http://eng.anarchopedia.org/api.php?action=feedcontributions&feedformat=atom&user=Diogenes 2026-10-30T15:35:52Z User contributions MediaWiki 1.26.2 http://eng.anarchopedia.org/index.php?title=Compassionate_Anarchism&diff=54926 2012-10-11T01:02:49Z

<p>Diogenes: </p> <hr /> <div>'''Compassionate anarchy''' (or '''compassionate anarchism''') exists as a newly emerging [[revolution]]ary tendency, and a mode of relating that goes back to the dawn of humanity. Compassionate anarchy seems a practice that can seem incredibly hard to learn and keep, while at the same time, some of the most enjoyable moments of our lives have been when we have practiced it. <br /> <br /> Compassion keeps [[anarchy]] from degenerating into [[anomy|violent chaos]] and individual autonomy from resulting in disrespect and disregard for others. Anarchy keeps our compassion from becoming a hollow shell of the real thing - it keeps our love for others from becoming a commodity sold back to us or a ploy to make us acquiescent to the dictates of authority. Compassionate anarchy finds and appreciates the genuine soul in human beings and keeping it free from all authority, submission, moralism, and static roles.<br /> <br /> This approach holds that there exist real-life processes and actions that can be taken to create more compassion and anarchy in our lives in the here-and-now. “Compassion” and “anarchy” exist as not just vague feel-good poetic phrases or proscriptions/descriptions of a future [[society]] – but interactive relationships that [[human]]s everywhere can and do take part in. <br /> <br /> This approach eschews [[lifestylism]] and strives for far-reaching anarchist [[social revolution]]. However, unlike many anarchist approaches to revolution, compassionate anarchy seeks to avoid dehumanization, polarization, and projecting enemy images onto others. The anarchist social revolution gets seen as the immense application and proliferation of anarchist ways of relating. This approach resonates akin to [[Gustav Landauer]]’s sentiment when he said: “The [[state|State]] - a condition, a certain relationship between human beings, a mode of human behavior; we destroy it by contracting other relationships, by behaving differently.”<br /> <br /> <br /> <br /> <br /> Compassionate anarchy draws a lot of inspiration from the famous anarchist theorist [[Peter Kropotkin]] and his concept of “[[mutual aid]]” – the notion that people supporting each other and helping one another out seems a natural part of existing on earth as a human. To this end, [[direct action]] relationships of sharing and cooperation, in both the material and non-material realms, get greatly encouraged. <br /> <br /> Mutual aid gets in turn seen as best taking place when done so out of what the author Marshall Rosenberg calls “natural giving”, action done not out of any sense of fear, anger, duty, obligation, or hope of reward, but instead out of a genuine desire to contribute to the well-being of others. To best facilitate action done out of natural giving, compassionate anarchy draws from the understandings and practices that generally go under the label of “Nonviolent Communication”, or “NVC” for short. Nonviolent Communication does not get not viewed as a rule-book or dogma to follow, but instead gets used for the tools that it offers to help us more honestly and directly connect with the humanity in both ourselves and others.<br /> <br /> Some of the defining characteristics of compassionate anarchy do not exist as proscriptions for behavior or pictures of utopic future societies, but instead the series of questions that it encourages us to ask. Some of these questions: “What exactly am I wanting to see done?”, “What motivation do I want to see this done out of?”, “What fundamental needs/values sit behind this action?”, “How can I best contribute to life in a way that seems enjoyable?” Asking deep and honest questions exists far more likely to foster true understanding and connection than proclamations over what we “should” do. <br /> <br /> Although much could get written about compassionate anarchy, it seems fundamentally a human '''experience''' and not another theory to for argument over. Compassion, [[peace]]ful cooperation and deep respect do happen, experiences that we have in our lives already embody them – this approach seeks to encourage and foster these experiences. While a lot of important information can get conveyed through writing and lectures, compassionate anarchy can not really get personally understood unless one draws from one’s own experience. <br /> <br /> <br /> <br /> <br /> <br /> {{ll|Empathy}} is a key component of compassionate anarchy. Empathy is seen as a glue that helps society stay together and not degenerate into a war of all-against-all; empathy is seen as being a tool potentially useful for revolutionary organizing. Beyond notions of “[[working class]] solidarity”, “community organizing” and “solidarity of the oppressed” lies empathy – the practice of people deeply listening to and understanding one another in a very real and fundamental way. Without empathy, the connections between people