P r a c t i c a l @ n a r c h y
O N L I N E
Issue 2.5, November/December 1993
Winter Solstice Edition
A bimonthly electronic zine concerning anarchy from a practical point of
view, to help you put some anarchy in your everyday life. The anarchy scene
is covered through reviews and reports from people in the living anarchy.
Editors:
Chuck Munson
Internet ctmunson@macc.wisc.edu
Bitnet ctmunson@wiscmacc.bitnet
Postal address
Practical Anarchy
PO Box 173
Madison, WI 53701-0173
USA
Subscription of PA Online is free in it's electronic format and each issue
is anti-copyright and may be distributed freely as long as the source is
credited. Please direct subscription matters to cardell at the above
address.
We encourage our readers to submit articles and to send in bits of news
from everywhere. Local or worldwide doesn't matter -- we publish it. Send
mail to the editors.
******************IMPORTANT NOTE***************************
THIS IS THE LAST ISSUE OF PRACTICAL ANARCHY ONLINE, at least for a
little while]
This zine needs some new editors if it is to continue in 1994. I
recently found out that my acting position will be filled by someone else,
so my job future as of January is up in the air. I'll also be losing
access to the Internet for awhile, so I won't be able to put this zine out.
I'll put out three more issues and then someone else will have to pick up
the reins. The paper edition of Practical Anarchy will continue to be
published by me. So if you are in general agreement with the philosophy of
this zine (an emphasis on practical anarchy, anti-statism, anti-capitalism,
and anti-vanguardism) please send me a note. Ideally we should have at
least two people doing this publication. I can also send you the current
mailing list.
I will be out of town from December 19th to January 4th. You might
be able to reach me via email in January, but I can't guarantee that.
Contact me at my post office box if you need to.
*********************************************************************
=@= NEWS AND SCENE REPORTS =@=
SPUNK NEWS
Spunk Press, an electronic archive of anarchist and alternative
materials, keeps growing] An upcoming update to the archive will bring the
total number of etexts to over 160. We are still looking for more
materials and more volunteers. Spunk Press is run by an international
collective. The archive may soon be available from multiple sites.
Contact us for more details. Members of Spunk also get together weekly for
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To get more news about Spunk Press, send a message to spunk-list@lysator.liu.se
To access the archive via FTP:
Archive is located at etext.archive.umich.edu
=@= FOCUS SECTION =@=
ANARCHY & ECONOMICS Part 2
What is MONEY?
mby boog highberger. This originally appeared in *The Gentle Anarchist*
#15, Fall 1987y
Thinking about money in this society is like being a fish wondering
about the nature of water. We build our lives around money, we live money,
we breathe money, we swim in it like fish in the sea.
Millions of people spend (so to speak) 40 hours a week, 50 weeks a
year doing nothing but playing with money-printing it, minting it, counting
it, recounting it, taking it from here, sending it there, juggling it,
smuggling it...sitting in offices in huge buildings making phone calls and
shuffling bits of paper, adding & re-adding endless columns of numbers to
make sure that they come out exactly the same...yeah, but...
"I don't know what money is today, and I don't think anybody at the Fed
does either."
Richard Pratt, Chairman of the Board of the
Federal Home Loan Bank, 1982
Money is Inevitable
Money is not an accident. Neither was it the "invention" of some
particularly progressive culture or clever individual. Money in various
forms has arisen independently, in different ages and on every continent,
wherever the local economy has evolved beyond the level of subsistence.
Wherever there is surplus, trade inevitably follows, and primitive barter
economies progress almost inevitably to money economies, as certain
articles of recognized usefulness slowly come to symbolize wealth and are
accepted at a fixed value. In an area where cattle are the common form of
wealth, money is born when a cow comes to have the value of 1 cow,
regardless of its size, weight, health, or other physical characteristics.
>From there the process of abstraction continues: cattle come mtoy be
represented by tokens bearing pictures of cattle, the tokens evolve into
coins symbolizing value in general, and on down to our own day where value
is symbolized by marks on paper and the magnetic configurations of silicon
wafers.
And the inevitability of money is clear even in the present day.
Wherever national governments have attempted to impose worthless currencies
as the means of exchange, black markets dealing in "hard" currencies have
arisen. This phenomenon perhaps reached the peak of absurdity in the 1970s
in Communist Laos, where the official money of the country was the "kip",
but the only money accepted by the Laotian government was the US dollar.
The Soviet Union is the only country in the world where counterfeiting is
a capital offense (so to speak).
Money is Inequality
John Locke thought that money arose before society, and
that by its use people have consented to class society:
"it is plain, that Men have agreed to disproportionate and unequal
Possession of the Earth, they haying by a tacit and voluntary consent found
out a way, how a man may fairly possess more land than he himself can use
the product of, by receiving in exchange for the overplus, Gold and Silver,
which may be hoarded up without injury to any one, these metalls not
spoiling or decaying in the hands of the possessor. This partage of things,
in an inequality of private possessions, men have made practicable out of
the bounds of Societie, and without compact, only by putting a value on
gold and silver and tacitly agreeing in the use of Money
memphasis addedy."
Georg Simmel, writing two hundred years later, was not nearly so
naive about the nature of money and society. Simmel recognized that money
is "entirely a social institution", and said that "When barter is replaced
by money transactions, a third factor is introduced between the two
parties: the community as a whole, which provides a real value
corresponding to money." Those who become "rich" are those who manage to
monopolize big chunks of the social wealth for their own ends. Far from
being a tacit agreement, this is done despite the sometimes violent
resistance of those whose share of the social wealth is being taken away.
The division of labor in society depends on a money economy. And so
does capitalism. It's very hard to extract surplus value in a system based
on barter exchange. The growth of the state has gone hand in hand with the
growth of the money economy- the emerging nation-states imposed taxes
payable only in money, replacing taxes payable in kind and driving more and
more people into alienated labor and the money economy. Like S. Herbert
Frankel says, "a trustworthy, disciplined monetary system is indispensable
for the free unfolding of the extended division of labor on which the
growth of world economies depends... A reliable standard in which
long-term debts can be expressed is indispensable for the growth of
capital."
So capitalists didn't invent money... but perhaps we can say that
money invented capitalism. For once money has been born into the world it
quickly begins to recreate the world in its own image.
Chrematophobia: Fear of Money.
Money Is Midas
Like King Midas, money turns everything it touches to gold, or at
least into commodities that can be exchanged for gold. Unique living
beings become standardized things.
"Trade is the reduction and quantification of the world to commodity
equivalents, the leveller of quality, skill, and concrete labor to
numerical units that can be measured by time and money, clocks and gold."
Murray Bookchin
And as money itself becomes more abstract and divorced from
concrete reality, so do the society and people that use it. As Simmel puts
it, "The increasing replacement of metal money by paper money and the
various forms of credit unavoidably react upon the character of money-in
roughly the same way as in personal relations when somebody allows himself
to be represented by others, so that finally he receives no greater esteem
than is accorded his representatives...The idea that life is essentially
based on intellect, and that intellect is accepted in practical life as the
most valuable of our mental energies, goes hand in hand with the growth of
a money economy."
Money Is What Money Does
Featured on the back of the Swiss 1000-franc note, the highest
valued item of currency in regular circulation in the world, is a figure of
the Grim Reaper.
Money Is
the Secret Name of All Things
In many ancient cultures, to know the name of something was to control it,
to have power over it. In the Christian Bible, Adam is given authority
over the animals of the world when God allows him to name them. In the
underworld of the ancient Egyptians, the dead had to pass through a series
of gates to reach the Kingdom of Osiris, the Land of the Blessed. The key
to passing through each gate was to know the secret name of the gate and
the secret name of the gatekeeper. Today everyone and everything has the
same secret name: MONEY.
Money Is White Sugar
"What we call the primitive is a mature system with deep capacities for
stability and protection built into it. In fact it seems to be able to
withstand everything except white sugar and the money economy trading
relationship; and alcohol, kerosene, nails, and matches."
Gary Snyder
Money is electricity: power stripped from its context and refined to its
purest form. We have created elaborate networks for its circulation. We
have devised ingenious instruments and mechanisms to let it do our work for
us. It jumps through hoops at our command but it is no longer clear who is
the master...
Money Is A Pyramid Scheme
It's highly appropriate that there's a picture of a pyramid on the
back of the US dollar bill, because money is the original pyramid scheme.
Here's how it works: You go to work to help make something for the
boss. At the end of the week you get a few pieces of paper that are a
promise that somebody else will give you some stuff you want. So you worked
all week for the promise of a promise.
But where did the boss get the money to pay you? Well, either he
sold the stuff that you had already made for him (and pocketed his share),
or he "borrowed" it. And where did this "borrowed" money come from? From a
bank. And where did the bank get it? From somebody like you, who had some
money to save, who wanted to wait a while to cash in their promises. So the
bank gives the money to the boss, who gives it back to you. And all this
works just fine, most of the time. The only problem is when everyone wants
to cash in their promises all at once and they find out there are more
promises than stuff. Every pyramid scheme eventually crashes, and when a
pyramid scheme crashes somebody always gets burned. Guess who?
Money Is Shit
Freudian psychoanalysts equate money and feces. Ernest Bornemann
says that "according to ancient Babylonian doctrine, gold was referred to
as the 'feces of hell', and Theodor Reik mentions that the Aztecs used to
call gold the 'feces of the gods'." Freudians also make a connection
between money and guilt. Again according to Bornemann, "capital
accumulation and indebtedness are as closely related as feces accumulation
and feelings of guilt." Unfortunately Bornemann uses this sound base of
symbolic insight as a jumping off point for some painfully goofy flights of
imagination, as when he speculates that "there is no reason to assume that
a desire for the private ownership of the means of production would have to
persist in a socialist society with appropriate weaning and toilet
training."
"Money is like muck, not good except it be spread."
