Skip to content or view mobile version

Home | Mobile | Editorial | Mission | Privacy | About | Contact | Help | Security | Support

A network of individuals, independent and alternative media activists and organisations, offering grassroots, non-corporate, non-commercial coverage of important social and political issues.

The Ozymandias Factor

anarcho | 19.10.2008 04:14

Out wityhn the old, in with the new, or maybe not so new. Its time for a carnival of dreams

For those of the anarchist persuasion it can be hard not to feel smug when one hears the latest economic, political and social news emanating from within the current global crisis. For your typical, dyed in the wool anarchist it's like all of your Sundays have come at once- as the old saying goes. Not a day goes by without a piece of news being on offer that is guaranteed to keep the avid spectator of this schadenfreude heavy, new spectator sport, smirking with content, if not chuckling with glee, if not mirthfully rolling around on the floor, tears of joy streaming from eyes heavy with the image of corporate failure, ears alive to the high pitched squabble of the rapidly spreading virus meme of lurid panic. Surprised drones everywhere are suddenly awakened by every sense from the hollow consumer dream that had constituted their version of everyday reality up until very recently when the proverbial shit did its job on the proverbial fan..

But where exactly can we be said to stand as the storm rages around us? Can we objectively identify ourselves and where we stand amidst the ongoing conflagration? Indeed, I think we can, and a serious look at the lessons of history may stand us in good stead for the joys/.horrors/woes to come. We have all the factors that we need for a total social transformation, eschewing violence and moving on, collectively for the betterment of everyone, everywhere.

The stock markets are fucked, as are the banks. Money is finally being shown for the illusion that it is. The global free market in goods and commodities has brought along in its wake a constant migration of humans fleeing poverty and war and seeking the very illusion of wealth that has finally brought this twisted system down to its knees.

Surely we should be concentrating on finding a new social matrix, seeing as the one that we have been stumbling along with for centuries, through mercantilism,, imperialism, industrialism and now consumerism has finally shown itself for the house of cards that it is. The old terms left and right are meaningless- we must acknowledge this fact. We have to realise that the game of left and right party politics is over; that this left and the right are simply two pawns in the crazy game where the country is the game board, the state and the market are the players and the prize is civil society.

History shows us that this game is for losers. Eventually no-one wins whether on the left or the right. Do you want some examples? National socialism, fascism, communism (as in state owned capitalism), liberalism and of course the latest attempt, the brutality of monetarism.

So now the cards are on the table, what about anarchism? All the others have had their go and failed. It's almost as if little anarchism is at the back of the class, too scared to raise its name, having been bullied and derogated by other more precocious ideologies.

Perhaps it's time it came to the fore. Anarchism is after all an idea, not an ideology, of the people. Maybe it should brush off its shoulders and stand proud, showing a political lineage that is possible in praxis as well as theory and one that seems more and more suited to the dire social, environmental and political situation that we see encroaching on us as a result of free market capitalism.

In essence, what I'm trying to say is why are we waiting for the the very people who caused this problem to fix it, when we know very well that we can fix it quicker and smarter ourselves? The Brown plan is nothing more than a sticking plaster on a patient that is already dead. We should take that initiative, make things happen ourselves.

In the light of the disappearing liquidity of the capitalist financial market everyone is feeling helpless. We should make sure that when that help comes it is on the back of the bright and gleaming, on the ball Durutti Fire and Rescue Service and not from the humdrum, everyday Government Brown's Health and Safety Executive plc (with a flat tire). I'll be the one honking the horn.

anarcho

Upcoming Coverage
View and post events
Upcoming Events UK
24th October, London: 2015 London Anarchist Bookfair
2nd - 8th November: Wrexham, Wales, UK & Everywhere: Week of Action Against the North Wales Prison & the Prison Industrial Complex. Cymraeg: Wythnos o Weithredu yn Erbyn Carchar Gogledd Cymru

Ongoing UK
Every Tuesday 6pm-8pm, Yorkshire: Demo/vigil at NSA/NRO Menwith Hill US Spy Base More info: CAAB.

