is for profit/politics, and NOT for the consumer. If it truly WAS for the consumer then they would be BEGGING my brilliant friend to come to their school.
In a freed market, colleges would actually have to compete. They would have to build a solid, long term reputation for high quality turn out of students. They would also be subject to the desires of the students (customers), and not to the state, or Pepsi, or other kinds of nonsense.
Schools would have to teach what people truly desire to learn.
In a context of state capitalist power and fiat currency, there are virtually NO incentives for real competition.
There is a fundamental reason the political class does not desire a freed market, and this is not because the children need to be protected. This is because in such an environment the power shifts to individuals.
This is not to say that one can't wring a quality education out of this culture of monopoly we live in, it's just to say that it will come through being stolen from by pigs.
Monday, July 19, 2010
Balancing the Books: Free Market Population Control
Turns out, there are a lot of people on the planet. According to some humans are pushing the scale, thus leading the planet toward ecological ruin.
I'd say there are all sorts of things causing issues, one of which is massive overpopulation. But the spin on overpopulation that I take is that people/communities have been monopolized, in more vulgar terms we have been herded into concentrated groups. Lump us all together in a cage and we start to go fucking mental. So, yeah, there are lots of social/ecological problems.
A fundamental aspect to a freed market is the necessity of movement. People must be free to move around whenever they see fit. This requires a broad approach to the principle of property rights, but such is the nature a truly freed market. We must be flexible in our social approaches for long term adaptability and stability.
When people are free to move and work as they please (as long as it is done through non-aggression), or, rather, when they have more options in front of them for their lives, pumping out kids for a living becomes one of many life choices, as opposed to the ONLY life choice.
From an economic point of view, people act according to incentives and disincentives. Therefore, a coercive welfare state and property monopolization place people in an environment where choices become quite narrowed, and they subsequently multiply like fucking gremlins in water.
In essence, a free society would broaden life choices for folks, thereby naturally bringing down overall birth rates, and thereby stabilizing our population. The effect of such a phenomenon would butterfly into social organizing and ecological responsibility. Not because of some mass ideology, but as a product of absolute freedom.
I'd say there are all sorts of things causing issues, one of which is massive overpopulation. But the spin on overpopulation that I take is that people/communities have been monopolized, in more vulgar terms we have been herded into concentrated groups. Lump us all together in a cage and we start to go fucking mental. So, yeah, there are lots of social/ecological problems.
A fundamental aspect to a freed market is the necessity of movement. People must be free to move around whenever they see fit. This requires a broad approach to the principle of property rights, but such is the nature a truly freed market. We must be flexible in our social approaches for long term adaptability and stability.
When people are free to move and work as they please (as long as it is done through non-aggression), or, rather, when they have more options in front of them for their lives, pumping out kids for a living becomes one of many life choices, as opposed to the ONLY life choice.
From an economic point of view, people act according to incentives and disincentives. Therefore, a coercive welfare state and property monopolization place people in an environment where choices become quite narrowed, and they subsequently multiply like fucking gremlins in water.
In essence, a free society would broaden life choices for folks, thereby naturally bringing down overall birth rates, and thereby stabilizing our population. The effect of such a phenomenon would butterfly into social organizing and ecological responsibility. Not because of some mass ideology, but as a product of absolute freedom.
Tuesday, July 6, 2010
Starbucks and Porcupines: The Stupid Wrongness of Stefan Molyneux
Two guys are my biggest influences as an anarchist. Murray Rothbard and Stefan Molyneux. You might remember, dear reader, that I have a bit of beef with Rothbard, and now I have some with Stef. First of all, thank GAWD. These days many seem to hang on to philosophers like a religionist without a god. I for one am stoked at the opportunity to drop a turd on one of my heroes.
In a recent podcast Stef makes a couple sad assertions. The first is that the participants of the black bloc are not real anarchists. The second is that we should feel sorry for Starbucks when their windows get broken; this being implied by his "poor Starbucks" comment.
Let the turding begin!
As to whether or not the people in the streets are the real deal holyfield resistors, peep this.
Obviously, the notion that those burning cop cars couldn't be anarchists because true anarchists would never destroy property is silly. First, the police institution has no valid property rights as an organization. It is an organization based on theft and corruption (and other assorted uglies), therefore action taken against it is retaliatory and often admirable. It is not an initiation of force. And what if the people setting fire to the cars were undercover cops? GOOD. Finally, my fucking taxes go to something ACTUALLY worthwhile. I'd cast a fucking VOTE for that shit. Fuck ideology, taxes for burning cop cars? Sheeeeeeeee-iiiiiiiiiiit.
Stef claims that the real anarchists were to be found at PorcFest, a freedom festival in New Hampshire. From what I've heard, it was peaceful, people's goods laid out in a true, free market fashion, and absolute freedom celebrated. I wish I could have gone. PorcFest is basically an anarchist community realized. It sounds fun as shit.
HOWEVER.
While I agree that PorcFest is a beautiful expression of anarchism as a socio-political theory, SO is the fucking black bloc. The cops fight it and the media spins it because the bloc THREATENS them. And really, think about how fucking restrained those comrades are out there in the streets. They break windows of big businesses and burn cop cars. Oh SHIT, not THAT! The strength in numbers, the decentralized force, combined with what is overall an enlightened group of people filled with some righteous fucking fury, and showing the kind of force they are to be reckoned with merely by donning masks and breaking windows, is fucking amazing and beautiful. They are not beating people in the streets, shooting people, shackling people, abusing people. The police are.
The bloc scares those who know nothing but centralized, monopolized, coercive force.
Fucking STARBUCKS. I can't believe you said poor, fucking STARBUCKS. I really held my breath, waiting for the punchline, but sadly, none followed. Sigh.
For one, Starbucks is not a product of a free market. It is a giant corporation with lots of political connections, that may have started as a small business, but is no longer a business; it is a corporation. It capitalizes hugely on fiat currency. Yes, I know there are studies suggesting that they "help" mom and pop cafes, and blah blah blah. I worked at a Starbucks, it sucks fucking balls. BALLS.
Not to mention that Starbucks is notorious for giving free coffee to cops. Ya know, the people who enforce the laws that we market anarchists apparently hate so much?
THEY ARE NOT OUR FUCKING FRIENDS.
Ya see, I used take the same position. That I, this highly enlightened market anarchist, had puzzled out what the true essence of anarchism was, and could therefore smirk and decry the direct action of others as not truly anarchist.
