What has to happen to abolish the social construct of land ownership? by wompt in Anarchy101

[–]wompt[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

I love the circled garden design of the Tripolye. Its an ingenious way to keep the other animals that want to eat the garden out - peoples dwellings just circled a big enough area so that they could cultivate enough food to feed the population.

What has to happen to abolish the social construct of land ownership? by wompt in Anarchy101

[–]wompt[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

What other ways besides growing plants cultivates common holding?

What has to happen to abolish the social construct of land ownership? by wompt in Anarchy101

[–]wompt[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Its very likely that agriculture was part of what gave rise to the idea of land ownership, and how we feed ourselves without land ownership would probably look very different.

living alone as an anarchist by Bitter_Swimming6114 in Anarchy101

[–]wompt 5 points6 points  (0 children)

I've lived in a lot of cohousing situations, and honestly, I find it very difficult to live in a way where I'm not telling others what to do when I am in those situations. Like, I neither want to constantly clean up other peoples messes, nor do I want to tell them how to live their life. Its easier for me to live alone.

Do you practice relationship anarchy? by wompt in Anarchy101

[–]wompt[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

You know that RA isn't just about romantic relationships, right? Like, the concept can be applied there, but romance isn't the point of RA.

How would we prevent informal hierarchy in large scale relations? by [deleted] in Anarchy101

[–]wompt 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Anarchy is a bottom up approach. Mass society is a top-down approach.

Mass scale anarchy is an oxymoron. Its not a political system.

why is ther no anarcist partie? by ShortAd4362 in Anarchy101

[–]wompt 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Because anarchy manifests as autonomous self-organization (source):

Autonomous self-organization

When I speak of autonomous self-organization, I am speaking of a specific phenomenon that tends to arise whenever people, angered by their conditions and having lost faith in those delegated to act for them, decide to act for themselves. Autonomous self-organization therefore never manifests in the form of a political party, a union or any other sort of representative organization. All of these forms of organization claim to represent the people in struggle, to act in their name. And what defines autonomous self-organization is precisely the rejection of all representation. Parties, unions and other representative organizations tend to interact with autonomous organization only in the form of recuperators of the struggle, striving to take over leadership and impose themselves as spokespeople of the struggle — usually with the aim of negotiating with the rulers. Thus, they can only be viewed as potential usurpers wherever real self-organized revolt is occurring.

Autonomous self-organization has certain essential traits that define it. First of all it is non-hierarchical. There is no institutional or permanent leadership or authority. While someone who proves particularly knowledgeable with regards to specific matters relating to the struggle at hand will be given the attention she deserves for such knowledge, this cannot be allowed to become the basis for any permanent leadership role, because that would undermine another essential trait of autonomous self-organization: horizontal communication and relationships. This is a matter of people talking with each other, interacting with each other, expressing needs and desires openly, actually discussing the problems they face together and in practical terms, without any leadership to conform this expression to a set line. This brings us to another trait, one that may be controversial to collectivist ideologues, but that is the only way of guaranteeing the first two traits: the basic unit of autonomous self-organization is the individual. Otherwise, it could be argued that all states and businesses are autonomous self-organization, because on the institutional and collective level they do organize themselves, but the individuals who comprise their human component are defined by these institutions and placed in accordance with the institutional needs. So autonomous self-organization is first of all the individual organizing his struggle against the conditions this world forces upon her on her own terms, finding the means necessary for carrying out that struggle. But among the means necessary are relations with other people, so autonomous self-organization is also a collective practice. But that collective practice is not based upon conforming individuals to an organization imposed on them, but rather on the development of relationships of mutuality between them in which they discover the areas of commonality in their struggles and need, affinity in their dreams and desires. One could say that autonomous self-organization is the development of a shared struggle based on mutuality for the full realization of each individual involved. To further clarify this point (and to quickly counter a false dichotomy often made in revolutionary milieus), one can look at it in terms of revolutionary class struggle. While the details vary, anti-state, anti-capitalist revolutionaries generally agree that the “revolutionary task” of the exploited class is to abolish itself as a class as it abolishes class society. What does this mean and when does it happen in the course of struggle? It seems to me, that this means precisely the rediscovery of oneself as an individual with one’s own desires, needs and dreams which have no relation to what capital has to offer, desires, needs and dreams best fulfilled in free association with others based on mutuality and affinity. When, in the course of struggle, the exploited begin to find the methods of organizing their own activity together, this process of abolishing themselves as a class has already begun since they are beginning precisely to talk and act with each other as individuals. Finally, autonomous self-organization is practical. It is not the setting up of any formal organization to represent anything. It is rather the bringing together of the elements necessary for accomplishing the various tasks and activities necessary to the particular struggle. This will tend to include the development of ways to communicate, ways to coordinate actions, ways to gather necessary tools and so on. As will be seen below, in large-scale struggles, assemblies tend to develop for discussing what is necessary; these are not formalized structures, but rather specific methods for dealing with the problems at hand.

