Bye-bye.

      As usual, a few simple words of wisdom from Gregg at Not Buying Anything:

 

         During the last 18 months many former consumers have said "Bye-Bye" to Buy, Buy, Buy. Either by choice, or by force, or both, many are joining the ranks of anti-consumer survivors across the globe.
        If the power brokers ever succeed in "restarting the economy", many of those former consumers will never say "Hello" to consumerism again. They are finished.
         Many can see that it may be prudent at this juncture in history to switch from being a consumer to being a survivor. Unless you are very rich, you can't be both.
         When you leave consumption as a way of life behind you, it is possible to see the way forward more clearly.
        Survivors are focused on growing a garden and raising their own food. They are busy investing in social capital and their local community and economy.
        Survivors look for ways of circumventing the negative effects of corporate and government control of our lives. They make changes that allow them to operate outside of the matrix.
         Making a conscious choice to become self-reliant and resilient as a family, group, or community means becoming active survivors rather than continuing on as passive, dependent consumers.
        Eventually we will all need to reject the mindless waste of the Buy, Buy, Buy propaganda we have been subjected to for far too long. Bye-bye.

 

Visit ann arky's home at https://spiritofrevolt.info     

The Pragmatic Anarchists.

A message from A Pritchard at Anarchist Studies Network:

      Ken Barlow, one of the commissioning editors at Pluto, has been in touch to ask if I knew of anyone that would be interested in writing a primer on anarchist praxis. I said I'd put out a general call if he could tell me what exactly he was after. This is what he said:

     "The image the general public have of anarchists (if they think of them at all) is often of 'all or nothing,' sometimes violent, diehards who are only willing to operate through complete non-compliance with the state. In reality, anarchist/non-hierarchical practice can be applied widely in day-to-day life to make the world a better place, even in contexts of having to engage with the state, and even by those who might not consider themselves 'anarchists'.  I am therefore envisaging a book (provisionally entitled 'The Pragmatic Anarchist') aimed at a wider (i.e. general, non-anarchist) readership that addresses this misnomer.

      Such a book would make the case for a 'practical' anarchism that acknowledges (which is obviously not the same as liking) the current primacy of the state, and in this context setting out how ordinary people can make use of anarchist ideas and principles 'pragmatically' in everyday life, whether in their social, work or political environments. The above is just a sketch of the book as I envisage it, and I would be open to alternative avenues drawing on the same theme."

           If you're up for it, I'm sure he'd like to hear from you (no need to email me). Ken Barlow <kenb@plutobooks.com>

Visit ann arky's home at https://radicalglasgow.me.uk

Happiness Doesn't Come In Fancy Boxes.

    As usual, quiet common sense from Not Buying Anything, enjoy.

       Regular readers of this blog will agree that basing a life on materialistic values is a losing proposition. The video I am highlighting in this post will be a reminder of sorts for them.
        If you are new to the NBA blog and the concept of simple living, or find the whole rat race thing to be tiring and futile, then this video may help nudge you toward adopting a way of living that is healthier for you, your family, your neighbours, and the environment.
       The end (of materialistic lifestyles) is near. The time to get started on the alternative, a more resilient and enjoyable simple life, is now. It is a movement that has been thousands of years in the making.

Background:

     "Psychologist Tim Kasser discusses how America's culture of consumerism undermines our well-being.
When people buy into the ever-present marketing messages that "the good life" is "the goods life," they not only use up Earth's limited resources, but they are less happy and less inclined toward helping others.
This animation both lays out the problems of excess materialism and points toward solutions that promise a healthier, more just, and more sustainable life."
Research cited: click here.

       Enjoy, and if it moves you, please share your reaction to the video in the comments section below.

Visit ann arky's home at https://radicalglasgow.me.uk

A Squat, Always A Welcome Spark Of Humanity.

       While this capitalist system is hell-bent on power mongering, death, destruction, exploitation and selfish greed, it is always heart warming to see a spark of humanity illuminate some of its dark corners. Like Azadi, a new squat in Exarchia Athens. As they start their journey of co-operation and mutual aid, they are making a call for support to help them on their journey.

      This from Act For Freedom Now:

        Why we call us Azadi? Azadi is meaning freedom in Farsi and Kurdish language. We took this name because the most of our residents are Iranian and Kurdish Families! Freedom of movement- Freedom of ourselves- Freedom of our minds is what we want. so this is why we meant this gonna be a good name for our house!
     We are in the process of reorganizing ourself. We are a selforganized community of international people who opened this house to give a safe shelter for woman and children!
we have some rules in the House:
No Violence
No Sexism
No Racism
No Drugs
      This is the main consensus of the people who are living in this house. This time we are around 50 people living peacefully together. Most of us are woman and children. We are on the way to set up the house in a good living standard for everyone who is having a room in the building. Currently we are not able to take new people in the Squat. But we are able to take care of those who are living inside!
What we need:
Fridge, Blankets, Pillows, Lamps, Food, Cleaning stuff
Find out the news at our blog:
https://azadiathens.noblogs.org/

Visit ann arky's home at radicalglasgow.me.uk

The Antifascists.

