From Freedom News UK by Nora Ziegler
Building collective power reduces pressure on individuals and makes us less dependent on charismatic personalities
Anarchists of different ages, genders and backgrounds pride themselves on being tough, brave, competent, compassionate, skilled, patient, sharp, committed, creative, radical—and there really are some outstanding individuals out there!
Anarchist groups, however, are not much to write home about, are they?
Organisations are more, and often less, than just the sum of their parts. A group can be full of amazing individuals, but if the group as a whole does not have the structures, the experience or the capacity to act and reflect as a group, our individual brilliance is wasted and used up like a finite resource.
Without healthy functioning groups, there is too much pressure on individuals to cope with the stress and trauma of organising, to handle conflicts, to maintain relationships, and to always ‘be good’. I want to be able to mess up sometimes and know that I will be held to account fairly. I want to be able to address harmful behaviours without it escalating into bingeworthy drama. I want to be able to ask for help. I want to be able to leave a group without worrying that my absence will cause a catastrophic power shift.
Having good policies and systems in place is not enough unless a group has the confidence, experience and capacity to use them. In fact, when we don’t have the confidence to implement structures and occasionally make exceptions, we can end up over-institutionalising everything, trying to come up with a process for every eventuality. A group needs to feel empowered to act decisively and flexibly within complex situations.
This kind of collective power is rooted in relationships of mutual care and accountability built over time between different people, the spaces they live and organise in, and other groups and communities around them. To build and maintain such relationships, a group can continuously ask itself, do we have sufficient knowledge and experience to do this work or make these decisions? Whose voices are missing and how could we incorporate them? If we get it wrong, how will we know? Who can give us feedback?
Part of the issue is that individuals seeking to shore up their own power thrive in dysfunctional groups. There are many tactics people might use to subvert group dynamics. They make sure certain topics are only discussed when they have enough people in the room on their side. Or they might encourage a sense of constant urgency so there is never time to discuss underlying questions or issues in the group. They hoard and withhold information and contacts, they lie, they manipulate, they spread rumours, they bully people who stand up to them.
These behaviours can be understood, in part, as coping and survival strategies. If we don’t have the necessary skills, and our environment is not safe for us to explore and express our needs, we find other ways to make sure they are met. Building collective power involves offering honesty about our needs and our individual resources and power, and learning who takes us seriously, who listens, who reciprocates. A group that is honest with each other will be a lot more confident in identifying and challenging harmful behaviour, which will again make it easier to build relationships.
Every time someone is chewed up and spat out by an anarchist group, if they don’t decide that they’d rather face white supremacist capitalist patriarchy and climate catastrophe alone than spend another minute with these arseholes, they will learn a great deal that they can put into practice in their next organising endeavour. Experienced individuals are great, but we need to learn and become experienced as groups too. Every group has its own specific and complex context, which it can learn to navigate collectively over time. We can’t do this if people keep getting burnt or bullied out, or when we hide our previous rifts and conflicts from new members.
Building collective power means that groups are not only instrumental to individuals but also become spaces within which we are formed, cared for and held accountable. Committing ourselves to a group in this way is risky! We can get seriously hurt, I know this from experience. I think for many of us, it can also trigger deep seated fears of attachment and abandonment, and it can be difficult to give other people that kind of power over us. However, I believe this is absolutely necessary for sustained radical organising.
Comments
Niope, tyhey giot nko…
8balkl (not verified) Sat, 02/15/2025 - 15:14
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| "Anarchists have teeth—do…
Logici(A)n (not verified) Sat, 02/15/2025 - 21:46
| "Anarchists have teeth—do anarchist collectives?"
If anarchists collectives are made up of anarchists,
and anarchists "have teeth,"
then anarchist collectives have teeth.
*moves both hands in a circular motion around each other*
Why is there a pic of chisel…
anon (not verified) Sun, 02/16/2025 - 00:45
Why is there a pic of chisel for the article?
Wow she's cuter than I…
anon (not verified) Sun, 02/16/2025 - 01:01
In reply to Why is there a pic of chisel… by anon (not verified)
Wow she's cuter than I thought! ;)
Damn you bad guy troll. We…
anon (not verified) Sun, 02/16/2025 - 07:32
In reply to Wow she's cuter than I… by anon (not verified)
Damn you bad guy troll. We can bully without sexualizing people. That's just weird
Now kiss
anon (not verified) Sun, 02/16/2025 - 09:31
In reply to Damn you bad guy troll. We… by anon (not verified)
Now kiss
Toxic masculinity is rampant…
David Anarchborough (not verified) Mon, 02/17/2025 - 01:00
In reply to Damn you bad guy troll. We… by anon (not verified)
Toxic masculinity is rampant in the species and is linked to the ancient warrior culture values, dominant conquest mentality, war worship and status, The ignorant male members never read books and are braggarts of the loudest and crudest form, and beat their chests and swagger when they walk.
A parallel question that…
anon (not verified) Sun, 02/16/2025 - 17:24
A parallel question that this article touches on is: how do groups not become cults? This and the original title's question, probably have answers buried inside this recent story:
"A Vermont border agent’s death was the latest violence linked to the cultlike Zizian group"
https://apnews.com/article/vermont-border-patrol-shooting-youngblut-las…
From an external view of the…
anon (not verified) Tue, 02/18/2025 - 03:45
In reply to A parallel question that… by anon (not verified)
From an external view of the US political landscape radical or not one thing is painfully clear. Liberalism (philosophical moral liberalism) has a disproportionate influence on the entire culture. This is not a problem unique to the US, it is an issue in many other revolutionary communities as well (I do not consider the zizians revolutionaries or radical, their organisation is by definition a supremacists organisation, which exploited mentally vulnerable individuals) but the US is uniquely vulnerable to it do to the historical lack of genuine political organisation.
