This is a wide-ranging interview I recently did with two anarchist pro-freedom campaigners, MA and WS, from Brighton, England. Illustration by Ken Avidor.
For decades philanthropic organizations such as the Rockefeller and Ford foundation as well as many others of the same ilk have poured millions into subverting prominent Leftists and their political movements.
Great piece, thank you for staying true to the root value of anarchism which is resistance to tyranny in all forms. It was also heartening to see Keith McHenry of Food Not Bombs has chosen correctly. I was one of a gaggle of of people arrested in San Francisco in the early 90s for the "crime" of serving food to the homeless.
I have been deconstructing the philosophy of classical liberalism for two decades, in an effort to fully understand and justify my own ideological inclinations. That process has finally led me to anarchism, which is the inevitable destination when the principles and premises of that philosophy are carried to their logical conclusion.
I finally get here only to discover that even "anarchism" has been, as a movement, undermined by statist controlled opposition. Yuck!
Still, though, nothing can fully mar the joy I feel at finally understanding the truth…even if the truth might not be fully realized in human social life for generations…
There is strong anarchist sentiment and counter-cultural living here in central Victoria through the permaculture. David Holmgren was attacked but resilient
A Greek anarchist group "Contra Dystopia" (Κόντρα Δυστοπία) were the only ones to not only openly doubt and defy the covid narrative, but also join the anti sci-fascism demonstrations organised mainly by right wing and religious groups. Lots of fundamentalists there, but also A LOT of regular people and other leftists who didn't buy into it. But you had to be there to see them. The news only showed the screaming, unhinged fundamentalists; naturally.
So a lot of the "comrades" who seem to value their image a fair bit more than ideology and principles, wouldn't be seen DEAD next to those they look down upon (while simultaneously pretending to defend their rights). Even if they believed that force vaccination was a bridge too far.
Which they didn't.
They happily aligned with all these entities they were supposed to be fighting against (for reasons long and well established).
It was heartbreaking and liberating in equal measure.
We got to see everyone's real colours. Now we know where we're standing,...and it ain't crowded
WOW. GLAD I HAVE FOUND YOU! I have been wondering where I might connect with people awake to the madness, without the overlay of red-pill capitalist flag-waving. I am excited to look into your work. Great interview- clear and concise. Thank you!
Greetings from Florida. Over the past year there has been a motion in my heart towards what your words describe in this piece. It has given me more courage.
It's very hard for me to align with any political group or ideology or religious belief. I never really have and I guess I'm not going to start now especially after the last decade of confusion and deliberate attempts at finger pointing and blame casting between all the very well funded factions.
I remember reading a long time ago the phrase "Walking away from the King." I imagine that's what a true anarchist would strive for and possibly those who call themselves libertarians too.
The problem I perceive with all these ideologies is that they tend to fall apart when applied to the "real world." In practical reality, people tend to organize into groups and the inevitable conclusion of that (due to natural forces and human behavior) is that a pyramid structure is established with alpha personality types rising to the top of the heap. And eventually, we get the sociopaths and psychopaths taking up positions either as front men or behind the scenes masterfully pulling the strings and dictating the activity of the herd.
Any movements that attempt to push back or replace the existing order will have to (at some point) look inwards and understand that they will become the thing they were trying to replace. Just read Animal Farm to see how it ends... every single time.
IMO the closest we have come to achieving these lofty goals is embodied in the US constitution. If it has to be written again for a new audience then so be it, as long as the core values pertaining to individual freedoms are maintained.
I think this is all we can hope for unless people want to drop out to a log cabin in the woods which is hardly practical for the vast majority of people today.
Well... good for you! Now apply your logic to billions of people currently living in cities, suburbia and small towns.
Here... I'll help you... it wouldn't work.
And another thing... the minute anything goes wrong in the cities and suburbia the zombies will pour out into the surrounding countryside and beyond looking for anything edible. And the gang members among them will probably want a little more than that.
Of course, I hope things don't get THAT bad, but the way things are going... who knows.
Good luck with that! Hope you got some zombie traps set up for when the hordes arrive in stolen trucks loaded with as much guns and ammo they could loot from the local stores and cop shops.