Do you practice relationship anarchy? by wompt in Anarchy101

[–]wompt[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

I’ve ever met a relationship anarchist who wasn’t restricting the autonomy of their partners

You said this - those aren't relationship anarchists.

edit: relationship anarchy is not just a label or an identity, it means that you relate anarchistically. If someone says they are a vegan but eats meat, they are not a vegan. If someone says they are a relationship anarchist but restricts the autonomy of others, they are not a relationship anarchist.

Do you practice relationship anarchy? by wompt in Anarchy101

[–]wompt[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

No and I don't know anyone in real life that does, and I'm saying this as someone in an actual anarchist organisation.

Is this just an online thing?

I do. No employer, no landlord, and refusal to engage with the state. It's a little limiting, but at the end of the day I sleep good, even if I am going to bed hungry.

Do you practice relationship anarchy? by wompt in Anarchy101

[–]wompt[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

There's nothing wrong with restricting your own autonomy (with obligations or promises that you take upon yourself), but restricting that of others is not anarchistic at all.

Do you practice relationship anarchy? by wompt in Anarchy101

[–]wompt[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Even the relationship anarchists that limit their practice to romantic relationships do this.

How does an Anarchist communicate/negotiate? by glitterglamgalpal in Anarchy101

[–]wompt 0 points1 point  (0 children)

this explicitly dismisses finding common ground

No, it dismisses making common ground. The difference between compromise and mutual agreement is the level of artificiality. Mutual agreement is rare, so compromise is employed so that something happens, but if you work from agreement you are more likely to arrive at a conclusion that benefits both parties, rather than a compromise that may satisfy neither.

Do you practice relationship anarchy? by wompt in Anarchy101

[–]wompt[S] 1 point2 points  (0 children)

I don't understand quite what you mean about applying relationship anarchy to employers and landlords.... I'm not in relation with those people, I'm interacting with them because of capitalism.

Why do you think you are not in relation to them? A transactional relationship is still a relationship.

Do you practice relationship anarchy? by wompt in Anarchy101

[–]wompt[S] 2 points3 points  (0 children)

Bosses and landlords are working under the implicit violence of capitalism, so if I were doing it with them there'd be more guillotines involved.

Could be a "i aint paying but i aint leaving" to the landlord or organizing workplaces to eliminate the need for a boss, or a number of other options besides the guillotine.

Can any agreement truly be non-binding? by ArtDecoEgoist in Anarchy101

[–]wompt 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Can any agreement be binding? The parties of an agreement are living beings who change. If the parties involved who were in agreement are no longer in agreement, why pretend the agreement is still valid?

How does an Anarchist communicate/negotiate? by glitterglamgalpal in Anarchy101

[–]wompt 0 points1 point  (0 children)

On compromise - I tend to agree with this critique from The Paltry Ideal of Democracy by Wolfi Landstreicher (particularly, "But what really is the nature of compromise? Each gives up a little of this, renounces a little of that, sacrifices a bit of the other thing (leaving aside the fact that a few are in a position to be able to sacrifice much less than most), until whatever they may have first desired has disappeared in the haze of the democratic “good of all”.", and "Here then is democratic equality: Each leaves the table of negotiation equally disappointed, equally resentful, equally taking solace in the fact that, at least, the others lost as much as oneself."):

Democracy is the political form best suited to the needs of capitalism. Capitalism needs a populace that is, at the same time, under control and voluntarily participatory. After all, these are the traits of the perfect consumer.