Then I met some social anarchists. Shared meals with them. Worked with them. And what I found is they are some of the most passionate, freedom loving people you will ever meet. Yeah, we fucking disagree on some shit, debate it hotly, whatever, but they are the real fucking deal. These are people risking their lives in the streets to fight for freedom. It's galvanizing, it's really risky, and yes, we can offer criticisms, but to condemn and write-off off these freedom fighters as false is some serious fucking bullshit. It is spreading the lies of our mutual enemy the state.
Neither Stefan or I will be participating in the bloc anytime soon, I know, but I can say that they are my comrades, my brothers and sisters, and perhaps Stefan would do well to consider them the same.
They fight for you and your family.
In a recent podcast Stef makes a couple sad assertions. The first is that the participants of the black bloc are not real anarchists. The second is that we should feel sorry for Starbucks when their windows get broken; this being implied by his "poor Starbucks" comment.
Let the turding begin!
As to whether or not the people in the streets are the real deal holyfield resistors, peep this.
Obviously, the notion that those burning cop cars couldn't be anarchists because true anarchists would never destroy property is silly. First, the police institution has no valid property rights as an organization. It is an organization based on theft and corruption (and other assorted uglies), therefore action taken against it is retaliatory and often admirable. It is not an initiation of force. And what if the people setting fire to the cars were undercover cops? GOOD. Finally, my fucking taxes go to something ACTUALLY worthwhile. I'd cast a fucking VOTE for that shit. Fuck ideology, taxes for burning cop cars? Sheeeeeeeee-iiiiiiiiiiit.
Stef claims that the real anarchists were to be found at PorcFest, a freedom festival in New Hampshire. From what I've heard, it was peaceful, people's goods laid out in a true, free market fashion, and absolute freedom celebrated. I wish I could have gone. PorcFest is basically an anarchist community realized. It sounds fun as shit.
HOWEVER.
While I agree that PorcFest is a beautiful expression of anarchism as a socio-political theory, SO is the fucking black bloc. The cops fight it and the media spins it because the bloc THREATENS them. And really, think about how fucking restrained those comrades are out there in the streets. They break windows of big businesses and burn cop cars. Oh SHIT, not THAT! The strength in numbers, the decentralized force, combined with what is overall an enlightened group of people filled with some righteous fucking fury, and showing the kind of force they are to be reckoned with merely by donning masks and breaking windows, is fucking amazing and beautiful. They are not beating people in the streets, shooting people, shackling people, abusing people. The police are.
The bloc scares those who know nothing but centralized, monopolized, coercive force.
Fucking STARBUCKS. I can't believe you said poor, fucking STARBUCKS. I really held my breath, waiting for the punchline, but sadly, none followed. Sigh.
For one, Starbucks is not a product of a free market. It is a giant corporation with lots of political connections, that may have started as a small business, but is no longer a business; it is a corporation. It capitalizes hugely on fiat currency. Yes, I know there are studies suggesting that they "help" mom and pop cafes, and blah blah blah. I worked at a Starbucks, it sucks fucking balls. BALLS.
Not to mention that Starbucks is notorious for giving free coffee to cops. Ya know, the people who enforce the laws that we market anarchists apparently hate so much?
THEY ARE NOT OUR FUCKING FRIENDS.
Ya see, I used take the same position. That I, this highly enlightened market anarchist, had puzzled out what the true essence of anarchism was, and could therefore smirk and decry the direct action of others as not truly anarchist.
Then I met some social anarchists. Shared meals with them. Worked with them. And what I found is they are some of the most passionate, freedom loving people you will ever meet. Yeah, we fucking disagree on some shit, debate it hotly, whatever, but they are the real fucking deal. These are people risking their lives in the streets to fight for freedom. It's galvanizing, it's really risky, and yes, we can offer criticisms, but to condemn and write-off off these freedom fighters as false is some serious fucking bullshit. It is spreading the lies of our mutual enemy the state.
Neither Stefan or I will be participating in the bloc anytime soon, I know, but I can say that they are my comrades, my brothers and sisters, and perhaps Stefan would do well to consider them the same.
They fight for you and your family.
Thursday, June 24, 2010
Digital Trees Don't Smell Good
So this shitbag wrote an article crying because lame-ass newspapers were going out of business because of digital media. Plus, he blames trees. What a PRICK. So here's the deal, peeps:
This is the era of digitized, decentralized, mass media.
Yeah, the big boys are still around, whipping up fear with bullshit propaganda and misinformation wrapped up in loud and bright graphics, but information is flowing like it never has, and because of that, the old ways of sharing information are being made obsolete. The newspapers are dying.
The more that is virtualized, the better. And before people start bawling about the beauty of tactile shit, shuuuuuuuuuut the fuuuuuuuuuuuck up. Seriously. Go camping, buy a used book, get a sexual partner who will allow you to place your clammy hands on them. There are plenty of tactile experiences that await you beyond the virtual world. Yes, there is a danger of closing ourselves in doors because of the digital age...SO DON'T CLOSE YOURSELF UP IN YOUR HOUSE!!! Stop blaming shit for you not going outside and getting a little exercise. The devil did NOT make you do it. Neither did World of Warcraft.
The wealth of media out there means we have to be discerning. We have to check sources. Or not. Who gives a shit? Get lost in searches for obscure information and opinions. Who knows what you'll stumble upon? Maybe you'll stumble upon this blog and begin exploring agorist and post-civilization ideas? The decentralized media dumps information on you, and you must work to sift through it, but it can be fun work, guided by you and your whims.
I'm not JUST baked and rambling, I DO have an over-arching point that ties into the whole theme of this blog. Part of living successfully and sustainably in a post-civilization world will be through social decentralization. The decentralized mass media allows us to begin participating in the concept. Instead of waiting for civilization's collapse to happen TO us, we can make it something we are in control of through free association and open source information sharing via the digitized world. Groups like this are an example.
So yeah, the old newspapers are starting to collapse and go by-bye. Fuck em. They can't help us transition through the collapse of industrial civilization, peak oil, fiat money, or any of that. The virtual world can. Sure, there are dangers throughout the digitized world, but they are absolutely worth risking, given the unprecedented opportunity we have to connect with each other as free people.
Besides, it's more trees for the planet. I'll trade USA Today for that.
This is the era of digitized, decentralized, mass media.
Yeah, the big boys are still around, whipping up fear with bullshit propaganda and misinformation wrapped up in loud and bright graphics, but information is flowing like it never has, and because of that, the old ways of sharing information are being made obsolete. The newspapers are dying.
The more that is virtualized, the better. And before people start bawling about the beauty of tactile shit, shuuuuuuuuuut the fuuuuuuuuuuuck up. Seriously. Go camping, buy a used book, get a sexual partner who will allow you to place your clammy hands on them. There are plenty of tactile experiences that await you beyond the virtual world. Yes, there is a danger of closing ourselves in doors because of the digital age...SO DON'T CLOSE YOURSELF UP IN YOUR HOUSE!!! Stop blaming shit for you not going outside and getting a little exercise. The devil did NOT make you do it. Neither did World of Warcraft.
