THE

CO

MIN

G

INS

UR

RE

CTI

ON

The

Invis

ible

Com

mitt

eeA

LL P

OW

ER

TO

TH

E C

OM

MU

NE

S

91

2

3

The b

ook

you

hold

in yo

ur h

ands

has

bec

ome t

he p

rincip

le pi

ece o

f evid

ence

in a

n an

ti-ter

roris

m ca

se in

Fra

nce

dire

cted

agai

nst n

ine

indi

vidua

ls wh

o we

re a

rres

ted

on N

ovem

ber 1

1 200

8, m

ostly

in th

e vill

age o

f Tar

nac.

They

hav

e bee

n ac

cuse

d of

“c

rimin

al a

ssocia

tion

for t

he p

urpo

ses o

f ter

roris

t acti

vity”

on

the g

roun

ds th

at th

ey

were

to h

ave

parti

cipat

ed in

the

sabo

tage

of o

verh

ead

electr

ical l

ines

on

Fran

ce’s

natio

nal r

ailw

ays.

Alth

ough

onl

y sca

nty c

ircum

stant

ial e

viden

ce h

as b

een

pres

ented

ag

ains

t the

nin

e, th

e Fr

ench

Inter

ior M

inist

er h

as p

ublic

ally

asso

ciated

them

with

th

e em

erge

nt th

reat

of a

n “u

ltra-

left”

mov

emen

t, ta

king

car

e to

sin

gle o

ut th

is bo

ok, d

escr

ibed

as a

“m

anua

l for

terr

orism

,” wh

ich th

ey a

re a

ccus

ed o

f aut

horin

g.

Wha

t fol

lows

is th

e tex

t of t

he b

ook

prec

eded

by t

he fi

rst st

atem

ent o

f the

Invis

ible

Com

mitt

ee si

nce t

he a

rres

ts.

90 In th

e su

bway

, th

ere’s

no

long

er a

ny tr

ace

of th

e scr

een

of e

mba

rras

smen

t tha

t no

rmal

ly im

pede

s the

gestu

res o

f the

passe

nger

s. St

rang

ers m

ake c

onve

rsatio

n with

out

mak

ing

passe

s. A

band

of c

omra

des

conf

errin

g on

a s

treet

corn

er. M

uch

larg

er

asse

mbl

ies o

n th

e bou

levar

ds, a

bsor

bed

in d

iscus

sions

. Sur

prise

atta

cks m

ount

ed in

cit

y afte

r city

, day

afte

r day

. A n

ew m

ilita

ry b

arra

cks h

as b

een

sack

ed a

nd b

urne

d to

the g

roun

d. T

he ev

icted

resid

ents

of a

bui

ldin

g hav

e sto

pped

neg

otia

ting w

ith th

e m

ayor

’s offi

ce; t

hey s

ettle

in. A

com

pany

man

ager

is in

spire

d to b

low

away

a ha

ndfu

l of

his c

ollea

gues

in th

e mid

dle o

f a m

eetin

g. T

here

’s bee

n a l

eak o

f file

s con

tain

ing t

he

perso

nal a

ddre

sses o

f all

the c

ops,

toge

ther

with

thos

e of p

rison

offi

cials,

caus

ing a

n un

prec

eden

ted w

ave o

f sud

den

relo

catio

ns. W

e car

ry o

ur su

rplu

s goo

ds in

to th

e old

vil

lage

bar

and

groc

ery s

tore

, and

take

wha

t we l

ack.

Som

e of u

s sta

y lon

g eno

ugh

to d

iscus

s the

gene

ral s

ituat

ion

and

figur

e out

the h

ardw

are w

e nee

d fo

r the

mac

hine

sh

op. T

he ra

dio k

eeps

the i

nsur

gent

s inf

orm

ed of

the r

etrea

t of t

he go

vern

men

t for

ces.

A ro

cket

has j

ust b

reac

hed

a wa

ll of

the C

lairv

aux p

rison

. Im

possi

ble t

o sa

y if i

t has

be

en m

onth

s or y

ears

since

the “

even

ts” b

egan

. And

the p

rime m

inist

er se

ems v

ery

alon

e in

his a

ppea

ls fo

r cal

m.

89

4A p

oin

t o

f cl

ari

fica

tio

n

Ev

er

yo

ne

ag

re

es. I

t’s a

bo

ut t

o e

xplo

de

. I

t is

ackn

owle

dged

, wi

th a

ser

ious

and

sel

f-im

port

ant

look

, in

the

cor

rido

rs o

f th

e A

ssem

bly,

jus

t as

yes

terd

ay i

t wa

s re

peat

ed i

n th

e ca

fés.

The

re

is a

cer

tain

ple

asur

e in

cal

cula

ting

the

ris

ks.

Alr

eady

, we

are

pr

esen

ted

with

a d

etai

led

men

u of

pre

vent

ive

mea

sure

s fo

r se

curi

ng t

he t

erri

tory

. T

he N

ew Y

ears

fes

tivi

ties

tak

e a

deci

sive

tu

rn –

“ne

xt y

ear

ther

e’ll

be n

o oy

ster

s, e

njoy

the

m w

hile

you

ca

n!”

To p

reve

nt t

he c

eleb

rati

ons

from

bei

ng t

otal

ly e

clip

sed

by t

he t

radi

tion

al d

isor

der,

36,

00

0 c

ops

and

16 h

elic

opte

rs a

re

rush

ed o

ut b

y A

lliot

-Mar

ie1 –

the

sam

e cl

own

who,

dur

ing

the

high

sch

ool

dem

onst

rati

ons

in D

ecem

ber,

tre

mul

ousl

y wa

tche

d fo

r th

e sl

ight

est

sign

of

a G

reek

con

tam

inat

ion,

rea

dyin

g th

e po

lice

appa

ratu

s ju

st i

n ca

se.

We

can

disc

ern

mor

e cl

earl

y ev

ery

day,

ben

eath

the

rea

ssur

ing

dron

e, t

he n

oise

of

prep

arat

ions

fo

r op

en w

ar.

It’s

impo

ssib

le t

o ig

nore

its

col

d an

d pr

agm

atic

im

plem

enta

tion

, no

long

er e

ven

both

erin

g to

pre

sent

itse

lf a

s an

oper

atio

n of

pac

ific

atio

n.T

he n

ewsp

aper

s co

nsci

enti

ousl

y dr

aw u

p th

e lis

t of

cau

ses

for

the

sudd

en d

isqu

iet.

The

re is

the

fina

ncia

l cri

sis,

of

cour

se,

with

its

boo

min

g un

empl

oym

ent,

its

sha

re o

f ho

pele

ssne

ss a

nd

of s

ocia

l pl

ans,

its

Ker

viel

and

Mad

off

scan

dals

. T

here

is

the

failu

re o

f th

e ed

ucat

iona

l sy

stem

, it

s dw

indl

ing

prod

ucti

on o

f wo

rker

s an

d ci

tize

ns,

even

wit

h th

e ch

ildre

n of

the

mid

dle

clas

s as

its

raw

mat

eria

l. T

here

is th

e ex

iste

nce

of a

you

th to

whi

ch n

o po

litic

al r

epre

sent

atio

n co

rres

pond

s, a

you

th g

ood

for

noth

ing

but d

estr

oyin

g th

e fr

ee b

icyc

les t

hat s

ocie

ty so

con

scie

ntio

usly

put

at

thei

r di

spos

al.

Non

e of

th

ese

worr

isom

e su

bjec

ts

shou

ld

appe

ar

insu

rmou

ntab

le

in

an

era

whos

e pr

edom

inan

t m

ode

of

gove

rnm

ent

is p

reci

sely

the

man

agem

ent

of c

rise

s. U

nles

s we

co

nsid

er t

hat

what

pow

er i

s co

nfro

ntin

g is

nei

ther

jus

t an

othe

r cr

isis

, nor

a s

erie

s of

mor

e or

less

chr

onic

pro

blem

s, o

f mor

e or

le

ss a

ntic

ipat

ed d

istu

rban

ces,

but

a s

ingu

lar

peri

l: t

hat

a fo

rm

1. M

ichè

le A

lliot

-Mar

ie, t

he F

renc

h In

teri

or M

inis

ter.

5

of c

onfl

ict,

and

pos

itio

ns,

have

em

erge

d th

at a

re e

xplic

itly

not

m

anag

eabl

e.

Th

ose

w

ho

e

ve

ry

wh

er

e m

ak

e u

p th

is pe

ril h

ave

to a

sk

them

selv

es m

ore

than

the

trif

ling

ques

tion

s ab

out c

ause

s, o

r th

e pr

obab

iliti

es o

f ine

vita

ble

mov

emen

ts a

nd c

onfr

onta

tion

s. T

hey

need

to a

sk h

ow,

for

inst

ance

, do

es th

e G

reek

cha

os r

eson

ate

in

the

Fren

ch s

itua

tion

? A

n up

risi

ng h

ere

cann

ot b

e th

e si

mpl

e tr

ansp

osit

ion

of w

hat h

appe

ned

over

ther

e. G

loba

l civ

il wa

r st

ill

has

its

loca

l sp

ecif

icit

ies.

In

Fran

ce a

sit

uati

on o

f ge

nera

lized

ri

otin

g wo

uld

prov

oke

an e

xplo

sion

of a

noth

er te

nor.

T

he G

reek

rio

ters

are

face

d wi

th a

wea

k st

ate,

whi

lst b

eing

abl

e to

take

adv

anta

ge o

f a st

rong

pop

ular

ity.

One

mus

t not

forg

et th

at

it w

as a

gain

st t

he R

egim

e of

the

Col

onel

s th

at,

only

thi

rty

year

s ag

o, d

emoc

racy

rec

onst

itut

ed i

tsel

f on

the

bas

is o

f a

prac

tice

of

polit

ical

viol

ence

. Thi

s vio

lenc

e, w

hose

mem

ory i

s not

so d

ista

nt,

still

see

ms

intu

itiv

e to

mos

t G

reek

s. E

ven

the

lead

ers

of t

he

soci

alis

t pa

rty

have

thr

own

a m

olot

ov o

r tw

o in

the

ir y

outh

. Ye

t cl

assi

cal p

olit

ics i

s equ

ippe

d wi

th v

aria

nts t

hat k

now

very

wel

l how

to

acc

omm

odat

e th

ese

prac

tice

s an

d to

ext

end

thei

r id

eolo

gica

l ru

bbis

h to

the

ver

y he

art

of t

he r

iot.

If

the

Gre

ek b

attle

was

n’t

deci

ded,

and

put

dow

n, i

n th

e st

reet

s –

the

polic

e be

ing

visi

bly

outf

lank

ed t

here

– i

t’s b

ecau

se i

ts n

eutr

aliz

atio

n wa

s pl

ayed

out

el

sewh

ere.

The

re is

not

hing

mor

e dr

aini

ng, n

othi

ng m

ore

fata

l,

than

thi

s cl

assi

cal p

olit

ics,

wit

h it

s dr

ied

up r

itua

ls,

its

thin

king

wi

thou

t tho

ught

, its

litt

le c

lose

d wo

rld.

In

Fra

nce,

our

mos

t ex

alte

d so

cial

ist

bure

aucr

ats

have

nev

er

been

any

thin

g ot

her

than

shr

ivel

ed h

usks

fill

ing

up t

he h

alls

of

the

Ass

embl

y. H

ere

ever

ythi

ng c

onsp

ires

to

anni

hila

te e

ven

the

slig

htes

t fo

rm o

f po

litic

al i

nten

sity

. W

hich

mea

ns t

hat

it i

s al

ways

pos

sibl

e to

opp

ose

the

citi

zen

to th

e de

linqu

ent i

n a

quas

i-lin

guis

tic

oper

atio

n th

at g

oes

hand

in

hand

wit

h qu

asi-

mili

tary

op

erat

ions

. T

he r

iots

of

Nov

embe

r 20

05

and,

in

a di

ffer

ent

cont

ext,

the

soc

ial

mov

emen

ts i

n th

e au

tum

n of

20

07,

hav

e al

read

y pr

ovid

ed s

ever

al p

rece

dent

s. T

he i

mag

e of

rig

ht w

ing

stud

ents

in

Nan

terr

e ap

plau

ding

as

the

polic

e ex

pelle

d th

eir

clas

smat

es o

ffer

s a sm

all g

limps

e of

wha

t the

futu

re h

olds

in st

ore.

