12.12.08

igniting a global revolution?

I learn what's happening in Greece through the internet, since I'm not there to take part. On one hand I am sorry for that. On the other hand, I can make use of my duty to give out our sight of seeing things. Additionally, I am kind of privileged, since I learn the truth through independent media, and not through THEIR media. That is to say, I learn the truth and not THEIR attempts to (dis)orient the public opinion.

The authorities keep on talking about the private property being destroyed. What they don't say is that they are the ones who do that. They even announced that the National Library was set on fire by anarchists, while it was their dogs who set it one fire, and anarchists were trying to put it off.

People around me are not so well activated politically. Still, some people ask. My first comment was this: For the last years I thought that the only hope for a global revolution is if it starts from Latin America. I would never believe it could start from Europe - any part of it. I don't mind if all greek cities are burnt due to the uprising of people. I see the virus spreading around.

As far as it has to do with the political consciousness in Europe, any manifestation occurring in large scale in Europe in the last years stayed here. In this sense, it was problematic, because it never exceeded the european borders, any previous gathering of riots in Europe has been turning back to itself, not having the strength to spread more - and then vanished. It is the first time that manifestations in Europe exceed its borders: Solidarity movements not only in Madrid, Berlin, Hamburg, London, Rome, Barcelona, Paris, Bordeau, but also in Turkey, in America, in Australia. And from Al Jazeera: "Here is a people who revolt. From Morocco to Saudi Arabia, they fuck us every day, they perform violence on us, they steal from us, spit on us, and we keep sleeping. In Greece, a boy was murdered and everybody revolted."

The above was cited (in greek) in an article in the forum at the web site of the greek social forum. By the way, in Al Jazeera I read the only reasonable article about the riots in Greece. And this includes every single web site, both in Greece and out of it, that is driven from well known newspapers or mass media: The approaches of ALL of them are not only clearly biased, but also highly acting towards of the disorientation of public opinion.

For me, what's happening now in Greece is hopeful. I don't believe that the police in Greece is worse than anywhere else, and also I don't believe that the government is more corrupted. Police as means to regulate the behavior of people, and governments as providing authoritarian hats above our heads (to say the least that they do...), by definition do not do any good. But people have had enough. I can only believe that some of those who take part in the riots are not completely conscious with respect to what they revolt against.

But this is not a lack of prospect. It is only that there so many things that make our lives miserable. This insurrection is important because it's not blind. The riots reflect an ignition of imagination, inspiration, they reflect our original political thought against the typical sayings of the politicians worldwide. They reflect our need to use the public space that we are taken away from, to be free, not watched by any Big Brother, not stolen our work's worth.

In the end, all these things apply to everybody, no matter the city, no matter the country, no matter the continent. And it is due to this that the greek virus spreads around so rapidly. In these days that things run in a speed a thousand times larger than previously, my hope is that the speed becomes even larger. And that the uprisings reach every small village in Argentina, Zimbabwe and India, and China, Vietnam and New Zealand. That is to say, all around earth.

A few years ago, a friend had said that the only way that a global uprising on earth takes place is the crisis that will occur when petroleum has all been consumed. I am excited in the idea that such an uprising might occur much earlier... and not because of the laws of the market, but coming right out of self-organized criticality, confirming that nature is a self-organized system, consisting of smaller self-organized systems.

4 Kommentare:

Anonym hat gesagt…

Very interesting, but let me pose some questions:
How do you see the development of this uprising? Surely, what's been happening in Greece during the last 10 days is hopeful, but do you have any insight on how exactly it will lead to social change? Where exactly are the new institutions, that will replace the old and rotten ones, supposed to be coming from. How conscious do you consider today's rebels in the sense of recognising the need for organising something new, except for getting rid of the old. Have they attempted something towards this direction?
Or do you, relying on the concept of self-organisation, prefer to postpone the resolution of such issues in the future, after the establishment of the free society?

desprh hat gesagt…

First, I would not like to say that I rely on the concept of self-organization as far as it has to do about the future, but I believe that to call it as such we underestimate the idea of spontaneous actions. To begin with, the uprising was a result of spontaneous reactions to a murder, meaning that the protests started shortly after the event, and the people who took part were not being organized for days or months. So in my opinion the uprising is spontaneous and self-organized. Now, if the starting point was spontaneous, I don't see why the future should not be left to proceed by the spontaneous actions and free-to-evolve knowledge of the people.