The wealth of media out there means we have to be discerning. We have to check sources. Or not. Who gives a shit? Get lost in searches for obscure information and opinions. Who knows what you'll stumble upon? Maybe you'll stumble upon this blog and begin exploring agorist and post-civilization ideas? The decentralized media dumps information on you, and you must work to sift through it, but it can be fun work, guided by you and your whims.
I'm not JUST baked and rambling, I DO have an over-arching point that ties into the whole theme of this blog. Part of living successfully and sustainably in a post-civilization world will be through social decentralization. The decentralized mass media allows us to begin participating in the concept. Instead of waiting for civilization's collapse to happen TO us, we can make it something we are in control of through free association and open source information sharing via the digitized world. Groups like this are an example.
So yeah, the old newspapers are starting to collapse and go by-bye. Fuck em. They can't help us transition through the collapse of industrial civilization, peak oil, fiat money, or any of that. The virtual world can. Sure, there are dangers throughout the digitized world, but they are absolutely worth risking, given the unprecedented opportunity we have to connect with each other as free people.
Besides, it's more trees for the planet. I'll trade USA Today for that.
Friday, June 11, 2010
Agorism and the Irrelevance of Cops
With economic downturn we can always expect crime to rise, which is accompanied by increased police violence. Combine the downturn with oppressive laws against non-violent behavior, and the result is even more oppression from the police organization. The laws are oppressive, cops apply said laws in violent and often DEADLY manners, therefore the police organization is a violent and oppressive one. It is also monopoly.
So let's sum up:
The police are a violent, oppressive monopoly.
WHAT THE FUCKING FUCK?! (I assume you have just shouted this after reading my badass Lost-style reveal that ends up being really obvious and mostly just makes you feel retarded.)
So, it follows that if someone wears the uniform of this organization (no YMCA jokes, please) then it follows that they are members of a violent, oppressive monopoly. As such, they are to be mistrusted, avoided, alienated, and for some folks, FOUGHT.
Now here's my pickle. Not my penis, but pickle, like a problem that is sour and crunchy, and a giant stork is taking a bite out of it and grinning at you, and you have NO idea what to do next. That's what I mean by pickle. NOT my penis. So stop asking me about my penis. Thanks.
So here's my pickle: I'm an individualist, as such I am in the weird position of considering cops as individuals when I meet them in society, which in my case is in food service. There are a couple cops in particular that I like. One seems mellow and laid back, the other seems stern but fair. I know a LOT of people that fit these bills. But these dudes are ALSO members of the aforementioned organization. The violent oppressive one. That's bad. A fucked up conundrum.
Agorism offers a compelling answer to this dilemma. The main issue is that there is demand for security. The illusion is that the police are the solution to that demand. That's partly true, it is A solution, and is a really really really really bad one. Agorism looks to create the new within the shell of the old through counter-economics. Counter-economic activity is decentralized and bottom up trading occurring amongst individuals. This activity, even when unrealized, withdraws support from the power structure, thereby weakening it. Realized, it creates the effects of a mass movement without actually needing a mass movement. In short, agorism offers a viable way to compete with the police institution, and innovating to the point of rendering it obsolete. Engaging in true freed market activity is fertile ground for rapid social and industrial innovation.
For the practical reader I offer a few agorist options:
1. For the Randian survivalist: Buy some guns, dogs, and alarms. Good luck.
2. Trade amongst people you trust. Do you know someone who can work on an engine? Do you know a naturopath? A permaculturalist? A farmer? Working to create these networks of trade lay the groundwork for collective security via voluntary cooperation and mutual aid.
3. Abolish money (as we know it). Try and find any and all reasons to use cash, or better yet: nothing. Trading for free undercuts this fucked market by 100%. Fiat money is FUNDAMENTAL to the oppressive and violent institutions of civilization.
The agorist solution is to withdraw support and build voluntary relationships with those you trust. To answer the demands of communities through decentralized trading and mutual aid.
So be sure to commit an agorist act this week, and begin building the free society NOW in your own life. A society in which the "good" cops find a real place in community security, and the bad cops are held FULLY accountable for their crimes.
So let's sum up:
The police are a violent, oppressive monopoly.
WHAT THE FUCKING FUCK?! (I assume you have just shouted this after reading my badass Lost-style reveal that ends up being really obvious and mostly just makes you feel retarded.)
So, it follows that if someone wears the uniform of this organization (no YMCA jokes, please) then it follows that they are members of a violent, oppressive monopoly. As such, they are to be mistrusted, avoided, alienated, and for some folks, FOUGHT.
Now here's my pickle. Not my penis, but pickle, like a problem that is sour and crunchy, and a giant stork is taking a bite out of it and grinning at you, and you have NO idea what to do next. That's what I mean by pickle. NOT my penis. So stop asking me about my penis. Thanks.
So here's my pickle: I'm an individualist, as such I am in the weird position of considering cops as individuals when I meet them in society, which in my case is in food service. There are a couple cops in particular that I like. One seems mellow and laid back, the other seems stern but fair. I know a LOT of people that fit these bills. But these dudes are ALSO members of the aforementioned organization. The violent oppressive one. That's bad. A fucked up conundrum.
Agorism offers a compelling answer to this dilemma. The main issue is that there is demand for security. The illusion is that the police are the solution to that demand. That's partly true, it is A solution, and is a really really really really bad one. Agorism looks to create the new within the shell of the old through counter-economics. Counter-economic activity is decentralized and bottom up trading occurring amongst individuals. This activity, even when unrealized, withdraws support from the power structure, thereby weakening it. Realized, it creates the effects of a mass movement without actually needing a mass movement. In short, agorism offers a viable way to compete with the police institution, and innovating to the point of rendering it obsolete. Engaging in true freed market activity is fertile ground for rapid social and industrial innovation.
For the practical reader I offer a few agorist options:
1. For the Randian survivalist: Buy some guns, dogs, and alarms. Good luck.
2. Trade amongst people you trust. Do you know someone who can work on an engine? Do you know a naturopath? A permaculturalist? A farmer? Working to create these networks of trade lay the groundwork for collective security via voluntary cooperation and mutual aid.
3. Abolish money (as we know it). Try and find any and all reasons to use cash, or better yet: nothing. Trading for free undercuts this fucked market by 100%. Fiat money is FUNDAMENTAL to the oppressive and violent institutions of civilization.