It g

oes w

itho

ut sa

ying

that

the

atta

chm

ent o

f the

Fre

nch

to th

e st

ate

– th

e gu

aran

tor

of u

nive

rsal

val

ues,

the

last

ram

part

aga

inst

88Al

l pow

er to

the c

omm

unes

!

87

the

loss

of

cent

raliz

ed p

ower

sig

nifi

es t

he e

nd o

f Pa

ris

as t

he

cent

er o

f re

volu

tion

ary

acti

vity

. E

very

new

mov

emen

t si

nce

the

stri

kes

of 1

995

has

conf

irm

ed t

his.

It’s

no

long

er i

n Pa

ris

that

th

e m

ost d

arin

g an

d co

nsis

tent

act

ions

are

car

ried

out

. To

put i

t bl

untly

, Par

is n

ow s

tand

s ou

t onl

y as

a ta

rget

for

raid

s, a

s a

pure

te

rrai

n to

be

pilla

ged

and

rava

ged.

Bri

ef a

nd b

ruta

l in

curs

ions

fr

om t

he o

utsi

de s

trik

e at

the

met

ropo

litan

flo

ws a

t th

eir

poin

t of

max

imum

den

sity

. R

age

stre

aks

acro

ss t

his

dese

rt o

f fa

ke

abun

danc

e, th

en v

anis

hes.

A d

ay w

ill c

ome

when

this

cap

ital

and

it

s ho

rrib

le c

oncr

etio

n of

pow

er w

ill l

ie i

n m

ajes

tic

ruin

s, b

ut

it w

ill b

e at

the

end

of

a pr

oces

s th

at w

ill b

e fa

r m

ore

adva

nced

ev

eryw

here

els

e.

6the

disa

ster

– is

a p

atho

logy

that

is d

iffi

cult

to u

ndo.

It’s

abov

e al

l a

fict

ion

that

no

long

er k

nows

how

to

carr

y on

. O

ur g

over

nors

th

emse

lves

inc

reas

ingl

y co

nsid

er i

t as

a u

sele

ss e

ncum

bran

ce

beca

use

they

, at

lea

st,

take

the

con

flic

t fo

r wh

at i

t is

– m

ilita

rily.

T

hey

have

no

com

plex

abo

ut s

endi

ng in

elit

e an

tite

rror

ist

unit

s to

sub

due

riot

s, o

r to

libe

rate

a r

ecyc

ling

cent

er o

ccup

ied

by it

s wo

rker

s. A

s th

e we

lfar

e st

ate

colla

pses

, we

see

the

em

erge

nce

of

a br

ute

conf

lict

betw

een

thos

e wh

o de

sire

ord

er a

nd t

hose

who

do

n’t.

Eve

ryth

ing

that

Fre

nch

polit

ics

has

been

abl

e to

dea

ctiv

ate

is i

n th

e pr

oces

s of

unl

eash

ing

itse

lf.

It w

ill n

ever

be

able

to

proc

ess

all t

hat i

t has

rep

ress

ed. I

n th

e ad

vanc

ed d

egre

e of

soc

ial

deco

mpo

siti

on,

we c

an c

ount

on

the

com

ing

mov

emen

t to

fin

d th

e ne

cess

ary

brea

th o

f ni

hilis

m.

Whi

ch w

ill n

ot m

ean

that

it

won’

t be

expo

sed

to o

ther

lim

its.

R

evol

utio

nary

mov

emen

ts d

o no

t sp

read

by

cont

amin

atio

n bu

t by

res

onan

ce.

Som

ethi

ng t

hat

is c

onst

itut

ed h

ere

reso

nate

s wi

th th

e sh

ock

wave

em

itte

d by

som

ethi

ng c

onst

itut

ed o

ver

ther

e.

A b

ody

that

res

onat

es d

oes

so a

ccor

ding

to

its

own

mod

e. A

n in

surr

ecti

on is

not

like

a p

lagu

e or

a fo

rest

fire

– a

line

ar p

roce

ss

whic

h sp

read

s fr

om p

lace

to p

lace

aft

er a

n in

itia

l spa

rk. I

t rat

her

take

s th

e sh

ape

of a

mus

ic, w

hose

foca

l poi

nts,

thou

gh d

ispe

rsed

in

tim

e an

d sp

ace,

suc

ceed

in im

posi

ng th

e rh

ythm

of t

heir

own

vi

brat

ions

, al

ways

tak

ing

on m

ore

dens

ity.

To

the

poin

t th

at a

ny

retu

rn to

nor

mal

is n

o lo

nger

des

irab

le o

r ev

en im

agin

able

.W

hen

we s

peak

of E

mpi

re w

e na

me

the

mec

hani

sms

of p

ower

th

at p

reve

ntiv

ely

and

surg

ical

ly st

ifle

any

rev

olut

iona

ry b

ecom

ing

in a

sit

uati

on.

In t

his

sens

e, E

mpi

re i

s no

t an

ene

my

that

co

nfro

nts

us h

ead-

on.

It i

s a

rhyt

hm t

hat

impo

ses

itse

lf,

a wa

y of

dis

pens

ing

and

disp

ersi

ng r

ealit

y. L

ess

an o

rder

of

the

worl

d th

an it

s sa

d, h

eavy

and

mili

tari

stic

liqu

idat

ion.

Wha

t we

mea

n by

the

part

y of

insu

rgen

ts is

the

sket

chin

g ou

t of

a c

ompl

etel

y ot

her

com

posit

ion,

an

othe

r si

de o

f re

alit

y, w

hich

fr

om G

reec

e to

the

Fren

ch b

anlie

ues2 i

s se

ekin

g it

s co

nsis

tenc

y.

It is

now

pub

licly

und

erst

ood

that

cri

sis s

itua

tion

s are

so m

any

oppo

rtun

itie

s fo

r th

e re

stru

ctur

ing

of d

omin

atio

n. T

his

is w

hy

Sa

rk

ozy

c

an

a

nn

ou

nc

e, w

ith

ou

t se

em

in

g to

lie

too

muc

h,

that

the

fina

ncia

l cri

sis i

s “th

e en

d of

a w

orld

,” a

nd th

at 2

00

9 wi

ll se

e Fr

ance

ent

er a

new

era

. Thi

s cha

rade

of a

n ec

onom

ic c

risi

s is

2. b

anlie

ue –

Fre

nch

ghet

toes

, usu

ally

loca

ted

in th

e su

burb

an p

erip

hery

.

7

supp

osed

to b

e a

nove

lty:

we a

re s

uppo

sed

to b

e in

the

dawn

of a

ne

w ep

och

wher

e we

will

all

join

tog

ethe

r in

fig

htin

g in

equa

lity

and

glob

al w

arm

ing.

But

for

our

gene

rati

on –

whi

ch w

as b

orn

in

the

cris

is a

nd h

as k

nown

not

hing

but

eco

nom

ic, f

inan

cial

, soc

ial

and

ecol

ogic

al c

risi

s –

this

is

rath

er d

iffi

cult

to a

ccep

t. T

hey

won’

t fo

ol u

s ag

ain,

wit

h an

othe

r ro

und

“now

we

star

t al

l ov

er

agai

n” a

nd “

it’s

just

a q

uest

ion

of ti

ghte

ning

our

bel

ts fo

r a

little

wh

ile.”

To

tell

the

trut

h, th

e di

sast

rous

une

mpl

oym

ent f

igur

es n

o lo

nger

pro

voke

any

feel

ing

in u

s. C

risi

s is

a m

eans

of g

over

ning

. In

a w

orld

that

see

ms

to h

old

toge

ther

onl

y th

roug

h th

e in

fini

te

man

agem

ent o

f its

own

col

laps

e.W

hat

this

war

is

bein

g fo

ught

ove

r is

not

var

ious

way

s of

m

anag

ing

soci

ety,

but

irr

educ

ible

and

irr

econ

cila

ble

idea

s of

ha

ppin

ess

and

thei

r wo

rlds

. W

e kn

ow i

t, a

nd s

o do

the

pow

ers

that

be.

The

mili

tant

rem

nant

s th

at s

ee u

s –

alwa

ys m

ore

num

erou

s, a

lway

s m

ore

iden

tifi

able

– a

re t

eari

ng o

ut t

heir

hai

r tr

ying

to fi

t us i

nto

little

com

part

men

ts in

thei

r lit

tle h

eads

. The

y ho

ld o

ut t

heir

arm

s to

us

in o

rder

to

bett

er s

uffo

cate

us,

wit

h th

eir

failu

res,

the

ir p

aral

ysis

, th

eir

stup

id p

robl

emat

ics.

Fro

m

elec

tion

s to

“tr

ansi

tion

s,”

mili

tant

s wi

ll ne

ver

be a

nyth

ing

othe

r th

an th

at w

hich

dis

tanc

es u

s, e

ach

tim

e a

little

far

ther

, fr

om th

e po

ssib

ility

of c

omm

unis

m. L

ucki

ly w

e wi

ll ac

com

mod

ate

neit

her

trea

son

nor

dece

ptio

n fo

r m

uch

long

er.

The

pas

t ha

s gi

ven

us m

uch

too

man

y ba

d an

swer

s fo

r us

no

t to

see

tha

t th

e m

ista

kes

were

in

the

ques

tion

s th

emse

lves

. T

here

is n

o ne

ed to

cho

ose

betw

een

the

feti

shis

m o

f spo

ntan

eity

an

d or

gani

zati

onal

con

trol

; be

twee

n th

e “c

ome

one,

com

e al

l”

of a

ctiv

ist

netw

orks

and

the

dis

cipl

ine

of h

iera

rchy

; be

twee

n ac

ting

des

pera

tely

now

and

wai

ting

des

pera

tely

for

late

r; b

etwe

en

brac

keti

ng th

at w

hich

is to

be

lived

and

exp

erim

ente

d in

the

nam

e of

a p

arad

ise

that

see

ms

mor

e an

d m

ore

like

a he

ll th

e lo

nger

it

is p

ut o

ff a

nd f

logg

ing

the

dead

hor

se o

f ho

w pl

anti

ng c

arro

ts is

en

ough

to le

ave

this

nig

htm

are.

O

rgan

izat

ions

are

obs

tacl

es to

org

aniz

ing

ours

elve

s.

In t

ruth

, th

ere

is n

o ga

p be

twee

n wh

at w

e ar

e, w

hat

we d

o,

and

what

we

are

beco

min

g. O

rgan

izat

ions

– p

olit

ical

or

labo

r,

fasc

ist o

r an

arch

ist —

alw

ays b

egin

by s

epar

atin

g, p

ract

ical

ly, t

hese

as

pect

s of e

xist

ence

. It’s

then

eas

y for

them

to p

rese

nt th

eir i

diot

ic

form

alis

m a

s th

e so

le r

emed

y to

thi

s se

para

tion

. To

org

aniz

e is

no

t to

give

a st

ruct

ure

to w

eakn

ess.

It is

abo

ve a

ll to

form

bon

ds –

bo

nds t

hat a

re b

y no

mea

ns n

eutr

al —

terr

ible

bon

ds. T

he d

egre

e 8

6crow

d wo

uld

be n

eede

d to

cha

lleng

e th

e ar

my,

inv

adin

g it

s ra

nks

and

frat

erni

zing

wit

h th

e so

ldie

rs.