(Exception for BPP, and a few other groups post 68 with a small anomally during anti-globalism movent all which ultimately failed)
The overcoming of these tendencies as well a broader ideological contradictions from what I've seen is derived from praxis. Without action, social, poltical, cultural, paramilitary, clandestine, legal and "illegal" the hyper ideological foundation of many groups rots stagnant. If our ideas cease to advance and change we are cursed to repeat the failures of the past. We cannot claim truth as ours, we as anarchists are not prophets or vanguards.
Politics as a whole is not a clash of ideas as is generally advanced, I don't even think politics is a moral endeavor. The point of our ideas, (anarchists, anti-auth communists, armed rad-soc, ect) is not to be right or even morally just. It is to be effecient, effective and equitable. (Ethics are a seperate discussion)
Moral supremacy like what was advanced by the zizians is no less oppressive than the hegemonic order.
In their case, it seems they fully fell into extremist forms of empiricism as well as a few other vaguely individualist tendencies justified through supposedly collective initiatives. These ideas, the supremacy of the empirical base (I'm not rejecting empiricism or science here simply nuancing) is no less dogmatic than then religious sects or the worshiping of capital, nation or state.
If we are to break with the established order we cannot define our ideas or practice as a reaction to the actions of our collective oppressors. We must break our links to them, not to create an alternative to creat counter powers. Pluralistic counter powers.
We will never have everyone on our side, we need to be able to provide support to communities, individuals and groups that are engaging in their own unique processes. This could be logistical support, ideological assistance, or organisational assistance ect. We need to stop operating under the idea that we are right and others are wrong (even when they are)
The distain I've seen towards the working class in the American left as well as the European left, is nauseating from an external perspective. The world is messy, people are messy, their ideas are bathed in propaganda and social conditioning. We must interact with these people, we have no choice, not in order to legitimise their backwards ideas but show that they are capable of lifiting themselves out of the complacency.
Without this people will fall disillusioned not only with the established order that crushes them perpetually, but also the pseudo-poltics that many "radicals" have become complicit in progressively pushing potential allies to more and more delusional ideas ultimately leading to the disintegration of both the individual and the collective.
ITS in south america is another good example of what happens when ideas are pushed to their logical conclusions. Far beyond what is politically effective into violence fantasies, which end being a symptom of capitalism instead of a genuinely revolutionary initiative.
while i agree much about the…
anon (not verified) Tue, 02/18/2025 - 08:01
In reply to From an external view of the… by anon (not verified)
while i agree much about the american situation is nauseating when looked at from a bird's eye view, i think you are repeating a very common mistake, which is to treat the current state of theory and "discourse" as having arisen either from itself or from nowhere, rather than from a long history of various experiments in exactly the kind of practice and engagement you are advocating. what history has taught, at least for some of us, is that the organization of the american working class as a class produces two things: the welfare/paternalistic state and the labor bureaucracy. in very basic terms, i think this is generally analyzed in three ways: a) the american working class qua american is disinterested in self-organization/self-abolition/self-government/etc; b) the american working class qua working class is disinterested in same; or, c) class analysis has failed and is bunk. your appeal to us to respect the working class is a form of (a) since, for one thing, many of us are working class, and, for another thing, you are making it a problem or characteristic that america is "uniquely vulnerable" to.
i think that many "post-left" writers and perspectives develop grab-bags of various kinds of all three basic critiques of working class politics in this country, often motivated by their experience on the streets and in organizing spaces, from what i can tell, and not in fact because they go on twitter or reddit or message boards like this and become poisoned to the world or whatever it is you think is going on here. that some people do the latter is certainly something that can be talked about, but i think far too many are far too quick to idealize the human beings behind the keyboard as merely online, forgetting that they too have histories and specific emplacements in the world that may in fact have motivated them to seek out whatever virtual spaces they have sought out.
as for the tendency of some to more or less deliberately drive others to "more and more delusional ideas" i think one must at least have a sense of the difference between people who are experimenting however wildly, looking for new formulations or whatever, and people who are accelerationists of one kind or another and think it is good to make people more of their flavor of insane. and then there are the alphabet soup people doing essentially the same thing so they can get promoted from their washington d.c. basement office or whatever. how you feel ethically about the accelerationists is another matter, although given the current situation in this country i think it would be ridiculous to claim what they do is inefficient or ineffective. equitable...not so much.
anyway i find it annoying when people from outside this country decide to lecture us because they saw some shit on the internet that made them think none of us have ever "done the work" or read a book or whatever. i'm sure many people who go on this website think everything i've said here is gay and stupid and that's fine with me
i would also add that, much…
alex (not verified) Tue, 02/18/2025 - 08:08
In reply to while i agree much about the… by anon (not verified)
i would also add that, much like complaints about "the art world," often what people are doing is looking at the most commodified or otherwise socially mediated form of a given area of human endeavor or whatever and generalizing it to everyone interested and engaged with it. the guy making balloon animal sculptures and selling them for millions of dollars might make a fledgling artist want to kill themselves, and fair enough, but that guy and that aspect of the market are not what is interesting or alive about the practice of art in america. for that, one generally needs to go looking for it, which raises questions of access and infrastructure that i think are actually useful, though frustrating and difficult to engage with in many ways.
similarly with whether american radicals talk to the working class--yes, of course they do. i used to a great deal. not so much any more given my immediate circumstances, but if you are concerned that we have all forgotten how to speak to one another i promise you that what you see on t.v. or the internet is not all there is.