The agorist solution is to withdraw support and build voluntary relationships with those you trust. To answer the demands of communities through decentralized trading and mutual aid.
So be sure to commit an agorist act this week, and begin building the free society NOW in your own life. A society in which the "good" cops find a real place in community security, and the bad cops are held FULLY accountable for their crimes.
Thursday, May 20, 2010
The Digital Apocalypse: How the Information Age Scares the Shit Out of Us
It's 1991. I'm at my mom's for the weekend, and her partner is up, chain smoking Moore Lights, and listening to Art Bell. The house is dark, and the silent, intense droning of Art Bell and his guests fills the trailer home with fucking DREAD.
"Who is this?" I ask quietly, my eyes peeled on her smoking visage as she casts the only shadow in the house because of a small desk lamp next to her.
"Art Bell. Quiet," she says in that husky, serious voice I immediately obey.
Fucking Art Bell, man. That dude could scare the shit out of me and I had no clue what he was talking about. All I knew was that the world was about 5 minutes from cracking in half, and the only thing to be done was to sit in a dark kitchen and chain-smoke, listening to the details and hushing interruptions.
I grew up in an apocalyptic religious sect, so end of the world stuff was nothing new to me. I had some gnarly nightmares growing up. But Art Bell could add a gravitas to it that beat out Gawd.
But that was just on the radio. I heard Art Bell once in a great while. I wasn't constantly connected to the information. I got away from it, the apocalypse ebbed.
Then came the information age, and holy shit did doom floweth.
I love the internet. It is basically a new human appendage, well beyond anything we have ever built. That doesn't mean it's not sometimes a pain in the ass. Information increases exponentially every year, not insight, necessarily, but information.
Combine this increase of information with our culture's fascination with its own demise, and you get some scared ass mother fuckers. In virtual reality as in conventional reality, there is a natural human tendency to group with those of a like mind. As such, we can exponentially magnify our cultural mythologies of doom, making them seem more real, more immediate, and often more terrifying.
Since many of us are quite aware of the unsustainable nature of civilization, there is a tendency to reinforce those beliefs, especially within ourselves. Personally, I believe we have some great social opportunities in the information age, in fact, I believe the internet can play a fundamental part in creating a free, sustainable and decentralized society.
If you're feeling scared or uncertain, remember: apocalypse is a part of our culture. Civilization is unsustainable and way deep down we remember this. It permeates our mythologies past and present.
Transition may very well be upon us, and we can make it our best yet.
Now, watch this shit and laugh:
EMBED-Apocalypse! - Watch more free videos
"Who is this?" I ask quietly, my eyes peeled on her smoking visage as she casts the only shadow in the house because of a small desk lamp next to her.
"Art Bell. Quiet," she says in that husky, serious voice I immediately obey.
Fucking Art Bell, man. That dude could scare the shit out of me and I had no clue what he was talking about. All I knew was that the world was about 5 minutes from cracking in half, and the only thing to be done was to sit in a dark kitchen and chain-smoke, listening to the details and hushing interruptions.
I grew up in an apocalyptic religious sect, so end of the world stuff was nothing new to me. I had some gnarly nightmares growing up. But Art Bell could add a gravitas to it that beat out Gawd.
But that was just on the radio. I heard Art Bell once in a great while. I wasn't constantly connected to the information. I got away from it, the apocalypse ebbed.
Then came the information age, and holy shit did doom floweth.
I love the internet. It is basically a new human appendage, well beyond anything we have ever built. That doesn't mean it's not sometimes a pain in the ass. Information increases exponentially every year, not insight, necessarily, but information.
Combine this increase of information with our culture's fascination with its own demise, and you get some scared ass mother fuckers. In virtual reality as in conventional reality, there is a natural human tendency to group with those of a like mind. As such, we can exponentially magnify our cultural mythologies of doom, making them seem more real, more immediate, and often more terrifying.
Since many of us are quite aware of the unsustainable nature of civilization, there is a tendency to reinforce those beliefs, especially within ourselves. Personally, I believe we have some great social opportunities in the information age, in fact, I believe the internet can play a fundamental part in creating a free, sustainable and decentralized society.
If you're feeling scared or uncertain, remember: apocalypse is a part of our culture. Civilization is unsustainable and way deep down we remember this. It permeates our mythologies past and present.
Transition may very well be upon us, and we can make it our best yet.
Now, watch this shit and laugh:
The Complete Guide to the Future from Everything Is Terrible! on Vimeo.
EMBED-Apocalypse! - Watch more free videos
Tuesday, May 11, 2010
Greasy Water is NOT as Good as Greasy Food
Don't believe the hype. If the BP oil disaster fucks everything up to the point of harshing water supplies, the water will NOT taste better. So, let's look at some ways to clean your water if it has little rainbows in it. By the way, I have no idea if oil can actually get in the rain. I'm thinking it doesn't make it any HEALTHIER though. In fact this could be the case.
I would totes ride this to work.
We are in for a rough ride in the years ahead following the oil disaster. This is some serious shit. Start thinking about who you live with or near. Get networked.
This could be the demise of humans, or it could be our salvation. Who knows? But we have to begin NOW to learn shit like, oh, HAVING POWER AND WATER!!!!!
Fortunately for YOU there is my blog. The idea is to collaborate on sustainable technologies that will see us through some rough transitions. Cooperation and mutual aid are the key to resiliency.
I would totes ride this to work.
We are in for a rough ride in the years ahead following the oil disaster. This is some serious shit. Start thinking about who you live with or near. Get networked.
This could be the demise of humans, or it could be our salvation. Who knows? But we have to begin NOW to learn shit like, oh, HAVING POWER AND WATER!!!!!
Fortunately for YOU there is my blog. The idea is to collaborate on sustainable technologies that will see us through some rough transitions. Cooperation and mutual aid are the key to resiliency.
Wednesday, May 5, 2010
BP, Free-Market Environmentalism, and Rothbard's Stupid Wrongness
That's a long fucking title. And not really witty. I was going use the word "immense" instead of "stupid," but I felt the title needed wit. Didn't really work. Shit.
I'm going to go ahead and outline simple things. I hate boring, complicated shit. So thank GAWD I don't have to write any. HA!
1. In a free market (and I'm talking an authentic free market. What's that? GOOD QUESTION! A freed and open market (the agora) is the sum total of all voluntary market transactions. Basically, I only trade shit with you if I want to, and vice-versa (Judge Reinhold ftw!). All people have private property rights, which begins with self-ownership, and have no right to violate the private property rights of any other person. Immigration prohibition is not compatible with a free market. Fiat money is not compatible with a free market. CIVILIZATION is not compatible with a free market. Think we have a free market? FUCK NO PLAYA! A free market is inherently localized and networked. It represents a both/and paradigm.) a company like BP would be unlikely to exist in the first damn place.