We

need

a M

arch

18th

18

71. W

hen

the

arm

y is

in th

e st

reet

, we

have

an

insu

rrec

tion

ary

situ

atio

n. O

nce

the

arm

y en

gage

s, t

he o

utco

me

is p

reci

pita

ted.

E

very

one

find

s he

rsel

f fo

rced

to

take

sid

es,

to c

hoos

e be

twee

n an

arch

y an

d th

e fe

ar o

f an

arch

y. A

n in

surr

ecti

on t

rium

phs

as a

po

litic

al fo

rce.

It i

s no

t im

poss

ible

to d

efea

t an

arm

y po

litic

ally

.

Depo

se a

utho

rities

at a

loca

l lev

el

Th

e g

oa

l o

f a

ny

in

su

rr

ec

tio

n is to

b

ec

om

e ir

re

ve

rsib

le

.

It b

ecom

es ir

reve

rsib

le w

hen

you’

ve d

efea

ted

both

aut

hori

ty a

nd

the

need

for

auth

orit

y, p

rope

rty

and

the

tast

e fo

r ap

prop

riat

ion,

he

gem

ony

and

the

desi

re

for

hege

mon

y.

Tha

t is

wh

y th

e in

surr

ecti

onar

y pr

oces

s ca

rrie

s wi

thin

its

elf

the

form

of

its

vict

ory,

or

that

of i

ts d

efea

t. D

estr

ucti

on h

as n

ever

bee

n en

ough

to

mak

e th

ings

irr

ever

sibl

e. W

hat

mat

ters

is

how

it’s

done

. T

here

are

way

s of

des

troy

ing

that

unf

ailin

gly

prov

oke

the

retu

rn

of w

hat

has

been

cru

shed

. W

hoev

er w

aste

s th

eir

ener

gy o

n th

e co

rpse

of

an o

rder

can

be

sure

tha

t th

is w

ill a

rous

e th

e de

sire

fo

r ve

ngea

nce.

Thu

s, w

here

ver

the

econ

omy

is b

lock

ed a

nd t

he

polic

e ar

e ne

utra

lized

, it i

s im

port

ant t

o in

vest

as

little

pat

hos

as

poss

ible

in o

vert

hrow

ing

the

auth

orit

ies.

The

y m

ust b

e de

pose

d wi

th th

e m

ost s

crup

ulou

s in

diff

eren

ce a

nd d

eris

ion.

In

tim

es

like

thes

e,

the

end

of

cent

raliz

ed

revo

luti

ons

refl

ects

the

dec

entr

aliz

atio

n of

pow

er.

Win

ter

Pala

ces

still

exi

st

but

they

hav

e be

en r

eleg

ated

to

assa

ults

by

tour

ists

rat

her

than

re

volu

tion

ary

hord

es.

Toda

y it

is

poss

ible

to

take

ove

r Pa

ris,

R

ome,

or

Bue

nos A

ires

wit

hout

it b

eing

a d

ecis

ive

vict

ory.

Tak

ing

over

Run

gis

wou

ld c

erta

inly

be

mor

e ef

fect

ive

than

tak

ing

over

th

e E

lysé

e Pa

lace

.27 P

ower

is n

o lo

nger

con

cent

rate

d in

one

poi

nt

in t

he w

orld

; it

is

the

worl

d it

self

, it

s fl

ows

and

its

aven

ues,

its

pe

ople

and

its n

orm

s, it

s cod

es a

nd it

s tec

hnol

ogie

s. P

ower

is th

e or

gani

zati

on o

f the

met

ropo

lis it

self

. It i

s the

impe

ccab

le to

talit

y of

the

wor

ld o

f th

e co

mm

odit

y at

eac

h of

its

poi

nts.

Any

one

who

defe

ats

it l

ocal

ly s

ends

a p

lane

tary

sho

ck w

ave

thro

ugh

its

netw

orks

. T

he r

iots

that

beg

an in

Clic

hy-s

ous-

Boi

s fill

ed m

ore

than

one

Am

eric

an h

ouse

hold

wit

h jo

y, w

hile

the

ins

urge

nts

of

Oax

aca

foun

d ac

com

plic

es r

ight

in th

e he

art o

f Par

is. F

or F

ranc

e,

27. R

ungi

s is

a w

hole

sale

food

mar

ket o

utsi

de o

f Par

is, t

he la

rges

t of i

ts k

ind

in

the

worl

d.

85

taki

ng u

p ar

ms

and

mai

ntai

ning

an

“arm

ed p

rese

nce”

tha

n it

is

abou

t ar

med

str

uggl

e. W

e ne

ed t

o di

stin

guis

h cl

earl

y be

twee

n be

ing

arm

ed a

nd t

he u

se o

f ar

ms.

Wea

pons

are

a c

onst

ant

in

revo

luti

onar

y si

tuat

ions

, bu

t th

eir

use

is i

nfre

quen

t an

d ra

rely

de

cisi

ve a

t key

turn

ing

poin

ts: A

ugus

t 10

th 1

792,

Mar

ch 1

8th 1

871,

O

ctob

er 1

917.

Whe

n po

wer

is i

n th

e gu

tter

, it

’s en

ough

to

walk

ov

er it

.B

ecau

se o

f the

dis

tanc

e th

at s

epar

ates

us

from

them

, wea

pons

ha

ve t

aken

on

a ki

nd o

f do

uble

cha

ract

er o

f fa

scin

atio

n an

d di

sgus

t tha

t can

be

over

com

e on

ly b

y han

dlin

g th

em. A

n au

then

tic

paci

fism

can

not m

ean

refu

sing

wea

pons

, but

onl

y re

fusi

ng to

use

th

em.

Paci

fism

wit

hout

bei

ng a

ble

to f

ire

a sh

ot i

s no

thin

g bu

t th

e th

eore

tica

l fo

rmul

atio

n of

im

pote

nce.

Suc

h a

prio

ri pa

cifi

sm

is a

kin

d of

pre

vent

ive

disa

rmam

ent,

a p

ure

polic

e op

erat

ion.

In

rea

lity,

the

ques

tion

of

paci

fism

is s

erio

us o

nly

for

thos

e wh

o ha

ve th

e ab

ility

to o

pen

fire

. In

this

cas

e, p

acif

ism

bec

omes

a si

gn

of p

ower

, si

nce

it’s

only

in

an e

xtre

me

posi

tion

of

stre

ngth

tha

t we

are

free

d fr

om th

e ne

ed to

fire

.Fr

om a

str

ateg

ic p

oint

of

view

, in

dire

ct,

asym

met

rica

l act

ion

seem

s th

e m

ost

effe

ctiv

e ki

nd,

the

one

best

sui

ted

to o

ur t

ime:

yo

u do

n’t

atta

ck a

n oc

cupy

ing

arm

y fr

onta

lly.

Tha

t sa

id,

the

pros

pect

of

Ir

aq-s

tyle

ur

ban

guer

illa

warf

are,

dr

aggi

ng

on

with

no

poss

ibili

ty o

f ta

king

the

off

ensi

ve,

is m

ore

to b

e fe

ared

th

an t

o be

des

ired

. T

he m

ilita

rizat

ion

of c

ivil

war

is t

he d

efea

t of

in

surr

ecti

on. T

he R

eds h

ad th

eir

vict

ory i

n 19

21, b

ut th

e R

ussi

an

Rev

olut

ion

was

alre

ady

lost

.W

e m

ust

cons

ider

two

kin

ds o

f st

ate

reac

tion

. O

ne o

penl

y ho

stile

, on

e m

ore

sly

and

dem

ocra

tic.

The

fir

st c

alls

for

our

ou

t an

d ou

t de

stru

ctio

n, t

he s

econ

d, a

sub

tle b

ut i

mpl

acab

le

host

ility

, se

eks

only

to

recr

uit

us.

We

can

be d

efea

ted

both

by

dict

ator

ship

and

by

bein

g re

duce

d to

opp

osin

g on

ly di

ctat

orsh

ip.

Def

eat

cons

ists

as

muc

h in

los

ing

the

war

as i

n lo

sing

the

cho

ice

of w

hich

war

to w

age.

Bot

h ar

e po

ssib

le,

as w

as p

rove

n by

Spa

in

in 1

936:

the

rev

olut

iona

ries

the

re w

ere

defe

ated

twi

ce-o

ver,

by

fasc

ism

and

by

the

repu

blic

.W

hen

thin

gs g

et s

erio

us,

the

arm

y oc

cupi

es t

he t

erra

in.

Whe

ther

or

not

it e

ngag

es in

com

bat

is le

ss c

erta

in.

Tha

t wo

uld

requ

ire

that

the

sta

te b

e co

mm

itte

d to

a b

lood

bath

, wh

ich

for

now

is n

o m

ore

than

a th

reat

, a b

it li

ke th

e th

reat

of u

sing

nuc

lear

we

apon

s fo

r th

e la

st fi

fty

year

s. T

houg

h it

has

bee

n wo

unde

d fo

r a

long

whi

le,

the

beas

t of

the

sta

te i

s st

ill d

ange

rous

. A

mas

sive

8of o

rgan

izat

ion

is m

easu

red

by th

e in

tens

ity

of sh

arin

g –

mat

eria

l an

d sp

irit

ual.

From

now

on,

to m

ater

ially

org

aniz

e for

surv

ival

is to

mat

eria

lly

orga

nize

for

att

ack.

Eve

rywh

ere,

a n

ew i

dea

of c

omm

unis

m i

s to

be

elab

orat

ed.

In t

he s

hado

ws o

f ba

r ro

oms,

in

prin

t sh

ops,

sq

uats

, fa

rms,

occ

upie

d gy

mna

sium

s, n

ew c

ompl

icit

ies

are

to

be b

orn.

The

se p

reci

ous

conn

ivan

ces

mus

t no

t be

ref

used

the

ne

cess

ary

mea

ns fo

r th

e de

ploy

men

t of t

heir

forc

es.

Her

e lie

s th

e tr

uly

revo

luti

onar

y po

tent

ialit

y of

the

pre

sent

. T

he

incr

easi

ngly

fr

eque

nt

skir

mis

hes

have

th

is

form

idab

le

qual

ity:

tha

t th

ey a

re a

lway

s an

occ

asio

n fo

r co

mpl

icit

ies

of t

his

type

, so

met

imes

eph

emer

al,

but

som

etim

es a

lso

unbe

tray

able

. W

hen

a fe

w th

ousa

nd y

oung

peo

ple

find

the

det

erm

inat

ion

to

assa

il th

is w

orld

, you

’d h

ave

to b

e as

stu

pid

as a

cop

to s

eek

out a

fi

nanc

ial t

rail,

a le

ader

, or

a sn

itch

.

Tw

o c

en

tu

rie

s o

f c

apita

lism

a

nd

m

ar

ke

t n

ih

ilism

hav

e br

ough

t us

to

the

mos

t ex

trem

e al

iena

tion

s –

from

our

sel

ves,

fr

om o

ther

s, f

rom

wor

lds.

The

fic

tion

of

the

indi

vidu

al h

as

deco

mpo

sed

at

the

sam

e sp

eed

that

it

wa

s be

com

ing

real

. C

hild

ren

of t

he m

etro

polis

, we

off

er t

his

wage

r: t

hat

it’s

in t

he

mos

t pr

ofou

nd d

epri

vati

on o

f ex

iste

nce,

per

petu

ally

sti

fled

, pe

rpet

ually

con

jure

d aw

ay,

that

the

pos

sibi

lity

of c

omm

unis

m

resi

des.

Whe

n al

l is

sai

d an

d do

ne,

it’s

with

an

enti

re a

nthr

opol

ogy

that

we

are

at w

ar. W

ith

the

very

idea

of m

an.

