Autonomism

[pieter]

Folks,

This is the only form of Marxism I as a young man in my Anarchist or Free Socialist young stage found attracted too. Also because Autonomism was anti-authoritarian, anti Marxist-Leninism, Stalinism, Maoism and the Trotskyist 4th International. Autonomism was more close to Anarchism which made it attractive to the youthful me in my black jeans, black t-shirts, thick leather jacket and army boots. Anarchism apopealed more to me than Marxism and Social Democracy due to its radicalism.



Cheers,
Pieter

[pieter]

[pieter]

What is the antagonism at the heart of this new form of contemporary capitalism? The capitalist is looking for ever new creative subjectivities, but this subjectivity must be controlled and limited. The contradictions of capital take place within the soul of the worker. To become a subject, paradoxically, means to be subjected. The question, then, is what is the resistance to the contemporary regime of truth, which is the neo-liberal subject? I would like to answer this question by turning to the political theories of the Italian autonomists.

[pieter]

Many people in their youth search for their kind of leftism, radical ideology and alternative for existing forms. In Western-Europe you had leftist groups who opposed both on one side the West-European Neo-liberal, social conservative order of the market economy and parliamentary democracy which was and is controled by top civil servants, lobby groups, Financial markets, corporate interests and billionaires with influence and on the other side opposed the Sovjet authoritarian Totalitarian dictatorial Socialist Peoples republics of Central-Europe and Eastern-Europe and the West-European Marxist-Leninist (Pro-Moscow) Communist political parties, the Maoist Communist (Pro-Peking) political parties and the Trotskyist far left fractions as well (due to Leon Trotsky's early role in the Sovjet terror of 1917-1918-1919 and the early twenties). The Marxist element in Autonomism was confusing to me due to the link with Marxism-Leninism. I think that the Marxist and leftist tendencies in highschool pupil circles, university student circles, certain professors, some leftist singers and muscians, leftwing press, movies, documentaries and other forms had influence. You could compare that with Ernest Hemingway's, Woody Guthrie, Humphrey Bogart's and Max Shachtman position in the USA. Trying to find a good, alternative left. Also in the Polish dissident movement you had leftist, secular, social democratic and atheist oponents of the Marxist-Leninist PZPR regime of Edward Ochab, Władysław Gomułka, Edward Gierek, Stanisław Kania and Wojciech Jaruzelski. People like Jacek Kuroń, Jan Józef Lipski (he re-established the Polish Socialist Party (Polska Partia Socjalistyczna) in 1987), the Polishg Marxist dissident Edward Lipiński, writer Jerzy Andrzejewski, Bronisław Geremek and Adam Michnik.


Anarchism in Poland after 1980


Banner of Inicjatywa Pracownicza during a protest (2020)

For authorities referring to Marxism, anarchism was not ideologically close. Repression by the government apparatus was one of the more important reasons why anarchists did not develop their activities on a political ground. The anarchist movement in Poland began to take shape on a large scale only in the 1980s, during the wave of social protests. The role of the counterculture and the punk subculture played a key role in reactivating the anarchist movement in Poland.

The group that first referred to anarchism was the Alternative Society Movement (Polish: Ruch Społeczeństwa Alternatywnego, RSA). June 1983 is considered to be its symbolic beginning. The RSA was one of many groups opposing the then authorities.


Polish Anarchists in Wrocław

At the end of the eighties, on the initiative of the RSA, the Anarchist Inter-city was established, which over time transformed into the Anarchist Federation (Polish: Federację Anarchistyczną, FA). Currently, FA has branches in many Polish cities, including Warsaw, Poznań, Łódź, Rzeszów and Wrocław.

In Poznań, there is the Publishing House of the Brotherhood "Trojka", which is associated with the Poznań section of FA and the Rozbrat squat. The history of the "Trojka" Society of the Brotherhood dates back to 1994, when it was established to popularize anarchist thought. Initially, Trojka published small brochures, but now it distributes its own and other publications. The publications of the Trojka include both the works of the classics of anarchism and books written by contemporary authors.

After 1980, many groups unrelated to the RSA and FA were also created. Nowadays, anarchism is also referred to by, among others, the Workers' Initiative, the Left Alternative, the "Freedom-Equality-Solidarity" Association, and the Union of Polish Syndicalists.

The group that was openly formed in opposition to the FA and RSA circles was the People's Liberation Front (Polish: Ludowy Front Wyzwolenia, LFW), whose members, considering the peaceful methods of struggle to be ineffective, called for a transition to violent direct action. In 1991, the group set fire to the Soviet consulate in Tricity in response to the KGB murder of the Russian anarchist Piotr Siuda. The emergence of the LFW was the first attempt since the pre-war times to reactivate the armed activities of the anarchist movement.