2. Free Market environmentalism is real, don't be a dick. Look, now that you know what a free market (agora) actually is (you're welcome), the two concepts can actually merge nicely. Since we own ourselves, if our air/water is poisoned by other assholes, our private property rights have been violated, and we have the right to seek restitution (there are a variety of dispute resolution systems that could be discussed, but fuck that shit for right now, I'm keeping it SIMPLE remember?). Since full responsibility and accountability are fundamental to a freed market, there are sizable socio-economic disincentives to poison and destroy ecosystems. How would companies behave if there were no state guards funded by fiat currency to protect them? Real private property rights insure that sustainable activity is the norm. Nobody washes a rental car, nor do they shit where they sleep. Unless they are someone who shits the bed because of glands or something.
3. Murray Rothbard is the reason I became an anarchist. He rules, basically. But DAMN was he fucking WRONG about ecological importance. Basically, he claimed that destruction of animal life had no relevance to human life. Claiming that the destruction of animal life has no relevance to human life is not just selfish, but fucking sociopathic (not an uncommon trait in our culture). It is that disregard that helps lay the groundwork for oppressive institutions. You can a learn lot about a person based on how he/she treats animals. Norman Bates beat mice with hammers. I'm just sayin'. Now, it may seem strange to call my main man a sociopath, but I'm a member of this culture too, and when someone I admire so much says some seriously fucked up shit, it reminds me of how sick we really are.
So there you have it. The reason for my rad title. Basically, in a free market the planet matters, so support local farms, co-ops, and all that hippie shit, because market forces are powerful enough to help us all live in a balanced way ecologically, and even move beyond civilization.
I'm going to go ahead and outline simple things. I hate boring, complicated shit. So thank GAWD I don't have to write any. HA!
1. In a free market (and I'm talking an authentic free market. What's that? GOOD QUESTION! A freed and open market (the agora) is the sum total of all voluntary market transactions. Basically, I only trade shit with you if I want to, and vice-versa (Judge Reinhold ftw!). All people have private property rights, which begins with self-ownership, and have no right to violate the private property rights of any other person. Immigration prohibition is not compatible with a free market. Fiat money is not compatible with a free market. CIVILIZATION is not compatible with a free market. Think we have a free market? FUCK NO PLAYA! A free market is inherently localized and networked. It represents a both/and paradigm.) a company like BP would be unlikely to exist in the first damn place.
2. Free Market environmentalism is real, don't be a dick. Look, now that you know what a free market (agora) actually is (you're welcome), the two concepts can actually merge nicely. Since we own ourselves, if our air/water is poisoned by other assholes, our private property rights have been violated, and we have the right to seek restitution (there are a variety of dispute resolution systems that could be discussed, but fuck that shit for right now, I'm keeping it SIMPLE remember?). Since full responsibility and accountability are fundamental to a freed market, there are sizable socio-economic disincentives to poison and destroy ecosystems. How would companies behave if there were no state guards funded by fiat currency to protect them? Real private property rights insure that sustainable activity is the norm. Nobody washes a rental car, nor do they shit where they sleep. Unless they are someone who shits the bed because of glands or something.
3. Murray Rothbard is the reason I became an anarchist. He rules, basically. But DAMN was he fucking WRONG about ecological importance. Basically, he claimed that destruction of animal life had no relevance to human life. Claiming that the destruction of animal life has no relevance to human life is not just selfish, but fucking sociopathic (not an uncommon trait in our culture). It is that disregard that helps lay the groundwork for oppressive institutions. You can a learn lot about a person based on how he/she treats animals. Norman Bates beat mice with hammers. I'm just sayin'. Now, it may seem strange to call my main man a sociopath, but I'm a member of this culture too, and when someone I admire so much says some seriously fucked up shit, it reminds me of how sick we really are.
So there you have it. The reason for my rad title. Basically, in a free market the planet matters, so support local farms, co-ops, and all that hippie shit, because market forces are powerful enough to help us all live in a balanced way ecologically, and even move beyond civilization.
Sunday, May 2, 2010
The Power Cube Cometh!
While it sounds like some new awesomeness from Nintendo, in fact the power cube is a fucking sweet little contraption. It demonstrates the power of human ingenuity and adaption. It ALSO demonstrates the possibility of beginning to live post-civ right now.
I suck at describing machinery and shit. But from what I understand, this thing is a homemade energy generator that will soon run on steam. Give it a peep here.
I've lately been on this kick about the concept of resilient communities and why they are so important. Over at Global Guerrillas the talk is over the concept of localizing production and virtualizing everything else.
I couldn't agree more. We have the potential to bring the information age into convergence with decentralized communities, thus allowing us to live locally but stay connected with a larger community, sharing information on how we are living locally, what we are doing to innovate responsibly.
Resilient communities aren't just a back-up plan, they are the answer. The power cube shows human ingenuity done responsibly, and shows how widely we can instantly share the information on creating local technologies.
This represents real potential of providing a global, decentralized infrastructure.
I suck at describing machinery and shit. But from what I understand, this thing is a homemade energy generator that will soon run on steam. Give it a peep here.
I've lately been on this kick about the concept of resilient communities and why they are so important. Over at Global Guerrillas the talk is over the concept of localizing production and virtualizing everything else.
I couldn't agree more. We have the potential to bring the information age into convergence with decentralized communities, thus allowing us to live locally but stay connected with a larger community, sharing information on how we are living locally, what we are doing to innovate responsibly.
Resilient communities aren't just a back-up plan, they are the answer. The power cube shows human ingenuity done responsibly, and shows how widely we can instantly share the information on creating local technologies.
This represents real potential of providing a global, decentralized infrastructure.
Wednesday, April 28, 2010
The Black Bloc and the Low-tech Awesomeness of Ideas
Who could have thought an idea could be described as a trinket or gadget? ME THAT'S WHO.
For starters: I am an ardent defender of the black bloc. For those of you who don't know what that is, please look it up. I am WAY to fucking lazy to define it.
Seriously, look it up and come back. I'll wait.
Thanks. Now that you've done your own goddamn research and left me free to do my shit, I just want to say that the black bloc is not persuasive strategy. It is reactionary. The purpose is simple: a loud, caustic, public confrontation with police and the capitalist state in which some big business windows get broken, but no person or animal is hurt. Except maybe people who get beat to shit by police.
They are not trying to convince YOU of shit. They are doing what they mean to do: publicly confront.