Com

mun

ism

the

n, a

s pr

esup

posi

tion

and

as

expe

rim

ent.

Sh

arin

g of a

sens

ibili

ty an

d ela

bora

tion

of s

hari

ng. T

he u

ncov

erin

g of

wha

t is

com

mon

and

the

bui

ldin

g of

a f

orce

. C

omm

unis

m a

s th

e m

atri

x of

a m

etic

ulou

s, a

udac

ious

ass

ault

on d

omin

atio

n. A

s a

call

and

as a

nam

e fo

r al

l wor

lds r

esis

ting

impe

rial

pac

ific

atio

n,

all

solid

arit

ies

irre

duci

ble

to t

he r

eign

of

com

mod

itie

s, a

ll fr

iend

ship

s as

sum

ing

the

nece

ssit

ies

of w

ar. communism

. W

e kn

ow i

t’s a

ter

m t

o be

use

d wi

th c

auti

on.

Not

bec

ause

, in

the

gr

eat p

arad

e of

wor

ds, i

t may

no

long

er b

e ve

ry fa

shio

nabl

e. B

ut

beca

use

our

wors

t en

emie

s ha

ve u

sed

it,

and

cont

inue

to

do s

o.

We

insi

st.

Cer

tain

wor

ds a

re li

ke b

attle

grou

nds:

the

ir m

eani

ng,

revo

luti

onar

y or

reac

tion

ary,

is a

vic

tory

, to

be to

rn fr

om th

e ja

ws

of s

trug

gle.

Des

erti

ng c

lass

ical

pol

itic

s m

eans

fac

ing

up t

o wa

r, w

hich

is

9

also

sit

uate

d on

the

ter

rain

of

lang

uage

. O

r ra

ther

, in

the

way

th

at w

ords

, ge

stur

es a

nd l

ife

are

inse

para

bly

linke

d.

If o

ne

puts

so

muc

h ef

fort

int

o im

pris

onin

g as

ter

rori

sts

a fe

w yo

ung

com

mun

ists

who

are

supp

osed

to h

ave

part

icip

ated

in p

ublis

hing

Th

e Com

ing I

nsur

recti

on,

it i

s no

t be

caus

e of

a “

thou

ght

crim

e”,

but

rath

er b

ecau

se th

ey m

ight

em

body

a c

erta

in c

onsi

sten

cy b

etwe

en

acts

and

thou

ght.

Som

ethi

ng w

hich

is ra

rely

trea

ted

with

leni

ency

.W

hat

thes

e pe

ople

are

acc

used

of

is n

ot t

o ha

ve w

ritt

en a

bo

ok,

nor

even

to

have

phy

sica

lly a

ttac

ked

the

sacr

osan

ct f

lows

th

at i

rrig

ate

the

met

ropo

lis.

It’s

tha

t th

ey m

ight

pos

sibl

y ha

ve

conf

ront

ed t

hese

flo

ws w

ith

the

dens

ity

of a

pol

itic

al t

houg

ht

and

posi

tion

. T

hat

an a

ct c

ould

hav

e m

ade

sens

e ac

cord

ing

to a

noth

er c

onsi

sten

cy o

f th

e wo

rld

than

the

des

erte

d on

e of

E

mpi

re.

Ant

i-te

rror

ism

cla

ims

to a

ttac

k th

e po

ssib

le f

utur

e of

a

“cri

min

al a

ssoc

iati

on.”

But

wha

t is

real

ly b

eing

att

acke

d is

the

futu

re o

f the

situ

atio

n. T

he p

ossi

bili

ty th

at b

ehin

d ev

ery

groc

er

a fe

w ba

d in

tent

ions

are

hid

ing,

and

beh

ind

ever

y th

ough

t,

the

acts

tha

t it

cal

ls f

or.

The

pos

sibi

lity

exp

ress

ed b

y an

ide

a of

po

liti

cs

– an

onym

ous

but

welc

omin

g,

diss

emin

ate

and

unco

ntro

llabl

e –

whic

h ca

nnot

be

rele

gate

d to

the

stor

eroo

m o

f fr

eedo

m o

f exp

ress

ion.

The

re r

emai

ns s

carc

ely

any

doub

t th

at y

outh

will

be

the

firs

t to

sava

gely

con

fron

t pow

er. T

hese

last

few

year

s, fr

om th

e ri

ots o

f Sp

ring

20

01

in A

lger

ia t

o th

ose

of D

ecem

ber

200

8 in

Gre

ece,

ar

e no

thin

g bu

t a

seri

es o

f wa

rnin

g si

gns

in t

his

rega

rd.

Tho

se

who

30 o

r 40

yea

rs a

go r

evol

ted

agai

nst

thei

r pa

rent

s wi

ll no

t he

sita

te to

red

uce

this

to a

con

flic

t bet

ween

gen

erat

ions

, if n

ot to

a

pred

icta

ble

sym

ptom

of a

dole

scen

ce.

The

onl

y fu

ture

of a

“ge

nera

tion

” is

to b

e th

e pr

eced

ing

one,

on

a r

oute

that

lead

s in

evit

ably

to th

e ce

met

ery.

Trad

itio

n wo

uld

have

it

that

eve

ryth

ing

begi

ns w

ith

a “s

ocia

l m

ovem

ent.”

Esp

ecia

lly a

t a

mom

ent

when

the

lef

t, w

hich

has

st

ill n

ot f

inis

hed

deco

mpo

sing

, hy

pocr

itic

ally

tri

es t

o re

gain

its

cr

edib

ility

in th

e st

reet

s. E

xcep

t tha

t in

the

stre

ets i

t no

long

er h

as

a m

onop

oly.

Just

look

at h

ow, w

ith

each

new

mob

iliza

tion

of h

igh

scho

ol st

uden

ts –

as w

ith

ever

ythi

ng th

e le

ft st

ill d

ares

to su

ppor

t –

a ri

ft c

onti

nual

ly w

iden

s be

twee

n th

eir

whin

ing

dem

ands

and

th

e le

vel o

f vio

lenc

e an

d de

term

inat

ion

of th

e m

ovem

ent.

From

this

rif

t we

mus

t bui

ld a

tren

ch.

If w

e se

e a

succ

essi

on o

f m

ovem

ents

hur

ryin

g on

e af

ter

the

84thre

w st

ones

at

the

vehi

cle

and

used

tea

r ga

s ag

ains

t th

e po

lice

offi

cers

.” O

n a

smal

ler

scal

e, th

ink

of a

ll th

e lo

cal p

olic

e st

atio

ns

atta

cked

in th

e ni

ght:

bro

ken

wind

ows,

bur

nt-o

ut c

op c

ars.

One

of

th

e re

sults

of

th

ese

rece

nt

mov

emen

ts

is

the

unde

rsta

ndin

g th

at h

ence

fort

h a

real

dem

onst

rati

on h

as t

o be

“w

ild,”

not

dec

lare

d in

adv

ance

to

the

polic

e. H

avin

g th

e ch

oice

of

terr

ain,

we

can,

lik

e th

e B

lack

Blo

c of

Gen

oa i

n 20

01,

byp

ass

the

red

zone

s an

d av

oid

dire

ct c

onfr

onta

tion

. B

y ch

oosi

ng o

ur

own

traj

ecto

ry,

we c

an l

ead

the

cops

, in

clud

ing

unio

nist

and

pa

cifi

st o

nes,

rat

her

than

bei

ng h

erde

d by

the

m.

In G

enoa

we

saw

a th

ousa

nd d

eter

min

ed p

eopl

e pu

sh b

ack

enti

re b

uses

ful

l of

cara

bini

eri,

then

set

thei

r ve

hicl

es o

n fi

re. T

he im

port

ant t

hing

is

not

to

be b

ette

r ar

med

but

to

take

the

ini

tiat

ive.

Cou

rage

is

noth

ing,

con

fide

nce

in y

our

own

cour

age

is e

very

thin

g. H

avin

g th

e in

itia

tive

hel

ps.

Eve

ryth

ing

poin

ts, n

onet

hele

ss, t

owar

d a

conc

epti

on o

f dir

ect

conf

ront

atio

ns a

s th

at w

hich

pin

s do

wn o

ppos

ing

forc

es, b

uyin

g us

tim

e an

d al

lowi

ng u

s to

atta

ck e

lsew

here

— e

ven

near

by. T

he fa

ct

that

we

cann

ot p

reve

nt a

con

fron

tati

on f

rom

occ

urri

ng d

oesn

’t pr

even

t us

fro

m m

akin

g it

int

o a

sim

ple

dive

rsio

n. E

ven

mor

e th

an to

act

ions

, we

mus

t com

mit

our

selv

es to

thei

r co

ordi

nati

on.

Har

assi

ng th

e po

lice

mea

ns th

at b

y for

cing

them

to b

e ev

eryw

here

th

ey c

an n

o lo

nger

be

effe

ctiv

e an

ywhe

re.

Eve

ry a

ct o

f ha

rass

men

t re

vive

s th

is t

ruth

, sp

oken

in

1842

: “T

he li

fe o

f the

pol

ice

agen

t is

pain

ful;

his

pos

itio

n in

soc

iety

is

as h

umili

atin

g an

d de

spis

ed a

s cr

ime

itse

lf…

Sha

me

and

infa

my

enci

rcle

him

fro

m a

ll si

des,

soc

iety

exp

els

him

, is

olat

es h

im a

s a

pari

ah,

soci

ety

spit

s ou

t it

s di

sdai

n fo

r th

e po

lice

agen

t al

ong

with

his

pay

, wi

thou

t re

mor

se,

with

out

regr

ets,

wit

hout

pit

y…

The

pol

ice

badg

e th

at h

e ca

rrie

s in

his

poc

ket

docu

men

ts h

is

sham

e.”

On

Nov

embe

r 21

, 20

06,

fir

emen

dem

onst

rati

ng i

n Pa

ris

atta

cked

the

rio

t po

lice

with

ham

mer

s an

d in

jure

d fi

ftee

n of

them

. Thi

s by

way

of a

rem

inde

r th

at w

anti

ng to

“pr

otec

t and

se

rve”

can

nev

er b

e an

exc

use

for

join

ing

the

polic

e. Ta

ke

up

arm

s. Do

ev

eryth

ing

possi

ble

to

mak

e th

eir

use

unne

cessa

ry.

Agai

nst t

he a

rmy,

the o

nly v

ictor

y is p

oliti

cal.

Th

er

e

is

no

su

ch

th

in

g

as

a

pe

ac

efu

l

in

su

rr

ec

tio

n.

Wea

pons

are n

eces

sary

: it’s

a qu

esti

on o

f doi

ng e

very

thin

g pos

sibl

e to

mak

e us

ing

them

unn

eces

sary

. An

insu

rrec

tion

is m

ore

abou

t

83

Jam

eve

ryth

ing—

this

will

be

the

firs

t re

flex

of

all

thos

e wh

o re

bel a

gain

st th

e pr

esen

t ord

er.

In a

del

ocal

ized

eco

nom

y wh

ere

com

pani

es f

unct

ion

acco

rdin

g to

“ju

st-i

n-ti

me”

pro

duct

ion,

wh

ere

valu

e de

rive

s fr

om c

onne

cted

ness

to

the

netw

ork,

whe

re

the

high

ways

are

link

s in

the

chai

n of

dem

ater

ializ

ed p

rodu

ctio

n wh

ich

mov

es f

rom

sub

cont

ract

or t

o su

bcon

trac

tor

and

from

th

ere

to a

noth

er f

acto

ry f

or a

ssem

bly,

to

bloc

k ci

rcul

atio

n is

to

bloc

k pr

oduc

tion

as

well.

