Gardening, cycling and raving can change the world. Discuss.

This essay will present a new kind of politics which is different from traditional politics and which is thought to bear the potential to change the established capitalist system in our world. The focus of this work will be set particularly on post-left movements that have been controversial subject of discussions on the academic and the social scene. Those political configurations offer a new, different perspective from traditional politics on the way societies can be organized effectively and efficiently. They emerged as a response to the failure of the state to implement effective policies that would bring people out of poverty and allow them to meet their basic needs and live in dignity. At first this work will analyse the nature of post-left movements. It will explain their approach to politics, the state, and the society as well as the way their specific organisation works to achieve change of the world. Then, some strategies of the movements to achieve the desired change will be discussed. In the end, a critique from the left political thought on the potential of post-left anarchism to make a significant and positive change of our world will be presented. Carlsson, in his book Nowtopia, suggests that there are already scarcely visible signs of social transformation that reject capitalism and redefine the traditional notion of politics. Such practices change peoples lives right now in an informal and radical way, and allow individuals to express their own visions of doing things (Carlsson 2008 in Dangl 2008). Everyday spontaneous and planned actions such as planting vegetables, organizing community days to involve people in improving their environment, making cups of tea and support strikes, figure out how to install a shower powered by the sun, make a banner, pull a prank to make someone laugh, as well as think and many more are all examples of that (The Trapese

Collective 2007: 1). That action spontaneously unites people into a genuine movement of liberation from the practices of the market. Gardening, cycling and raving as movements are seen to be part of a larger movement of movements which presents a loose network of hundreds of social movements and groups that are part of a large movement for global social and environmental justice. Those movements are connected through different kinds of relations between groups throughout the world and they influence each other through various practices and projects. There is a high level of unpredictability and versatility of the connections between them because the flow of ideas takes place between different corners of the world. The fundamental principles of post-left movements are derived from the anarchist/autonomist thought. Anarchism is the Greek word for without government. It states that people do not need a government to organize their lives as they are capable of managing a society themselves. The best way to organise are considered voluntary arrangements where people share common visions. The Greek word autonomy contains the idea of self-legislation. It originates from a strong European tradition of experimenting with different ways of people organising their own lives (The Trapese Collective 2007: 6). Post-left anarchy is entirely anti-ideological, rejecting the idea of following a leader or a particular way of living. It overlaps with activist and lifestyle strands which do not identify themselves theoretically, particularly do-ityourself' subcultures such as anarcho-punk (Robinson and Tormey 2009: 161). Common principles of post-left movements include a rejection of borders and nation states as well as wars, exploitation and injustice; reduction of over-consumption and the imbalance in the distribution of the worlds resources; working towards societies that uphold the dignity of all and the inclusion of everybody; and the promotion of equality and action in everyday life to take back control.

Post-left anarchists contest the nature of power in whatever forms it materialises. They advocate the decentralisation of power because they see it as an alternative to the centralisation of power in the hands of the state1. Their approach to the state drives a clear distinction between deterritorialisation and reterritorialisation. Thus, Deleuze and Guattary state that we need to see how everyone, at every age, in the smallest things as in the greatest challenges, seeks a territory, tolerates or carries out deterritorialisation, and is reterritorialised on almost anything memory, fetish or dream2. Furthermore, the state is subordinated to a field of forces whose flows it co-ordinates and whose autonomous relations of domination and subordination it expresses3 Furthermore, the state is constituted of rules for managing money and property, and these rules are created by the dominating classes. It is seen as determined by the system within which it exercises its functions, a fixed structure that does not possess the capacity for development because change within it is undesirable and difficult to achieve. In contrast, post-left thought advocates for flexibility and rejects any forms of hierarchical organisation. Although post-left movements reject the idea of dreaming of an utopia and radically criticize the idea of separation of future and present, they practice some utopian forms of social action, such as utopian writing, intentional communities and transformative action. Their vision of utopia escapes from the concepts of the existing system and seeks for other ways of thinking and living. Post-left political thought shapes a radical speech-genre of theorizing which expands the discussion of different aspects of the existing social system and politics beyond the polite

Morland, D. (2004) Anti-capitalism and Poststructuralist Anarchism in Purkis, J. (ed.) Changing Anarchism : Anarchist Theory and Practice in a Global Age. Manchester University Press. p. 27.
2