Nowadays, the most radical forms of activity are referred to by the Internet portals Greece on Fire (also an informal publishing house), as well as Black Theory. In the published content, they sometimes express their support for the ideology of insurrection.


Several hundred Polish anarchists marched through in downtown Poznań, in solidarity with #Rozbrat squat threatened by eviction in September 2019.

[pieter]

Autonomism



Autonomism, also known as autonomist Marxism and autonomous Marxism, is an anti-authoritarian left-wing political and social movement and theory. As a theoretical system, it first emerged in Italy in the 1960s from workerism (operaismo). Later, post-Marxist and anarchist tendencies became significant after influence from the Situationists, the failure of Italian far-left movements in the 1970s, and the emergence of a number of important theorists including Antonio Negri, who had contributed to the 1969 founding of Potere Operaio as well as Mario Tronti, Paolo Virno and Franco "Bifo" Berardi.



George Katsiaficas summarizes the forms of autonomous movements saying that "In contrast to the centralized decisions and hierarchical authority structures of modern institutions, autonomous social movements involve people directly in decisions affecting their everyday lives, seeking to expand democracy and help individuals break free of political structures and behavior patterns imposed from the outside". This has involved a call for the independence of social movements from political parties in a revolutionary perspective which seeks to create a practical political alternative to both authoritarian/state socialism and contemporary representative democracy.



Autonomism influenced the German and Dutch Autonomen (the Squater Movement), the worldwide social centre movement and today is influential in Italy, France and to a lesser extent the English-speaking countries. Those who describe themselves as autonomists now vary from Marxists to anarchists.

[pieter]

Situationist International



The Situationist International (SI) was an international organization of social revolutionaries made up of avant-garde artists, intellectuals, and political theorists. It was prominent in Europe from its formation in 1957 to its dissolution in 1972. The intellectual foundations of the Situationist International were derived primarily from libertarian Marxism and the avant-garde art movements of the early 20th century, particularly Dada and Surrealism. Overall, situationist theory represented an attempt to synthesize this diverse field of theoretical disciplines into a modern and comprehensive critique of mid-20th century advanced capitalism.

Essential to situationist theory was the concept of the spectacle, a unified critique of advanced capitalism of which a primary concern was the progressively increasing tendency towards the expression and mediation of social relations through objects. The situationists believed that the shift from individual expression through directly lived experiences, or the first-hand fulfillment of authentic desires, to individual expression by proxy through the exchange or consumption of commodities, or passive second-hand alienation, inflicted significant and far-reaching damage to the quality of human life for both individuals and society. Another important concept of situationist theory was the primary means of counteracting the spectacle; the construction of situations, moments of life deliberately constructed for the purpose of reawakening and pursuing authentic desires, experiencing the feeling of life and adventure, and the liberation of everyday life.

The situationists recognized that capitalism had changed since Karl Marx's formative writings, but maintained that his analysis of the capitalist mode of production remained fundamentally correct; they rearticulated and expanded upon several classical Marxist concepts, such as his theory of alienation. In their expanded interpretation of Marxist theory, the situationists asserted that the misery of social alienation and commodity fetishism were no longer limited to the fundamental components of capitalist society, but had now in advanced capitalism spread themselves to every aspect of life and culture. They rejected the idea that advanced capitalism's apparent successes—such as technological advancement, increased income, and increased leisure—could ever outweigh the social dysfunction and degradation of everyday life that it simultaneously inflicted.

When the Situationist International was first formed, it had a predominantly artistic focus; emphasis was placed on concepts like unitary urbanism and psychogeography. Gradually, however, that focus shifted more towards revolutionary and political theory. The Situationist International reached the apex of its creative output and influence in 1967 and 1968, with the former marking the publication of the two most significant texts of the situationist movement, The Society of the Spectacle by Guy Debord and The Revolution of Everyday Life by Raoul Vaneigem. The expressed writing and political theory of the two aforementioned texts, along with other situationist publications, proved greatly influential in shaping the ideas behind the May 1968 insurrections in France; quotes, phrases, and slogans from situationist texts and publications were ubiquitous on posters and graffiti throughout France during the uprisings.







For more reading and the meaning of the Situationist International read this link: en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Situationist_International

[pieter]

[pieter]

Photographs of the Situationist International: www.notbored.org/group-shots.html

[pieter]

[Jaga]

Pieter,

interesting, never heard about the term "situationism". I will have to study some of your videos.