that need to be made in order to effectively challenge the alienation and atomization inherent in capitalism and institutional authority will not happen. <br /> <br /> Compassionate anarchy is not about “[[nonviolence]]” or “[[violence]]”, [[green anarchy]] or [[class struggle]] anarchy. It draws from these what it can, but ultimately tries to learn from what is '''behind''' all of these. For example, with “nonviolence” compassionate anarchy asks what dynamics and processes comprise and make up “violence”, and what effect it has on us. With approaches supportive of “violence”, compassionate anarchy strives to find the most full, effective and sustainable forms of protection and safety possible. With green anarchy compassionate anarchy strives to find how to rid ourselves of our own domestication, with class struggle anarchy the question is on what is behind class unity and solidarity. Behind every belief and approach to life is a genuine desire to meet needs and live values, and with this being the case, compassionate anarchy seeks to dialogue with and learn from others rather than be trapped in debate and dehumanization of others because of differences in opinion or approach. <br /> <br /> This was a broad and brief introduction to compassionate anarchy – it is hoped that the other texts here can result in a more full understanding of the whole thing. Beyond that, it is hoped that this can serve as inspiration to be more aware of one’s own behaviors and motivations and to try to practice compassionate anarchy within one’s own life!<br /> <br /> [[Category:Anarchism]]</div>

Diogenes http://eng.anarchopedia.org/index.php?title=Compassionate_Anarchism&diff=54925 2012-10-11T00:59:17Z

<p>Diogenes: </p> <hr /> <div>'''Compassionate anarchy''' (or '''compassionate anarchism''') exists as a newly emerging [[revolution]]ary tendency, and a mode of relating that goes back to the dawn of humanity. Compassionate anarchy seems a practice that can may seem incredibly hard to learn and keep, while at the same time, some of the most enjoyable moments of our lives have been when we have practiced it. <br /> <br /> Compassion keeps [[anarchy]] from degenerating into [[anomy|violent chaos]] and individual autonomy from resulting in disrespect and disregard for others. Anarchy keeps our compassion from becoming a hollow shell of the real thing - it keeps our love for others from becoming a commodity sold back to us or a ploy to make us acquiescent to the dictates of authority. Compassionate anarchy finds and appreciates the genuine soul in human beings and keeping it free from all authority, submission, moralism, and static roles.<br /> <br /> This approach holds that there exist real-life processes and actions that can be taken to create more compassion and anarchy in our lives in the here-and-now. “Compassion” and “anarchy” exist as not just vague feel-good poetic phrases or proscriptions/descriptions of a future [[society]] – but interactive relationships that [[human]]s everywhere can and do take part in. <br /> <br /> This approach eschews [[lifestylism]] and strives for far-reaching anarchist [[social revolution]]. However, unlike many anarchist approaches to revolution, compassionate anarchy seeks to avoid dehumanization, polarization, and projecting enemy images onto others. The anarchist social revolution gets seen as the immense application and proliferation of anarchist ways of relating. This approach resonates akin to [[Gustav Landauer]]’s sentiment when he said: “The [[state|State]] - a condition, a certain relationship between human beings, a mode of human behavior; we destroy it by contracting other relationships, by behaving differently.”<br /> <br /> <br /> <br /> <br /> Compassionate anarchy draws a lot of inspiration from the famous anarchist theorist [[Peter Kropotkin]] and his concept of “[[mutual aid]]” – the notion that people supporting each other and helping one another out seems a natural part of existing on earth as a human. To this end, [[direct action]] relationships of sharing and cooperation, in both the material and non-material realms, get greatly encouraged. <br /> <br /> Mutual aid gets in turn seen as best taking place when done so out of what the author Marshall Rosenberg calls “natural giving”, action done not out of any sense of fear, anger, duty, obligation, or hope of reward, but instead out of a genuine desire to contribute to the well-being of others. To best facilitate action done out of natural giving, compassionate anarchy draws from the understandings and practices that generally go under the label of “Nonviolent Communication”, or “NVC” for short. Nonviolent Communication does not get not viewed as a rule-book or dogma to follow, but instead gets used for the tools that it offers to help us more honestly and directly connect with the humanity in both ourselves and others.