Deleuze and Guattari in Morland, D. (2004) Anti-capitalism and Poststructuralist Anarchism in Purkis, J. (ed.) Changing Anarchism : Anarchist Theory and Practice in a Global Age. Manchester University Press. p.29
3

Ibid.

academic debates. Thus, it advocates for direct action to make a change immediately. It is associated with the creation of alternative spaces such as squats and social centres which generate a gap between thought and categories of the established system. One of the issues that post-left thought deals with is how to transform the desirable into action against the dominant system. The realization of a primitive future in anarcho-primitivism comes from within the self and refers to the defence and extension of wild and feral ecological spaces (Robinson and Tormey 2009: 162). Post-leftist thinkers envision the future of the desired world as created by a vital energy similar to that of children. In that sense, Faun (1988) writes about an intensity of emotion which goes against domestication and repression. However, a web of domination in the present world constrains the free expression of the desire of individuals (Faun 1988: 1). Along with the rejection of any kinds of constraints immediate alternatives of being are sought and realized directly in the present. Thus, this present action rejects the usual functions of the utopian community along with their potential for change and social transformation. Post-left movements are committed to constructing a kind of world where people can live immanently and horizontally. To achieve this, the established social forms and institutions of the dominant system must be attacked. Moreover, post-left movements do not rely on seizing power since examples from the history of states show that this means to reproduce the very systems of oppression that revolutionary movements have struggled to overthrow. Post-left movements see change as a constant evolution that takes place in a process of exploration and unpredictability. Change is to be achieved by using a wide range of methods and tactics. As the local state retreats from its role to provide welfare and access to services for everyone people start searching for new ways of organising

their lives effectively on everyday basis. Within self-managed autonomous spaces they are free to establish the environment and the relations between them the way they desire as well as to experiment with different practices of DIY politics. There are no leaders to follow, no fixed executive roles and everyone can feel free to express their ideas and act. There is consensus between people and no division of the roles of thinkers and doers or producers and consumers. With the desire to change the world here and now, people develop their own infrastructures based on largely non-capitalist values. There public services are organised in new way as to create parallel economic models to capitalism based not on profit but on need and respect for the planet. Thus, self-management stands not for meeting the needs of the individual but rather for achieving that individual needs are met collectively. It is different from the notion of maximising profits in an atmosphere of dominance that was established during the liberal era of individualism. The new kind of management brings individuals together, undermining private ownership and disregarding the capitalist logic of accumulation for individual gain. It is realised in peoples every-day interactions with each other (The Trapese Collective 2007: 211). DIY politics provide every individual an opportunity to believe in his/her own power and potential, to free his/her mind and act immediately and practically outside of the framework of established practices. In that respect, according to Carlsson (Carlsson 2008 in Dangl 2008), there is a shift in peoples mindset has taken place during the last decades. While during the Cold War the relations of domination between people as well as states prevailed on every stage of political, economic and cultural life, at present individuals are to a greater extent convinced that we live in an interconnected world and our actions can have important long-term implications on the environment and other people. If decades ago people

did not believe that one garden can change the world, now a garden already presents a change. The power of the post-left means power of the people and their ability to express their natural instincts and desires without constraints. These expressions ought to be a usual practice of life and they are supposed to allow people to be joyful and free individuals. Post-left thinkers recognize the need for the foundation of post-left politics to be established in concrete forms. They see political action as immediate practices that ought to involve everyone or at least most of the members of the society, and people ought to have fun while experiencing them. What motivates peoples actions is a broad spectrum of emotions ranging from hope to desperation, fear to passion, or the feeling of being neglected and oppressed. As such peoples power is considered to bear the capacity to disrupt the traditional systems of control of the state that pose various constraints to every member of the society. Post-left movements criticise left politics about the lack of potential for mobilization and social struggle as tools to combat neo-liberalism and capitalism. The left failed to engage ordinary, mostly oppressed citizens into participation in the decision-making processes that affect their own existence. The reality explained by the Marxist economic theory as well as the banal forms of protest and the weak advocacy of political causes are seen as something that is outside, irrelevant to the lives of ordinary people. Politicians are seen out of peoples control as they respond to multinational corporations or institutions like the World Trade Organisation, International Monetary Fund and World Bank while acute problems such as unfair trade, poverty, environmental degradation, inequality and climate change remain unsolved. Non-governmental organisations and charities are considered to be unable or unwilling to challenge the root causes of these problems because of their dependence from members and sponsors.