Francis Bacon
The phrase "money doesn't smell" was coined by the Roman Emperor Vespasian
who had taxed the collection of urine because the ammonia it contained was
used by the Romans to do their laundry. The Roman Emperor Tiberius feared
that he was made of feces, and forbade Romans to enter public toilets with
rings or gold coins showing his portrait.
Money Is A Disease
A 1972 report in the Journal of the American Medical Association
found 21 different disease-causing microorganisms living on samples of
paper money. 42% of the bills tested carried one or more of the pathogens.
In medieval Russia, there existed silver coins so small that it was
impossible to take them by hand from a table. When transactions took place,
the buyer emptied his purse on the table, the amount to be paid was
separated out, and both parties then picked up their share of the coins
with their tongues and spat them into their respective purses.
Money Is Freedom,
Money Is Slavery;
Money Is Community,
Money Is Alienation
Yeah, and money is a paradox...What money gives on one level it
takes away on another. Money frees us to realize our wildest desires-money
is pure choice-but at the same time it binds us to a system of wage slavery
in which we have to sell our time to survive. Money strengthens our
connections to our fellow human by tying us into a system of production
that makes us all mutually dependent... but at the same time it cheapens
and destroys even the most intimate of our interpersonal relations by
reducing them to the level of commodity exchanges.
Locke celebrated the fact that "money... replaced the utter
dependence on nature by a new dependence, a dependence on other individuals
and on society." Locke looked forward to the promise of such freedom with
an optimism that seems naive from our jaded 20th century perspective. As
Frankel explains it: "Today we have more freedom but are unable to enjoy it
properly; money makes it possible to buy ourselves not only out of bonds
with others but even out of bonds with our possessions. We develop a
rootless search for ever new things because money is our only nexus with
them. Money's abstract power to command anything ultimately seems to
command nothing."
And again with the paradoxes: while money as an institution may
threaten our freedom and our sanity, in the short run certain forms of
money work greatly in our favor. In particular, banknotes and metal money
are a protection against the people who want to monitor our every motion.
Consider this serious proposal from a lawyer who had a friend whose wallet
had just been ripped off:
ABOLISH PAPER MONEY AND ELIMINATE MOST CRIME
Paper currency is the lifeblood of crime and corruption in the
United States. Without paper money it would be virtually impossible for
criminals and corrupt officials to profit from illegal activities. If all
substantial transfers of money were recorded in bank transactions, nobody
could conduct profitable illegal activities without creating highly visible
permanent evidence of the illegal activities or of income tax evasion or
both. With the chances of profit from illegal activities so slim, it is
difficult to visualize large numbers of persons running the risks of
imprisonment. Crime would be reduced dramatically to the point where
today's police forces could effectively control it. Fortunately, technology
has advanced to the point that today there is a substitute for paper money:
a 'payment card' system keyed to bank accounts.
Each person wishing to spend money other than coins, which would
remain in circulation, would be required to have a bank account. The bank
or federal government would issue to each depositor a U.S. payment card
similar to plastic credit cards. In addition to the necessary codings, each
card would contain the photograph and fingerprint of the depositor... Every
business establishment, including taxicabs, would be equipped with a
terminal in which the payment card could be inserted...(and) make a visual
display of the charge so that the customer could see the exact amount being
deducted from his bank account. . . In the event the customer did not have
the amount in his account the terminal would so indicate...
O Brave New World that has such people in it]
Money Is Faith, Money is Power
Non aes sed fides: not by iron but by faith. This inscription
formerly found on Maltese coins sums up a very important truth about money:
that the value of every kind of money, including metal money, rests on
trust. Money cannot be enforced, and money is accepted only when people
exchange it for a certain amount of real stuff at some point in the future.
This is perhaps an important point to remember in times of
impending economic crises. In the face of short term economic upheaval,
conservatives are correct to insist on accepting only gold and silve as
"real" money, since they are relatively rare and can't be manufactured out
of common materials by the government. But ultimately the value of gold
and silver as money rests on faith and trust in the future, just like paper
currency does. When the real crunch finally comes, it may be useful to
remember that there are more calories in paper than in silver or gold.
And here we come to yet another of the paradoxes of money: while
money depends on trust at the personal level, that trust ultimately depends
on the power of the issuing authority. Our currency is backed not by the
gold in Fort Knox but by the guns in Fort Knox. The value of money,
whether gold or paper, ultimately rests on faith, and the value of the US
dollar rests on the faith that the US domination of the world economy is
backed by the US Army, Air Force, and Marines.
For several hundred years economists have recognized that our money
has value "to the extent of our faith in a viable tomorrow." Thus it seems
surprising that no economist has drawn a connection between the dawn of the
nuclear era and the chronic inflation that has characterized the post-war
economies of the industrial nations. Perhaps this can also help explain the
willingness of both liberals and conservatives in this country to rack up
huge federal deficits-what's so bad about stealing from tomorrow when
there's not going to be a tomorrow?
MONEY
Money, get away
Get a good job with more pay and your O.K.
Money it's a gas
Grab that cash with both hands and make a stash
New car, caviar, four star daydream,
Think I'll buy me a footbal team
Money get back
I'm all right Jack keep your hands off my stack
Money it's a hit
Don't give me that do goody bullshit
I'm in the hi-fidelity first class travelling set
And I think I need a Lear jet
Money it's a crime
Share it fairly but don't take a slice of my pie
Money so they say
Is the root of all evil today
But if you ask for a rise it's no surprise that they're
giving none away
Money Is Information
Money is information-the only problem is that it's not very much
information. Money talks, but it doesn't say much. In the wonderful world
of capitalism, everything-and everyone-has a price, and that price is the
only information that matters in the marketplace. For the marketplace to
work, reality has to be simplified and standardized. As our everyday life
becomes more and more characterized by exchnages, by buying and selling,
many of the facts and observations about the objects in our lives become
irrelevant and are no longer valued. Commodities have no history. There
are no tenses in the lenguage of money-prices are always now.
Interest rates, stock prices, and commodity index futures all
provide information about the economy and provide clues as to how to most
efficiently organize society's resources. But as with prices, lots of
information is lost in the translation of daily life into economic
indicators. Countless facts about millions of people doing millions of
different things get reduced to a few bits of data which are interpreted by
economists like Chinese mystics prophesying from the pattern of I Ching
sticks-all economics is voodoo economics. Through their interpretation of
the magic signs, the best allocation of economic resources is
determined-but best for who? Priests who prophesy against their masters
usually don't have much job security...
This development is an inevitable consequence of the increasing
abstraction of money. When money becomes intellectualized, intellectuals
control money and the economy. And, as always, the intellectuals are
controlled by the governments and corporations that sign their paychecks.
And thus the productive forces of a society are organized to
maintain the existing power relations of that society. Simmel again: "Money
is thus one of the great cultural elements whose function it is to assemble
great forces at a single point and so to overcome the passive and active
opposition...by this concentration of energies. We should think of the
machine in this context."
Welcome to the machine...
Money Never Sleeps
The speed of electricity approaches that of the speed of light, and today
the speed of money is the speed of electricity. Every day billions of
"dollars" race the sun around the globe. As one financial market closes,
the dollars rush on to the next so that not a moment is wasted.
"Knowledge - Zzzzzp] Money - Zzzzzp] - Power]
That's the cycle democracy is built on]"
Tennessee Williams
What Can I Do?
Raoul Vaneigem says that "a truly new reality can only be based on
the principle of the gift." And many anarchists have argued the need for
the abolition of money. But history has shown that money cannot be
abolished before people's need for money has been abolished. Until we have
created a society of the gift that is no longer built on a system of
commodity exchanges, money will be necessary or perhaps even desirable. So
what we need are some practical short term strategies that will move us in
the direction of the type of society we want to see, and at the same time
we need to create new monetary institutions that will reduce some of the
more destructive effects of money in the meantime.
Burning money is always good theater, but until we have provided
ourselves with a permanent non-money means of sustenance, doing very much
of it will be counterproductive. Removing as much of our daily lives from
the arena of commodity exchange seems important, since that's how the new
reality will be created- by individuals consciously removing themselves
from the old, destructive system. So freely giving and receiving as much as
possible seems like a step in the right direction.
And while money is still with us, we need to place limits on the
money we use. Instead of passively accepting ever expanding and
accelerating forms of money like they were divinely commanded by some
all-powerful god, we need to raise the awareness that money is essentially
a social relationship and as such we have the right to collectively
determine the nature of that relationship.
Some anarchists in the past have argued for placing time limits on
money, such as issuing money that expires and has no value after a certain
date. What seems more practical is to create new forms of money that are
spatially limited- regional, decentralized currencies only good in a
specified area. This may seem impractical, too, but experiments like this
have worked in the past, and one such project is in progress right now in
the United States.
Part of the benefit of regional or local currency comes from the
fact that a banknote essentially represents an interest-free loan to the
central government. In the Isle of Man in the early 1800's, citizens there
replaced all the English money on the island with their own local currency,
invested the English money, and in a few years had earned enough interest
to finance the construction of a new public hall.
In the Berkshires area of Massachusetts, the SHARE (Self Help
Association for a Regional Economy) program is currently making loans that
encourage greater regional self-sufficiency in the production of basic
necessities, and plans to soon issue a regional currency called
"Berkshares", with a value based on the value of cordwood. Berkshares are
designed to meet the criteria for an appropriately scaled currency proposed
by Robert Swann of the E.F. Schumacher Society. Swann says that the new
local currencies should be: 1) consistent with customary practices (i.e.
taking the form of cash and checks and being compatible with common
accounting systems); 2) redeemable in some form of real everyday value; 3)
based on local production but tied to a universal measure of value; and 4)
controlled by the community, perhaps through a non-profit bank. It's too
early to evaluate the success of the Berkshares program, but in its first
stages it seems to be a short but firm step in the direction of local
autonomy.
Closing Benediction and Words of Inspiration
Capitalists understand far better than the rest of us what money
does, but with rare exceptions they seem to have little idea about what
money is. It's the same with computers-often the best programmers have
little idea of how their machines are built. And Beethoven didn't know how
to make pianos.