Now, while I don't participate in the black bloc, it is necessary to realize its importance. In the context of civilization, societal blowback is a constant. Those who would break Wells Fargo or Bank of America's windows are people who are NATURALLY reacting within an aggressive social framework.
These banking institutions are super, super EVIL. Even those of us who BANK with them hate their fucking guts. Yet, when the only discipline these organizations EVER receive are broken windows, people are repulsed. We deplore such "violent" behavior. And then we knowingly elect murderers and thieves and are content with our decision. I'm confused.
Now, back to why civilization is so fucked up and why the block bloc is so good. While actions like the black bloc are alienating and highly risky for the participants, they also serve to alienate the institutions of civilization (the state, big business, etc.) which are, well, KILLING EVERYBODY.
The opportunity the black bloc gives the rest of us is to start exchanging ideas about these institutions and why they are so destructive, and how we can work to move beyond them with our neighbors.
There is a reason why the windows are being broken, and it's not because some dumb kids just want to break shit.
The black bloc provides instant windows for agorism, or the counter-economy, as we can use these times to shift the marketplace of ideas away from these aggressive institutions, counter-ideas that can subtly change how people behave, and so, before they know what they've done, civilization might just be behind us and we could be a whole lot freer, living in decentralized communities, living sustainably.
Pulling out the supports of these villains may be much easier than we could imagine.
The black bloc helps grant us this vision of something new. The future. Understand that newness need not arise from destruction, but broken bank windows aren't really destruction so much as a symbol of our destructive culture.
For starters: I am an ardent defender of the black bloc. For those of you who don't know what that is, please look it up. I am WAY to fucking lazy to define it.
Seriously, look it up and come back. I'll wait.
Thanks. Now that you've done your own goddamn research and left me free to do my shit, I just want to say that the black bloc is not persuasive strategy. It is reactionary. The purpose is simple: a loud, caustic, public confrontation with police and the capitalist state in which some big business windows get broken, but no person or animal is hurt. Except maybe people who get beat to shit by police.
They are not trying to convince YOU of shit. They are doing what they mean to do: publicly confront.
Now, while I don't participate in the black bloc, it is necessary to realize its importance. In the context of civilization, societal blowback is a constant. Those who would break Wells Fargo or Bank of America's windows are people who are NATURALLY reacting within an aggressive social framework.
These banking institutions are super, super EVIL. Even those of us who BANK with them hate their fucking guts. Yet, when the only discipline these organizations EVER receive are broken windows, people are repulsed. We deplore such "violent" behavior. And then we knowingly elect murderers and thieves and are content with our decision. I'm confused.
Now, back to why civilization is so fucked up and why the block bloc is so good. While actions like the black bloc are alienating and highly risky for the participants, they also serve to alienate the institutions of civilization (the state, big business, etc.) which are, well, KILLING EVERYBODY.
The opportunity the black bloc gives the rest of us is to start exchanging ideas about these institutions and why they are so destructive, and how we can work to move beyond them with our neighbors.
There is a reason why the windows are being broken, and it's not because some dumb kids just want to break shit.
The black bloc provides instant windows for agorism, or the counter-economy, as we can use these times to shift the marketplace of ideas away from these aggressive institutions, counter-ideas that can subtly change how people behave, and so, before they know what they've done, civilization might just be behind us and we could be a whole lot freer, living in decentralized communities, living sustainably.
Pulling out the supports of these villains may be much easier than we could imagine.
The black bloc helps grant us this vision of something new. The future. Understand that newness need not arise from destruction, but broken bank windows aren't really destruction so much as a symbol of our destructive culture.
Tuesday, April 27, 2010
Attaining Freedom One Slide Rule at a Time
Math is some bullshit. Seriously, I have insane math anxiety. In first grade, my teacher got pissed at me for not understanding subtraction.
She met me nose to nose.
"How many fingers do you see in front of you?" she asked, taking my hand and holding it in front of me.
"Five?" I asked, tears already flowing.
"Now, take those away," she said, making me put my hand behind my back, "and how many are left?" At this point there was spittle collecting in the corners of her mouth.
"F-f-f-five?" I stammered, weeping openly.
Fuck math.
By now you might have guessed that I love calculators. They are beautiful. But they run out of power, are made of plastic, and aren't cool, lasting, free energy devices that might emerge in an open, post-civ market environment. Given that civilization is unsustainable, then the gadgets produced by the institutions of civilization are not always likely to be sustainable either. But long ago, a gadget was made that could crunch numbers fast, and you could basically own all your life and pass on to your kids: the slide rule.
I don't own a slide rule. Nor do I know how to use one. But I'm gonna get one, and I'm going to learn how to use the damn thing. Why?
There is an ethos behind old gadgets, and that is sustainability. A cast-iron pan will last a couple of centuries if taken care of. A slide rule will last generations. Hell, you can even make one yourself. And just in case the shit does, in fact, go down, then it wouldn't hurt to know some old school methods of crunching numbers in the event of rebuilding and such.
This is strongly applicable to the awesome gadgetry we will have the opportunity to make in a post-civ environment. I don't want to "go back" to anything, per se, what I want is to redevelop an understanding of responsible, sustainable technology, and begin looking at ways in which we can create devices that will combine the ethos of past technologies, with the brilliance of the future.
She met me nose to nose.
"How many fingers do you see in front of you?" she asked, taking my hand and holding it in front of me.
"Five?" I asked, tears already flowing.
"Now, take those away," she said, making me put my hand behind my back, "and how many are left?" At this point there was spittle collecting in the corners of her mouth.
"F-f-f-five?" I stammered, weeping openly.
Fuck math.
By now you might have guessed that I love calculators. They are beautiful. But they run out of power, are made of plastic, and aren't cool, lasting, free energy devices that might emerge in an open, post-civ market environment. Given that civilization is unsustainable, then the gadgets produced by the institutions of civilization are not always likely to be sustainable either. But long ago, a gadget was made that could crunch numbers fast, and you could basically own all your life and pass on to your kids: the slide rule.
I don't own a slide rule. Nor do I know how to use one. But I'm gonna get one, and I'm going to learn how to use the damn thing. Why?
There is an ethos behind old gadgets, and that is sustainability. A cast-iron pan will last a couple of centuries if taken care of. A slide rule will last generations. Hell, you can even make one yourself. And just in case the shit does, in fact, go down, then it wouldn't hurt to know some old school methods of crunching numbers in the event of rebuilding and such.
This is strongly applicable to the awesome gadgetry we will have the opportunity to make in a post-civ environment. I don't want to "go back" to anything, per se, what I want is to redevelop an understanding of responsible, sustainable technology, and begin looking at ways in which we can create devices that will combine the ethos of past technologies, with the brilliance of the future.