First of all thank you for…
anon (not verified) Tue, 02/18/2025 - 10:09
In reply to while i agree much about the… by anon (not verified)
First of all thank you for taking the time to read my analysis. I will respond in turn to a few of your critiques.
First of all, I do not believe that the current condition in the US has arisen from itself or nowhere. I think it is a product of the specific economic, political, cultural and historical conditions of the US along with the very experiments you have very rightfully mentioned, I can point to many examples just as you surely can of various projects, movements and initiatives with different levels ouf success.
I will also clarify why I affirm the unique position of the US. First of all I believe the US is vulnerable to particular contradictions derived from liberalism for the simple reason that the US has achieved a level of economic, political control that is frankly staggering. While also arguably being one of the most advanced liberal economic projects. To add to this the US has been (up until recently...) the primary global hegemon in basically every sphere from high-technology to culture.
I am also by no means discrediting your experiences (and probable disillusionment) with organizing. I am also only talking from the view of an outsider in so far as I am not from NA, I have very much spent extensive time within dozens of communities In the US from universities to low-level labour organising and many other forms of above and below board organisations and structures.
What I am trying to point out here is that the United States conditions are not the issue as to why broad organising has failed. One part I believe is a deeprooted culture of individualism (in the sense that collective identity, spaces and pracrice have largely been crushed.) From my experience I have seen the way the US radicals (I hate the term radical but there's a deficiency of language that I have yet to bridge in their description) conceptualize their collectiveness is through the individual. In other regions where revoltionary practice is alive such as Rojava, Turkey, Greece, or Chile, individual identity is derived from collective action rather than collective action being derived from individual identity. Though seemingly semantic the difference on the ground is immense, each of these areas have genuine presences of both counter powers and base level organisations. Partly due to the fact within their respective contexts individual responsibility has become collective responsibility in a process of dialectical self-empowerment and to a lesser extent emancipation. They are also much more conscious of their own political histories something I know for a fact some organisers in the US can have a tenuous grasp on, this is also the case for places like France where despite broad mobilisations, large scenes of insurrection, political organisation is very weak compared to the political awareness of the population. For the US interplay between other foreign revolutionary movements and the US's own domestic initiatives is often misunderstood or misrepresented. For example it was concerning for many of us that individuals in the US kept on referring to Rojava as a libertarian project or even an anarchist one at times instead of drawing accurate analyses from the historical and political experiences of the PKK and their successes.(politically, culturally, socially and militarily) (though this is surely partly due to the lack of historical presence of Kurds and clandestine cadres within your communities though there were a few). It often felt that international experiences were being shoehorned into cookie cutter ideals of what political movement was instead of learning and providing their own materially defined conclusions.
This critique goes right the way down to hard tactics. The US movement attempting to use black block tactics is another example, it is a strategy that is not even that viable in other places much less the US. Instead of adapting to the conditions (for examples using you're vast amount of registered and unregistered firearms, ammunition, among other things, for your own selfdefense or to support other movements, there is precedent for this for example with Boston and the IRA or cartels in mexico, central and south America as well as the caribbean), while simultaneously building base level community and political structures.
As for the accelerationists, the ethical question of the accelerationists is of course debatable its something I have little interest in getting into as their tendancy is marginal at best, and partially comes from the same hyper fixation of academia that the zizians derive from (the tendency not the actual ideas I know they're distinct though maybe not that far off with the transhumanists ect) I would also argue against the idea that they're either effecient or effective as many of thieir actions have little to poltical gain, or organisational value. To us they're simply another example of a nihilistic and defeatist approach to politics, though the nihilists at least have a program. Its hard to work with accelrationists as their goals are often non starters for constructing meaningful political bases and often have self undermining qualities that make them poor comrades to work with.
i wrote a response to this…
alex (not verified) Tue, 02/18/2025 - 11:49
In reply to First of all thank you for… by anon (not verified)
i wrote a response to this but it disappeared into the website somewhere. in brief, i think that the solidarity networks you cite are interesting cross-class phenomena in american history, both of which involved a substantial level of institutional support. i made a joke about the "wolfe tone hibernian society" and getting chased out of bars by racist IRA vets and asked what would that kind of solidarity network look like today? i also argued that many american urban communities are quite aware of the importance of their general level of armament to their collective defense as well as their history after decades of gentrification followed on decades of more direct forms of police intrusion.
finally, i asserted that while i don't blame anyone who begins their analysis of american "radicalism" with the assumption that "we" have failed in some historical task, or to rise to the occasion given our position within the balance of world powers, i think it is more interesting, fruitful, and maybe even true to begin with the proposition that we are doing what we can, and to seek a critique and a kind of politics that is aimed at intensifying and supporting that reality rather than endlessly refining a diagnosis of why we have failed to be something we are not. if this seems trite or naive or whatever i can only promise you that my longer comment was better and more substantive
Well to a large extent. I…
anon (not verified) Tue, 02/18/2025 - 14:39
In reply to i wrote a response to this… by alex (not verified)
Well to a large extent. I was talking more about logistical support networks rather than the ideological content though there are still interesting points to be drawn from strategies employed by IRA especially post 72 when decentralized and to a certain extent autonomous cells or ASU were operating, though that's another discussion. I think those solidarity networks would actually probably look fairly similar. And also yes, large portions of what used to be the Irish liberation movement have devolved into sectarian scumbaggery and the not so libratory decolonial nationalism...
In regards to my critique, though in this instance it is geared towards the US comrades, I do not believe it is uniquely a US issue and the same practical organisational failure that you cited, I have personally seen in different communities globally, to varying extents, I will also mention that this same exact critique with its same articulation is also applicable to the UK which has the same ultra liberal approach to culture and economics. In my experience it derives from the the atomisation of society and well the fact everyone is barley surviving. I'm also not saying that the US movement has failed, what I'm saying is the US community as well as the rest of the world's revolutionaries haven't succeeded yet.