Post-left critics of representative democracy state that it is no more than a liberal oligarchy that maintains the established social and economic order through legal monopoly on violence. That is a reason why the democracies of the majority of liberal states are considered weak. In contrast, direct democracy which facilitates the participation of all members of the society is seen as stronger because it rests on the idea of a community of self governing citizens who share similar interests. Citizens are capable of working for a common purpose and mutual action because they share certain civic attitudes and participatory institutions rather than because they are altruistic or good by nature4. This concept provides opportunity for experimentation with new principles of organisation and decisionmaking based on decentralisation and consensus. It opens ways to change social relations and allow participants to communicate in an atmosphere of mutual understanding and consensus. This suggests that some tools of direct democracy be used such as affinity groups, spokes-councils, and consensus decision-making techniques (Chatterton 2010). Thus, it is possible to acknowledge and deal with a wide range of interests in the society. There is no community, no solidarity groups, but configurations of desire: networks of friendship and expression which undermine the prevailing relations of production. There are no ready-made utopian ideas about another world but endless rhizomes on which at unexpected moments flowers appear5. Post-left thinkers claim that the Economy and its foundation on jobs can hardly be less efficient, less fair, or a bigger waste of time and resources6. They see a significant difference between wage labour and a more self-determined useful doing (Chatterton 2010). Useful doing is a form of struggle against the imposition of capital and its never-changing goal of generating surplus value. Work is seen as life reaffirming collective
4

Barber, B. (1984) Strong Democracy: Participatory Politics for a New Age, Berkeley: University of California Press. p. 115
5

Desire is Speaking. Utopian Rhizomes Carlsson, C. (2011) Jobs Dont Work!, http://www.nowtopians.com/, last accessed 12/12/2011.

activity that is not as much a source of finances but an opportunity to establish valuable relationships with others. Collective work provides an arena for individuals to exercise and upgrade their manual and intellectual capabilities and thus gain more self-reliance. Foundational principle in this process is providing care and help to others. Thus, individual empowerment is achieved as well as useful social networks established. As examples here could be mentioned self managed communities and ecovillages, workers co-operatives, syndicalist unions, workplace organising and strikes. The act of building houses by people on their own or establishing tenant co-operatives provide practical evidence of the ability of people to maintain a normal life without oppressive agencies such as the State. Self-organization is seen as fundamental both with respect to direct action since it is considered to be an effective tool for resistance and subversion as well as with regards to the assumption that life is possible without the state (Morland 2004: 26). The land in the logic of post-left thought is seen as is seen as an important tool for direct ideological and material confrontation to the process of enclosure and commodification of peoples lives. By reclaiming private property and turning it into self-managed autonomous spaces post-left movements express their demands that land and property be used to meet social needs and not serve the global capital. This is a way of claiming back spaces where ordinary people can meet and socialize instead of neoliberal elites using corporate property for chain stores and luxury flats. Abandoned factories, warehouses, garages, bars and clinics become places for gathering and immediate action of free-minded people. It is in these spaces that can provide people the physical conditions to establish relations of solidarity and mutual respect. Social centres have developed through a number of tracks, emerging first from anarchist Autonomy Clubs of the 1980s inspired by punk, anti-fascist and Claimants Unions activists. The mid 1990s saw a wave of squatted

spaces emerge inspired by the UK free party and anti-roads protest camp culture. In the late 1990s many activists involved in anti-global and more conscious anti-capitalist activism, through which a desire emerged for more permanent activist bases or hubs for organizing. In the early 2000s activists engaged with the daily militancy and innovations of the occupied centri sociali in Italy and the idea was translated into the United Kingdom, inspiring a whole wave of new centres. Radical, anti-antiauthoritarian political groups such as No Borders and the Camp for Climate Action are part of the current network of social centres in the UK, organising tours and national meetings of activists. They create professional spaces to avoid associations with squats and attract a variety of people through a mix of public talks, film screenings, reading areas, vegan cafs, bar and gig spaces, food growing areas, art spaces, open access computers, free libraries, language classes for refugees, free schools and classes and free meeting space. Some have set up workers co-operatives to run the buildings and most are run by regular open assembly meetings using consensus (Chatterton 2010). An important way for post-left anarchism to contest dominant views of seeing things and to provide different views of the world is cultural activism. According to Carlsson, cultural activism provides people with the necessary mental and physical tools to free their bodies and minds. A definition of cultural activism is provided by the Trapese Collective as campaigning and direct action that seeks to take back control of how our webs of meaning, value systems, beliefs, art and literature, everything, are created and disseminated7. Cultural activism tends to transcend onesided monologues, speeches and propaganda of traditional campaigning and facilitates different forms of expressing desire for change such as dialogue and interaction.
7