But here is where our opportunity lies. Only those who understand
their tools can really control them (what happens to Beethoven when his
piano is broken?), and only if we understand the tools that are used to
control us can we fight back effectively. So, by coming to understand the
reality behind the shell game & light show of the current world economic
system, perhaps we can learn to build the hardware for a new way of
organizing our productive activities that will build community instead of
destroying it and will empower us as individuals rather than enslaving us
and reducing us to cogs in an incomprehensible and uncontrollable machine.
boog
"Go out and fight so life shouldn't be printed on dollar bills."
Clifford Odets
And So, For Further Reading
Regional Currencies
For a packet of information on the SHARE program, write to SHARE,
PO Box 125, Great Barrington, MA 01230 meditor note: this address has
probably changed since this article was first publishedy. For a copy of the
Robert Swann paper "Community Survival in the Age of Inflation" (which lays
out the ideas behind the Bershares program) send a buck or two to the E.F.
Schumacher Society, Box 76, RD 3, Great Barrington, MA 01230.
Some Books About Money
The Brotherhood of Money, Murray Teigh Bloom, BNR Press, 1983
The Psychoanalysis of Money, Ernest Bornemann, Urizen Books, 1976
Money and Liberty, S. Herbert Frankel, American Enterprise Institute, 1980
The Phenomenon Money, Money and How It Gets That Way, Henry Miller
And For The Intellectual Masochists Among Us
The Philosophy of Money, Georg Simmel, Routledge & Kegan Paul, 1978
=@= ARTICLES =@=
_Permanent TAZs_
TAZ-theory tries to concern itself with existing or emerging situations
rather than with pure utopianism. All over the world people are leaving or
"disappearing" themselves from the Grid of Alienation and seeking ways to
restore human contact. An interesting example of this-on the level of
"urban folk culture"-can be found in the proliferation of hobby networks
and conferences. Recently I discovered the zines of two such groups, Crown
Jewels of the Hlgh Wire (devoted to the collection of glass electrical
insulators) and a journal on cucurbitology (The Gourd). A vast amount of
creativity goes into these obsessions. The various periodic gatherings of
fellow-maniacs amount to
genuine face-to-face (unmediated) festivals of eccentricity. It's not just
the "counter-culture" which seeks its TAZs, its nomad encampments and
nights of liberation from the Consensus. Self-organized and autonomous
groups are springing up amongst every "class" and "sub-culture". Vast
tracts of the Babylonian Empire are now virtually empty, populated only by
the spooks of MassMedia, and a few psychotic policemen.
TAZ-theory realizes that THIS IS HAPPENING- we're not talking about
"should" or "will be"-we're talking about an already-existing movement. Our
use of various thought-experiments, utopian poetics, paranoia criticism,
etc., aims at helping to clarify this complex and still largely
undocumented movement, to give it some theoretical focus and
self-awareness, and to suggest tactics based on coherent integral
strategies-to act the midwife or the panegyrist, not the "vanguard"]
And so we've had to consider the fact that not all existing autonomous
zones are "temporary". Some are (at least by intention) more-or-less
"permanent". Certain cracks in the Babylonian Monolith appear so vacant
that whole groups can move into them and settle down. Certain theories,
such as "Permaculture", have been developed to deal with this situation and
make the most of it. "Villages", "communes", "communities", even
"arcologies" and "biospheres" (or other utopian-city forms) are being
experimented with and implemented. Even here however TAZ-theory may offer
some useful thought-tools and clarifications.
What about a poetique (a "way of making") and a politique (a "way of
living-together) for the "permanent" TAZ (or "PAZ")? What about the actual
relation between temporariness and permanence? And how can the PAZ renew
and refresh itself periodically with the "festival" aspect of the TAZ?
THE QUESTION OF PUBLICITY
Recent events in the US and Europe have shown that
self-organized/autonomous groups strike fear into the heart of the State.
MOVE in Philadelphia, the Koreshites of Waco, Deadheads, Rainbow Tribes,
computer-hackers, squatters, etc., have been targeted for varying
intensity-levels of extermination. And yet other autonomous groups go
unnoticed, or at least unpersecuted. What makes the difference? One factor
may be the malign effect of publicity or mediation. The Media experience a
vampiric thirst for the shadow-Passion play of "Terrorism", Babylon's
public ritual of expiation, scapegoating, and blood-sacrifice. Once any
autonomous group allows this particular "gaze" to fall upon it, the shit
hits the fan:-the Media will try to arrange a mini-armageddon to satisfy
its junk-sickness for spectacle and death.
Now, the PAZ makes a fine sitting target for such a Media smart-bomb.
Beseiged inside its "con-pound", the self-organized group can only succumb
to some sort of cheap pre-determined martyrdom. Presumably this role
appeals only to neurotic masochists??? In any case, most groups will want
to live out their natural span or trajectory in peace and quiet. A good
tactic here might be to avoid publicity from the Mass Media as if it were
the plague. A bit of natural paranoia comes in handy, so
long as it doesn't become an end in itself. One must be cunning in order to
get away with being bold. A touch of camoflage, a flair for invisibility, a
sense of tact as a tactic...might be as useful to a PAZ as a TAZ. Humble
suggestions:-Use only "intimate media" (zines, phonetrees, BBSs, free radio
and mini-FM, public-access cable, etc.)-avoid blustering-macho-
confrontationist attitude-you don't need five seconds on the Evening News
("Police Raid Cultists") to validate your existence.
Our slogan might be:-"Get a life, not a life-style."
ACCESS
People probably ought to choose the people they live with.
''Open-membership" communes invariably end up swamped with freeloaders and
sex-starved pathetic creeps. PAZs must choose their own membership
mutually-this has nothing to do with "elitism". The PAZ may exercize a
temporarily open function-such as hosting festivals or giving away free
food, etc.-but it need not be permanently open to any self-proclaimed
sympathizer who wanders by.
THE EMERGENCE OF A GENUINELY
ALTERNATIVE ECONOMY
Once again, this is already happening-but it still needs a huge amount of
work before it comes into focus. The sub-economies of "lavoro nero",
untaxed transactions, barter, etc., tend to be severely limited and
localized. BBSs and other networking systems could be used to link up these
regional/marginal aeconomies ("household managements") into a viable
alternative economy of
some magnitude. "P.M." has already outlined something like this in
bolo'bolo-in fact a number of possible systems already exist, in theory
anyway. The problem is: -how to construct a true alternative economy, i.e.
a complete economy, without attracting the IRS and other capitalist
runningdogs? How can I exchange my skills as, say, a plumber or moonshiner,
for the food, books, shelter, and psychoactive plants I want-without paying
taxes, or even without using ally State-forged money? How can I live a
comfortable (even luxurious) life free of all interactions and transactions
with CommodityWorld? If we took all the energy the Leftists put into
"demos", and all the energy the Libertarians put into playing futile little
3rd-party games, and if we redirected all that power into the construction
of a real underground economy, we would already have accomplished "the
Revolution" long ago.
THE "WORLD" CAME TO AN END IN 1972
The hollowed-out effigy of the Absolute State finally toppled in "1989".
The last ideology, Capitalism, is no more than a skin-disease of the Very
Late Neolithic. It's a desiring-machine running on empty. I'm hoping to see
it deliquesce in my lifetime, like one of Dali's mindscapes. And I want to
have somewhere to "go" when the shit comes down. Of course the death of
Capitalism needn't entail the Godzilla-like destruction of all human
culture; this scenario is merely a terror- image propagated by Capitalism
itself. Nevertheless it stands to reason that the dreaming corpse will
spasm violently before rigor mortis sets in-and New York or LA may not be
the smartest places to wait out the storm. (And the storm may already have
begun.) mOn the other hand NYC and LA might not be the worst places to
create the New World; one can imagine whole squatted neighborhoods, gangs
transformed into Peoples' Militias, etc.y Now, the gypsy-RV way of life may
be one way to deal with the on-going melt-down of Too-Late Capitalism - but
as for me, I'd prefer a nice anarchist monastery somewhere-a typical place
for "scholars" to sit out the "Dark Ages". The more we organize this NOW
the less hassle we'll have to face later. I'm not talking about
"survival"-I'm not interested in mere survival. I want to thrive. BACK TO
UTOPIA.
FESTIVALS
The PAZ serves a vital function as a node in the TAZ-web, a meetingplace
for a wide circle of friends and allies who may not actually live fulltime
on the "farm" or in the "village". Ancient villages held fairs which
brought wealth to the community, provided markets for travelers, and
created festal time/space for all participants. Nowadays the festival is
emerging as one of the most important forms for the TAZ itself, but can
also provide renewal and fresh energy for the PAZ. I remember reading
somewhere that in the Middle Ages there were one hundred and eleven
holidays a year; we should take this as our "utopian minimum" and strive to
do even better. mNote: the utopian minima proposed by C. Fourier consisted
of more food and sex than the average 18th century French aristocrat
enjoyed; B. Fuller proposed the term "bare minimum" for a similar concepty
THE LIVING EARTH
I believe that there exist plenty of good selfish reasons for desiring the
"organic" (it's sexier), the "natural" (it tastes better), the "green"
(it's more beautiful), the Wild(er)ness (it's more exciting). Communitas
(as P. Goodman called it) and conviviality (as I. Illich called it) are
more pleasurable than their opposites. The living earth need not exclude
the organic city-the small but intense conglomeration of humanity devoted
to the arts and slightly decadent joys of a civilization purged of all its
gigantism and enforced loneliness-but even those of us who enjoy cities can
see immediate and hedonic motives for fighting for the "environment". We
are militant biophiles. Deep ecology, social ecology, permaculture,
appropriate tech..we're not too picky about ideologies. Let 1000
flowers bloom.