I do entirely agree that strengthening and consolidating is the name of the game right now, its no time for cutting down what exists. That being said I think its important that new dynamics continue to develop in the US and elsewhere.
Stillness is death. More so now than ever. So get your guns and get your comrades because shits about to go from bad to worse. See y'all in the streets, or the concentration camp.
(I'll trust you that your previous comment was more in depth and more fleshed out and substansive ahaha)
Do you conceive of leftist…
anon (not verified) Thu, 02/20/2025 - 15:17
In reply to First of all thank you for… by anon (not verified)
Do you conceive of leftist subcultures in general as barriers to or facilitators of the kind of transformations you feel are necessary to the "radical" status quo? Some arguments that it's mostly a barrier are compiled here:
https://types.mataroa.blog/blog/subcultural/
>> Part of the issue is that…
anon (not verified) Mon, 02/17/2025 - 02:02
>> Part of the issue is that individuals seeking to shore up their own power thrive in dysfunctional groups. There are many tactics people might use to subvert group dynamics. They make sure certain topics are only discussed when they have enough people in the room on their side. Or they might encourage a sense of constant urgency so there is never time to discuss underlying questions or issues in the group. They hoard and withhold information and contacts, they lie, they manipulate, they spread rumours, they bully people who stand up to them.
This has been my experience of groups in the UK, especially my years in the Anarchist Federation. I'm sure the story is the same with all kinds of 'anarchist' groups all over the world: one person with far too much time on their hands positions themselves as the 'I know best' 'person who gets things done' and everyone else is expected to fall in line. Being anarchists, no one does and the organisation slowly (or not so slowly) shrinks to where it's literally just one person with a twitter account.
Truth is, if we want to 'get things done', we need to stay the hell away from the suckhole that is organisations, collectives and anything that needs the 'policies and systems' suggested by the author here. Instead, 'get things done' with a group of friends (real friends, not people you talk to on Discord), a handful at most, and you'll never have to deal with arseholes again.
i think the op sounds like…
lumpy (not verified) Tue, 02/18/2025 - 08:22
In reply to >> Part of the issue is that… by anon (not verified)
i think the op sounds like they know what they're talking about and so do you but check this out
what if ... just w h a t i f ... the orgs or collectives were mostly full of groups of friends with fierce anti-authoritarian approaches to their organizing? what if "i know best" people, were aggressively checked all the time, instead of people drifting away like little tuck-tailed sad sacks? hmm?
what if it turns out the real anarchy was the uncultable and fierce friend groups we made along the way?
Friend groups can't fight…
anon (not verified) Tue, 02/18/2025 - 10:14
In reply to i think the op sounds like… by lumpy (not verified)
Friend groups can't fight urban and rural asymmetric insurgencies.
friend groups pretend they…
anon (not verified) Tue, 02/18/2025 - 12:29
In reply to Friend groups can't fight… by anon (not verified)
friend groups pretend they are involved in some sort of struggle to fight asymmetric insurgencies
i know you're just some…
lumpy (not verified) Tue, 02/18/2025 - 13:27
In reply to Friend groups can't fight… by anon (not verified)
i know you're just some dimwit little troll who barely cares what you're saying and that's not what anybody was talking about BUT do you even believe none of the insurgents in history were ever friends? what a pointlessly stupid little remark lol
no, i certainly believe they…
anon (not verified) Tue, 02/18/2025 - 13:38
In reply to i know you're just some… by lumpy (not verified)
no, i certainly believe they DID and WERE.
i have seen little of that recently, and mostly a bunch of hot air.
you dimwitted big fart. ha ha ha
Commander? Awaiting orders…
anon (not verified) Tue, 02/18/2025 - 13:41
In reply to no, i certainly believe they… by anon (not verified)
Commander?
Awaiting orders.
#87
i wonder how it feels to get…
anon (not verified) Wed, 02/19/2025 - 09:31
In reply to Commander? Awaiting orders… by anon (not verified)
i wonder how it feels to get z socked lol maybe someone can shed some light
z jacketed...zacketed
anon (not verified) Wed, 02/19/2025 - 09:33
In reply to i wonder how it feels to get… by anon (not verified)
z jacketed...zacketed
Maybe they were too busy…
WarBoy69 (not verified) Tue, 02/18/2025 - 13:40
In reply to i know you're just some… by lumpy (not verified)
Maybe they were too busy killing their enemies ALL THE TIME in urban AND rural asymmetric insurgencies to have friendships?!? You would know this if you weren't just a casual!!!!! WITNESS!
the hot air is suffacating.
anon (not verified) Tue, 02/18/2025 - 13:45
In reply to Maybe they were too busy… by WarBoy69 (not verified)
the hot air is suffacating.
> suffa
anon (not verified) Tue, 02/18/2025 - 14:08
In reply to the hot air is suffacating. by anon (not verified)
> suffa
sorry, suffocating... my…
anon (not verified) Tue, 02/18/2025 - 14:26
In reply to > suffa by anon (not verified)
sorry, suffocating... my oxygen levels were rapidly dropping from all the hot air filling the space. i went outside, fondled the grass, ate some nuts, and now i think i will be ok... oh wait, ya'll are still here!