Verson, J, (2007) Why We Need Cultural Activism, in Trapese Collective, Do It Yourself: a Handbook for Changing our World. Pluto Press.

Post-left anarchists see acts such as replacing lawns with productive gardens not only as art but as tools for cultural and social transformation. Activist projects coexist with artist-initiated and interdisciplinary activities that acknowledge the intersection of economic, racialized, gendered, and cultural identity politics. Urban agriculture projects, socially engaged art projects, street theater, carnivals, and other initiatives call for realization of the need for change and action. Queer activists initiate new dialogues and formations around art and performance, showing that there is more than heterosexuality or homosexuality, more than man and woman. The works of contemporary artists create public awareness of environmental concerns and turn it into direct and immediate public action. Punk and DIY culture show that anyone can make music, records, organise gigs, just do it, as long he or she believes in his/her abilities. Refugee aid movements and no-paper groups that support illegal immigrants show that hospitality is an easy way to make a change and make new friends, come into contact with other cultures and enhance peoples experiences. Critical Mass is known as a new kind of political space, not about protesting but about celebrating peoples vision of preferable alternatives, most obviously in this case bicycling over the car culture. The Critical Mass movement is defined by its followers not merely as an anti-car movement but it transcends beyond the idea of simple transport It holds the bicycle as a symbol of a different world, a contrasting mode of existence to that represented and dominated by the car. Bicycling is seen as a way to pull oneself away from the rapid- paced life of the contemporary world, to overcome the isolation of the car and to experience a connection with people and environment (Carlsson 1995) and to manifest a different, more conscious attitude towards the environment. Criticism on post-left anarchy comes from the left regarding the rejection of social transformation. Post-left anarchy is seen as a theory of

immediate personal satisfaction that disregards the realities of the present as well as social change, and thus accepts the status quo. Bookchin (1995) claims that lifestyle anarchism is not capable of creating a new society through individual lifestyle changes because it emphasizes on the ego, borrowing concepts for explaining the world from existentialism, Situationism, Buddhism, Taoism, antirationalism, and primitivism. According to his view, lifestyle anarchism encourages manifestation of an infantile ego that precedes history and is a central concept of capitalism as well as of some reactionary political ideologies. Bookchin argues further that if individuals comply only with their own desires and interests, they replicate the old liberal formula and neglect the needs for change in society when they occur. Democratic decision-making, Bookchin (1995) quotes Brown, is to some extent authoritarian because it implies rules on individuals. Although it allows for individual participation, democracy involves repression of the wills of some people. This is seen to be at odds with the existential individual, who must comply with some rules in order to be existentially free. This essay looked at the potential of post-left movements to contest the established system of political and social relations and to offer effective and efficient alternatives for improving peoples lives. It showed the role of post-left movements in manifesting the need for change of the present neoliberal system and its political institutions. At first, an analysis of the nature of post-left movements was presented. Then, the potential of self managed forms of community to make a difference through work and services based on mutual aid and collectivity was discussed. critique of post-left politics was presented. This work showed that processes of social transformation are underway and they emphatically reject capitalism and redefine the traditional forms of politics. Through various practices people show their unwillingness to merely sit and wait for the change in their world to be realized by some Finally, a

leader of the government. They already actively express their visions of achieving change by undertaking everyday activities and creating new forms of community organisation that are managed through the tools of direct democracy. In a world where the implications of actions undertaken in one place implicate on other corners of the world there is a realization of the fact that the present system must be changed. Societies need to affirm a humane approach in their relations both with nature and between themselves, in order to achieve a change of the established political, economic, social and cultural environment. Do-it-yourself politics provide a ground for achieving that change and the need to develop and enhance their practices is more recognisable than ever.

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