PAZ TYPOLOGY
A "weird religion" or a rebel art movement can become a kind of non-local
PAZ, like a more intense and all-consuming hobby network. The Secret
Society (like the Chinese Tong) also provides a model for a PAZ without
geographic limits. But the "perfect case scenario" involves a free space
that extends into free time. The essence of the PAZ must be the
long-drawn-out intensification of the joys-and risks-of the TAZ. And the
intensification of the PAZ will be....Utopia Now.
Hakim Bey
D R E A M T I M E, A U G U ST 1 9 93
CONTACT:
DREAMTIME
VILLAGE * ROUTE 2 BOX 242W VIOLA WI 54664 $4 FOR NEWSLETTER
_Bioregionalism_
Bioregionalism in the Heartland:
Still Far From Home
by Richard Taylor
About two years ago I borrowed a book called HOME]: A Bioregional Reader.
This book is a collection of articles describing a way of life that seems
sensible enough to me: living within one's means. Bioregionalism is about
the association of life with place, about sustainability through reliance
on local resources. The bioregionalist ideal is that the kind of life
people live depends on what the land provides them. As a result of this
dependency on a bounded area, people must take the well-being of other
creatures and of the land itself into account with their decisions.
Well, this all seems fair enough, so in the fall of 1991 I went to
the First Annual Ohio River Watershed Bioregional Gathering in Oldenburg,
Indiana. My comments here refer to that experience and to the subsequent
gathering which I attended in fall of 92, with some remarks on
bioregionalism in general. I have both positive and negative feelings about
what I have seen, and for purposes of this article I am going to focus on
the negative.
The gatherings were held on a farm owned by a Franciscan convent,
with a barn, some pasture, and a small wooded area in which people were to
camp. I felt disappointed when I saw that people were driving their cars
from the barn area less than a quarter-mile through the pasture to the
woods and unloading coolers and other gear. I had brought a single backpack
and although I did not hike to Oldenburg I thought the least I could do at
this sort of event was to walk a little ways to the woods. At a meeting
that evening, it was requested by staffers that people remove their cars to
the parking area by the barn, but they did not. The cars stayed in the
forest until it was time to leave Sunday morning. This scenario was
repeated at the second gathering, despite the attempted establishment of a
no-drive zone at the edge of the pasture. Literally, an example of not
walking the talk.
Another disturbing event was the "Council of All Beings" held the
first morning of the gathering. This is a practice drawn from a certain
North American native tradition wherein people form a meeting circle, then
go out into the surrounding area a little ways to find some creature or
element (like a tree, or wind for example) and try to picture themselves as
that thing and grasp its point of view on the world. Everyone then comes
back to the circle and tells of their experience as the thing. This was ok
with me until it got to the part of coming back and telling about it. Not
as if I have a hard time flexing my imagination or anything, but I think
these people took it way too seriously.
The Council of All Beings seems to be mainly a way for the group to
create a sense of fellowship through mutually declaring a certain
suspension of disbelief; sort of like declaring the body and blood of
Christ during a Eucharist. In this case though, my disbelief is in the
possibility of really swapping places with other entities. The rationale is
that these other entities have no voice and so it is necessary for humans
to embody them, but how do we know the "interpreters" aren't just playing
their own game? I had a religious studies class once where I was told a
story about a woman who "channelled the spirit" of a giant redwood tree;
the message was not to worry about saving the trees, the redwoods were
saying they would let themselves be cut down and thereby awaken human
consciousness as to the evil being done. Taking such "representation"
seriously would be as disastrous for ecological affairs as it is for civil
rights. It requires you to suppose that you are even capable of putting
yourself in the position of another being. To me this is supposing a lot,
and it probably stems from the familiar chauvinism about the human ability
to adapt and imagine, plus environmentalism's equivalent of white guilt.
The best statements one can make about how nonhuman life experiences itself
amount to speculation-- which is not necessarily bad, except speculation
should not masquerade as experience. Pretending to get into other beings'
heads like this seems really arrogant to me. In trying to avoid being
human- centered, this Council winds up putting a human face on everything.
In the HOME] book, it says that the acid test of a bioregion is
whether its inhabitants recognize it as such and in this regard my
"bioregion", as it was presented to me, fails miserably.
A watershed is an area of land that drains (sheds its water) to a
certain river or stream. The "Ohio River Watershed Bioregion" extends from
the junction of the Ohio and the Mississippi to upstate New York, south to
Tennessee and north to Wisconsin. The basic problem is that it's larger
than any of the states that it overlaps; from a perspective that human
institutions must operate on a human scale, this is intolerable.
Bioregionalists continually insist that the proper boundaries for human
activity are watersheds. Actually, land can be divided up in many ways
using many geographic constructs, but the people at the gathering did not
seem to accept that the watershed is just another such construct; for them
the watershed comes first and other talk about geography is based on it. I
see this "watershed- ism" as taking the easy way out; it's much simpler for
a small group to autocratically decide that people's experience of the land
should be based upon some physical feature than it is to actually get
people engaged in dialogue about how they perceive the place where they
live and discuss how the land is boundaried in their consciousness. The
people I met seemed more intent on making their point by pretentiously
asking others near what river they lived. Wink wink nudge nudge.
This tendency exists at the national level also. In the 1980s,
there was a North American Bioregional Congress which was attended by
several Mexicans. The Mexicans expressed concern that the term North
American was exclusionist and applied only to the white peoples north of
the Rio Grande. Ok so the whites decided that in order to get around this,
they would change the name of the whole continent to Turtle Island. I see
this as very undemocratic in that these congress participants had no way to
gather ideas and consensus from the populations that live on the continent.
The usual bioregionalist rationale is that all the North American native
tribes share a mythology in which the continent is represented as a big
turtle. I am not convinced this is true, but even if so it raises another,
more serious issue; how do the indigenous people feel about this group of
middle-class neo-Europeans appropriating native traditions for their own
purposes?
Much of the concern and interest that I see among whites for
natives is directed more toward picking up the "fallen mantle of a great
culture" than with building bridges to actual native communities. The
culture and religion of aboriginal peoples is based on their relationship
to the land, and the most extreme and pressing issues for them right now
are treaty rights and recovery of ancestral lands, as well as things like
hazardous waste dumping and rampant alcoholism. This is where their
struggles lie, and they have little time for cultural voyeurs who would
rather just mimic their rituals. It is probably no accident that the native
people are very scarce at these sorts of gatherings.
Bioregionalism's spirituality strongly resembles its geopolitics.
The root of the word religion is lig, which means -to bind- ; a religion is
a set of beliefs that binds a community of people together and affirms
their common interests and heritage. Work in anthropology seems to show
that the religious or spiritual life of a society is modeled on the social
relationships that exist in that society. Spirituality, then, can be seen
as something coming forth from community. But bioregionalism tries to
contrive a spiritual tradition first and hopes that community will follow.
This is no surprise, having noted some of its autocratic sentiments, and it
is no wonder that an exercise like the Council of All Beings feels as
artificial as it does. Bioregionalist spirituality is described as
"earth-centered", but it comes off like an earth-spirit theocracy with no
room for atheists.
Even the bioregionalist "movement" as such seems to have grown in
kind of a top-down way; initially there were national congresses, and only
more lately have there been regional or local gatherings. This has resulted
in far-flung policy statements that have little popular input and which do
not address the needs of individual regions. To me this goes against the
original idea of decentralized communities forming larger levels of
organization through voluntary association, but that is certainly not
unique to bioregionalism. Nobody likes to feel lonely, and it has always
been easier for a marginal group to identify with a paper tiger at the
national level than to do something tangible in its locale.
On the last day of the gathering, some people from Indianapolis
drove down to Oldenburg for the morning circle. On the way, they had seen a
box turtle crossing the road and had picked it up and brought it to the
gathering, three counties away from where they found it. They placed it in
the center of the circle where it sat and cowered in its shell. People
began saying things about the turtle, of which I forget the words, but the
general theme was that we should all try to identify with this turtle as it
represented the earth spirit or something like that. It must have been a
field day for people who claim they live on something called Turtle Island.
Box turtles are those little orange-and-black critters with the
hinged bottom plate on the shell, and I know a couple things about them.
Don't try to eat one unless you would starve otherwise; they can eat toxic
mushrooms and store enough toxin in their tissues to nail you later. I've
also read they don't taste that great anyway...
But the other thing is, they are territorial and don't like to be
whisked miles from their home ranges by narcissistic humans. I don't know
what became of the poor animal, but it was wrong to seize it and force it
into a role like they did. This episode nearly provoked me to get up and
leave the gathering forthwith. It was pure paternalism, manifested as
disrespect, and it heavily colors my feelings towards the people in the
midwest who are "into bioregionalism".
This review is drawn mainly from what I have seen of midwestern
bioregionalism in action, and does not amount to a blanket indictment of
all principles described by bioregionalists. Some of the principles have
sense in them, and should be worked out into practice. The tendencies I
have described are those either unworkable or at variance with
bioregionalist precepts in the first place. They need to be confronted.
=@= LETTERS TO THE EDITORS =@=
Please send us your comments and letters and we'll print them here.
=@= ZINES =@=
PAPER ZINES
The following zine reviews appeared in Practical Anarchy #8 (print
version). All were reviewed by Chuck.
Reviewers this issue:
Zines: Chuck
Music: Fred Weaver, Chuck
Books: Chuck
A. INFOS No.35 / June 1993 is a newsletter that details what the French
anarchists are doing. This time I got an edition in French, so I can't
tell you much about it. It appears that this issue includes a flyer on a
libertarian school. This project also appears to have affiliates in other
countries. Humeurs Noires-Federation Anarchistes, B.P. 79, 59370
Mons-en-Baroeul, FRANCE. S-8-LP-?. mSend money for sample or tradey.
Adbusters Summer 1993 (vol.2, no.4) is an excellent magazine for folks
interested in media activism and fighting advertising. If you are
interested in "culture jamming" this is the place to go for fresh ideas.
The Media Foundation, 1243 West 7th Ave., Vancouver, B.C., V6H 1B7 Canada.