I think though the comment…
anon (not verified) Tue, 02/18/2025 - 14:52
In reply to sorry, suffocating... my… by anon (not verified)
I think though the comment may be off hand, there's factuality to it, to be an effective fighting force you cannot soly rely on your friends. Friendships play a part in political structures but socialising isn't the point of a political group and much less an insurgent group. Learning to work and fight with people who are not only not your friends but probably individuals you would never interact with in your normal life is an important skill for any structure that hopes to be politically effective.
and nobody said friends-only…
lumpy (not verified) Tue, 02/18/2025 - 16:06
In reply to I think though the comment… by anon (not verified)
and nobody said friends-only ... the OP discussion was about big organizations versus affinity groups or "friends". it's a classic for a reason, unlike "friends never fight together! ok, i don't care what i said, whatever!"
"Learning to work and fight…
anon (not verified) Tue, 02/18/2025 - 16:12
In reply to I think though the comment… by anon (not verified)
"Learning to work and fight with people who are not only not your friends but probably individuals you would never interact with in your normal life is an important skill for any structure that hopes to be politically effective."
NOOOOOOOOOOO!!!!!!
in my experience, families,…
anon (not verified) Tue, 02/18/2025 - 09:14
in my experience, families, packs, tribes, gangs, cults, bands, all seem to, at the best, balance the uniqueness of individuals with a more integral relationship among others than the sterile, process-oriented, politicized, oppressive, limiting, collective model that usually fails miserably.
that's because you are a…
anon (not verified) Wed, 02/19/2025 - 08:46
In reply to in my experience, families,… by anon (not verified)
that's because you are a fascist.
yep! they just listed a…
lumpy (not verified) Wed, 02/19/2025 - 08:57
In reply to that's because you are a… by anon (not verified)
yep! they just listed a bunch of traditional hierarchies, didn't they?
it's like lobsters maaan or like how rich people get to own the rest of us...naturally. like in nature. capitalism and hierarchy is just exactly like nature, as it's written in the evo psyche constitution for clever, special little boys
thought exorcise/exercise:…
anon (not verified) Wed, 02/19/2025 - 09:11
In reply to yep! they just listed a… by lumpy (not verified)
thought exorcise/exercise: what if we had these things anon listed, but without the Bad! that clumpy listed?
well, i think they were…
anon (not verified) Wed, 02/19/2025 - 09:15
In reply to thought exorcise/exercise:… by anon (not verified)
well, i think they were talking scale and mode of interaction, like non-institutionalized or hyper-process.
and fearing the bad in things is what leads to the institutional model (rules, laws, cops, punishment, etc), not how freedom works.
Aire shimmers. Not with a…
anon (not verified) Wed, 02/19/2025 - 09:49
In reply to well, i think they were… by anon (not verified)
Aire shimmers. Not with a sense of dread, but with tingling excitement. The low hum of anticipation that runs deeper than fads. We're standing on the precipice, just past the death of the Abrahamic God, poised on the edge of something new. Not a return or even a call to the past, but an invocation to a future painted in bold strokes of vivacious energy and erotic fluidity. It's a seduction, a whispered promise of liberation and rebellion, a call to arms for a neotribalism that is less about walls and more about open space, a nomadic war machine against the suffocating constraints of the established order. Forget the old narratives; we're here to build our own. Forget the pedantry. Forget the neat pronouncements. This is an embrace, a deep dive into the messy, glorious chaos of becoming. It's a sensuous invitation, a call to shed the skin of the civilized"and to embrace the raw potential within. Think of it as a dance, a wild, untamed dance of ideas, of passions, of the very fabric of our being.
Our barbarians, as the poet Cavafy so eloquently hinted, are not arriving from without, they are blossoming within. They are the stirrings of the free spirit, the untamed individual breaking free from the chains of societal conformity. These "barbarians" aren't merely waiting; they are the insurrection. They are the force that will dismantle the worn-out structures of power and create something utterly new.
The concept of tribe here is not a fixed entity, a rigid structure defined by bloodlines or geographical boundaries. It's a rhizome, a network, a series of interconnected roots that spread and intertwine, constantly evolving and adapting. It's a Deleuzian nomadism, a constant state of becoming. This is where the nomadic war machine enters the picture. It's not about military conquest; it's about a relentless assault on the established order, a dismantling of the structures that confine and oppress. It is the war of the mind, the war of ideas, the war of existence.
Consider the Deleuzian concepts of the Body Without Organs (BwO), a site of potential, a canvas for the expression of pure desire. This is not a passive recipient; it is an active agent, a force of becoming that explodes the boundaries of the self and embraces the fluidity of existence. This neotribe embraces this BwO: It's not a unified, monolithic entity but a multitude, a constellation of desires, passions, and potentials. It’s a chaotic, vibrant ecosystem, a collection of individuals who find strength and power not in conformity but in their unique differences, their individual intensities.
This neotribalism seeks to dismantle the very foundations of civilization, not to return to some imagined natural state but to create something entirely new. This is a rejection of the rigid structures of capitalism, with its relentless pursuit of profit and its commodification of human experience. It's a rebellion against the State, the apparatus of control that seeks to homogenize and oppress. It's a liberation of the self, a declaration of independence from the forces that seek to tame and control.
We're moving beyond the binary, the limitations of "us" versus "them." This is not about building walls; it’s about opening borders, both physical and mental. The nomadic war machine isn't about territorial conquest; it's about expanding the horizons of possibility. It's about forging new connections, building new alliances, and creating new forms of social organization.
This is where we begin to see the seductive beauty of this neotribalism. It's not about dogma or doctrine; it's about experimentation, about trying new things, about embracing failure as a pathway to growth. It’s about creating spaces of freedom, where individuals can explore their desires, pursue their passions, and contribute to the collective good. It's about creating a world that is more just, more equitable, and more vibrant.