Hi Frances! Yes, I agree 100% with that consideration and without going too far down that road (although many others have in various books on the subject) the Founding Fathers of America are no more trustworthy IMO than all the other characters that have pulled the strings throughout history. I understand (and believe to be true) the claims that the British establishment backed off from the colonies so as to rule over them as a corporation via the method of the hidden hand. And America became the largest corporate entity in the history of the world and it still operates under that methodology to this day including it's centralized military, Big Pharma, Big Agra and Big Media operations.
That said, the values contained in the Constitution are more or less noble, it's just that we don't need permission or any written words to validate what we innately know to be true. If given a choice, most of us would prefer to be free and not under the authoritarian dictates of the state.
In practice though, society functions because most people submit to the set of rules as laid out by their government and the legal system and after much consideration I'm not sure a system of industrialized civilization can operate successfully without this set of rules and the acceptance of them by the majority of the working population.
For now, the human species operates much like a network of ant colonies. If this is to change in some way, it would most likely take the form of increased automation and changing roles for the humans involved or a collapse back to simpler ways of life if they are even possible.
Well... try proving that in a court of law. (just kidding)
For some reason I didn't see the link (link blindness setting in)?
I'll give it a read. I assume you favor a system of common law or natural law based on basic values of do no harm?
In that case, I would like to see such a system rise up to replace the one we have. As you say, this is entirely possible if the majority of people will it into action and from what I can see it's already happening at a certain level and if everything goes well (we can allow for a few ups and downs) we should reach a tipping point (maybe only 15 to 20% of alignment with these ideas required) relatively soon.
And that could potentially lead to a complete revamping of the entire human experience inside and out much like the transformation we observe of a caterpillar becoming a butterfly.
Lately I've seen a poster in the street advertising for anarchist conferences. I said cool. Then the program was all about radical feminism and the genre question...
I think it just sounds cool to say I'm an anarchist without even knowing what it entails exactly so people identify as such but are just fake.
I can say the more I read your writings the more I feel strongly about being anarchist.
I've never felt the need to include myself in a political group. I think there are good ideas everywhere. But anarchism strikes many chords inside me!
During the covid era I was desperate to see absolutely no reaction from the university students. From what we were enduring I really thought I would have the chance to live a revolution like in the 70's. People were brain-dead...
In 1997 I was demonstrating at APEC in Vancouver. In 1999 I was demonstrating at the WTO in Seattle. I remember Indymedia. In the anti corporate globalization movement there were many anarchists not just the Black Bloc. While I do not consider myself an anarchist there are many aspects from anarchism such as mutual aid that I like, and I loved working with many anarchists on different issues in the 1990s and early 2000s.
Fast forward to 2023: where the heck did all the anarchists go? It was shocking for me to see so many anarchists in Canada go pro mandates and pro vaccine while I opposed both along with conservative friends.
I strongly feel that the fight is not left versus right anymore. Instead it is freedom lovers versus authoritarians (left and right).
Woke ideology is not compatible with communism. It’s a bourgeois ideology. In actual communist countries, it’s not prevalent. China regularly mocks the west for it. Also, when the people of China tired of the covid restrictions and protested, the government listened and restrictions were eased.
Anarchism has been used by the CIA since the 60s to prevent communist movements from being organized in any effective way. It’s mostly been anarchists I know pushing critical theory and covid compliance. I actually had to leave an entire group of anarchist friends over it.
Marxist-Leninist organizations and people I know, especially non-western ones (the PSL and CP are compromised) reject woke ideology and are critical of vaccines and Covid mandates. The reason people on the right and left in the western world are conflating communism with woke bullshit is bc the security state(s) are doing a damn good job at psychological warfare.
If I remember correctly... much of the Woke ideology stems from ancient beliefs in non-binary deities and mythological characters such as angels or the Baphomet.
Aleister Crowley's influence on Western culture promotes "Do as thou wilt" which viewed from a more sinister angle means "absolutely no restrictions on your behavior" where annoyances like "morality" take a back seat.
I believe it was Madame Blavatsky and her protege Alice Bailey that developed these ideas for the West with Alice establishing Lucifer publishing later changed to Lucis Trust to further these goals.
Not sure if they are satanists per se, but there are some roots in the pagan beliefs of old that state that God is a non-binary entity and many of the mythological gods are hybrid creatures blending human and animal qualities.
Maybe what we're experiencing is simply a resurgence of this cult and their secret societies are enabling the return of these values in the modern age.