S-82-T,M+,F-Q m$5.75/$16y
Alternative Press Review Fall 1993 (vol.1, no.1) is the promising new mag
from the folks who publish Anarchy: A Journal of Desire Armed. This new
publication, which bills itself as "your guide beyond the mainstream,"
accomplishes in one issue what Utne Reader tried to do for years, but was
afraid to accomplish. It brings us reprints from mainstream alternative
magazines like Gnosis and Mother Jones, but it also includes reprints from
zines like Lookout, Madworld Survival Guide, and Mesechabe. The anarchist
press is well represented. One of the promising aspects of this project
will be the focus on zine, magazine, book, and film reviews. C.A.L. Press,
PO Box 1446, Columbia, MO 65205-1446 S-84-T,M+,F-Q m$4.95/$16y
Anarchy: A Journal of Desire Armed #38 / Fall 93 features Dina Fisher's
essay on the FBI and the Branch Davidians, an article titled "A World
without Morality", an article on "half-assed radicalism", and another
article on the Spanish Civil War. Also includes a section called "On Gogol
Boulevard", an excellent roundup of anarchist and antiauthoritarian news
from around the world. And, as usual, excellent reviews and letters
section. C.A.L, PO Box 1446, Columbia, MO 65205-1446. S-84-T,C,M-Q.
m$3.50/$12y
Animadverse #9 July/August 1993 is an anarchist zine with articles on
anti-racist action, prisoner support, South Africa, and the Anarchist Queer
Cross. Also includes reviews and short news items. PO Box 57464, Jackson
Station. Hamilton, Ontario, Canada L8P 3X4 S-16-LP-B m$1/$8y
Autonomy May 1993 is the newsletter of Some Chicago Anarchists. News and
opinion from some very traditional anarchists. Useful for finding out
about anarchist activities in Chicago. Some Chicago Anarchists, Box 163,
1340 West Irving Park Rd., Chicago, IL 60613 S-2-LP-Mo m$1y
Bayou La Rose #42 is an anarchist newspaper that usually has excellent
coverage of native peoples and labor. Editor Arthur Miller reflects on
where the anarchist movement is headed. He makes a good case for why
anarchists should avoid the trap of constantly reinventing the wheel. Why
should we always tear everything down in order to start from scratch.
These folks are also publishing what they call a "guide to useful
publications and organizations, antiauthoritarian, Native American, Labor,
Prisoners, Ecology and more." Bayou La Rose, PO Box 5464, Tacoma, WA
98415-0464. Bulk copies are available from Left Bank Distribution.
T-16-T-Q m$2/$7.50y
Black and Red #4 is the newsletter of the Anarchist Caucus of the
Committees of Correspondence. News and networking for anarchists in the
New York area. 11 John St., Rm. 506, New York, NY 10038 S-8-LP-B
m$1/$10y
Blue Ryder: the best of the underground press (November-December 1993) is
a decent alternative newspaper that does an excellent job of keeping up
with the alternative scene. Cartoons, zine reviews, music reviews, and
articles. Blue Ryder, Box 587, Olean, NY 14760 T-16-T-B m$1.50/$8y
Cybertek #8 is the zine for all of you anarcho-hackers, phreakers, and
techie-survivalists. I don't have the technical knowledge to know if any
of this really works, but hey, it's for educational purposes only] Stuff
on data taps, home security, pink boxes, and garbage channels. I found the
recipe for making your own claymore mine to be tasteless and offensive. I
hope anybody assembling such an abomination blows themselves to pieces
(would do the rest of us a favor). OCL/Magnitude, PO Box 64, Brewster, NY
10509. S-18-D-B m$/$15y
Crash (July 1993) is "your guide to travel thru the underground." This
excellent issue is devoted to bicycles with special articles on Critical
Mass, the direct action movement which started in California and is
currently spreading to other cities. Crash, 519 Castro #7, San Francisco,
CA 94114 HS-20-LP-B m$1/$5y
Discussion Bulletin #60 (July/August 1993) is a discussion and letters zine
for those interested in syndicalism, anarcho-communism, industrial
unionism, and socialism. No party line here, just dialog. This issue
includes a reprinted debate that originally appeared in the e-zine
Organized Thoughts. Discussion Bulletin, I.U.C.E., PO Box 1564, Grand
Rapids, MI 49501 HL-32-R-B m$/$3y
dreamtime talkingmail Number 4 / Summer 1993 is the newsletter of the
folks up at Dreamtime Village. The Village is located in rural Wisconsin
between Madison and Lacrosse. It's an exciting project which combines
avant-garde art with permaculture farming. A calendar of ongoing events,
up-to-date information on the Village, and stuff on bioregions,
permaculture, and temporary autonomous zones. Highly recommended.
Dreamtime Village, Rt.2 Box 242W, Viola, WI 54664. S-24-T-3 m$4/$12 for 3
issuesy
Dumpster Times #12 (April '93) is one of the hippest anarchist zines
around right now. Another of those that are hard to put down once you've
started reading. The theme of this issue is the drug war and resistance to
it. An excellent book review section. Highly recommended. HL-48-LP-Q
m$2/$10y
East Coast Exchange 1993 (vol.1, no.4) is an "underground" zine serving the
East Coast. The focus here seems to be on music: record reviews as well as
interviews with bands Helmet, Agnostic Front, the Cows, and the Mighty
Mighty Bosstones. Ethan Minsker, 184 Lexington Ave. Apt. 7B, New York, NY
10016-6841 S-28-LP-I m$1.50y
Eidos: sexual freedom & erotic entertainment for women, men & couples
vol.7, no.2 1993 The publisher of this newspaper, Brenda Loew Tatelbaum,
is to sexual liberation in the 1990s what Emma Goldman was to the same
movement in the 1890s. If liberating sexuality from the modern day
Puritans is your cause this publication is for you. Eidos has an
extensive, excellent review section of the alternative press. I especially
like the reproduction of letters from libraries asking that they be taken
off the mailing list. Includes a big section of personal ads, guaranteed
to offend at least one of your neighbors. PO Box 96, Boston, MA
02137-0096. T-72-T-Q m$10/$30y
Empathy is a collection of Mike Squirrel's poems and drawings. Lots of
rants against religion and America. His work has a very anarchist tone.
Mike's a cool guy so ask him for a copy of this. PO Box 4513, East
Lansing, MI 48826 HS-?-HL-I m$1y
Exposing Mirage #1 is a cool new anarcho-zine with a personal zine flavor.
The editor used to publish Bushwacker zine. With a range of articles and
collage throughout, this is a fine example of what zines are about. Rants
about anarchy, why birth control pills are bad, war tax resistance, the
Philly anarchist gathering, and much more. 22 Standard Ave., West Warwick,
RI 02893. HS-44-LP,C-I m$2y
Factsheet Five #49 (1993 ) is THE guide to zines. Mostly zine reviews,
but they also review catalogs and books. Zine reviews are arranged
alphabetically within categories such as Queer, Art, Fringe, Politics, Sex,
B-Movies, Obsessions and so on. The reviews are usually very thorough and
well written. Factsheet is starting to find its own style, but still lacks
the idiosyncrasies of the original. Layout is excellent and all reviews
are indexed. Most of the contents are available over the Internet via
email, gopher, or anonymous FTP. Send a message to jerod23@well.sf.ca.us
for more details. Factsheet Five Subscriptions, PO Box 170099, San
Francisco, CA 94117-0099 S-114-T-B m$6/$20y
Fargo Planet is the zine published by the F-Kripz, a techno, hardcore, hip
hop band. Their music is great; see the review in the music section. PO
Box 30033, Kansas City, MO 64112. HS-16-LP,C-I m$1y
Fifth Estate vol.28, no.2 /Summer 1993 is Detroit's long-running voice of
anarchy. This issue focuses on "Dope, Queer Sex & Anarchy". The folks
that publish FE have recently acquired a computer and they include a long
piece on why they got one. This issue is really worth getting because of
the full-color cover and the excellent back cover portrait of Mao with
paint on his visage. 4632 Second Ave., Detroit, MI 48201. T-24-T,F-Q
m$1.50/$6y
Flipside #86 (October/November 1993) is one of the big alternative music
magazines. I like it, but it's not as punk as Maximum RockNRoll or Second
Guess. LOTS of band interviews, if you like that sort of thing. Wish I
could afford to send out a pair of 3-D glasses with each issue of my zine]
PO Box 60790, Pasadena, CA 91116 S-1,000,000-T,F-B m$2.50/$10y
Flour Power #3 September 1993 is a new anarchist zine which describes
itself as " a mag of anarchist politics-punk music-reporting the news from
an alternative perspective. If you are anarchist in the northwestern U.S.
or in western Canada you should check this out. Reports from the Frenzy
Anarchist Gathering which was held last summer. Other pieces deal with
squatting, how to get an abortion, and the Clayoquot campaign. Rejoice, PO
Box 78068, RPO Grandview, 2606 Commercial Dr., Vancouver, BC V5N 5W1
S-48-R,LP-I m$1/$2y
The Flush Rush Quarterly Summer 1993 (vol.1, no.2) is a newsletter for
people who are NOT fans of Rush Limbaugh. Filled with humor about Rush as
well as analysis of Rush's odious shows. I choose to ignore Rush, but I'm
glad publications like this one are out there. PO Box 270525, San Diego,
CA 92198 S-12-LP-Q m$3.50/$13.95y
Fringe Ware Review mPremiere issuey is a new zine for folks who are
interested in cutting edge "fringe" technology like PGP software and other
weird hardware. Includes a reprint of Bob Black's The Abolition of Work,
an article on cypherpunks and anarchy, and a list of Internet lists for the
anarcho-techno-hip. Pretty cool. Fringeware, Inc. PO Box 49921. Austin,
TX 78765. Internet: fringeware@wixer.bga.com S-50-T,M-Q m$3.50/$12y
Global Mail September 1993 (Issue 6) is THE guide to mail art shows being
held around the world in the next few years. It also lists archive,
anarchist, email, and tape and video projects. An indispensable resource
for mail networkers. Also available via the Internet. Global Mail, PO Box
597996, Chicago, IL 60659. S-8-LP-3 m$ T, Soapbox Junc.y
Gray Areas Fall 1993 (vol.2, no.3) is one of Chuck's current magazine
favorites. Each issue examines the shady side of law, music, technology,
and popular culture. A recent issue had an excellent interview with a
hacker. This issue has an interview with a phone sex fantasy girl and Ivan
Stang of SubGenius fame. Several articles take a look at music piracy. An
excellent review section which covers everything from zines to software.