The nomadic war machine functions on the principles of deterritorialization and reterritorialization. We tear down the established boundaries, the limiting structures, and then we build something new, something that reflects our own desires and needs. This isn't a linear process; it's a constant flux, a dynamic interplay of creation and destruction.
The next man in this context is not a solitary figure of heroic accomplishment. It’s a collective, a constellation of individuals who dare to challenge the status quo, to create new possibilities. It’s about recognizing the power of the individual to shape their own reality and to collectively shape the world around them. It is the nomadic war machine, the energy driving the constant creation of new possibilities.
The tribe is thus the nomadic encampment, a dynamic and evolving space of becoming. It is a space of experimentation and play, a place to cultivate new ways of being and relating to one another. It is a space where differences are celebrated and where the potential for transformation is constantly realized.
And so we wait, and we do not wait. We wait with a tremor of anticipation, and we necome what we wait for. We are "waiting for the barbarians," for the moment when we shed the shackles of the old world and embrace the untamed potential of the new. We are the nomads, the warriors, the creators, the dreamers. We are the new people, the new tribe, the pulsating heart of the future. Let us dance.
lol wat?
anon (not verified) Wed, 02/19/2025 - 10:31
In reply to Aire shimmers. Not with a… by anon (not verified)
lol wat?
read it again...slowly…
anon (not verified) Wed, 02/19/2025 - 11:22
In reply to lol wat? by anon (not verified)
read it again...slowly...maybe ease back in the fartbong rips before 10 pm
Can anyone decipher wtf this…
anon (not verified) Wed, 02/19/2025 - 11:45
In reply to read it again...slowly… by anon (not verified)
Can anyone decipher wtf this new age academic gibberish is even proposing into practical layman's terms, or do I need a Harvard PhD in mumbo jumbo wordsalad to communicate with the author?
personal skill issue mofos…
anon (not verified) Wed, 02/19/2025 - 12:17
In reply to Can anyone decipher wtf this… by anon (not verified)
personal skill issue
mofos goin to war with the existent and can't even read
i am not agreeing with the…
anon (not verified) Wed, 02/19/2025 - 12:27
In reply to Can anyone decipher wtf this… by anon (not verified)
i am not agreeing with the comment you are referring to, but its not that complicated. true, it is not in the contemporary retardation of language (text-speak or memes)
try a little harder before you "tldr" shit.
your brain is in a self-induced atrophy (oh sorry, atrophy: decrease in size or wasting away of a body part or tissue. atrophy of muscles. also : arrested development or loss of a part or organ)
It's incredibly vague…
anon (not verified) Wed, 02/19/2025 - 12:42
In reply to i am not agreeing with the… by anon (not verified)
It's incredibly vague language, proposing nothing actually "new" or concrete in the slightest while constantly referencing academics like deleuze and guatari.
Essentially it's just a hazy activisty vision of some group of people creating and embodying change, WOWWWWW! So profound bruhhh!
this style of writing is…
anon (not verified) Wed, 02/19/2025 - 13:37
In reply to It's incredibly vague… by anon (not verified)
this style of writing is intended to force you to confront the ideas presented and actually *think* about things...if you try that, and it takes effort, you might notice how difficult some of the questions raised are to answer...i fear that's what is so challenging for you. cause it ain't word salad at all. nor is it academic. it's quite obviously anti-academic language actually
You're so wrong, and the…
anon (not verified) Wed, 02/19/2025 - 20:55
In reply to This style of writing by anon (not verified)
You're so wrong, and the only one suffering from your aversion to thinking and prose is you, anon. The mind is a parachute
Again just a bunch of bs…
anon (not verified) Wed, 02/19/2025 - 12:53
In reply to i am not agreeing with the… by anon (not verified)
Again just a bunch of bs worded in a manner that is unnecessarily complicated with purple prose to distract from how empty and vapid it's core message is.
Brow, lay off the fartbong…
anon (not verified) Wed, 02/19/2025 - 11:40
In reply to Aire shimmers. Not with a… by anon (not verified)
Brow, lay off the fartbong. Get yourself some raw milk and have a nap,,,, or fourteen.
Yuz fuickiong tralkoing tyo…
8akll (not verified) Wed, 02/19/2025 - 17:24
In reply to Brow, lay off the fartbong… by anon (not verified)
Yuz fuickiong tralkoing tyo mre, niope Imsa noyt guimng tio styop fujknggf stiop biomnging Iom as fyuckling anmarch trebnel wioth fguivking nballds yuxz vdiont wanmna fyucvk wuith mre mmjk fuibckong ksay!
where you at, complain-y,…
ranch on 'za (not verified) Wed, 02/19/2025 - 21:00
In reply to Yuz fuickiong tralkoing tyo… by 8akll (not verified)
where you at, complain-y, anti-intellectual troll? this somehow less word salad?
how about a 100 word minimum…
anon (not verified) Wed, 02/19/2025 - 20:58
In reply to cool story bro by anon (not verified)
how about a 100 word minimum to submit comments? gets rid of all these fucking tired-ass, boring-ass, whiny-ass, low-effort trolls without being authoritarian. huzzah
No u. Want more words? Read…
anon (not verified) Thu, 02/20/2025 - 00:41
In reply to how about a 100 word minimum… by anon (not verified)
No u.
Want more words? Read a book, nerd.
Your comment has less than…
anon (not verified) Thu, 02/20/2025 - 06:08
In reply to how about a 100 word minimum… by anon (not verified)
Your comment has less than 100 words, boi.
Brevity's the soul of wit. PROOF right here!
