Last night I was reading a long essay/pamphlet from France/2007called The Coming Insurrection - it's been on my to-read shelf for awhile, not sure why I have it. In any case, it was an interesting read, if only because it feels so dated in both tone and prescription for change. They get the diagnosis correct (failure of institutions, capitalism etc. etc) but the call to communes feels as though it could only come from a time of more intact intention amongst the left. Even twenty years ago, armed insurrection/communes seemed impossibly naive, but now? Laughable. Arms will certainly be taken up in our coming future, but not in any organized way (or way that benefits "the people"), and if Covid taught us anything - building a consensus even around something as broadly-impactful as a pandemic (and necessary health measures) is impossible (never mind climate change). I have come to the great place of "not-knowing" what happens next or what kind of leaders we need to help us survive it. Today I am working my job and preparing for a "bomb-cyclone" set to make landfall this evening. I am organizing social events in my community so people can spend time together in non-demand settings. I am working on small projects that strengthen my resilience and that of people around me. It's survival out here in the wilds. I don't see anyone coming to lead us out.
Totally! And your point about Covid is spot on. People are still in denial about a pandemic that continues! Good luck with the cyclone. I wonder if wild weather will impact the complacency mindset...
I kinda wonder if small projects is exactly the key to it all, frankly. Human-scale, local interventions seem to me to have a much better chance at being responsive to the needs of their participants than anything on a much grander scale
Last night I was reading a long essay/pamphlet from France/2007called The Coming Insurrection - it's been on my to-read shelf for awhile, not sure why I have it. In any case, it was an interesting read, if only because it feels so dated in both tone and prescription for change. They get the diagnosis correct (failure of institutions, capitalism etc. etc) but the call to communes feels as though it could only come from a time of more intact intention amongst the left. Even twenty years ago, armed insurrection/communes seemed impossibly naive, but now? Laughable. Arms will certainly be taken up in our coming future, but not in any organized way (or way that benefits "the people"), and if Covid taught us anything - building a consensus even around something as broadly-impactful as a pandemic (and necessary health measures) is impossible (never mind climate change). I have come to the great place of "not-knowing" what happens next or what kind of leaders we need to help us survive it. Today I am working my job and preparing for a "bomb-cyclone" set to make landfall this evening. I am organizing social events in my community so people can spend time together in non-demand settings. I am working on small projects that strengthen my resilience and that of people around me. It's survival out here in the wilds. I don't see anyone coming to lead us out.
Totally! And your point about Covid is spot on. People are still in denial about a pandemic that continues! Good luck with the cyclone. I wonder if wild weather will impact the complacency mindset...
You might ask North Carolina as they dig their dead out of the mud, if their positions on anything have changed as a result of the hurricane.
I kinda wonder if small projects is exactly the key to it all, frankly. Human-scale, local interventions seem to me to have a much better chance at being responsive to the needs of their participants than anything on a much grander scale