I would suggest that the Transhumanist faction (previously The Eugenics Society) has been embraced even more than the others with its promise to uplift people out of their humdrum human existence.
Their members are understandably seduced (seduction being key here) into believing that they will live forever in a utopian state of being where they can take any form they so wish.
To live as gods themselves, as it were.
Kurzweil even gave talks as a female avatar to prove this point.
You can be anything you want to be in the New World. That is the message that is currently being pumped into the brains of impressionable young girls more than any other group.
I imagine it will all end in tears because these ideologies are not grounded in reality.
I’m particularly interested in the objections to Extinction Rebellion - i’ve listened to a couple of Roger Hallam interviews over the last few months, and much of what he says (whether one agrees with their methods or not) would seem to be very much talking about dismantling the top down and in favour of local organising as long term solutions and he’s certainly completely critical of the “technology led solution” idea, the total upheaval of individuals lives being sold as the solution with no change required for the corporations. He also draws a lot of connections between the lurch towards authoritarianism, suppression, the total disregard for humanity and nature of the rapacious and predatory capitalist system.
I guess i need to read your pieces on it to discover more...
I do however notice a worrying rejection by many of not only the ludicrous and non solutions being pushed on the people, which are nothing more than further methods of control, but also the premise that there is, environmentally, something to worry about. Chucking the baby out with the bath water, so to speak. A trend i have to say that i find most worrying.
When you have a moment, I’d be interested to hear your thoughts.
Glad to have, at long last it would seem, discovered your work.
I certainly wouldn't suggest that there is no environmental cause for concern - quite the contrary! However, by shunting that concern primarily into the climate question, for which "solutions" are to be sold, the system not only distracts attention from wider issues of industrial destruction and contamination, but also encourages accelerated "sustainable" development - the Fourth Industrial Revolution - which can only make matters worse. Additionally, you're right, this manipulation risks putting many people right off environmental thinking as a whole - another "win" for the industrialist profiteers!
Excellent. Thank you. Most illuminating and well written. God bless you. Amen.
For decades philanthropic organizations such as the Rockefeller and Ford foundation as well as many others of the same ilk have poured millions into subverting prominent Leftists and their political movements.
Great piece, thank you for staying true to the root value of anarchism which is resistance to tyranny in all forms. It was also heartening to see Keith McHenry of Food Not Bombs has chosen correctly. I was one of a gaggle of of people arrested in San Francisco in the early 90s for the "crime" of serving food to the homeless.
I have been deconstructing the philosophy of classical liberalism for two decades, in an effort to fully understand and justify my own ideological inclinations. That process has finally led me to anarchism, which is the inevitable destination when the principles and premises of that philosophy are carried to their logical conclusion.
I finally get here only to discover that even "anarchism" has been, as a movement, undermined by statist controlled opposition. Yuck!
Still, though, nothing can fully mar the joy I feel at finally understanding the truth…even if the truth might not be fully realized in human social life for generations…
There is strong anarchist sentiment and counter-cultural living here in central Victoria through the permaculture. David Holmgren was attacked but resilient
A Greek anarchist group "Contra Dystopia" (Κόντρα Δυστοπία) were the only ones to not only openly doubt and defy the covid narrative, but also join the anti sci-fascism demonstrations organised mainly by right wing and religious groups. Lots of fundamentalists there, but also A LOT of regular people and other leftists who didn't buy into it. But you had to be there to see them. The news only showed the screaming, unhinged fundamentalists; naturally.
So a lot of the "comrades" who seem to value their image a fair bit more than ideology and principles, wouldn't be seen DEAD next to those they look down upon (while simultaneously pretending to defend their rights). Even if they believed that force vaccination was a bridge too far.
Which they didn't.
They happily aligned with all these entities they were supposed to be fighting against (for reasons long and well established).
It was heartbreaking and liberating in equal measure.
We got to see everyone's real colours. Now we know where we're standing,...and it ain't crowded
driving across the country on empty highway, noticing that the military was sire transporting a lot of stuff at that time also.
Well said, every word.
WOW. GLAD I HAVE FOUND YOU! I have been wondering where I might connect with people awake to the madness, without the overlay of red-pill capitalist flag-waving. I am excited to look into your work. Great interview- clear and concise. Thank you!
Cheers
Thanks. I read the article on the funding sources for many of those groups. Interesting.
Greetings from Florida. Over the past year there has been a motion in my heart towards what your words describe in this piece. It has given me more courage.
