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Showing posts from March, 2021

Mystical Anarchism

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Throughout the history of mankind the human urge to freedom has found expression in various philosophical and religious traditions, schools, and groups (e. g. Chinese Taoism, ancient Greek Cynicism, early Christian Gnosticism, various forms of sectarianism), and eventually transformed into the abstract philosophical idea of a stateless society in the aftermath of the French Revolution, which ultimately developed into the political theory and social movement of “anarchism” Although modern anarchism has its origins in England and France, the theoretical elaboration of its fundamentals owes much to the contribution of Russian thinkers – the most famous of which were Mikhail Bakunin (1814–1876) and Piotr Kropotkin (1842–1921), arguing in favor of a communal anarchism achieved through social revolution. Likewise, also the pacifist anarchist tradition is inextricably linked to a Russian name – Leo Tolstoy (1828–1910), not only one of Russia’s most famous novelists but also major representati

Mediacracy versus Situationism

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The term "mediacracy" was first coined in 1974 by writer and political commentator Kevin Phillips, who used the term in the title of his book  Mediacracy: American Parties and Politics in the Communications Age . Since then, the concept has gained popularity and is used by political scientists to discuss the impact of media on both voting behavior and cultural trends.  The term has seen a resurgence due to the works of economist and author Fabian Tassano. In his book  Mediocracy: Inversions and Deceptions in an Egalitarian Culture , Tassano argues that the 'dumbing down’ of popular media when coupled with increasing obscurity in scholarly discourse leads to a society which has the appearance of egalitarianism, but ultimately is a society ruled by elites. Ultimately, the politico-media complex is a name given to the close knit, systematized, symbiotic-like network of relationships between a states political and ruling class and its media industry.  Similarly,  Manufacturin

Five Steps to Revolution

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Minarcho-Councilists believe that there are five main steps to achieving their goals:  Class Consciousness : Revolutionary class consciousness develops within the working class in a severe crisis of the capitalist system (with encouragement and agitation by a revolutionary organization). Organs of Revolution : The workers then establish directly democratic councils in both workplaces and communities as the basic organs of the revolution. Dismantle to the Minimal State : Using these councils, the workers then proceed to seize the means of production and dismantle the state. The revolutionary principle of the minimal state does not seek the abolition of the state but rather a great reduction in the power of the state down to the absolute minimal amount possible. Such a minimal state would ensure the protection of workers and their rights.  Worker Self-Management : Following from this, society and the economy is managed and coordinated by workers' councils, where production in all wor

Ego-Buddhism

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At first look, Egoism and Buddhism appear to be utterly opposed but yet Egoism has a lot of similarities to Buddhist philosophy. With its concept of the unique being like an “inside-out” version of the anatman (no-self) and Stirner’s notion of creative nothing being like Sunyata (fertile emptiness), the two philosophies interact in interesting ways.   Śūnyatā, meaning "Emptiness" or "Voidness", is an important Buddhist teaching which claims that nothing possesses essential, enduring identity because everything is interconnected in a chain of co-becoming and in a state of constant flux. In various schools of Buddhism, Śūnyatā is a key concept used to express that everything one encounters in life is empty of absolute identity, permanence, or an in-dwelling 'self' because everything is inter-related and mutually dependent—never wholly self-sufficient or independent.  This is the idea of the illusion of the self. On the other side of this is the void which is p