But

a b

lock

ade

is o

nly

as e

ffec

tive

as

the

insu

rgen

ts’ c

apac

ity

to s

uppl

y th

emse

lves

and

to

com

mun

icat

e, a

s ef

fect

ive

as t

he

self

-org

aniz

atio

n of

the

dif

fere

nt c

omm

unes

. H

ow w

ill w

e fe

ed

ours

elve

s on

ce e

very

thin

g is

par

alyz

ed?

Loo

ting

sto

res,

as

in

Arg

enti

na, h

as it

s lim

its;

as

larg

e as

the

tem

ples

of c

onsu

mpt

ion

are,

the

y ar

e no

t bo

ttom

less

pan

trie

s.

Acq

uiri

ng t

he s

kills

to

pro

vide

, ov

er t

ime,

for

one

’s ow

n ba

sic

subs

iste

nce

impl

ies

appr

opri

atin

g th

e ne

cess

ary

mea

ns o

f it

s pr

oduc

tion

. A

nd i

n th

is r

egar

d, i

t se

ems

poin

tless

to

wait

any

lon

ger.

Let

ting

two

pe

rcen

t of

the

pop

ulat

ion

prod

uce

the

food

of

all

the

othe

rs –

th

e si

tuat

ion

toda

y –

is b

oth

a hi

stor

ical

and

a s

trat

egic

ano

mal

y. Li

bera

te ter

ritor

y fro

m p

olice

occ

upat

ion.

If p

ossib

le, a

void

dire

ct co

nfro

ntat

ion.

“T

his b

usin

ess s

ho

ws t

ha

t w

e a

re

no

t d

ea

lin

g w

ith

yo

un

g

pe

ople

m

ak

in

g

so

cia

l

de

ma

nd

s,

bu

t

with

in

div

id

ua

ls

wh

o a

re

d

ec

la

rin

g w

ar

o

n th

e R

epu

blic

,” n

oted

a l

ucid

co

p ab

out

rece

nt c

lash

es.

The

pus

h to

lib

erat

e te

rrit

ory

from

po

lice

occu

pati

on i

s al

read

y un

derw

ay,

and

can

coun

t on

the

en

dles

s re

serv

es o

f re

sent

men

t th

at t

he f

orce

s of

ord

er h

ave

mar

shal

ed a

gain

st it

. E

ven

the

“soc

ial m

ovem

ents”

are

gra

dual

ly

bein

g se

duce

d by

the

riot

s, ju

st li

ke th

e fe

stiv

e cr

owds

in R

enne

s wh

o fo

ught

the

cop

s ev

ery

Thu

rsda

y ni

ght

in 2

00

5, o

r th

ose

in

Bar

celo

na w

ho d

estr

oyed

a s

hopp

ing

dist

rict

dur

ing

a bo

tellio

n.

The

mov

emen

t ag

ains

t th

e C

PE w

itne

ssed

the

rec

urre

nt r

etur

n of

the

Mol

otov

coc

ktai

l. B

ut o

n th

is fr

ont c

erta

in b

anlie

ues r

emai

n un

surp

asse

d. S

peci

fica

lly, w

hen

it c

omes

to th

e te

chni

que

they

’ve

been

per

fect

ing

for

som

e ti

me

now:

the

surp

rise

att

ack.

Lik

e th

e on

e on

Oct

ober

13,

20

06

in E

pina

y.

A p

riva

te-s

ecur

ity

team

he

aded

out

aft

er g

etti

ng a

rep

ort o

f som

ethi

ng st

olen

from

a c

ar.

Whe

n th

ey a

rriv

ed,

one

of t

he s

ecur

ity

guar

ds “

foun

d hi

mse

lf

bloc

ked

by t

wo v

ehic

les

park

ed d

iago

nally

acr

oss

the

stre

et a

nd

by m

ore

than

thi

rty

peop

le c

arry

ing

met

al b

ars

and

pist

ols

who

10othe

r, w

itho

ut l

eavi

ng a

nyth

ing

visi

ble

behi

nd t

hem

, it

mus

t no

neth

eles

s be

adm

itte

d th

at s

omet

hing

per

sist

s.

A p

owde

r tr

ail

link

s wh

at i

n ea

ch e

vent

has

not

let

its

elf

be c

aptu

red

by

the

absu

rd te

mpo

rali

ty o

f th

e wi

thdr

awal

of

a ne

w la

w, o

r so

me

othe

r pr

etex

t. I

n fi

ts a

nd s

tart

s, a

nd i

n it

s ow

n rh

ythm

, we

are

se

eing

som

ethi

ng li

ke a

for

ce t

ake

shap

e. A

for

ce t

hat

does

not

se

rve

its

tim

e bu

t im

pose

s it

, sil

entl

y.It

is n

o lo

nger

a m

atte

r of f

oret

elli

ng th

e co

llaps

e or

dep

icti

ng

the

poss

ibil

itie

s of

joy

. W

heth

er i

t co

mes

soo

ner

or l

ater

, th

e po

int

is t

o pr

epar

e fo

r it

. It

’s no

t a

ques

tion

of

prov

idin

g a

sche

ma

for

what

an

insu

rrec

tion

sho

uld

be,

but

of t

akin

g th

e po

ssib

ilit

y of

an

upri

sing

for

wha

t it

nev

er s

houl

d ha

ve c

ease

d be

ing:

a v

ital

im

puls

e of

you

th a

s m

uch

as a

pop

ular

wis

dom

. If

one

kno

ws h

ow t

o m

ove,

the

abs

ence

of

a sc

hem

a is

not

an

obst

acle

but

an

oppo

rtun

ity.

For

the

ins

urge

nts,

it

is t

he s

ole

spac

e th

at c

an g

uara

ntee

the

ess

enti

al:

keep

ing

the

init

iati

ve.

Wha

t re

mai

ns t

o be

cre

ated

, to

be

tend

ed a

s on

e te

nds

a fi

re,

is a

cer

tain

out

look

, a

cert

ain

tact

ical

fev

er,

whic

h on

ce i

t ha

s em

erge

d, e

ven

now,

rev

eals

its

elf

as d

eter

min

ant

– an

d a

cons

tant

sou

rce

of d

eter

min

atio

n. A

lrea

dy c

erta

in q

uest

ions

ha

ve b

een

revi

ved

that

onl

y yes

terd

ay m

ay h

ave

seem

ed g

rote

sque

or

out

mod

ed;

they

nee

d to

be

seiz

ed u

pon,

not

in

orde

r to

re

spon

d to

the

m d

efin

itiv

ely,

but

to

mak

e th

em l

ive.

Hav

ing

pose

d th

em a

new

is n

ot th

e le

ast o

f the

Gre

ek u

pris

ing’

s vir

tues

:H

ow d

oes

a si

tuat

ion

of g

ener

aliz

ed r

ioti

ng b

ecom

e an

in

surr

ecti

onar

y si

tuat

ion?

Wha

t to

do

once

the

str

eets

hav

e be

en ta

ken,

onc

e th

e po

lice

hav

e be

en s

ound

ly d

efea

ted

ther

e?

Do

the

parl

iam

ents

sti

ll de

serv

e to

be

atta

cked

? W

hat

is t

he

prac

tica

l m

eani

ng o

f de

posi

ng p

ower

loc

ally

? H

ow t

o de

cide

? H

ow to

subs

ist?

ho

w t

o f

in

d e

ac

h o

th

er

?

—In

visi

ble

Com

mit

tee,

Jan

uary

20

09

118

2don’

t kn

ow e

ach

othe

r is

obl

iged

to

call

on a

ctio

n sp

ecia

lists

, th

at i

s, t

o ab

ando

n ac

tion

for

the

sak

e of

its

con

trol

. O

n th

e on

e ha

nd,

peop

le w

ith

man

date

s ar

e by

def

init

ion

hind

ered

in

thei

r ac

tion

s, o

n th

e ot

her

hand

, no

thin

g hi

nder

s th

em f

rom

de

ceiv

ing

ever

yone

.T

here

’s no

idea

l for

m o

f act

ion.

Wha

t’s e

ssen

tial

is th

at a

ctio

n as

sum

e a

cert

ain

form

, tha

t it g

ive

rise

to a

form

inst

ead

of h

avin

g on

e im

pose

d on

it.

Thi

s pr

esup

pose

s a

shar

ed p

olit

ical

and

ge

ogra

phic

al p

osit

ion

– lik

e th

e se

ctio

ns o

f th

e Pa

ris

Com

mun

e du

ring

the

Fre

nch

Rev

olut

ion

– as

wel

l as

the

cir

cula

tion

of

a sh

ared

kno

wled

ge. A

s for

dec

idin

g on

acti

ons,

the

prin

cipl

e co

uld

be a

s fo

llows

: ea

ch p

erso

n sh

ould

do

thei

r ow

n re

conn

aiss

ance

, th

e in

form

atio

n wo

uld

then

be

put

toge

ther

, an

d th

e de

cisi

on

will

occu

r to

us

rath

er t

han

bein

g m

ade

by u

s. T

he c

ircu

lati

on

of k

nowl

edge

can

cels

hie

rarc

hy;

it e

qual

izes

by

rais

ing

up.

Prol

ifer

atin

g ho

rizo

ntal

com

mun

icat

ion

is a

lso

the

best

for

m o

f co

ordi

nati

on a

mon

g di

ffer

ent c

omm

unes

, the

bes

t way

to p

ut a

n en

d to

heg

emon

y.

Bloc

k the

econ

omy,

but m

easu

re o

ur bl

ocki

ng p

ower

by

our

leve

l of s

elf-o

rgan

izatio

n A

t

th

e

en

d

of

Ju

ne

2

00

6

in

th

e

Sta

te

o

f

Oa

xa

ca

,

the

occu

pati

ons

of c

ity

halls

mul

tipl

y, a

nd i

nsur

gent

s oc

cupy

pu

blic

bui

ldin

gs.

In c

erta

in c

omm

unes

, m

ayor

s ar

e ki

cked

out

, of

fici

al v

ehic

les a

re r

equi

siti

oned

. A m

onth

late

r, a

cces

s is c

ut o

ff

to c

erta

in h

otel

s an

d to

uris

t co

mpo

unds

. M

exic

o’s

Min

iste

r of

To

uris

m sp

eaks

of a

dis

aste

r “c

ompa

rabl

e to

hur

rica

ne W

ilma.

” A

fe

w ye

ars

earl

ier,

blo

ckad

es h

ad b

ecom

e th

e m

ain

form

of a

ctio

n of

the

rev

olt

in A

rgen

tina

, wi

th d

iffe

rent

loc

al g

roup

s he

lpin

g ea

ch o

ther

by

bloc

king

thi

s or

tha

t m

ajor

roa

d, a

nd c

onti

nual

ly

thre

aten

ing,

thr

ough

the

ir j

oint

act

ion,

to

para

lyze

the

ent

ire

coun

try

if t

heir

dem

ands

wer

e no

t m

et.

For

year

s su

ch t

hrea

ts

have

bee

n a

powe

rful

lev

er f

or r

ailw

ay w

orke

rs,

truc

k dr

iver

s,

and

elec

tric

al a

nd g

as su

pply

wor

kers

. The

mov

emen

t aga

inst

the

CPE

in F

ranc

e di

d no

t hes

itat

e to

blo

ck tr

ain

stat

ions

, rin

g ro

ads,

fa

ctor

ies,

hig

hway

s, s

uper

mar

kets

and

eve

n ai

rpor

ts. I

n R

enne

s,

only

thr

ee h

undr

ed p

eopl

e we

re n

eede

d to

shu

t do

wn t

he m

ain

acce

ss r

oad

to th

e to

wn fo

r ho

urs

and

caus

e a

40-k

ilom

eter

long

tr

affi

c ja

m.

81

unti

l the

y’ve

dra

ined

the

atte

mpt

of a

ll co

nten

t by

prev

enti

ng a

ny

real

que

stio

n fr

om b

eing

add

ress

ed.