Monday, April 26, 2010
The Windowfarms Project
This is a great example of how to begin practices as we transition out of industrial civilization. It is also a great way to practice agorism and begin building a small piece of infrastructure for a post-civ world. Part of the post-civ perspective is utilizing the scrap parts all around us to provide for ourselves. It is a world of recycling.
An enormous amount of a population's food supply can come through growing it ourselves. In essence, this is a cheap, urban way to begin living free NOW.
An enormous amount of a population's food supply can come through growing it ourselves. In essence, this is a cheap, urban way to begin living free NOW.
My Return to this Damn Blog and Brief Defintions of Stuff
Well, it's been a while, but after telling myself to get my blog going again about a GAJILLION times, I have returned, somewhat different, somewhat changed. Over the passed few months I've worked with a variety of anarchists, and I've learned a shitload about a shitload. Plus, it has a new name!
To keep it short: I used to oppose the black bloc, now I don't, but I don't participate in it, but I support those who do. I used to be a staunch free market capitalist, now I'm not. I used to hate socialism, now I don't (at least not as much).
What I've discovered over the passed few months is that anarchism is as varied and diverse as any other socio-political theory, and as such, there is a lot of room to grow within the framework.
And now I emerge a post-civilization agorist (kudos to Lentil for the term).
What does this mean, exactly?
Post-civilization is best defined at http://www.postcivilized.net/post-civilization/. It reads: "It might be simplest to understand that we are green anarchists who do not outright reject technology or mediation, who do not fetishize pre-civilized methods of survival.
For those whom none of the above made any sense, let me say it this way: we believe in radical sustainability – we want to create a society that can actually continue. And we want that society to be egalitarian, that is, a society of equals. We don’t believe in the myth that this civilization represents the pinnacle of human achievement, nor do we believe in the myth that pinnacle of human culture was when we were nomadic hunter-gatherers. We believe that the future can be awesome, if we make it awesome."
Agorism is participation in the open marketplace. In the context of our current system, it is "counter-economic" activity. It is a libertarian principle at it's core, and begins with the first principles of non-aggression and voluntaryism. It is free and open trading using a variety of non-violent trading methods (monetary, barter, gift, etc.) The agora is a truly free and open marketplace.
Combing the two concepts results in a free market environment wherein individuals have the opportunity to create and share without the aggressive forces of the state, or institutions like the state, hindering them. It encourages local technology and sustainable technological development, ie-a synergy of ecology and high technology.
In short, it's a fucking rad social theory.
As always, I leave my old posts up to show my trajectory form the time I started the blog and all the changes I've been through philosophically.
To keep it short: I used to oppose the black bloc, now I don't, but I don't participate in it, but I support those who do. I used to be a staunch free market capitalist, now I'm not. I used to hate socialism, now I don't (at least not as much).
What I've discovered over the passed few months is that anarchism is as varied and diverse as any other socio-political theory, and as such, there is a lot of room to grow within the framework.
And now I emerge a post-civilization agorist (kudos to Lentil for the term).
What does this mean, exactly?
Post-civilization is best defined at http://www.postcivilized.net/post-civilization/. It reads: "It might be simplest to understand that we are green anarchists who do not outright reject technology or mediation, who do not fetishize pre-civilized methods of survival.
For those whom none of the above made any sense, let me say it this way: we believe in radical sustainability – we want to create a society that can actually continue. And we want that society to be egalitarian, that is, a society of equals. We don’t believe in the myth that this civilization represents the pinnacle of human achievement, nor do we believe in the myth that pinnacle of human culture was when we were nomadic hunter-gatherers. We believe that the future can be awesome, if we make it awesome."
Agorism is participation in the open marketplace. In the context of our current system, it is "counter-economic" activity. It is a libertarian principle at it's core, and begins with the first principles of non-aggression and voluntaryism. It is free and open trading using a variety of non-violent trading methods (monetary, barter, gift, etc.) The agora is a truly free and open marketplace.
Combing the two concepts results in a free market environment wherein individuals have the opportunity to create and share without the aggressive forces of the state, or institutions like the state, hindering them. It encourages local technology and sustainable technological development, ie-a synergy of ecology and high technology.
In short, it's a fucking rad social theory.
As always, I leave my old posts up to show my trajectory form the time I started the blog and all the changes I've been through philosophically.
Tuesday, March 17, 2009
I Want My Two Dollars! Why Taking Back the AIG Bonuses is Meaningless
Democrats are ENRAGED!
No, wait...they are LIVID!
AIG took billions in corporate welfare and the Dem's are feigning rage over the the shocking revelation that a bunch of people got filthy stinking richer off the backs of the people.
How sweet.
On paper, it sounds practical. We gave them money to help get out of our oncoming depression, they misused some, and we want it back. The fallacy, of course, is that
A.) The State "bought" most of the company by devaluing the dollar even more through the artificial creation of said funds to "buy" said company.
B.) If you give 200,000 dollars to the mob and they use 5,000 of it for a watch, and you demand that 5,000 back, ultimately the act is meaningless because you have barely scratched the surface of the dough you dished out.
You see, the only reason the Dem's are "livid" is because the people never wanted these bailouts in the first place. So, of course they'll play like they are going to protect our money from evil capitalists. But it is all a scam. A joke. A charade.
Be advised:
Of the BILLIONS given to AIG, grabbing 170,000,000 back is meaningless because we the people won't see it, and it isn't real money anyways, as the State just prints it off, borrows it, or taxes the people further. That "money" will be juggled around in the innards of the State, and AIG and others will continue to prosper greatly from the actions of the politicians in Washington.
Basically, you are being ripped off and the politicians make you think they are fighting for you when all they are doing is fucking with you so you'll stay quiet and go back to sleep.
They grow in power, and their friends grow very rich.
Think of the red pill as a philosophical no-doze.
No, wait...they are LIVID!
AIG took billions in corporate welfare and the Dem's are feigning rage over the the shocking revelation that a bunch of people got filthy stinking richer off the backs of the people.
How sweet.
On paper, it sounds practical. We gave them money to help get out of our oncoming depression, they misused some, and we want it back. The fallacy, of course, is that
A.) The State "bought" most of the company by devaluing the dollar even more through the artificial creation of said funds to "buy" said company.
B.) If you give 200,000 dollars to the mob and they use 5,000 of it for a watch, and you demand that 5,000 back, ultimately the act is meaningless because you have barely scratched the surface of the dough you dished out.
You see, the only reason the Dem's are "livid" is because the people never wanted these bailouts in the first place. So, of course they'll play like they are going to protect our money from evil capitalists. But it is all a scam. A joke. A charade.