Thank you!
It's very hard for me to align with any political group or ideology or religious belief. I never really have and I guess I'm not going to start now especially after the last decade of confusion and deliberate attempts at finger pointing and blame casting between all the very well funded factions.
I remember reading a long time ago the phrase "Walking away from the King." I imagine that's what a true anarchist would strive for and possibly those who call themselves libertarians too.
The problem I perceive with all these ideologies is that they tend to fall apart when applied to the "real world." In practical reality, people tend to organize into groups and the inevitable conclusion of that (due to natural forces and human behavior) is that a pyramid structure is established with alpha personality types rising to the top of the heap. And eventually, we get the sociopaths and psychopaths taking up positions either as front men or behind the scenes masterfully pulling the strings and dictating the activity of the herd.
Any movements that attempt to push back or replace the existing order will have to (at some point) look inwards and understand that they will become the thing they were trying to replace. Just read Animal Farm to see how it ends... every single time.
IMO the closest we have come to achieving these lofty goals is embodied in the US constitution. If it has to be written again for a new audience then so be it, as long as the core values pertaining to individual freedoms are maintained.
I think this is all we can hope for unless people want to drop out to a log cabin in the woods which is hardly practical for the vast majority of people today.
You are wrong, I am living in a cabin the woods and it's great, I even have broadband, at least for now.
Well... good for you! Now apply your logic to billions of people currently living in cities, suburbia and small towns.
Here... I'll help you... it wouldn't work.
And another thing... the minute anything goes wrong in the cities and suburbia the zombies will pour out into the surrounding countryside and beyond looking for anything edible. And the gang members among them will probably want a little more than that.
Of course, I hope things don't get THAT bad, but the way things are going... who knows.
LOL we are better shots than any of those assholes. They fuck around, they will find out.
Good luck with that! Hope you got some zombie traps set up for when the hordes arrive in stolen trucks loaded with as much guns and ammo they could loot from the local stores and cop shops.
Hi Frances! Yes, I agree 100% with that consideration and without going too far down that road (although many others have in various books on the subject) the Founding Fathers of America are no more trustworthy IMO than all the other characters that have pulled the strings throughout history. I understand (and believe to be true) the claims that the British establishment backed off from the colonies so as to rule over them as a corporation via the method of the hidden hand. And America became the largest corporate entity in the history of the world and it still operates under that methodology to this day including it's centralized military, Big Pharma, Big Agra and Big Media operations.
That said, the values contained in the Constitution are more or less noble, it's just that we don't need permission or any written words to validate what we innately know to be true. If given a choice, most of us would prefer to be free and not under the authoritarian dictates of the state.
In practice though, society functions because most people submit to the set of rules as laid out by their government and the legal system and after much consideration I'm not sure a system of industrialized civilization can operate successfully without this set of rules and the acceptance of them by the majority of the working population.
For now, the human species operates much like a network of ant colonies. If this is to change in some way, it would most likely take the form of increased automation and changing roles for the humans involved or a collapse back to simpler ways of life if they are even possible.
Well... try proving that in a court of law. (just kidding)
For some reason I didn't see the link (link blindness setting in)?
I'll give it a read. I assume you favor a system of common law or natural law based on basic values of do no harm?
In that case, I would like to see such a system rise up to replace the one we have. As you say, this is entirely possible if the majority of people will it into action and from what I can see it's already happening at a certain level and if everything goes well (we can allow for a few ups and downs) we should reach a tipping point (maybe only 15 to 20% of alignment with these ideas required) relatively soon.
And that could potentially lead to a complete revamping of the entire human experience inside and out much like the transformation we observe of a caterpillar becoming a butterfly.
I would like to see that.
Do you have a better idea gun grabber? (Yes I have had a run in with this person, yes she is a gun grabber)
Well, I don't like gun grabbers... so that's something we have in common!
Lately I've seen a poster in the street advertising for anarchist conferences. I said cool. Then the program was all about radical feminism and the genre question...
I think it just sounds cool to say I'm an anarchist without even knowing what it entails exactly so people identify as such but are just fake.
I can say the more I read your writings the more I feel strongly about being anarchist.
I've never felt the need to include myself in a political group. I think there are good ideas everywhere. But anarchism strikes many chords inside me!
