Revolution in Rojava with Debbie Bookchin and David Graeber (May 14, 2019)
Distribution of Kurds
Andrew Chrucky
Revolution in Rojava with Debbie Bookchin and David Graeber (May 14, 2019)
Distribution of Kurds
David Graeber, 1961–2020, The New York Review of Books, Sept. 5, 2020.
David Graeber, Toward An Anthropological Theory of Value , 2001.
David Graeber, Fragments of an Anarchist Anthropology, 2004.
David Graeber, Debt: The First 5,000 Years, 2011.
David Graeber, The Utopia of Rules: On Technology, Stupidity, and the Secret Joys of Bueaucracy , 2015.
David Graeber and Marshall Sahlins, On Kings, 2017.
David Graeber, Bullshit Jobs, 2018.
Bibliography of David Graeber’s Works, The Anarchist Library
I find this description too superficial. For one because the employer-employee arrangement probably always existed at all times — though to a limited degree. For example, I live in a town-home association which employs all sorts of people for maintenance of the grounds. Ideally, the association will hire those who will work for the least amount of pay. Is the association “exploiting” anybody?
The evil which exists under capitalism is due to political laws which prohibits people for taking up subsistence land for free. As a result this creates proletarians or “free laborers.” They are called “free” because they are not bound to any specific employer, but they are bound to some employer or other, that is they must work for employer E(1) or E(2) or . . . E(n), or be self-employed by selling some service or other to people. In other words, they must enter the market-economy, and, in this sense, they are not free to live as indigenous people live in a self-sufficient manner.
Furthermore, this prohibition of taking up free subsistence land cannot occur with a small group such as is the case with indigenous people. It occurs in States with centralized government. Even it a country has democracy, it is invariably a mass or macro-democracy, which by its nature requires politicians to advertise. And advertising support comes from the rich, whose interest is to have proletarians: a reserve army of potential workers.
As the essence of capitalism is the barring of people from free subsistence land, the antithesis of capitalism is socialism — which in an ideal form — allows free access to subsistence land. But in lieu of this, what is called “socialism” is simply providing people with welfare: food, housing, medical care, education, and other social services.
Caveats: I find the concept of anarcho-capitalism — frankly — incoherent. The incoherence consists in wishing for everyone to have a homestead. But this would — by my lights — not be capitalism. But they think as long as there are free agreements between an employer and an employee, this is enough for capitalism to exist. No, free agreement is just barter, which existed at all times.
I am not against an employer-employee arrangements. All I am proposing is that every person have the alternative of free access to subsistence land. And under such circumstances, the employer-employee relation which Richard Wolff criticizes will turn into worker-owned enterprises which Richard Wolff desires.
Further Commentary:
Instead of trying to figure out what anarchism is through etymology of the term, the better approach is to determine something like the necessary and sufficient conditions which is given by some person who calls himself an anarchist. In other words, if that person uses that label on himself.
And let’s remember that it is pointless to argue about definitions. View this matter of definitions as a stipulation by an author of how he wishes to use the term; rather than as an attempt to provide a lexical (dictionary) definition.
I have tried to provide the necessary and sufficient conditions in my chart. So instead of going off on tangents, let us talk about my chart.
I have given two conditions for (my stipulated definition of anarchism. (1) Free access to subsistence land. (2) Micro-democracy.
Let me explain. By free access to subsistence land I mean nothing more than what hunter/gatherers had. Now, there is no such free access to land in States. Land is a commodify which must be bought, and which is subject to taxation by the State. Even temporary use of land is restricted by place and fee. (Except in the Scandinavian countries which have the a “‘right to roam,” as they call it.)
As to micro-democracy, the necessary condition for this is a small community (no greater than 150 families), federated with other communities, in nested councils, and supervised by elected councils.
Switzerland has a structure in some respects similar to this. It is federated, and it elects councils. But it also has macro-democratic features which are antithetical to my micro-democracy and necessary condition for anarchism. These macro-democratic features are: (1) Their local communities are larger than 150 families. (2) They have a bicameral parliament elected by macro-democracy. (3) They have macro-democratic referendums and initiatives.
I don’t have an intimate knowledge of Rojava, but from a superficial appearance, it seems to coincide with my requirements for an anarchistic society.
See also:
See also:
To get oriented about what is going on, watch the interview below.
Nick Brana, founder, executive director of Movement for a People’s Party talks with journalist Chris Hedges about the US’ two political party system, the need for third and fourth parties and his experience campaigning for Bernie Sanders in the 2016 presidential election.
It is abundantly clear that both the Democratic and the Republican Parties represent the interests of the rich. And this message was superbly expressed by Chris Hedges (see below):
I found most of the other speakers boring and the whole program too long. Anyway, if the goal is to push for a third party, why out of all the speakers only Chris Hedges urged people to vote for the Green Party, and everyone else spoke as if there is no existing third party?
Robert Reich enumerated 40 promises which Trump has not kept:
I want to remind viewers that under Putin, in 2014 Russia invaded Ukraine, annexed Crimea, and is still occupying the Donbass region.
In 2008 Russia invaded Georgia, occupying Abkhazia and South Ossetia.
In 1994 and in 1999 Russia invaded Chechnya.In 1992 Russia’s army supported the breakaway war of Transnistria from Moldova.
First, capitalism is not an economic system, as he says; it is a political one, just as are slavery and feudalism.
It is a political system which prohibits people from taking land for free for subsistence. This forces people to work for other people. And the forcing is not done by the kind of laws, as in slavery or feudalism, or by laws against vagrancy (homelessness), but simply by laws forbidding free access to subsistence land.
Watch the episode below. You will hear nothing about a free access to subsistence land.
In the debate below, Gene Epstein argues convincingly that worker-owned enterprises are compatible with capitalism.