Be advised:
Of the BILLIONS given to AIG, grabbing 170,000,000 back is meaningless because we the people won't see it, and it isn't real money anyways, as the State just prints it off, borrows it, or taxes the people further. That "money" will be juggled around in the innards of the State, and AIG and others will continue to prosper greatly from the actions of the politicians in Washington.
Basically, you are being ripped off and the politicians make you think they are fighting for you when all they are doing is fucking with you so you'll stay quiet and go back to sleep.
They grow in power, and their friends grow very rich.
Think of the red pill as a philosophical no-doze.
Friday, February 27, 2009
Hate the State: It's Good for You!
Every day there is more news on new spending by the State. Obama is seeking over 200 billion more dollars for the war machine. He has just unveiled his trillion dollar budget. After the State "withdraws" from Iraq, there will still be 50,000 troops there...INDEFINITELY.
Now, I don't mean to be a DOWNER, but it's time to talk some serious shit about the State, its nature, and our part in perpetuating it.
The State functions by means of coercion in all that it does. In other words, the means to whatever ends those in government aim, no matter how well intentioned, are accomplished through threat of violence. If we do not pay taxes, we go to jail, and if we try and escape, we'll be shot. There is another type of organization that generates revenue through the threat of and/or initiation of force: the fucking MOB.
If there is any doubt about this fact, then I ask you: why do you voluntarily give the State your money to fund its foreign adventures of war and murder? Maybe you DON'T pay them voluntarily, eh?
The new president, the man so many have hope in, is going to continue occupying Iraq, and send more soldiers to Afghanistan. Where are the protests? Where is the anger?
All this time, it has not been about a moral stance against war, but about opposing a Republican.
And even though we have our first black President and Democrats control the state, corporate welfare and war persist with gusto. The social progress of many voters has simply been exploited by the state. This is evidenced by its core behavior.
In short, the State is a criminal organization which wages murder and corruption domestically and internationally, functioning always this way despite what group controls it. Policy and rhetoric changes here and there are ultimately irrelevant.
Violence is the State's NATURE. It is inherently corrupt.
Yet we perpetuate it.
We as people naturally desire to have things within our society improved. This is natural as we are social animals that wish to survive, and therefore, in many respects, cooperate with one another. Those in the State, and those who support it, claim that the organization is what manifests when people cooperate in the larger social climate. While this claim bears truth, it also secretly inserts a lie, namely, that the State, and better yet, democracy, is the best we can do. That we need not aspire to better alternatives.
The truth is we do not need violence for bridges and roads. We do not need violence to have schools. We do not need violence to have health care. That is the core fallacy of the State: violence against one another is necessary in order to have goods and services.
I've heard it argued that more people have become involved in politics, and that this is good. How can ever more people joining a murderous organization be good? Keep in mind, I like Ron Paul, Peter Defazzio, Dennis Kucinitch (even though he is so fucking weird), and Ralph Nader. And I know there are many other politicians like them.
Hold your breath.
Exhale.
Relax.
IT DOESN'T MATTER! Politicians with integrity (oxymoron?) get nowhere. Clipping at the leaves of corruption is nothing to hacking at the root (thank-you Thoreau).
The State is that which is the very worst about humanity. It is our most vile by-product.
The remedy?
Stop voting, donate to charity, volunteer with private charity organizations, and look for every moment of your life that is untouched by the State and EXPLOIT it.
Maximize freedom, eliminate the State.
Now, I don't mean to be a DOWNER, but it's time to talk some serious shit about the State, its nature, and our part in perpetuating it.
The State functions by means of coercion in all that it does. In other words, the means to whatever ends those in government aim, no matter how well intentioned, are accomplished through threat of violence. If we do not pay taxes, we go to jail, and if we try and escape, we'll be shot. There is another type of organization that generates revenue through the threat of and/or initiation of force: the fucking MOB.
If there is any doubt about this fact, then I ask you: why do you voluntarily give the State your money to fund its foreign adventures of war and murder? Maybe you DON'T pay them voluntarily, eh?
The new president, the man so many have hope in, is going to continue occupying Iraq, and send more soldiers to Afghanistan. Where are the protests? Where is the anger?
All this time, it has not been about a moral stance against war, but about opposing a Republican.
And even though we have our first black President and Democrats control the state, corporate welfare and war persist with gusto. The social progress of many voters has simply been exploited by the state. This is evidenced by its core behavior.
In short, the State is a criminal organization which wages murder and corruption domestically and internationally, functioning always this way despite what group controls it. Policy and rhetoric changes here and there are ultimately irrelevant.
Violence is the State's NATURE. It is inherently corrupt.
Yet we perpetuate it.
We as people naturally desire to have things within our society improved. This is natural as we are social animals that wish to survive, and therefore, in many respects, cooperate with one another. Those in the State, and those who support it, claim that the organization is what manifests when people cooperate in the larger social climate. While this claim bears truth, it also secretly inserts a lie, namely, that the State, and better yet, democracy, is the best we can do. That we need not aspire to better alternatives.
The truth is we do not need violence for bridges and roads. We do not need violence to have schools. We do not need violence to have health care. That is the core fallacy of the State: violence against one another is necessary in order to have goods and services.
I've heard it argued that more people have become involved in politics, and that this is good. How can ever more people joining a murderous organization be good? Keep in mind, I like Ron Paul, Peter Defazzio, Dennis Kucinitch (even though he is so fucking weird), and Ralph Nader. And I know there are many other politicians like them.
Hold your breath.
Exhale.
Relax.
IT DOESN'T MATTER! Politicians with integrity (oxymoron?) get nowhere. Clipping at the leaves of corruption is nothing to hacking at the root (thank-you Thoreau).
The State is that which is the very worst about humanity. It is our most vile by-product.
The remedy?
Stop voting, donate to charity, volunteer with private charity organizations, and look for every moment of your life that is untouched by the State and EXPLOIT it.
Maximize freedom, eliminate the State.
Sunday, February 8, 2009
I'm Not Bashing Obama
Lately I've had friends ask me why I don't like Obama. I don't personally dislike Obama. In fact, arguably he is a better president in 48hrs than 8yrs of Bush.
I AM, however, bashing the State. It is an evil organization filled with murderers and thieves, of which Obama has shown he is in his first couple of weeks as president: massive corporate welfare, and the murder of Pakistani people.
This is in keeping with with the type of actions of his predecessors.
It is not the new president, it is the organization that he is now head of. Until we realize that the root of the corruption lies in the nature of the state as a violent, criminal organization, we will continue to rape and pillage ourselves and the rest of the world.
Take the red pill.
I AM, howev
This is in keepi
It is not the new presi
Take the red pill.
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