During the covid era I was desperate to see absolutely no reaction from the university students. From what we were enduring I really thought I would have the chance to live a revolution like in the 70's. People were brain-dead...
You can count me in the movement ;)
In 1997 I was demonstrating at APEC in Vancouver. In 1999 I was demonstrating at the WTO in Seattle. I remember Indymedia. In the anti corporate globalization movement there were many anarchists not just the Black Bloc. While I do not consider myself an anarchist there are many aspects from anarchism such as mutual aid that I like, and I loved working with many anarchists on different issues in the 1990s and early 2000s.
Fast forward to 2023: where the heck did all the anarchists go? It was shocking for me to see so many anarchists in Canada go pro mandates and pro vaccine while I opposed both along with conservative friends.
I strongly feel that the fight is not left versus right anymore. Instead it is freedom lovers versus authoritarians (left and right).
Woke ideology is not compatible with communism. It’s a bourgeois ideology. In actual communist countries, it’s not prevalent. China regularly mocks the west for it. Also, when the people of China tired of the covid restrictions and protested, the government listened and restrictions were eased.
Anarchism has been used by the CIA since the 60s to prevent communist movements from being organized in any effective way. It’s mostly been anarchists I know pushing critical theory and covid compliance. I actually had to leave an entire group of anarchist friends over it.
Marxist-Leninist organizations and people I know, especially non-western ones (the PSL and CP are compromised) reject woke ideology and are critical of vaccines and Covid mandates. The reason people on the right and left in the western world are conflating communism with woke bullshit is bc the security state(s) are doing a damn good job at psychological warfare.
If I remember correctly... much of the Woke ideology stems from ancient beliefs in non-binary deities and mythological characters such as angels or the Baphomet.
Aleister Crowley's influence on Western culture promotes "Do as thou wilt" which viewed from a more sinister angle means "absolutely no restrictions on your behavior" where annoyances like "morality" take a back seat.
I believe it was Madame Blavatsky and her protege Alice Bailey that developed these ideas for the West with Alice establishing Lucifer publishing later changed to Lucis Trust to further these goals.
Not sure if they are satanists per se, but there are some roots in the pagan beliefs of old that state that God is a non-binary entity and many of the mythological gods are hybrid creatures blending human and animal qualities.
Maybe what we're experiencing is simply a resurgence of this cult and their secret societies are enabling the return of these values in the modern age.
I would suggest that the Transhumanist faction (previously The Eugenics Society) has been embraced even more than the others with its promise to uplift people out of their humdrum human existence.
Their members are understandably seduced (seduction being key here) into believing that they will live forever in a utopian state of being where they can take any form they so wish.
To live as gods themselves, as it were.
Kurzweil even gave talks as a female avatar to prove this point.
You can be anything you want to be in the New World. That is the message that is currently being pumped into the brains of impressionable young girls more than any other group.
I imagine it will all end in tears because these ideologies are not grounded in reality.
Thanks Paul, MA and WS. Thoroughly interesting.
I’m particularly interested in the objections to Extinction Rebellion - i’ve listened to a couple of Roger Hallam interviews over the last few months, and much of what he says (whether one agrees with their methods or not) would seem to be very much talking about dismantling the top down and in favour of local organising as long term solutions and he’s certainly completely critical of the “technology led solution” idea, the total upheaval of individuals lives being sold as the solution with no change required for the corporations. He also draws a lot of connections between the lurch towards authoritarianism, suppression, the total disregard for humanity and nature of the rapacious and predatory capitalist system.
I guess i need to read your pieces on it to discover more...
I do however notice a worrying rejection by many of not only the ludicrous and non solutions being pushed on the people, which are nothing more than further methods of control, but also the premise that there is, environmentally, something to worry about. Chucking the baby out with the bath water, so to speak. A trend i have to say that i find most worrying.
When you have a moment, I’d be interested to hear your thoughts.
Glad to have, at long last it would seem, discovered your work.
I certainly wouldn't suggest that there is no environmental cause for concern - quite the contrary! However, by shunting that concern primarily into the climate question, for which "solutions" are to be sold, the system not only distracts attention from wider issues of industrial destruction and contamination, but also encourages accelerated "sustainable" development - the Fourth Industrial Revolution - which can only make matters worse. Additionally, you're right, this manipulation risks putting many people right off environmental thinking as a whole - another "win" for the industrialist profiteers!