I find myself doing this a lot, and it may be good to share it somewhere. Consider it a way to combat capitalist realism. Yes, there are many unknowns in Communist society that are difficult and maybe impossible to predict. But it would be nice to have a community like this.

I am bad with naming things. What should we call it? Additionally, I unfortunately cannot dedicate the time to moderate it, so I would hope someone else is willing

  • southerntofu
    2·
    3 years ago

    Oppression systems narrow our imagination (the limits of what we consider feasible) so in that sense that kind of community would be helpful.

    However, i’m personally way more interested in building communism here and now. Anarchy is not a pipe dream, it’s a critical framework to struggle and live in the present. There is not much of a point in internet dreams: get organized with like-minded radicals to make real change. This can take many forms:

    • help make everything free for everyone: help people pirate utilities (electricity/water/gaz), expropriate from the local supermarkets (or their trashbins) to support poorer communities or just to hurt business
    • if you’re concerned by cis-hetero patriarchal domination, get involved with other folks to build support networks and organize self-defense workshops ; make collective spaces hostile to sexual aggression and other forms of oppression (organize consent workshops, have a strict policy for reacting to abuse as soon as it takes place)
    • organize with other workers from your company/branch/neighborhood: sabotage your respective companies or when that makes sense start revolutionary cooperatives (who practice equal pay, without managers) aiming directly at abolition of wage slavery and property (the opposite of capitalism-fueled “social economy”)
    • sabotage or block high-tech/military industry… tear the whole thing down before it’s done tearing the entire planet apart
    • if you’re from an imperialist country (or a (neo-)colonized country) get involved in anti-imperialist, anti-nationalist struggles: help discredit/dismantle the Nation State so that local communes can thrive
    • build/support autonomous communes: squats in the cities, ZADs on the country side, autonomous living coops (not that legalized type where everybody pays rent)
    • get together with fellow anarchists/communists to provide all services for free for everyone: healthcare, food, housing, legal advice, etc… make communism a reality here and now!

    There’s many ways to get involved and build practical change in your neighborhood (and with some connections, on a bigger scale). Just don’t fall into common traps:

    • having managers/bosses directing other people
    • mixing professional life and militant life: when money gets involved with ideals, money always wins
    • being blind to varied personal experiences: we all have different desires/needs/traumas which liberal universalism fails to account for
    • don’t build centralized structures except on a very small scale and for a very limited purpose: “democratic centralism” is a lie and will tear your projects apart due to conflict of ideas/interests ; embracing “diversity of tactics” and decentralized governance helps communities thrive without falling into struggles for power