           In this capitalist world fascism never dies, from time to time it raises its ugly head  and vomits out its hate and divisive filth. Fascism seems to make its appearance within a state when the state feels under threat, it is fanned by the right-wing parasites that hold tenuously onto their privileged positions, Its rise is not an unavoidable accident of fate, but a strategy of capitalism to protect and or bolster the wealth, power and privileges of the parasite class that hold the reins of power. To allow fascism a voice does not enhance free speech, on the contrary, it stifles free speech and gives rise to hate and opens up irrational and unnecessary divisions within the ranks of the ordinary people.  

        Fascism, like capitalism cannot be reformed, it must be confronted head on, and destroyed. We don't need lessons on what it does when it gains power, we have history that paints a true picture of its methods and aims. If you wish to be able to make you own decisions, and choose your own path, then you are an enemy of fascism, and should join in the fight to drive it from our communities,  off our streets, stamp it out in our work places and eradicate it from any of our groupings and organisations.

       The Antifascists, is an excellent documentary on the rise of fascism across the world and how best to mercilessly crush this cancer in our midst. Thanks Loam for the link.

 

What If World Capitalism Collapsed Tomorrow??

         Any rational observer of the world today is aware that capitalism is the dominant force, and it is a destructive force. Its only aim is growth, growth in the power of the corporate world. There is no future for humanity if the capitalist system is allowed to continue its relentless drive for ever more wealth and power to the lords and masters of the system. Capitalism has no compassion, no country, its policy of wars for power and resources creates a sea of deprivation, and in that sea swims all manner of misery and debauchery where the deluded and the desperate feed of each other in a desperate struggle for survival, compassion and humanity are constantly stained with the blood of the poor. Today we are witnessing raw, brutal capitalism in all its savagery. If we agree that the present economic system of capitalism must be destroyed, how do we save humanity, in its collapse, how do we shape the new world and guarantee its healthy birth, how do we stop the old malignant malaise from being re-born?

This from Ill Will Editions:

 FIRST REVOLUTIONARY MEASURES - Eric Hazan & Kamo (2013)

        We have witnessed a beginning, the birth of a new age of revolt and upheaval. In North Africa and the Middle East it took the people a matter of days to topple what were supposedly entrenched regimes. Now, to the west, multiple crises are etching away at a ‘democratic consensus’ that has, since the 1970s, plagued and suppressed any sparks of revolutionary potential.
         But what is to be done in the aftermath of a regime’s demise? How do we prevent any power from restoring itself? How do we create the irreversible? How do we reorganize society without a central authority? How do we survive? Neither a leadership reshuffle, in the guise of constitutional process, nor a transition period between a capitalist social order and a communist horizon will do.
        Full book in zine form, with revisions by IWE. We think it’s a good moment to return to this text with fresh eyes. It offers a helpful frame for re-launching strategic discussions in a time of widespread political disaffection.

Read the book HERE:

Visit ann arky's home at www.radicalglasgow.me.uk

You Will Be Cared For.

      Imagine being born into a society where the first words you here are,”Welcome, we are here for you, you will be cared for.” As you grow, eager loving hands offer you knowledge and experience, helping you to go the road you wish to walk. The border-less world is your village, its inhabitants your family, your needs are never a point of stress, your potential is an open gate. Imagine the burst of creativity that would wash over such a world, how rich each individual's life would become.
 

 

        Such a world is possible, we have the resources in abundance, we have the desire within each of our hearts, why are we still mired in poverty, violence and unnecessary deaths? Simply, it is the way we see the world, we have been conditioned to accept the economic system under which we labour, as the only way of life. The illusion has been woven that capitalism is the natural and only way to live. Yet it is nothing more than a man made system that favours the few. It is not a system written in tablets of stone, immovable and immutable.
 

Image from Not Buying Anything.

        The alternative is there, apart from living experiences from the past and present, books in abundance paint its picture, leaflets, pamphlets, poster, shout its story, all that is required is that we are brave enough to come to the decision, that capitalism has done enough damage to the world and its inhabitants, and must be destroyed. Of course the alternative that I speak of is anarchism. The choice is ours, continue with the present reign of poverty, deprivation, endless wars and the destruction of the planet, all to feed an small army of parasites, or set free that other world that weeps, trapped in all our hearts.

Visit ann arky's home at www.radicalglasgow.me.uk