Another reason that I would not like to "predict" the future, is that I want to avoid falling in a trap of science fiction, which is what comes to my mind in a lot of approaches to the future by various groups (one of which is e.g. the Venus project).

I want to make it clear that I don't believe this rebellion will go on as it is until the end, i.e. the establishment of the free society. This could be seen as a pessimistic consideration, but I think it's realistic, since the societies are still too immature to proceed so much. I admit that maybe from the post above it might be concluded the contrary, but I have to attribute it to the enthusiasm that i felt. There was an ignition, yes, which might even continue for long, but I believe that in the long term it will serve mainly as an inspiration and as a means to produce a change, however minimal, in the global consciousness (i.e. the consciousness of the average man/woman).

In my post I do say that the people who take part in the riots might not be conscious of what they are fighting against. But the protesters certainly are conscious in that they recognise the need for a change, although they don't know what exactly is to be there in the future (just as I do). In any case, we don't need new institutions to replace the old ones; we need new ways to think, i.e. without propagandas and without authorities and gurus to tell you what's wrong and what's right.

Anonym hat gesagt…

This is a great leap of faith you are making here. Spontaneity is (as we had the chance to see in numerous occasions in human history) quite important, but suggesting that everything is going to come about, but more importantly operate on a day to day basis just by spontaneity seems a little too vague and inclined towards wishful thinking.

You say that we don't need new institutions to replace the old ones. I really don't get what's wrong with the concept of "institution". Institutions can be both top-down and bottom-up. You surely don't expect order to manifest itself just like magic in the free, institiution-less, organisation-less society.
As for new ways to think, they have always been around, even if they have not always enjoyed immense popularity. What is not all around us is (imho) concrete proposals for new ways to organise ourselves and society and manage our lives.

I totally agree with you that what happened to Greece will serve as an inspiration and will increase the conviction that anything is possible. I just hope that this sentiment will (at some point at least) be paired with the realisation that we have to make a step forward with regard to what exactly we imagine this free society would look like, how exactly we would function in it and most notably, how it will be attained.

desprh hat gesagt…

I do believe that spontaneity is a very important ingredient of the route to a free society; it is spontaneity that will - at least - initiate this route. Of course I agree that spontaneity alone is a little too vague to be enough to construct a new society.

Concerning to an institution, I was referring to its definition as:
That which instituted or established; as:
(a) Established order, method, or custom; enactment; ordinance; permanent form of law or polity. [1913 Webster]
(b) An established or organized society or corporation; an establishment, especially of a public character, or
affecting a community; a foundation;
(c) Anything forming a characteristic and persistent feature in social or national life or habits. [1913 Webster]

According to this definition, the institution is something of the past that is conserved in the future; for me, quite everything has to be destroyed and reformed as a whole.

Nevertheless, I found one definition of "institution", that I will not oppose as a constituent of the free society.
4: the act of starting something for the first time; introducing something new; "she looked forward to her initiation as an adult"; "the foundation of a new scientific society"; "he regards the fork as a modern introduction" [syn: initiation, founding, foundation,
origination, creation, innovation, introduction, instauration]

I hope you can see my point. After people have been conscious of the necessity that things are under change, we have to take important initiatives towards how to form what we seek. That is a route that is not followed, but one that is formed on the way. I myself cannot proclaim which is the best of the ideas that have been proposed in the past, since i believe there is no leader who got right to the point by sole prediction.