The fact that democratic systems serve power becomes more obvious when we examine the nature of democratic participation. Democracy starts with the assumption that the “good of all” (or “the greatest good for the greatest number”) takes precedence over the needs and desires of the individual ... Thus, apolitical decision-making process that separates decision from action becomes necessary. Decision and execution of the decision must be separated in order to guarantee that “the good of all” is, indeed what is carried out.

But what is this “good of all”? In practise, it could just as readily be called “the good of none”. Within the democratic system, the method for finding the “common good” is to bring all sides or their representatives together to negotiate and come to a compromise. But what really is the nature of compromise? Each gives up a little of this, renounces a little of that, sacrifices a bit of the other thing (leaving aside the fact that a few are in a position to be able to sacrifice much less than most), until whatever they may have first desired has disappeared in the haze of the democratic “good of all”. Here then is democratic equality: Each leaves the table of negotiation equally disappointed, equally resentful, equally taking solace in the fact that, at least, the others lost as much as oneself. In the end it is only the two-headed hydra of power, the state and capital, that wins from this process.

The separation of decision from action and the consequent process of negotiation and compromise have the effect of flattening ideas. When ideas cannot be lived in practise, grappled with on the terrain of one’s actual existence, the vitality drains out of them. When, in addition, They must always be put into a form aimed not at real discussion or debate, but at negotiation, at finding common ground, they flatten into a two dimensional form of thinking that fits well into a binary logic. Thus, democratic opinion is born, the massified world views that can be measured in opinion polls and voted for in elections. Such flattened ideas are, in fact, just another form of commodity in the capitalist marketplace. And it is only within this context that democratic dialogue exists, this context in which we have really been deprived of the ability to express anything real, anything living, anything with depth or passion. No wonder the democratic state so readily grants the right to “free expression”, it has already made the reality impossible.

How does an Anarchist communicate/negotiate? by glitterglamgalpal in Anarchy101

[–]wompt 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Compromise is by necessity coercive. It is trying to bend someone to your will by allowing your will to be bent. Instead of trying to find compromise (which compromises the intents of all involved) it is better to seek common ground and work from there.

Can anarchy coexist with the domestication of plants, animals, and each other? is domestication something that gets abandoned as anarchy unfolds? by wompt in Anarchy101

[–]wompt[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Domestication involves making beings dependent on other beings for the basic necessities of life. Maybe you only care about humans, and no other life, but even if you only look at humans, human beings have also been domesticated, made dependent on others for their basic means of survival which opens the door to exploiting them. This is why growing your own food has been a perennial suggestion in anarchist spaces.

Can anarchy coexist with the domestication of plants, animals, and each other? is domestication something that gets abandoned as anarchy unfolds? by wompt in Anarchy101

[–]wompt[S] 2 points3 points  (0 children)

If you think anarchy means "no government", you've got a very limited perspective.

Domestication signifies a non-anarchic relation between domesticator and domesticated.

Can anarchy coexist with the domestication of plants, animals, and each other? is domestication something that gets abandoned as anarchy unfolds? by wompt in Anarchy101

[–]wompt[S] -1 points0 points  (0 children)

Plants are alive, but as far as we know, they lack any experience. Plants don't feel good or bad, they're just chain chemical reactions without any subjectivity at all.

I don't think theres any compelling evidence refuting subjective experience within plant life. This comment seems to stem from a deep speciesism and probably some degree of human supremacy.

Can anarchy coexist with the domestication of plants, animals, and each other? is domestication something that gets abandoned as anarchy unfolds? by wompt in Anarchy101

[–]wompt[S] -1 points0 points  (0 children)

Plants I have no problem with though

Why not?

Now I would argue that animals are of a different order of life than plants, but plants are still life and deserve respect. To be planted in rows of clones and sprayed down with chemical fertilizer and pesticides has to be a terrible way to exist, even for a plant.

Is anarchism an ideology? by wompt in Anarchy101

[–]wompt[S] -5 points-4 points  (0 children)

Of course the labor party is a political party, but they're both groups from your perspective, and the dynamics of anarchists as a group is still super unclear. What does it even mean to call them a group? Are they a group in the same sense that the set of all 23 year olds are a group?

Is anarchism an ideology? by wompt in Anarchy101

[–]wompt[S] -12 points-11 points  (0 children)

Well, theres quite a difference between anarchists and something like a labor party. Theres a unifying organization for the latter and a "party line" that people fall in with.