[iDC] A Reflection on the Activist Strategies in the Web 2.0 Era

[John Hopkins]

Hi Michael... et al (sorry this reflection was delayed by work at transmediale... or, maybe call it play with a very enjoyable crew of people)

>It is of course true that 'capitalism' and the 'market' pervades everything, but so do the desires and actions for alternatives ...

this would seem to be an expression of the innate conflict between individual life and collective life...

>Assuming that an infinite system of growth is incompatible with the survival of our planet, would be then not be better to assume, despite it's present wounded vivacity, that the animal is dead already, and go on with the business of creating the life we want, even if we know we can only make a number of small advances?

Interesting, though, this could be perversely parallel to  the view of the Christian Right in the US or at least it can have a very similar outcome -- they assume that the "Second Coming" and the ensuing Apocalypse is right around the corner -- so that there is no reason to deal with any environmental or social issues because everything will be taken care of, so, let's keep the status quo of "us" (because things still, for "us" are pretty good, after all)...

>I think one of the for me powerful analogies that Negri used in Empire, was the example of the christian communities, who didn't fight the emperor, but busied themselves creating alternative infrastructures, and when the old macrosystem collapsed, became the vehicle that the new overlords had to adapt.

I have always taught that opposition leads to a profane propping-up of the existing structures -- even the constant naming of a regime is detrimental to an underclass, as that naming itself gives power (by giving attention) to that which is named...  Better to completely ignore 'regime' and make a new path for life...  this non-naming, non-attention (not giving life-time/life-energy to the powers-that-be) is a primary mechanism for bringing a regime down...

>What I propose to do is to rigorously note the manyfold attempts at more autonomous living through p2p infrastructures in media, energy, and money, interconnect them to a maximum extent, change the forms of consciousness and paradigms (they are changing without us of course, but we can put some grease in the system)

yes, this is fundamental networking in the sense of opening alternative pathways for attention which subsequently (hopefully) open up new ways of living and be-ing...

>By all means analyse, by all means resist,  but only that?

As the son of a military-industrial operations analyst, personally, I believe that the time for analysis is over.  The thinking patterns of analysis brought us to this very problematic here/now.   We, as humans, know what has to be done, it is to live and live fully, completely in the moment...

we are walking on parallel pathways, and it's always empowering to see others giving attention to life, not to analysis...

jh