PO Box 808, Broomall, PA 19008-0808. S-132-T,F-Q m$4.50/$18y
High On Propaganda Until I Die #1 is an angry little anarcho-punk zine
with a witty anti-religion flavor. Sort of a multimedia experience-my copy
came with a matchstick. PO Box 4453, Laguna Beach, CA 92652. HS-31-HL/C-I
m$1y
Industrial Worker September 1993 (vol.90, no.1563) is the monthly
newspaper of the IWW. I bet most of you zinesters are looking forward to
the day you put out #1563. I know that IWW members and anarcho-punks look
at each other like each is an alien from Planet X, but both tendencies need
to learn from and support each other. The Worker always has stuff of
interest to anarchist activists. The look and feel of it these days
reminds me of the Love & Rage newspaper. Each issue includes the humorous
supplement, Wage Slave World News, which in this issue exposes Beavis and
Butthead as secret members of Clinton's cabinet. IWW, 1095 Market St.
#204, San Francisco, CA 94103. T-16-T-Mo m$1/$15y
Kokopelli Notes (vol.3, no.2) is a magazine devoted to "transportation
choices for a Green planet." Lots of articles devoted to exploring
transportation alternatives, especially bikes. PO Box 8186, Asheville, NC
28814 S-32-T-? m$4/$16y
Love and Rage November 1993 (vol.4, no.5) is the bimonthly publication of
the Love and Rage Revolutionary Anarchist Federation. The old L&R network
split over the summer and one faction has decided to continue the
newspaper. News, articles, and scene news. Includes a section on the
Anarchist Black Cross. Special expanded coverage of the ongoing fight
against racism and police brutality. An account of anarchist activities
that happened last summer and a review of Ursula K. LeGuin's The
Dispossessed. And once again these folks have put out another jam-packed,
good-looking paper. PO Box 853, Peter Stuyvesant Station, NY, NY 10009.
T-24-T-6 m$1/$13y
Madworld Survival Guide: New Orleans Anarchist Quarterly #9 Spring 1993
is a fine zine that should appeal to fans of practical approaches to
anarchy. This issue includes features on women's self-help, herbal
remedies, community gardens and farming, practical bioregionalism,
reproductive control and the poor, and underground contacts. Excellent
review section. The antiauthoritarian flyer brigade sounds interesting;
the anarchist movement could definitely use a distro network for flyers.
MSG, PO Box 791377, New Orleans, LA 70179 HS-60-LP-Q m$1/$5y
"the man is clampin' down": notes on revolution is an interesting zine
published by some folks here in Madison. This effort is meant to be a
dialogue on what social change and revolution mean to the members of the
Harlequin Collective. Thoughts on the politics of sex, society vs. the
individual, and how the grind of daily living interferes with making the
revolution happen. Also an account of the Philly @ gathering.
Recommended] Aaron Donsbach, c/o Harlequin, PO Box 349, Madison, WI
53701-0349. HL-16-LP,C-I mSend money for postagey
The Match] Number 88 (Summer 1993) is an uncompromising traditional
anarchist journal. A great editorial on why they will no longer review
books with ISBN numbers. Excellent book reviews including one that takes
several swipes at the zine phenomenon. Several serialized fiction pieces
continue in this issue. Fred Woodworth, ed., PO Box 3488, Tucson, AZ 85722
HL-76-T,F-I m$2.50/$10y
Maximumrocknroll October / 1993 is an excellent place to find out what's
going on in the alternative music scenes. Mostly music-oriented, but
occasionally you can find some anarchist political stuff. This issue
includes a news report on the Philly gathering. Each issue is crammed with
band interviews, scene reports, record and zine reviews, and features some
of the best writing on music around today. Does anyone keep up with all
these 7" records anyway? PO Box 460760, San Francisco, CA 94146-0760.
S-100 plus-T-Mo m$3/$18y
Meander Quarterly: Newsletter of Evolutionary Anarchists November 1993
(vol.5, no.3) is a highly recommended letters, opinion, and news zine for
us evolutionary anarchists. The editorship revolves so the zine is looking
for a person to volunteer to be editor for a year. Also available
electronically; contact the editor of Practical Anarchy for more info. Ed
Stamm, PO Box 1402, Lawrence, KS 66044 HS-28-D-B m$1/$5y
MSRRT Newsletter September 1993 (v.6, no.7) is the newsletter of the
Minnesota Library Association Social Responsibilities Round Table. News of
interest to progressive librarians. Should Junior ROTC be allowed in St.
Paul schools? Thoughtful reviews of alternative books fill the
"Recommended Reading" section. They also review alternative publications]
Chris Dodge / Jan DeSirey, 4645 Columbus Ave., Minneapolis, MN 55407.
S-16-D-10 m$/$15, MLA/MSRRTy
Meshuggah #8 is a "journal of oddball fiction and subversive thought." A
zine that successfully mixes seriousness with humor. Inside you might find
reprints from Ernest Mann's Little Free Press, dreamtime talkingmail, World
Domination Review, or quotes from Wendell Berry. Definitely eclectic]
Feh] Press, 147 Second Ave. #603, New York, NY 10003-5701 S-40-LP-Q
m$1.50/$6y
Profane Existence #19/20 (Summer 1993) Profane is back with this
outstanding double issue] Excellent section devoted to anarchist news in
the Twin Cities area as well as around the world. Also includes a section
devoted to On Gogol Boulevard. Stories on practical anarchist projects.
Unforgettable centerfold aimed at the anti-choice forces. Also band,
record, and zine reviews. This publication continues to be an inspiration
to me] If you only request one issue of Profane, get this one] PO Box
8722, Minneapolis, MN 55408. T-?-T-B m$3/$9.00y
Satan wears a bra # 3 (April 1993) is a cool grrrl zine. Plenty of humorous
collages and a great irreverent attitude. Check out the "Suburban slumber
party diaries." Where did they take the guys during the menstruation
lesson in school? The gym? Debby Wolfinsohn, 41 7th Ave., Brooklyn, NY
11217 HS-?-LP,C-I m$?y
Second Guess #7 (Summer 1993) is my favorite punk zine. This issue
includes an account of a trip to L.A., an interview with the band
Screeching Weasel, a piece on Charles Bukowski, letters, and really good
zine and music reviews. Bob, the editor, is never afraid to say it like it
is, he even takes Practical Anarchy to task for running a list of
suggestions on how to deal with Operation Rescue (reprinted from Wind Chill
Factor). He's on target--the inclusion of the piece was a last minute
space filler and shouldn't have been included. SG, PO Box 9382, Reno, NV,
89507 HS-56-LP-I m$2/?y
Ship of Fools #3 (Summer 1993) is a big smorgasbord of stuff for those
interested in anarchy and freedom. This tabloid zine is chock-full of
stuff of interest to anarchists: anarchist projects, prisoner support,
environmental actions, zine reviews, drug decriminalization and more. Also
has recent news about the Davis family's fight with the damn Feds. This
could almost be called "The Anarchist Year in Review: 1993". Definitely
worth checking out] Ship of Fools, PO Box 2062, Westminster, MD (No zip
listed) T-56-T-Q m$2/$5y
SLAM #4 June/July 1993 is a fine review-oriented zine. They review zines,
books, and music. Each issue usually includes several band interviews.
This issue includes articles on micro-radio and political prisoners. PO
Box 22861, Alexandria, VA 22304 S-32-T-6 m$2/$10y
These Are Revolutionary Times #5 / September 1993 is an excellent new
anarchist tabloid. They do a good job of covering the New England
anarchist scene. This issue includes portraits of famous anarchists such
as Voltairine de Cleyre and John Henry MacKay. Media reviews. TART.
Wayland Square, Box 3146, Providence, RI 02906 T-8-T-Mo. m$.35/$5.00y
The Web is "Southern California's Anarchist Journal." Contents include
pieces on high school organizing, the Whittier Food Not Bombs group, the
southern California Anarchist Retreat, as well as info on other anarchist
events happening in southern California. Includes a contact list of area
anarchist groups. PO Box 187, N. Hollywood, CA 91603 HS-20-R,HL-I m$?y
Woozy #2 is a anarchist-flavored music/culture zine published in Australia.
Interviews with alternative bands, comics, collages, and articles on Riot
Grrrls and squatting. All of it hand-lettered which gives it an
interesting visual look. PO Box 4434, Melbourne Uni, Parkville, Victoria,
3052 Australia. S-48-HL-3 m$?y
PAMPHLETS
The Abolition of Work by Bob Black. A new pamphlet featuring Black's
classic rant against work. This edition published by Feh] Press also
includes several other Black anti-work pieces as well as a suggested
anti-work reading list. Feh] Press, 147 Second Ave. #603, New York, NY
10003 m$2y
Zine Key
Description codes:
A. Size of paper
S -Standard (8 1/2" x 11")
HS - Half Standard ( 5 1/2" x 8 1/2")
L - Legal (8 1/2" x 14")
HL - Half Legal (7" x 8 1/2")
T - Tabloid (11" x 17" newsprint)
M - Mini (smaller than half standard)
O - Oversize (larger than tabloid)
B. Number of pages
C. Notes
R - Photo reduced type
D - Dot matrix printed and xeroxed
LP - Laser printed
T - Typeset or offset
C - Lots of collages
HL - Hand lettered
M - Multicolored cover
M+ - Color throughout publication
F - Full color cover
Frequency (per year)
Mo - Monthly
W - Weekly
10 - 10 times a year
Q - Quarterly
A - Annual
I - Irregular/Infrequent
Price
mprice of sample / followed by subscription cost (if available) for one
year (usually third class)y
ALWAYS send money or stamps for postage if you are sending away for a sample]
A $ sign before the slash mean that a sample price was not listed--send a
couple of bucks.