<br /> <br /> Some of the defining characteristics of compassionate anarchy do not exist as proscriptions for behavior or pictures of utopic future societies, but instead the series of questions that it encourages us to ask. Some of these questions: “What exactly am I wanting to see done?”, “What motivation do I want to see this done out of?”, “What fundamental needs/values sit behind this action?”, “How can I best contribute to life in a way that seems enjoyable?” Asking deep and honest questions exists far more likely to foster true understanding and connection than proclamations over what we “should” do. <br /> <br /> Although much could get written about compassionate anarchy, it seems fundamentally a human '''experience''' and not another theory to for argument over. Compassion, [[peace]]ful cooperation and deep respect do happen, experiences that we have in our lives already embody them – this approach seeks to encourage and foster these experiences. While a lot of important information can get conveyed through writing and lectures, compassionate anarchy can not really get personally understood unless one draws from one’s own experience. <br /> <br /> <br /> <br /> <br /> <br /> {{ll|Empathy}} is a key component of compassionate anarchy. Empathy is seen as a glue that helps society stay together and not degenerate into a war of all-against-all; empathy is seen as being a tool potentially useful for revolutionary organizing. Beyond notions of “[[working class]] solidarity”, “community organizing” and “solidarity of the oppressed” lies empathy – the practice of people deeply listening to and understanding one another in a very real and fundamental way. Without empathy, the connections between people that need to be made in order to effectively challenge the alienation and atomization inherent in capitalism and institutional authority will not happen. <br /> <br /> Compassionate anarchy is not about “[[nonviolence]]” or “[[violence]]”, [[green anarchy]] or [[class struggle]] anarchy. It draws from these what it can, but ultimately tries to learn from what is '''behind''' all of these. For example, with “nonviolence” compassionate anarchy asks what dynamics and processes comprise and make up “violence”, and what effect it has on us. With approaches supportive of “violence”, compassionate anarchy strives to find the most full, effective and sustainable forms of protection and safety possible. With green anarchy compassionate anarchy strives to find how to rid ourselves of our own domestication, with class struggle anarchy the question is on what is behind class unity and solidarity. Behind every belief and approach to life is a genuine desire to meet needs and live values, and with this being the case, compassionate anarchy seeks to dialogue with and learn from others rather than be trapped in debate and dehumanization of others because of differences in opinion or approach. <br /> <br /> This was a broad and brief introduction to compassionate anarchy – it is hoped that the other texts here can result in a more full understanding of the whole thing. Beyond that, it is hoped that this can serve as inspiration to be more aware of one’s own behaviors and motivations and to try to practice compassionate anarchy within one’s own life!<br /> <br /> [[Category:Anarchism]]</div>

Diogenes http://eng.anarchopedia.org/index.php?title=Primitivism&diff=48000 2011-03-09T09:46:33Z

<p>Diogenes: </p> <hr /> <div>{{Echo of Freedom|96813|Primitivism in Relation to the Revolutionary Struggle}}<br /> <br /> '''Primitivism''', also called '''anarcho-primitivism''', is a [[philosophy]] advocating a return to a pre-[[Industrialisation|industrial]] and usually pre-[[agricultural]] [[society]]. It is sometimes considered to be an [[anarchist]] philosophy.<br /> <br /> Many traditional anarchists reject the critique of civilization, many even deny that primitivism has anything to do with anarchism, while some, such as [[Wolfi Landstreicher]], endorse the critique but do not consider themselves anarcho-primitivists. Anarcho-primitivists are often distinguished by their focus on the [[Praxis (process)|praxis]] of achieving a [[feral]] state of being through &quot;[[rewilding]]&quot;.<br /> <br /> Primitivism can also refer to any philosophy which seeks to return to the roots of a larger movement, such as [[Muslim]]s and [[Christian]]s who seek to return to the first few centuries of [[Islam]] or [[Christianity]].<br /> <br /> Primitivism believes that industrial society inevitably produces oppressive structures through [[specialization of tasks]] or [[division of labor]], and that [[technology]] has similar negative implications. Some forms of primitivism question [[civilization]] itself.<br /> <br /> Many primitivists believe that civilization has forced humans to use an excessive amount of [[symbolism]] in their daily lives. People observe the world around them and express themselves very much through written and spoken [[language]], live much of their lives through ritual and schedule, and think mostly in terms of language and common symbolism. Primitivists believe that this tendency toward excessive symbolism reduces more direct, unfiltered, sensual experience, and directly limits our thoughts and feelings to those expressable in their language.<br /> <br /> The primitivist movement has connections to [[radical environmentalism]].