I'm not a boy, and…
anon (not verified) Thu, 02/20/2025 - 07:50
In reply to Your comment has less than… by anon (not verified)
I'm not a boy, and commenters like you would be tasked with dealing with such astounding moral contradictions as the kind you highlight, anon, in one hundred words or more.
yup. let's trust politicized…
anon (not verified) Wed, 02/19/2025 - 09:12
In reply to yep! they just listed a… by lumpy (not verified)
yup. let's trust politicized marxist models over organic ones.
tribes are fascist? i know…
anon (not verified) Wed, 02/19/2025 - 09:14
In reply to that's because you are a… by anon (not verified)
tribes are fascist?
i know you're just stupid, but that's also racist
https://www.psychologytoday…
lumpy (not verified) Wed, 02/19/2025 - 09:35
In reply to tribes are fascist? i know… by anon (not verified)
https://www.psychologytoday.com/intl/blog/brain-reboot/202307/the-neuro…
here ya go!
How are tribes related to…
anon (not verified) Thu, 02/20/2025 - 06:31
In reply to tribes are fascist? i know… by anon (not verified)
How are tribes related to any race? Tribes are a social arrangement, duh. You had tribes of just about any "race" that existed.
Previous commenter is kinda right in how tribes are a proto-fascist social arrangement. In how some "natural" form of power is being implanted and supported by the organic community and how a monolithic culture becomes the totality, taking a spiritual and identitarian character that erases the individual while flattening everyone, like in any totalitarian system. Members of the tribe are also considered as part of a racial "family" ensemble, distinct of others by the same national conception, that is no longer assumed a concept but an unquestionable fact of nature.
Y'all are really out here…
anon (not verified) Thu, 02/20/2025 - 07:55
In reply to How are tribes related to… by anon (not verified)
Y'all are really out here just stringing random words together that sound good to you, huh? I know four year olds with a better grasp on thinking and reflecting without being an essentialist nutjob and shit historian. The racist, transphobic, MAGA "anarchists" that come here regularly to comment should really quit hiding behind their screens. Come out to an actual function, we'll teach you about family.
"The racist, transphobic,…
anon (not verified) Thu, 02/20/2025 - 13:57
In reply to Y'all are really out here… by anon (not verified)
"The racist, transphobic, MAGA "anarchists" that come here regularly to comment should really quit hiding behind their screens."
This is how leftists shut down ALL conversations of any depth, that move away from or don't buy into the new orthodoxy.
call everyone who is not a…
anon (not verified) Thu, 02/20/2025 - 14:39
In reply to "The racist, transphobic,… by anon (not verified)
call everyone who is not a leftist "transphobic, racist, MAGA, fascist, etc"
good one, fuckin' losers
Fuck leftists, that was a…
anon (not verified) Thu, 02/20/2025 - 16:37
In reply to call everyone who is not a… by anon (not verified)
Fuck leftists, that was a very clear call out of rightwing and or clueless white anarchists who are on here peddling tacit transphobia and racial essentialism.
Are you like fucking denying…
anon (not verified) Thu, 02/20/2025 - 17:26
In reply to "The racist, transphobic,… by anon (not verified)
Are you like fucking denying there's at least one racist and transphobe idiot posting their hate trolling here?
Also btw, hate and bigotry is not quality conversation.
my guess is there's maybe 3…
lumpy (not verified) Thu, 02/20/2025 - 18:04
In reply to Are you like fucking denying… by anon (not verified)
my guess is there's maybe 3 of them in a discord and oh! sweet jesus, how clever they think they are! you could power a city on the force of their smug little everyoneslibtardsbutus circle jerk!
i for one, think it's adorable that they found love in their own toxic little troll polycule
Imagine posting the N word…
anon (not verified) Thu, 02/20/2025 - 20:40
In reply to my guess is there's maybe 3… by lumpy (not verified)
Imagine posting the N word outta their asses, here, on an anarchist website, and enjoying their few seconds of fame and crawl back home to their brolovers and be like "UUUUHH! I PWNED ANEWS FOR 2 SECONDS!!!" *orkish chants before they eat their mutual poops like a human centipede in the basement*
Mah boi Stirner owns your stupid racist ass cunts, bitch!
True, I can spot a MAGA…
Mike Kay (not verified) Thu, 02/20/2025 - 18:10
In reply to "The racist, transphobic,… by anon (not verified)
True, I can spot a MAGA racist transfob just by looking at the way they glare at POC or gay folk, there's also a very stern and sour grimace on their mouth. It's sooo obvious to we empaths who are highly tuned into body language and mannerisms. Then if they do happen to open their mouths or write something, kaching, my suspicions are 99% confirmed.
Hello fellow 1930s…
anon (not verified) Thu, 02/20/2025 - 08:14
In reply to How are tribes related to… by anon (not verified)
Hello fellow 1930s anthropologists
Re:anon 06:31
Tezcatlipoca (not verified) Fri, 02/21/2025 - 02:07
In reply to How are tribes related to… by anon (not verified)
The idea of valuing certain cultural practices over others can be challenged by recognizing that all cultures have their own valid systems of meaning and social organization. This perspective suggests that what might be perceived as "authoritarian" or "backward" in one cultural context could actually represent coherent and effective ways of life within another. Instead of viewing tribal traditions through a lens of superiority or inferiority, it's important to understand them on their own terms, appreciating their distinct worldviews, relationships with nature, and social dynamics. By doing so, we can move away from an ethnocentric mindset and embrace a more respectful and nuanced understanding of cultural diversity. This approach encourages dialogue and learning, rather than judgment, fostering a recognition that no single way of life has a monopoly on reason or value.
I, anon, agree with you,…
anon (not verified) Wed, 02/19/2025 - 09:12
In reply to in my experience, families,… by anon (not verified)
I, anon, agree with you, anon.