Trades accepted are indicated by "T"
A name inside the brackets indicates who a check should be made out to.
BOOKS
Are ISBN numbers becoming licenses to publish? Fred Woodworth of The
Match] seems to think so. In a recent edition he outlines the case against
ISBN numbers. They have decided to no longer review books with ISBNs. We
support their project and will disseminate info on Woodworth's arguments,
but this publication will continue to review books with ISBNs for now.
The Last Days of Christ the Vampire by J.G. Eccarius. mIII Publishing. PO
Box 170363, San Francisco, CA 94117-0363 / Also available from Left Bank
Distributiony 188pp. $7.00 Paperback. This has to be one of the best
novels, if not best anarchist novel, of the 1980s. An account of how some
freedom loving anarchists topple worldwide religion and have fun doing it.
You won't find very many books where the radicals are the ones that win in
the end.
A grassroots movement of freedom-loving radicals who can think for
themselves gradually spread the word that Christ was actually a vampire.
This message, often spread with graffiti, is not taken lightly by church
officials and those who actually are immortals, the Primes. The Christ the
Vampire movement is mostly composed of young punks, but includes several
professionals. They travel around the world, spreading their message of
"blasphemy." They soon learn that there are vampires in control of the
world and that Christ the Vampire is not just a metaphor. Christ himself
is still alive. The movement actually builds momentum and eventually
millions of churchgoing Americans decide that going to church is a waste of
time, and that money given to churches could be better spent actually
solving problems. A wonderful message.
This book is well written, gripping, funny, and should be inspiring
to those of us who are trying to create alternatives to the worldwide
megamachine. If you are familiar with fiction that deals with the
Illuminati, you should enjoy reading this novel.
The New Political Consciousness: a context for ecocommunity by Wendell G.
Bradley. mLysander Spooner Publishing , Mark Ziesing, PO Box 76,
Shingletown, CA 96088y 165pp. Paperback. We all know that liberal
environmentalism sucks, but what about the current Western political system
known as "liberalism"? Liberalism has been the dominant political
consciousness for centuries in North America and Europe. Why do so many
people still cling to a system that has obviously failed? Bradley examines
this any many more questions in this excellent thought-provoking book.
Bradley takes a critical look at the weaknesses of
constitution-based liberalism. He also defines more clearly what
anarchists oppose: archism. He accurately refers to the "Archist
Revolution" that has been going on for over 4000 years. Most of the human
species' history has been characterized by egalitarian societies. Archism
and civilization are recent inventions.
Bradley also examines social freedom, disciplinary control, human
nature, feminism, alternatives to education, and the prospects for
ecocommunities.
This book is an excellent addition to the social ecology movement.
It echoes Murray Bookchin's The Ecology of Freedom. Another current book
that more anarchists and those interested in building ecocommunities should
read. My copy now has penciled notes all throughout.
* * * * *
The conventional environmental activist seeks more informed or considerate
leadership and better laws. This "liberal justice" approach typically
focuses on greedy executives in an exploitative industrialism, condoned by
coopted government officials. The radical ecological approach, however,
goes to the root. It is concerned with the archist liberalism's inherently
destructive social consciousness and how it pervades nearly every facet of
existing society, public and private.
* * * * *
The temptation to get in power and prescribe for others betrays an archist
disposition. The forms of social freedom can only be developed organically,
as people arrive at shared values in an open process (actually form
authentic community). Those who prescribe, thinking their consciousness is
"pure," need to be reminded that social blueprinting is how we got into the
mess we are in.
Having Little, Being Much: A chronicle of Fredy Perlman's fifty years by
Lorraine Perlman. mDetroit: Black & Red, 1989 / Available from Fifth
Estate Bookstore, 4632 Second Ave., Detroit, MI 48201, or Left Bank
Distributiony 155pp $3.50 Paperback. I first heard of Fredy Perlman
when I started reading the Fifth Estate during the mid 80s. He was the
author that wrote these really strange, but brilliant essays on the nature
of civilization and nationalism. Later I learned that he was held in high
esteem by much of the anarchist movement. A couple of years ago I had the
fortune of reading one of his books, Against His-story, Against Leviathan.
In it Perlman traces the history of civilization in a critical,
metaphorical fashion. This book helped me make some personal insights
about the nature of civilization and helped me understand some of the
"anarcho-primitivist" flavor that has characterized Fifth Estate magazine.
Having Little is an account of Fredy's life as told by his wife
Lorraine. She relates the academic, activist, and personal side of his
life. We get a good look at his intellectual struggles, his projects, and
his experiences with activists. Fredy approached activist politics in the
U.S. as one who had lived in eastern Europe during the 50s and 60s. His
primary contribution to the radical movement in the U.S. were his books and
his involvement with the Black & Red cooperative printshop in Detroit.
One of the valuable aspects of biographies like this one is the
insight it gives readers who are social change activists into the
experiences of other activists. Activists always seem to spend a lot of
time reinventing the wheel. This biography show us the frustrations Fredy
experienced in dealing with left sectarianism in relation to the
cooperative printshop. Another valuable aspect is the detail the
biographer provides on Fredy's intellectual struggles and what he was
trying to accomplish with his writings.
Divided We Fall by Robert Millis. mGemini Brew. 2305 Northwest Kearney
#240, Portland, OR 97210y 151pp. Paperback. So what happens after the
Revolution? What would it be like living after the big event? You would
think with all the left-leaning authors over the years there would be
novels about post-Revolution America. You would also think that at least a
few science fiction authors would have devoted some ink to the topic. It's
actually somewhat difficult to name some novels that deal with life after a
leftist style revolution. Millis attempts to bring us a glimpse of life
after the REVOLUTION in this novel.
Jonathan Palmer is a young revolutionary who is getting involved in
the resistance movement once again. The faction that he joins controls
territory in Oregon. Most of the novel deals with his stay at resistance
hideouts. Several times the faction skirmishes with the surviving U.S.
government. Eventually Jon has to come to terms with his involvement in
the "war". Should he stay involved or should he leave? Can he resume a
normal life?
In his author's note Millis notes his reservations about the type
of revolution some people preach about. He succeeds for the most part in
portraying what would probably happen after an armed uprising. The rebel
factions start to resemble those they oppose. Outfitted with tons of
weapons and power they start to become just like the government they
opposed to begin with. Hierarchy and coercion reintroduce themselves in
this situation. Anarchists have pointed out for years the futility of
revolutions that aim to seize state power. The revolutionaries rapidly
transform to resemble the old guard.
Divided We Fall is a decent book, but I wish that it had been much
longer and that the characterization was more developed. It is a good
attempt to portray the benefits and drawbacks of an armed revolution, a
situation that many leftists dream about, but often don't examine the real
consequences of such a strategy. An interesting addition to any leftist's
bookshelf.
Loompanics' Golden Records edited by Michael Hoy. mLoompanics Unlimited.
PO Box 1197, Port Townsend, WA 98369y 199pp. $14.95 Trade paperback. A
big compilation of articles, fiction, and information that have appeared in
the pages of the Loompanics catalogs in the last few years. The Loompanics
Catalog is the most interesting book catalog around these days. Each one
is chock-full of graphics, articles, and lengthy descriptions of the books
that they sell. They aren't afraid to carry the controversial. If you are
looking for material on Holocaust revisionism as written by those who
believe that the Holocaust was a hoax, they carry that stuff. If you need
to prepare for Armageddon or are just seeking revenge, they got books for
you too. But the best part of Loompanics is that they carry anarchist and
anti-authoritarian materials. Definitely send away for a copy today]
Golden Records is an eclectic collection of material. Inside you
will find classic material from anarchist iconoclast Bob Black including"No
future for the Workplace" and the funny "Bob's Hopeless Desert Classic".
Most of the articles have a libertarian bent: "Pissing away our basic
rights," "What is the FIJA" and articles on gun control. Several pieces
take on Big Brother and the increasing threats to our rights. This is an
excellent way of learning about the hidden issues and history that the
mainstream media ignore. Send away for their catalog while your at, it's
worth the wait.
The American Heretic's Dictionary with definitions by Chaz Bufe and
illustrations by J.R. Swanson. mSee Sharp Press. Tucson, AZ. 1992y 85pp.
$7.95 Paperback. Another great reference item from the guy who published
the immensely useful Heretic's Handbook of Quotations. In the tradition of
Ambrose Bierce's Devil's Dictionary. The definitions in this volume are
hilarious and cut to the often painful truth. Bufe has "decided not to
attack the usual butts of American 'humor,' that is, those who have little
power and who are routinely victimized; I decided not to attack women,
racial or ethnic groups, or gay or bisexual people; instead, I decided to
concentrate on business, government, the military, and the everyday
stupidities and slimy practices which make living in the United States such
a joy."
* * * * *
NATIONAL INTEREST, n. That which increases the wealth and power of the
wealthiest 10 percent of the population at the expense of the other 90
percent.
* * * * *
INTERNAL REVENUE SERVICE, n. A government agency which serves the people by
extorting billions of dollars from them annually under threat of force,
much as the Immigration and Naturalization Service serves the people by
raiding homes and workplaces, and by maintaining concentration camps.
* * * * *
LIBERTARIAN PARTY, n. 1) An oxymoron; 2) A group of socially liberal
Republicans who dislike paying taxes. Finding genuine libertarians in a
political party is as unthinkable as finding hyenas dining at a vegetarian
restaurant.