Every Tuesday, UK & worldwide: Counter Terror Tuesdays. Call the US Embassy nearest to you to protest Obama's Terror Tuesdays. More info here

Every day, London: Vigil for Julian Assange outside Ecuadorian Embassy

Parliament Sq Protest: see topic page
Ongoing Global
Rossport, Ireland: see topic page
Israel-Palestine: Israel Indymedia | Palestine Indymedia
Oaxaca: Chiapas Indymedia
Regions
All Regions
Birmingham
Cambridge
Liverpool
London
Oxford
Sheffield
South Coast
Wales
World
Other Local IMCs
Bristol/South West
Nottingham
Scotland
Social Media
You can follow @ukindymedia on indy.im and Twitter. We are working on a Twitter policy. We do not use Facebook, and advise you not to either.
Support Us
We need help paying the bills for hosting this site, please consider supporting us financially.
Other Media Projects
Schnews
Dissident Island Radio
Corporate Watch
Media Lens
VisionOnTV
Earth First! Action Update
Earth First! Action Reports
Topics
All Topics
Afghanistan
Analysis
Animal Liberation
Anti-Nuclear
Anti-militarism
Anti-racism
Bio-technology
Climate Chaos
Culture
Ecology
Education
Energy Crisis
Fracking
Free Spaces
Gender
Globalisation
Health
History
Indymedia
Iraq
Migration
Ocean Defence
Other Press
Palestine
Policing
Public sector cuts
Repression
Social Struggles
Technology
Terror War
Workers' Movements
Zapatista
Major Reports
NATO 2014
G8 2013
Workfare
2011 Census Resistance
Occupy Everywhere
August Riots
Dale Farm
J30 Strike
Flotilla to Gaza
Mayday 2010
Tar Sands
G20 London Summit
University Occupations for Gaza
Guantanamo
Indymedia Server Seizure
COP15 Climate Summit 2009
Carmel Agrexco
G8 Japan 2008
SHAC
Stop Sequani
Stop RWB
Climate Camp 2008
Oaxaca Uprising
Rossport Solidarity
Smash EDO
SOCPA
Past Major Reports
Encrypted Page
You are viewing this page using an encrypted connection. If you bookmark this page or send its address in an email you might want to use the un-encrypted address of this page.
If you recieved a warning about an untrusted root certificate please install the CAcert root certificate, for more information see the security page.

Global IMC Network


www.indymedia.org

Projects
print
radio
satellite tv
video

Africa

Europe
antwerpen
armenia
athens
austria
barcelona
belarus
belgium
belgrade
brussels
bulgaria
calabria
croatia
cyprus
emilia-romagna
estrecho / madiaq
galiza
germany
grenoble
hungary
ireland
istanbul
italy
la plana
liege
liguria
lille
linksunten
lombardia
madrid
malta
marseille
nantes
napoli
netherlands
northern england
nottingham imc
paris/île-de-france
patras
piemonte
poland
portugal
roma
romania
russia
sardegna
scotland
sverige
switzerland
torun
toscana
ukraine
united kingdom
valencia

Latin America
argentina
bolivia
chiapas
chile
chile sur
cmi brasil
cmi sucre
colombia
ecuador
mexico
peru
puerto rico
qollasuyu
rosario
santiago
tijuana
uruguay
valparaiso
venezuela

Oceania
aotearoa
brisbane
burma
darwin
jakarta
manila
melbourne
perth
qc
sydney

South Asia
india


United States
arizona
arkansas
asheville
atlanta
Austin
binghamton
boston
buffalo
chicago
cleveland
colorado
columbus
dc
hawaii
houston
hudson mohawk
kansas city
la
madison
maine
miami
michigan
milwaukee
minneapolis/st. paul
new hampshire
new jersey
new mexico
new orleans
north carolina
north texas
nyc
oklahoma
philadelphia
pittsburgh
portland
richmond
rochester
rogue valley
saint louis
san diego
san francisco
san francisco bay area
santa barbara
santa cruz, ca
sarasota
seattle
tampa bay
united states
urbana-champaign
vermont
western mass
worcester

West Asia
Armenia
Beirut
Israel
Palestine

Topics
biotech

Process
fbi/legal updates
mailing lists
process & imc docs
tech