The

y ge

t fie

rce

and

work

ed

up n

ot o

ut o

f pas

sion

for

deba

te b

ut o

ut o

f a p

assi

on fo

r sh

utti

ng

it d

own.

And

whe

n th

eir d

ogge

d de

fens

e of

apa

thy f

inal

ly d

oes t

he

colle

ctiv

e in

, th

ey e

xpla

in i

ts f

ailu

re b

y ci

ting

a l

ack

of p

olit

ical

co

nsci

ousn

ess.

It

mus

t be

not

ed t

hat

in F

ranc

e th

e m

ilita

nt

yout

h ar

e we

ll ve

rsed

in th

e ar

t of p

olit

ical

man

ipul

atio

n, th

anks

la

rgel

y to

the

fren

zied

act

ivit

y of

var

ious

trot

skyi

st fa

ctio

ns. T

hey

coul

d no

t be

exp

ecte

d to

lea

rn t

he l

esso

n of

the

con

flag

rati

on

of N

ovem

ber

200

5: t

hat

coor

dina

tion

s ar

e un

nece

ssar

y wh

ere

coor

dina

tion

exis

ts, o

rgan

izat

ions

are

n’t

need

ed w

hen

peop

le

orga

nize

them

selv

es.

Ano

ther

ref

lex

is to

cal

l a g

ener

al a

ssem

bly

at th

e sl

ight

est s

ign

of m

ovem

ent,

and

vot

e. T

his i

s a m

ista

ke. T

he b

usin

ess o

f vot

ing

and

deci

ding

a w

inne

r, i

s en

ough

to

turn

the

ass

embl

y in

to a

ni

ghtm

are,

int

o a

thea

ter

wher

e al

l the

var

ious

litt

le p

rete

nder

s to

pow

er c

onfr

ont

each

oth

er.

Her

e we

suf

fer

from

the

bad

ex

ampl

e of

bou

rgeo

is p

arlia

men

ts. A

n as

sem

bly

is n

ot a

pla

ce fo

r de

cisi

ons b

ut fo

r pa

lave

r, fo

r fr

ee sp

eech

exe

rcis

ed w

itho

ut a

goa

l.

The

nee

d to

ass

embl

e is

as

cons

tant

am

ong

hum

ans

as t

he

nece

ssit

y of

mak

ing

deci

sion

s is

rar

e. A

ssem

blin

g co

rres

pond

s to

the

joy

of fe

elin

g a

com

mon

pow

er. D

ecis

ions

are

vit

al o

nly

in

emer

genc

y si

tuat

ions

, whe

re th

e ex

erci

se o

f dem

ocra

cy is

alr

eady

co

mpr

omis

ed. T

he r

est o

f the

tim

e, “

the

dem

ocra

tic

char

acte

r of

de

cisi

on m

akin

g” i

s on

ly a

pro

blem

for

the

fan

atic

s of

pro

cess

. It

’s no

t a

mat

ter

of c

riti

quin

g as

sem

blie

s or

aba

ndon

ing

them

, bu

t of

lib

erat

ing

the

spee

ch,

gest

ures

, an

d in

terp

lay

of b

eing

s th

at ta

ke p

lace

wit

hin

them

. We

just

hav

e to

see

that

eac

h pe

rson

co

mes

to a

n as

sem

bly

not o

nly

with

a p

oint

of

view

or

a m

otio

n,

but w

ith

desi

res,

att

achm

ents

, cap

acit

ies,

forc

es, s

adne

sses

and

a

cert

ain

disp

osit

ion

towa

rd o

ther

s, a

n op

enne

ss. I

f we

man

age

to

set a

side

the

fant

asy

of th

e G

ener

al A

ssem

bly

and

repl

ace

it w

ith

an a

ssem

bly o

f pre

senc

es, i

f we

man

age

to fo

il th

e co

nsta

ntly

ren

ewed

te

mpt

atio

n of

heg

emon

y, if

we

stop

mak

ing

the

deci

sion

our

fina

l ai

m, t

hen

ther

e is

a c

hanc

e fo

r a

kind

of m

assif

icatio

n, o

ne o

f tho

se

mom

ents

of

colle

ctiv

e cr

ysta

lliza

tion

whe

re a

dec

isio

n su

dden

ly

take

s ho

ld o

f bei

ngs,

com

plet

ely

or o

nly

in p

art.

T

he s

ame

goes

for

dec

idin

g on

act

ions

. B

y st

arti

ng f

rom

th

e pr

inci

ple

that

“th

e ac

tion

in

ques

tion

sho

uld

gove

rn t

he

asse

mbl

y’s a

gend

a” w

e m

ake

both

vig

orou

s de

bate

and

eff

ecti

ve

acti

on i

mpo

ssib

le.

A l

arge

ass

embl

y m

ade

up o

f pe

ople

who

12THE

CO

MIN

G

INS

UR

RE

CTI

ON

13

Fr

om

wh

ate

ve

r a

ng

le

you

app

roac

h it

, the

pre

sent

off

ers n

o wa

y ou

t. T

his i

s not

the

leas

t of i

ts v

irtu

es.

From

tho

se w

ho s

eek

hope

abo

ve a

ll, i

t te

ars

away

ev

ery

firm

gro

und.

Tho

se w

ho c

laim

to h

ave

solu

tion

s ar

e co

ntra

dict

ed a

lmos

t im

med

iate

ly.

Eve

ryon

e ag

rees

tha

t th

ings

can

onl

y ge

t wo

rse.

“T

he f

utur

e ha

s no

fut

ure”

is

the

wisd

om o

f an

age

that

, for

all

its

appe

aran

ce o

f per

fect

no

rmal

cy, h

as re

ache

d th

e le

vel o

f con

scio

usne

ss o

f the

firs

t pu

nks.

The

sph

ere

of p

olit

ical

rep

rese

ntat

ion

has

com

e to

a c

lose

. Fr

om l

eft t

o ri

ght,

it’s

the

sam

e no

thin

gnes

s st

riki

ng t

he

pose

of

an e

mpe

ror

or a

sav

ior,

the

sam

e sa

les

assi

stan

ts

adju

stin

g th

eir

disc

ours

e ac

cord

ing

to t

he fi

ndin

gs o

f th

e la

test

sur

veys

. T

hose

who

sti

ll vo

te s

eem

to

have

no

othe

r in

tent

ion

than

to

dese

crat

e th

e ba

llot

box

by v

otin

g as

a

pure

act

of p

rote

st. W

e’re

beg

inni

ng to

susp

ect t

hat i

t’s o

nly

agai

nst v

otin

g itse

lf th

at p

eopl

e co

ntin

ue to

vot

e. N

othi

ng w

e’re

be

ing

show

n is

ade

quat

e to

the

situ

atio

n, n

ot b

y fa

r. I

n it

s ve

ry s

ilenc

e, t

he p

opul

ace

seem

s in

fini

tely

mor

e m

atur

e th

an a

ll th

ese

pupp

ets

bick

erin

g am

ongs

t the

mse

lves

abo

ut

how

to g

over

n it

. T

he r

ambl

ings

of

any

Bel

levi

lle c

hiba

ni1

1. C

hiba

ni is

Ara

bic

for

old

man

, her

e re

ferr

ing

to th

e ol

d m

en w

ho p

lay

back

-ga

mm

on in

the

cafe

s of

Bel

levi

lle, a

larg

ely

imm

igra

nt n

eigh

borh

ood

in P

aris

.

80of p

irat

e ra

dios

. T

he p

olit

ical

ric

hnes

s of

suc

h ex

peri

ence

s is

as

sure

d by

the

joy

they

con

tain

, the

way

they

tran

scen

d in

divi

dual

st

oici

sm, a

nd th

eir

man

ifes

tati

on o

f a ta

ngib

le re

alit

y tha

t esc

apes

th

e da

ily a

mbi

ence

of o

rder

and

wor

k.

In a

cou

ntry

lik

e Fr

ance

, wh

ere

radi

oact

ive

clou

ds s

top

at

the

bord

er a

nd w

here

we

aren

’t af

raid

to b

uild

a c

ance

r re

sear

ch

cent

er o

n th

e fo

rmer

sit

e of

a n

itro

gen

fert

ilize

r fa

ctor

y th

at h

as

been

con

dem

ned

by th

e E

U’s

indu

stri

al s

afet

y ag

ency

, we

shou

ld

coun

t le

ss o

n “n

atur

al”

cris

es t

han

on s

ocia

l one

s.

It i

s us

ually

up

to

the

soci

al m

ovem

ents

to

inte

rrup

t th

e no

rmal

cou

rse

of

the

disa

ster

. O

f co

urse

, in

rec

ent

year

s th

e va

riou

s st

rike

s we

re

prim

arily

op

port

unit

ies

for

the

gove

rnm

ent

and

corp

orat

e m

anag

emen

t to

tes

t th

eir

abili

ty t

o m

aint

ain

a la

rger

and

larg

er

“min

imum

serv

ice,

”26 to

the

poin

t of r

educ

ing

the

work

stop

page

to

a p

urel

y sy

mbo

lic d

imen

sion

, cau

sing

litt

le m

ore

dam

age

than

a

snow

stor

m o

r a

suic

ide

on th

e ra

ilroa

d tr

acks

. By

goin

g ag

ains

t es

tabl

ishe

d ac

tivi

st p

ract

ices

thr

ough

the

sys

tem

atic

occ

upat

ion

of

inst

itut

ions

an

d ob

stin

ate

bloc

kadi

ng,

the

high

-sch

ool

stud

ents’

str

uggl

e of

20

05

and

the

stru

ggle

aga

inst

the

CPE

-law

re

min

ded

us o

f th

e ab

ility

of

larg

e m

ovem

ents

to

caus

e tr

oubl

e an

d ca

rry

out

diff

use

offe

nsiv

es.

In a

ll th

e af

fini

ty g

roup

s th

ey

spaw

ned

and

left

in th

eir

wake

, we

glim

psed

the

cond

itio

ns th

at

allo

w so

cial

mov

emen

ts t

o be

com

e a

locu

s fo

r th

e em

erge

nce

of

new

com

mun

es.

Sabo

tage

ever

y rep

rese

ntat

ive a

utho

rity.

Sp

read

the t

alk.

Ab

olish

gene

ral a

ssem

blies

. T

he

fir

st

ob

sta

cle

e

ve

ry

so

cia

l

mo

ve

me

nt

fa

ce

s,

long

be

fore

the

pol

ice

prop

er,

are

the

unio

ns a

nd t

he e

ntir

e m

icro

-bu

reau

crac

y wh

ose

job

it is

to c

ontr

ol th

e st

rugg

le.

Com

mun

es,

colle

ctiv

es a

nd g

angs

are

nat

ural

ly d

istr

ustf

ul o

f the

se st

ruct

ures

. T

hat’s

why

the

par

abur

eauc

rats

hav

e fo

r th

e pa

st t

went

y ye

ars

been

inv

enti

ng c

oord

inat

ion

com

mit

tees

and

spo

kes

coun

cils

th

at s

eem

mor

e in

noce

nt b

ecau

se t

hey

lack

an

esta

blis

hed

labe

l,

but a

re in

fact

the

idea

l ter

rain

for

thei

r m

aneu

vers

. Whe

n a

stra

y co

llect

ive

mak

es a

n at

tem

pt a

t au

tono

my,

the

y wo

n’t

be s

atis

fied

26. T

he p

hras

e “m

inim

um s

ervi

ce”

refe

rs to

the

work

that

is d

eem

ed n

eces

sary

in

sec

tors

dee

med

ess

enti

al to

the

runn

ing

of th

e na

tion

al e

cono

my

whic

h wo

rk-

ers

are

thus

lega

lly r

equi

red

to p

erfo

rm d

urin

g st

rike

s.