"families, packs, tribes,…
anon (not verified) Thu, 02/20/2025 - 18:20
In reply to in my experience, families,… by anon (not verified)
"families, packs, tribes, gangs, cults, bands, all seem to, at the best, balance the uniqueness of individuals with a more integral relationship "
But it's sooOoo boring working with others, Sartre's " Hell is other people " comes to mind, and also how can uniqueness be truly integrated, this union only negates the essential quality of the unique?! Read some Stirno buddy!
Many of the herding species…
David Anarchborough (not verified) Thu, 02/20/2025 - 19:29
In reply to "families, packs, tribes,… by anon (not verified)
Many of the herding species collect in tribes for mutual security and dominance with numbers. Always patriarchal, these "clubs/gangs" are mostly comprised of young males reacting to the physiological action of testosterone on their psychology, inducing stress and anxieties which are releaved by a self-reproducing action, mating, or extreme violence towards a perceived "enemy", often at the expense of the female of the species, or it is expended in warfare fomented by a ruling elite for their own profit in power, territory or surpluses in luxurious wealth.
we don't need some studies…
anon (not verified) Wed, 02/19/2025 - 09:45
we don't need some studies to know we are tribal beings removed from people and place and run through some sort of civilizing (as in destroying and controlling) cheese grater.....more advanced food processors (ideologies, politics, technology, etc) are no better, they are just more efficient and they cut so quick that there is less acute and directly locatable pain, and thus, less resistance.
the other direction on this…
lumpy (not verified) Thu, 02/20/2025 - 09:29
In reply to we don't need some studies… by anon (not verified)
the other direction on this line of reasoning is what interests me. i agree with you but if the "ideologies, politics. technology, etc" is no better and in many cases, completely unraveling, what's underneath isn't going to be liberatory except to the worst of us
what the f do you smoke to…
anon (not verified) Thu, 02/20/2025 - 10:34
In reply to the other direction on this… by lumpy (not verified)
what the f do you smoke to come up with this shit, clumpy? seriously, provide a strain name. i need a mini-vacay.
you're implying that we need politics, technology, and ideologies to inhibit the monsters within just waiting to get out a wreak havoc? that's a fundamentally anti-anarchist position, you know that, right? it's text book classical liberalism
no... i'm not advocating,…
lumpy (not verified) Thu, 02/20/2025 - 11:28
In reply to what the f do you smoke to… by anon (not verified)
no... i'm not advocating, just observing. i wouldn't mistake this stuff for something where anyone has agency, except maybe the tech broligarchs? but of course people have monsters inside them silly! are you seriously suggesting they don't? i'm just comfortable with that reality, unlike the libs
you sure are hostile without asking any questions for clarification, sort of perfect for this topic!
because we want monsters to…
anon (not verified) Thu, 02/20/2025 - 13:26
In reply to no... i'm not advocating,… by lumpy (not verified)
because we want monsters to come out. we love monsters. we're anarchists. we're the monsters. we're the problem. that's why trump is a monster, because of his chaos-reeping. but we're anarchists, we don't mind chaos, or monsters, right? we can have monster homies even, on our own terms, no? we don't need angels (ironically monstrous af) and perfect mental health from pop psych therapy. we need everyone to totally fuckin lose it. might be our only shot at actual anarchy at this point, cause yeah, we have zero fucking ability or political power.
Monsters you say?
anon (not verified) Thu, 02/20/2025 - 14:14
In reply to because we want monsters to… by anon (not verified)
What about monsters that don't abide by puritan leftist morality? You still cool with monsters then? What about monsters that plow thru a crowd of random people with their vehicle? Or monsters that shoot up a school of children? What about monsters that laugh at the concept of consent?
Take your meds, monster-bro
We have to protect or necks;…
anon (not verified) Thu, 02/20/2025 - 16:32
In reply to Monsters you say? by anon (not verified)
We have to protect or necks; roar louder, strike faster and hit harder than anyone who tries to harm us. No amount of pills, therapy, non-violent communication, safe spaces, or intellectual security will change that.
hmmm ... first of all, count…
lumpy (not verified) Thu, 02/20/2025 - 17:24
In reply to because we want monsters to… by anon (not verified)
hmmm ... first of all, count me out of your "we". second of all, desperate death cult pathos isn't anarchy or anarchism to me. certainly it comes up over and over in the history and the literature, don't get me wrong but it's just a means or a symptom, not an end
plus you self report at the end, you're just externalizing you're i'm-a-fukin-loser trip on to the rest of us
You're the anxiety-riddled…
anon (not verified) Fri, 02/21/2025 - 01:48
In reply to hmmm ... first of all, count… by lumpy (not verified)
You're the anxiety-riddled liberal, clumpy. You're the real death cult. Who cares about dying? Just live your life ya fuckin coward
"who cares about dying?" <--…
lumpy (not verified) Fri, 02/21/2025 - 09:53
In reply to You're the anxiety-riddled… by anon (not verified)
"who cares about dying?" <--- people who aren't in a death cult, that was my point
thanks for your help!
Trolling and being mean to…
anon (not verified) Fri, 02/21/2025 - 14:31
In reply to "who cares about dying?" <--… by lumpy (not verified)
Trolling and being mean to each other aside—really am confused how you think my position is more loyal to the death cult. Living like you're unaware of death is as un-death cult-y you can get for me. Caring about dying is what causes existential anxiety, no?
no. you can care without…
lumpy (not verified) Fri, 02/21/2025 - 16:54
In reply to Trolling and being mean to… by anon (not verified)
no. you can care without being a coward, which can be how you recognize and value, just as likely as dismissing everything and everyone as meaningless
memento mori is a rorschach test, your turn doctor! what do you see?
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