* * * * *
LENINIST, n. A marxist who is unable or unwilling to learn from past
events. An individual who believes that a peaceful, free, and egalitarian
society can be built through the systematic use of terror, violence, and
coercion by a small elite. A believer in classes, but an "F" student in
History.
Freedom Road by Harold Hough. mLoompanicsy 178pp. $16.95 Paperback
If you feel the urge to pull up stakes and live constantly on the road,
then this is a practical guide for you. Hough looks at life on the road
from the perspective of somebody who owns a RV. Covers practical
considerations such as which state you should get a driver's license from
and where should you maintain a maildrop.
Books Received (will be reviewed in next issue)
Shadow Merchants: Successful retailing without a storefront by Jordan L.
Cooper. Loompanics. 152pp $12.95
Boundaries of Home: Mapping for local empowerment edited by Doug Aberley.
New Society Publishers. 138pp $9.95
Democracy in small groups: participation, decision making & communication
by John Gastil. New Society Publishers. 213pp $14.95
Scram: relocating under a new identity by James S. Martin. Loompanics. 78pp $12
Unconditional Freedom: social revolution through individual empowerment by
William J. Murray. Loompanics. 260pp $15.95
Common Harvest: an alternative food and agriculture directory compiled by
Dan Guenther, Rick Bonlender and Dick Kulisheck. Food Action Network
(Minneapolis) 1993 / 150pp. $11
MUSIC
Reviewers are:
CM - Chuck Munson
FW - Fred Weaver
Please send all music to be reviewed to:
Fred Weaver
City of Champions Records
303 W. Market St.
Clearfield, PA 16830
Jesus Lizard - Lash - 3x7" (Touch & Go)
Two new songs "Glamorous" (Incredible) and "Deaf as a Bat" (sounds like a
Dead kennedys song) coupled with four live songs that thoroughly document
the fact that the Lizard is one of the best live acts in the world. (FW)
Seam - The Problem With Me - CD (Touch & Go)
9 great new songs. Much better than Headsparks with arrangements that
bring Soo Young Park's former band, Bitch Magnet, to mind. Currently my
favorite record. Tight, powerful drumming from Bob Craig (Ex: Poster
Children) and incredible hooks reminding me of Dinosaur Jr's (You're
Living...) heydey.
Palace Bros. - There Is No One-What Will Take Care of You (Drag City)
Three former members of Slint reform to back their pal, Will Oldham on a
record of, get this, folk/country songs. The songs are imaginatively
written with quite a bit of tongue in cheek humor poking fun at traditional
country lyrics. Interesting, if not amazing. I just heard that Slint has
reformed-rejoice] (FW)
Gastr Del Sol - Serpentine Similar - EP (Teen Beat)
David Grubbs' new band isn't as extreme as Bastro, but it entertains just
as much. Long drones and odd guitar riffs combined with inspired poetry may
sound retro but in this case it sounds very new. (FW)
Dis - Small Fry Sessions - CD (12 Inch Records)
This band has everything (Steve Albini as their producer; they're on the
Poster Children's label) except the talent of the company they're keeping.
Sounds like a Slint/Pavement influence is very strong here. There are a
few good songs and original ideas, though. (FW)
Don Caballero - For Respect - CD/LP/CS (Touch & Go)
Instrumental powerhouse from my home state-what can I say bad? Maybe it's
too much of a good thing, some of the songs are incredible but a few seem
to lose power in artsy transitions and arrangements-not as good as their
first two 7"s but definitely worth owning. (FW)
Shiny Beast - 5 song CD (Boner)
An instrumental band that is peerles as far as I'm concerned. The CD
features guest vocals on four of the songs. I saw these guys in the Spring
and they aren't as loud and heavy as this record makes them seem. I heard
a demo of their new material that more accurately portrays the live act and
it is outstanding. (FW)
Fugazi - In On The Kill Taker - CD (Dischord)
This has some good songs on it. They seem to be more angry than on Steady
Diet...I think that Guy is a better songwriter than Ian and he's proven it
on this ("Rend It" "Smallpox Champion"). There are some songs that are
mediocre. (FW)
Not Your Friends - Don't Even Try It - Cassette (Thin Frail Genetics) These
guys are my friends and they play a kind of pop/hardcore along the lines of
All or My Name. They have that California kind of sound, I guess.
Whatever points they lose for originality they make up for with good
songwriting, talented playing and sincerity. m$4 from Thin Frail Genetics.
PO Box 78. Force, PA 15841y (FW)
F-Kripz - Envy The Dead - Cassette (Molotov Records)
Boy was this a pleasant surprise when I popped it into my cassette player]
Rap that sounds sometimes like a cross between hip hop and industrial.
Very political stuff that doesn't knock you over the head with a message.
I think this might be DIY rap. Hey this is better than most of the big rap
acts] mPO Box 141129, Minneapolis, MN 55414y (CM)
Rehash - Thru The Eyes of Flies - Cassette
Punk music from some local folks. "Nova Ember" is a real slow tempo,
instrumental, moody piece. The other songs are straightforward competent
punk. Thumbs up] m$4 from REHASH. PO Box 295. Madison, WI 53701-0295y (CM)
Sludgeplow - EveryTHING - Cassette
These tunes really "sludge" along. Punk that def has a slow tempo. Is
this influenced by a heavy metal genre I don't know about? m?$ from RR #1
Box 127, Blairstown, IA 52209y (CM)
Blow Out Kit / Donora 7" (City of Champions Records)
DIY hardcore from central Pennsylvania. Both tracks are instrumental
pieces from each band. Great hardcore though-well produced. Can't say
much more because this because Blow Out Kit was Fred's group and it's hard
for me to be objective. I did get a chance to see Blow Out Kit play in
Altoona last August before they broke up. Very loud, but definitely good
stuff. I hope that Fred starts another band whenever he isn't too busy
with his DIY label.
mCity of Champions Records. 303 West Market St., Clearfield, PA 16830y (CM)
Pagan Invasion - Fuel For The Flame - Cassette (City of Champions Records)
I was there when the Pagans started to record this tape. The end result
is rather good. The title track is a forceful rap on supporting pro choice
and women's rights. They also do a cover of Bob Marley's "Redemption
Song." Do-It-Yourself rap from central Pennsylvania. mThe Pagans. 303
West Market St., Clearfield, PA 16830y (CM)
The Storm Lillies - Untitled - Cassette
This Chicago punk quartet pumps out some pleasant-sounding tunes. One of
the band members is an anarchist who I have the pleasure of knowing. Only
three tunes; when will we get more? To get a copy call (312) 342-7811 (CM)
Fugazi - In on The Kill Taker - CD (Dischord)
I like this CD even though it's not as good as Repeater. Definitely worth
the money, unlike some of the other high-priced shit out there. Fred and I
tried to see Fugazi in Pittsburgh but it was sold out. Bummer. Wish they
could come to Madison. (CM)
Chuck's Top Ten
1. The Breeders - Last Splash - CD
2. Fugazi - In On The Kill Taker - CD
3. Blow Out Kit/Donora - Split 7"
4. F-Kripz - Envy The Dead - Cassette
5. House of Pain - Fine Malt Lyrics - CD
6. Menace II Society - Movie
7. El Mariachi - Movie
8. Pagan Invasion - Fuel for the Flame - Cassette
9. Dinosaur Jr. - Where You Been - CD
10. Beavis & Butthead - The episode where they mow an anarchy symbol into
the front lawn of their high school.
=@= ANNOUNCEMENTS =@=
Call for submissions
To a Book of Essays on the Topic of
PRACTICAL ANARCHY
Forthcoming for the Summer of 1994
We are an editorial collective dedicated to elaborating the fullest range
of possibilities under anarchy, and to investigating new ways to invigorate
the anarchist presence in North America. We hope to collect essays,
bibliographies, addresses and other resources which detail an array of
practical strategies and tac- tics and sensibilities that include but are
not limited to:
o Food production and Consumption (horticulture, community spon- sored
agriculture, communal farming, gardening collectives, &c)
o Housing (Squatting, Urban and Rural Co-ops, &c)
o Neighborhood and campus organizing, integrated strategies for local
political organization
o DIY art, music, and beautification (stenciling, wheatpasting, alteration,
zine production, publication, &c)
o How-to ideas on putting together a People's Bank of Goods & Services,
Pirate Radio Stations, Anarchist hostles, reading rooms, study groups,
bicycle repair collectives, a Free University, an anti-racist action
network, &c)
o Women's Health and defense, Menstrual Extraction and other issues of
specific concern to women
Send Submissions, Ideas, Graphics, Hate Mail To:
joseph average
c/o B A U
po box 3207 bloomington
in 47402-3207
OR
chuck munson
c/o Practical Anarchy
po box 173 madison
wi 53701-0173
*****************************************
The November 1993 edition of Practical Anarchy zine (#8) is now available.
This issue's focus is on Anarchy and Economics. Sample copies are $2 and
subscriptions are $7. Send cash or checks to the mailing address listed
above.
*****************************************
=@= PRACTICAL ANARCHY =@=
Practical Anarchy Suggestions
@ Organize an alternative reading room. Check out the latest Alternative
Press Review for an article on one such room in North Carolina
@ Work against the privitization of the Internet]
@ Talk to your friends about the GATT
@ Take over an abandoned building and turn it into housing
@ Start an infoshop
@ Organize a space for teens
@ Work for the abolition of national borders. Combat anti-immigrant hysteria.
@ Speak out against the Klan
@ Speak out against censors like Katherine MacKinnon
@ Organize your workplace
@ Write a letter (I hate to say this) to Bill Clinton asking for the
release of Leonard Peltier
=@= CALENDAR =@=
Keep an eye out for several gatherings next year. Planning has recently
started for an anarchist gathering to be held in Humboldt County,
California. Another gathering is tentatively scheduled next summer for the
New England area. Check out the anarchist press for more details, or
contact the aaa-web list for upcoming events.
=@= NEXT MONTH =@=
Since this publication is on hiatus, we can't promise anything]
THE END
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