79

face

s: th

e yo

ung

hoth

eads

in h

elm

ets

lobb

ing

gas

cani

ster

s at

the

riot

pol

ice

from

the

roo

ftop

of

a bu

ildin

g in

Tiz

i O

uzou

; th

e wr

y sm

ile o

f an

old

resi

stan

ce fi

ghte

r dr

aped

in h

is b

urno

us;

the

spir

it o

f the

wom

en in

the

mou

ntai

n vi

llage

s, st

ubbo

rnly

car

ryin

g on

wit

h th

e tr

adit

iona

l far

min

g, w

itho

ut w

hich

the

blo

ckad

es o

f th

e re

gion

’s ec

onom

y wo

uld

neve

r ha

ve b

een

as c

onst

ant

and

syst

emat

ic a

s th

ey w

ere.

Mak

e the

mos

t of e

very

crisi

s

“S

o i

t m

ust b

e s

aid

, t

oo

, t

ha

t w

e w

on

’t b

e a

ble t

o t

rea

t t

he

en

tire F

ren

ch

po

pu

la

tio

n. C

ho

ic

es w

ill h

av

e to

b

e m

ad

e.”

Thi

s is

how

a v

irol

ogy

expe

rt s

ums

up,

in a

Sep

tem

ber

7, 2

00

5 ar

ticl

e in

Le

Mon

de,

what

wou

ld h

appe

n in

the

eve

nt o

f a

bird

fl

u pa

ndem

ic.

“Ter

rori

st t

hrea

ts,”

“na

tura

l di

sast

ers,

” “v

irus

wa

rnin

gs,”

“so

cial

mov

emen

ts” a

nd “

urba

n vi

olen

ce”

are,

for

so

ciet

y’s m

anag

ers,

so

man

y m

omen

ts o

f in

stab

ility

whe

re t

hey

rein

forc

e th

eir

powe

r, b

y th

e se

lect

ion

of th

ose

who

plea

se th

em

and

the

elim

inat

ion

of t

hose

who

mak

e th

ings

dif

ficu

lt. C

lear

ly

thes

e ar

e, in

turn

, op

port

unit

ies

for

othe

r fo

rces

to c

onso

lidat

e or

str

engt

hen

one

anot

her

as th

ey ta

ke th

e ot

her

side

. T

he in

terr

upti

on o

f the

flow

of c

omm

odit

ies,

the

susp

ensi

on

of n

orm

alit

y (i

t’s s

uffi

cien

t to

see

how

soc

ial

life

retu

rns

in a

bu

ildin

g su

dden

ly d

epri

ved

of e

lect

rici

ty t

o im

agin

e wh

at l

ife

coul

d be

com

e in

a c

ity d

epri

ved

of e

very

thin

g) a

nd p

olic

e co

ntro

l lib

erat

e po

tent

ialit

ies f

or se

lf-o

rgan

izat

ion

unth

inka

ble

in o

ther

ci

rcum

stan

ces.

Peo

ple

are

not

blin

d to

thi

s. T

he r

evol

utio

nary

wo

rker

s’ m

ovem

ent

unde

rsto

od i

t we

ll, a

nd t

ook

adva

ntag

e of

th

e cr

ises

of

the

bour

geoi

s ec

onom

y to

gat

her

stre

ngth

. To

day,

Is

lam

ic p

arti

es ar

e str

onge

st w

hen

they

’ve b

een

able

to in

telli

gent

ly

com

pens

ate

for

the

weak

ness

of t

he st

ate

— a

s whe

n th

ey p

rovi

ded

aid

afte

r th

e ea

rthq

uake

in

Bou

mer

des,

Alg

eria

, or

in

the

daily

as

sist

ance

off

ered

the

pop

ulat

ion

of s

outh

ern

Leb

anon

aft

er i

t wa

s ra

vage

d by

the

Isra

eli a

rmy.

A

s we

men

tion

ed a

bove

, th

e de

vast

atio

n of

New

Orl

eans

by

hurr

ican

e K

atri

na g

ave

a ce

rtai

n fr

inge

of

the

Nor

th A

mer

ican

an

arch

ist

mov

emen

t th

e op

port

unit

y to

ach

ieve

an

unfa

mili

ar

cohe

sion

by

rally

ing

all

thos

e wh

o re

fuse

d to

be

forc

eful

ly

evac

uate

d.

Stre

et

kitc

hens

re

quir

e bu

ildin

g up

pr

ovis

ions

be

fore

hand

; em

erge

ncy

med

ical

aid

req

uire

s th

e ac

quis

itio

n of

nec

essa

ry k

nowl

edge

and

mat

eria

ls,

as d

oes

the

sett

ing

up

14cont

ain

mor

e wi

sdom

tha

n al

l the

dec

lara

tion

s of

our

so-

calle

d le

ader

s. T

he l

id o

n th

e so

cial

ket

tle i

s sh

ut t

ripl

e-ti

ght,

and

the

pres

sure

insi

de c

onti

nues

to b

uild

. Fro

m o

ut

of A

rgen

tina

, th

e sp

ecte

r of

Que

Se V

ayan

Tod

os2 i

s be

ginn

ing

to s

erio

usly

hau

nt th

e ru

ling

clas

s.

The

flam

es o

f N

ovem

ber

200

5 st

ill fl

icke

r in

eve

ryon

e’s

min

ds.

Tho

se fi

rst

joyo

us fi

res

were

the

bap

tism

of

a de

cade

ful

l of

prom

ise.

The

med

ia f

able

of

“ban

lieue

vs.

the

Rep

ublic

” m

ay w

ork,

but

wha

t it

gai

ns i

n eff

ecti

vene

ss i

t lo

ses i

n tr

uth.

Fir

es w

ere

lit in

the

city

cent

ers,

but

this

new

s wa

s m

etho

dica

lly s

uppr

esse

d. W

hole

str

eets

in

Bar

celo

na

burn

ed in

sol

idar

ity,

but

no

one

knew

abo

ut it

apa

rt fr

om

the

peop

le l

ivin

g th

ere.

And

it’s

not

eve

n tr

ue t

hat

the

coun

try

has

stop

ped

burn

ing.

Man

y di

ffer

ent

profi

les

can

be f

ound

am

ong

the

arre

sted

, wi

th l

ittle

tha

t un

ites

the

m

besi

des

a ha

tred

for

exi

stin

g so

ciet

y –

not

clas

s, r

ace,

or

even

nei

ghbo

rhoo

d. W

hat

was

new

wasn

’t th

e “b

anlie

ue

revo

lt,”

sinc

e th

at w

as a

lrea

dy g

oing

on

in th

e 80

s, b

ut th

e br

eak

with

its e

stab

lishe

d fo

rms.

The

se a

ssai

lant

s no

long

er

liste

n to

any

body

, ne

ithe

r to

the

ir B

ig B

roth

ers

and

Big

Si

ster

s, n

or t

o th

e co

mm

unit

y or

gani

zati

ons

char

ged

with

ov

erse

eing

the

retu

rn to

nor

mal

. No

“SO

S R

acis

m”3 c

ould

si

nk i

ts c

ance

rous

roo

ts i

nto

this

eve

nt,

whos

e ap

pare

nt

conc

lusi

on c

an b

e cr

edit

ed o

nly t

o fa

tigu

e, fa

lsifi

cati

on a

nd

the

med

ia om

ertà

.4 Thi

s who

le se

ries

of n

octu

rnal

vand

alis

ms

and

anon

ymou

s at

tack

s, t

his

word

less

des

truc

tion

, ha

s wi

dene

d th

e br

each

bet

ween

pol

itic

s an

d th

e po

litic

al.

No

one

can

hone

stly

den

y th

e ob

viou

s: t

his

was

an a

ssau

lt th

at m

ade

no d

eman

ds,

a th

reat

wit

hout

a m

essa

ge,

and

it h

ad n

othi

ng t

o do

wit

h “p

olit

ics.

” O

ne w

ould

hav

e to

be

obl

ivio

us t

o th

e au

tono

mou

s yo

uth

mov

emen

ts o

f th

e

2. T

hey A

ll M

ust G

o! –

the

chan

t of t

he 2

00

1 A

rgen

tine

reb

ellio

n.

3. A

Fre

nch

Ant

i-R

acis

t NG

O s

et u

p by

Fra

ncoi

s M

itte

rand

’s So

cial

ist P

arty

in

the

1980

s.

4. T

he m

afia

“cod

e of

sile

nce”

: abs

olut

ely

no c

oope

rati

on w

ith

stat

e au

thor

itie

s or

rel

ianc

e on

thei

r se

rvic

es.

15

last

30

yea

rs n

ot t

o se

e th

e pu

rely

pol

itic

al c

hara

cter

of

this

res

olut

e ne

gati

on o

f po

litic

s. L

ike

lost

chi

ldre

n we

tr

ashe

d th

e pr

ized

tri

nket

s of

a s

ocie

ty t

hat

dese

rves

no

mor

e re

spec

t th

an t

he m

onum

ents

of

Pari

s at

the

end

of

the

Blo

ody

Wee

k5 — a

nd k

nows

it.

The

re w

ill b

e no

socia

l sol

utio

n to

the p

rese

nt si

tuat

ion.

Fir

st,

beca

use

the

vagu

e ag

greg

ate

of s

ocia

l mili

eus,

inst

itut

ions

, an

d in

divi

dual

ized

bub

bles

tha

t is

cal

led,

wit

h a

touc

h of

an

tiphr

asis,

“so

ciet

y,” h

as n

o co

nsis

tenc

y. S

econ

d, b

ecau

se

ther

e’s

no l

onge

r an

y la

ngua

ge f

or c

omm

on e

xper

ienc

e.

And

we

cann

ot s

hare

wea

lth if

we

do n

ot s

hare

a la

ngua

ge.

It to

ok h

alf a

cen

tury

of s

trug

gle

arou

nd th

e E

nlig

hten

men

t to

mak

e th

e Fr

ench

Rev

olut

ion

poss

ible

, an

d a

cent

ury

of

stru

ggle

aro

und

work

to g

ive

birt

h to

the

fear

som

e “w

elfa

re

stat

e.”

Stru

ggle

s cr

eate

the

lang

uage

in

whic

h a

new

orde

r ex

pres

ses

itse

lf.

But

th

ere

is

noth

ing

like

that

to

day.

E

urop

e is

now

a c

onti

nent

gon

e br

oke

that

shop

s sec

retly

at

disc

ount

sto

res

and

has

to fl

y bu

dget

air

lines

if it

wan

ts to

tr

avel

at a

ll. N

o “p

robl

ems”

fram

ed in

soci

al te

rms a

dmit

of

a so

luti

on. T

he q

uest

ions

of “

pens

ions

,” o

f “jo

b se

curi

ty,”

of

“yo

ung

peop

le”

and

thei

r “v

iole

nce”

can

onl

y be

hel

d in

su

spen

se w

hile

the

sit

uati

on t

hese

wor

ds s

erve

to

cove

r up

is

con

tinu

ally

pol

iced

for

sign

s of

furt

her

unre

st. N

othi

ng

can

mak

e it

an

attr

acti

ve p

rosp

ect

to w

ipe

the

asse

s of

pe

nsio

ners

for

min

imum

wag

e. T

hose

who

hav

e fo

und

less

hu

mili

atio

n an

d m

ore

adva

ntag

e in

a li

fe o

f cr

ime

than

in

swee

ping

floo

rs w

ill n

ot tu

rn in

thei

r we

apon

s, a

nd p

riso

n wo

n’t

teac

h th

em t

o lo

ve s

ocie

ty.

Cut

s to

the

ir m

onth

ly

pens

ions

will

und

erm

ine

the

desp

erat

e pl

easu

re-s

eeki

ng o

f ho

rdes

of

reti

rees

, m

akin

g th

em s

tew

and

splu

tter

abo

ut

the

refu

sal t

o wo

rk a

mon

g an

eve

r la

rger

sec

tion

of

yout

h.