<br /> <br /> Primitivism has been notably advocated by [[John Zerzan]], and to some extent by [[Theodore Kaczynski]] (the Unabomber) and [[Derrick Jensen]].<br /> <br /> During the [[1990s]] the [[United Kingdom|UK]] magazine ''[[Green Anarchist]]'' aligned itself with the primitivist movement, although there are many who would describe themselves as '[[Green anarchism|green anarchists]]' who would not see themselves as subscribing to this philosophy.<br /> <br /> The magazine ''[[Green Anarchy]]'' was started by one of the founders of Green Anarchist. Green Anarchy is published in [[Eugene, Oregon]]. One of the editors is John Zerzan.<br /> <br /> Domestication<br /> <br /> Domestication, according to primitivists, is the process that civilization uses to induct and control life according to its strictly ordered logic. Essentially, domestication is the tendency of civilization, as an orderly, predictable system, to attempt to assimilate the entire rest of the universe into itself, to make the whole world into one colossal orderly, predictable system. The mechanisms of domestication are said to include: taming, breeding, genetically modifying, schooling, caging, intimidating, coercing, extorting from, promising, contracting, governing, enslaving, terrorizing, raping, murdering, etc. Domestication is a pathological power-process begun by some groups of early humans who wished to reduce the uncertainties and dangers of life, attempting to manufacture a completely safe and organized existence. It is ultimately this force that primitivists (especially anarcho-primitivists) array themselves against.[citation needed]<br /> <br /> Primitivists also describe it (more specifically) as the process by which previously nomadic human populations shifted towards a sedentary or settled existence through agriculture and animal husbandry. They claim that this kind of domestication demands a totalitarian relationship with both the land and the plants and animals being domesticated - ultimately, it even requires a totalitarian relationship with humanity. They say that whereas, in a state of wildness, all life shares and competes for resources, domestication destroys this balance. The domesticated landscape (e.g. pastoral lands/agricultural fields and, to a lesser degree, horticulture and gardening) is seen to necessitate the end of open sharing of the resources that formerly existed; where once &quot;this was everyone's,&quot; it is now &quot;mine.&quot; Anarcho-primitivists argue that this notion of ownership laid the foundation for social hierarchy as property and power emerged. It inevitably entailed the cultivation and exploitation of the surrounding environs and the creation of a simultaneous monopoly and monopsony by humans, and for humans - generating over time the value-based social structures we now know in which every conceivable physical thing from food to earth to genes to ideas are viewed as quantifiable assets, which are someone's private property. It also involved the destruction, enslavement, or assimilation of other groups of early people who did not attempt to make such a transition, or who were not as far along in the transition as the destroying, enslaving, and assimilating groups.<br /> <br /> To primitivists, domestication not only changes the ecology from a free to a totalitarian order, it enslaves the species that are domesticated, as well as the domesticators themselves. According to primitivism, then, humans are nearing the beginning of the last phase of the domestication process as we are now experimenting with direct genetic engineering, and are making dramatic and frightening advances in the fields of psychology, anthropology, and sociology. This thereby allows us to quantify and objectify ourselves, until we too become commodities and property of no greater or lesser fundamental import than any other asset.<br /> <br /> John Zerzan, defines domestication as &quot;the will to dominate animals and plants&quot;, and says that domestication is &quot;civilization's defining basis&quot;<br /> <br /> ==See also==<br /> *[[Radical anthropology]]<br /> *[[Amish]]<br /> *[[Antimodernism]]<br /> *[[Green anarchy]]<br /> *[[An Anarchist FAQ - What is anarcho-primitivism?]]<br /> <br /> ==External links==<br /> *[http://www.libcom.org/thought/approaches/primitivism/ A critique of primitivism, anarcho-primitivism and anti-civilisationism] - social anarchist criticism of primitivism<br /> * [http://anthropik.com/2005/10/5-common-objections-to-primitivism-and-why-theyre-wrong/ &quot;5 Common Objections to Primitivism, and Why They're Wrong&quot;] - a primitivist response to critics<br /> *[http://libcom.org/library/primitivism Primitivism text archive (libcom.org)]<br /> *[http://theanarchistlibrary.org/taxonomy/term/16 Collection of Primitivism-related texts (theanarchistlibrary.org)]<br /> *[http://yabanil.net/ yabanil.net (Turkish)]<br /> <br /> {{wikipedia|Anarcho-primitivism}}<br /> <br /> [[Category:Primitivism|*]]<br /> [[Category:Green anarchism]]<br /> [[Category:Political theories]]<br /> <br /> [[da:primitivisme]]<br /> [[es:Primitivismo]]<br /> [[sv:Primitivism]]</div>

Diogenes