Nathan Shneider-The Nation
"The anarchists’ way of operating was changing our very idea of what politics could be in the first place. This was exhilarating. Some occupiers told me they wanted to take it home with them, to organize assemblies in their own communities. It’s no accident, therefore, that when occupations spread around the country, the horizontal assemblies spread too.
At its core, anarchism isn’t simply a negative political philosophy, or an excuse for window-breaking, as most people tend to assume it is. Even while calling for an end to the rule of coercive states backed by military bases, prison industries and subjugation, anarchists and other autonomists try to build a culture in which people can take care of themselves and each other through healthy, sustainable communities. Many are resolutely nonviolent. Drawing on modes of organizing as radical as they are ancient, they insist on using forms of participatory direct democracy that naturally resist corruption by money, status and privilege. Everyone’s basic needs should take precedence over anyone’s greed. "
Off topic, but...
ReplyDeleteIn the wake of the fire that destroyed much of the manuscript collection at the Institut d'Egypte on Saturday, scores of pro-democracy protesters have told of their efforts to salvage books and other rare documents from the smoking ruins.
http://www.almasryalyoum.com/en/node/557951
VZA, deeply tragic.
ReplyDeletePersonally, I have no idea what the "occupation" movement is collectively for. No doubt some members have their own agendas. But the overall movement?
Are they against the big government socialism that is creeping across America? Are they for freedom, deregulation, simplifying the tax code, improving eduction and being pro business?
http://ancientworldbloggers.blogspot.com/
ReplyDeleteThis is horrible news! Why haven't I come across this until now?
ReplyDelete<span>Are they against the big government socialism that is creeping across America? "</span>
ReplyDelete<span></span>Anan, you live in a parallel universe which is the negative image of ours and which communicates with ours via a tiny black hole. So it seems.
What a loss! The story is just now making its way into the mainstream media, tgia.
ReplyDeleteBut this is good news! Courage!
ReplyDelete<span>CAIRO (AP) -- Around 10,000 women marched through central Cairo demanding Egypt's ruling military step down Tuesday in an unprecedented show of outrage over soldiers who dragged women by the hair and stomped on them, and stripped one half-naked in the street during a fierce crackdown on activists the past week.</span>
http://hosted.ap.org/dynamic/stories/M/ML_EGYPT?SITE=AP&SECTION=HOME&TEMPLATE=DEFAULT
??? I don't follow.
ReplyDeletePopulists around the world tend to be pro business and pro free market as a way to reduce poverty and increase the quality of jobs.
Look at American public opinion polls. There is strong support for pro capitalist and pro business policies.