And

fina

lly,

no g

uara

ntee

d in

com

e gr

ante

d th

e da

y aft

er a

qu

asi-

upri

sing

will

be

able

to

lay

the

foun

dati

on o

f a

new

New

Dea

l, a

new

pac

t, a

new

pea

ce.

The

soc

ial f

eelin

g ha

s

5. T

he b

attle

that

cru

shed

the

Pari

s C

omm

une

of 1

871,

dur

ing

whic

h hu

ndre

ds

of b

uild

ings

aro

und

Pari

s we

re to

rche

d by

the

com

mun

ards

78IN

SU

RR

EC

TIO

N T

he

com

mun

e is

th

e ba

sic

unit

of

pa

rtis

an

real

ity.

A

n in

surr

ecti

onal

sur

ge m

ay b

e no

thin

g m

ore

than

a m

ulti

plic

atio

n of

com

mun

es,

thei

r co

min

g in

to c

onta

ct a

nd f

orm

ing

of t

ies.

A

s ev

ents

unf

old,

com

mun

es w

ill e

ithe

r m

erge

int

o la

rger

en

titi

es o

r fr

agm

ent.

The

dif

fere

nce

betw

een

a ba

nd o

f bro

ther

s an

d si

ster

s bo

und

“for

lif

e” a

nd t

he g

athe

ring

of

man

y gr

oups

, co

mm

itte

es a

nd g

angs

for

orga

nizi

ng th

e su

pply

and

self

-def

ense

of

a n

eigh

borh

ood

or e

ven

a re

gion

in r

evol

t, is

onl

y a

diff

eren

ce

of s

cale

, the

y ar

e al

l com

mun

es.

A

com

mun

e te

nds

by i

ts n

atur

e to

ward

s se

lf-s

uffi

cien

cy a

nd

cons

ider

s mon

ey, i

nter

nally

, as s

omet

hing

fool

ish

and

ulti

mat

ely

out

of p

lace

. T

he p

ower

of

mon

ey i

s to

con

nect

tho

se w

ho a

re

unco

nnec

ted,

to

link

stra

nger

s as

stra

nger

s an

d th

us,

by m

akin

g ev

eryt

hing

equ

ival

ent,

to p

ut e

very

thin

g in

to c

ircu

lati

on.

The

cos

t of

mon

ey’s

capa

city

to

conn

ect

ever

ythi

ng i

s th

e su

perf

icia

lity

of t

he c

onne

ctio

n, w

here

dec

epti

on i

s th

e ru

le.

Dis

trus

t is

the

bas

is o

f th

e cr

edit

rel

atio

n. T

he r

eign

of

mon

ey

is, t

here

fore

, alw

ays

the

reig

n of

con

trol

. The

pra

ctic

al a

bolit

ion

of m

oney

will

hap

pen

only

wit

h th

e ex

tens

ion

of c

omm

unes

. C

omm

unes

m

ust

be

exte

nded

wh

ile

mak

ing

sure

th

ey

do

not

exce

ed a

cer

tain

siz

e, b

eyon

d wh

ich

they

los

e to

uch

with

th

emse

lves

and

giv

e ri

se, a

lmos

t wit

hout

fail,

to a

dom

inan

t cas

te.

It w

ould

be

pref

erab

le fo

r th

e co

mm

une

to sp

lit u

p an

d to

spre

ad

in th

at w

ay, a

void

ing

such

an

unfo

rtun

ate

outc

ome.

The

upr

isin

g of

Alg

eria

n yo

uth

that

eru

pted

acr

oss

all

of

Kab

ylia

in

the

spri

ng o

f 20

01

man

aged

to

take

ove

r al

mos

t th

e en

tire

terr

itor

y, a

ttac

king

pol

ice

stat

ions

, co

urth

ouse

s an

d ev

ery

repr

esen

tati

on o

f th

e st

ate,

gen

eral

izin

g th

e re

volt

to t

he p

oint

of

com

pelli

ng t

he u

nila

tera

l re

trea

t of

the

for

ces

of o

rder

and

ph

ysic

ally

pre

vent

ing

the

elec

tion

s. T

he m

ovem

ent’s

str

engt

h wa

s in

the

dif

fuse

com

plem

enta

rity

of

its

com

pone

nts—

only

pa

rtia

lly r

epre

sent

ed b

y th

e in

term

inab

le a

nd h

opel

essl

y m

ale-

dom

inat

ed v

illag

e as

sem

blie

s an

d ot

her

popu

lar

com

mit

tees

. T

he “

com

mun

es”

of th

is s

till-

sim

mer

ing

insu

rrec

tion

had

man

y

77

but

a m

eans

of

acti

on,

we h

ave

to e

quip

our

selv

es b

ette

r wi

th

reso

urce

s to

unm

ask

plai

nclo

thes

off

icer

s, c

hase

them

off

, and

if

need

be

snat

ch b

ack

thos

e th

ey’r

e tr

ying

to a

rres

t.T

he p

olic

e are

not

invi

ncib

le in

the s

tree

ts, t

hey s

impl

y hav

e the

m

eans

to o

rgan

ize,

trai

n, a

nd c

onti

nual

ly te

st n

ew w

eapo

ns. O

ur

weap

ons,

on

the

othe

r ha

nd,

are

alwa

ys r

udim

enta

ry,

cobb

led-

toge

ther

, and

oft

en im

prov

ised

on

the

spot

. The

y ce

rtai

nly

don’

t ha

ve a

hop

e of

riv

alin

g th

eirs

in

fire

powe

r, b

ut c

an b

e us

ed t

o ho

ld th

em a

t a d

ista

nce,

redi

rect

att

enti

on, e

xerc

ise

psyc

holo

gica

l pr

essu

re o

r fo

rce

pass

age

and

gain

gro

und

by s

urpr

ise.

Non

e of

th

e in

nova

tion

s in

urb

an g

ueri

lla w

arfa

re c

urre

ntly

dep

loye

d in

th

e Fr

ench

pol

ice

acad

emie

s ar

e su

ffic

ient

to r

espo

nd r

apid

ly to

a

mov

ing

mul

tipl

icit

y th

at c

an s

trik

e a

num

ber

of p

lace

s at

onc

e an

d th

at tr

ies

to a

lway

s ke

ep th

e in

itia

tive

. C

omm

unes

are

obv

ious

ly v

ulne

rabl

e to

sur

veil

lanc

e an

d po

lice

inve

stig

atio

ns,

to p

olic

ing

tech

nolo

gies

and

inte

llige

nce

gath

erin

g. T

he w

aves

of

arre

sts

of a

narc

hist

s in

Ita

ly a

nd o

f ec

o-wa

rrio

rs i

n th

e U

S we

re m

ade

poss

ible

by

wire

tapp

ing.

E

very

one

deta

ined

by

the

poli

ce n

ow h

as h

is o

r he

r D

NA

take

n to

be

ente

red

into

an

ever

mor

e co

mpl

ete

prof

ile.

A s

quat

ter

from

Bar

celo

na w

as c

augh

t be

caus

e he

lef

t fi

nger

prin

ts o

n fl

iers

he

was

dist

ribu

ting

. T

rack

ing

met

hods

are

bec

omin

g be

tter

and

bet

ter,

mos

tly

thro

ugh

biom

etri

c te

chni

ques

. A

nd

if th

e di

stri

buti

on o

f ele

ctro

nic

iden

tity

car

ds is

inst

itut

ed, o

ur

task

wil

l jus

t be

that

muc

h m

ore

diff

icul

t. T

he P

aris

Com

mun

e fo

und

a pa

rtia

l sol

utio

n to

the

keep

ing

of r

ecor

ds:

they

bur

ned

down

Cit

y H

all,

des

troy

ing

all

the

publ

ic r

ecor

ds a

nd v

ital

st

atis

tics

. W

e st

ill

need

to

find

the

mea

ns t

o pe

rman

entl

y de

stro

y co

mpu

teri

zed

data

base

s.

16alre

ady

evap

orat

ed to

o m

uch

for

that

.

As

an a

ttem

pted

sol

utio

n, t

he p

ress

ure

to e

nsur

e th

at

noth

ing

happ

ens,

toge

ther

wit

h po

lice

surv

eilla

nce

of t

he

terr

itor

y, w

ill o

nly

inte

nsif

y. T

he u

nman

ned

dron

e th

at

flew

ove

r Se

ine-

Sain

t-D

enis

6 las

t Ju

ly 1

4th

– as

the

pol

ice

late

r co

nfirm

ed –

pre

sent

s a

muc

h m

ore

vivi

d im

age

of

the

futu

re t

han

all t

he f

uzzy

hum

anis

tic

proj

ecti

ons.

Tha

t th

ey w

ere

care

ful t

o as

sure

us

that

the

dron

e wa

s un

arm

ed

give

s us

a c

lear

indi

cati

on o

f th

e ro

ad w

e’re

hea

ded

down

. T

he te

rrit

ory

will

be p

arti

tion

ed in

to e

ver

mor

e re

stri

cted

zo

nes.

Hig

hway

s bu

ilt a

roun

d th

e bo

rder

s of

“pr

oble

m

neig

hbor

hood

s” a

lrea

dy f

orm

inv

isib

le w

alls

clo

sing

off

thos

e ar

eas

from

the

mid

dle-

clas

s su

bdiv

isio

ns.

Wha

teve

r de

fend

ers

of t

he R

epub

lic m

ay t

hink

, th

e co

ntro

l of

ne

ighb

orho

ods

“by

the

com

mun

ity”

is

m

anif

estly

th

e m

ost

effec

tive

mea

ns a

vaila

ble.

The

pur

ely

met

ropo

litan

se

ctio

ns o

f th

e co

untr

y, t

he m

ain

city

cen

ters

, wi

ll go

ab

out t

heir

opu

lent

live

s in

an

ever

mor

e cr

afty,

eve

r m

ore

soph

isti

cate

d,

ever

m

ore

shim

mer

ing

deco

nstr

ucti

on.

The

y wi

ll ill

umin

ate

the

whol

e pl

anet

wit

h th

eir

glar

ing

neon

ligh

ts, a

s th

e pa

trol

s of

the

BA

C7 a

nd p

riva

te s

ecur

ity

com

pani

es (

i.e.

par

amili

tary

uni

ts)

prol

ifer

ate

unde

r th

e um

brel

la o

f an

incr

easi

ngly

sha

mel

ess

judi

cial

pro

tect

ion.

The

im

pass

e of

the

pre

sent

, ev

eryw

here

in

evid

ence

, is

ev

eryw

here

den

ied.

The

re w

ill b

e no

end

of

psyc

holo

gist

s,

soci

olog

ists

, an

d lit

erar

y ha

cks

appl

ying

the

mse

lves

to

the

case

, ea

ch w

ith

a sp

ecia

lized

jar

gon

from

whi

ch t

he

conc

lusi

ons

are

espe

cial

ly a

bsen

t. I

t’s e

noug

h to

lis

ten

to

the

song

s of

the

tim

es –

the

asi

nine

“al

t-fo

lk”

wher

e th

e pe

tty

bour

geoi

sie

diss

ects

the

sta

te o

f it

s so

ul,

next

to

6. B

anlie

ue n

orth

east

of P

aris

, whe

re, o

n O

ctob

er 2

7, 2

00

5, tw

o te

enag

ers

were

ki

lled

as th

ey fl

ed th

e po

lice,

set

ting

off

the

200

5 ri

ots.

7. B

rigad

e Ant

i-Cr

imin

alite

pla

incl

othe

s co

ps w

ho a

ct a

s an

ant

i-ga

ng fo

rce

in th

e ba

nlieu

es b

ut a

lso

in d

emon

stra

tion

s, o

ften

ope

rati

ng a

s a

gang

them

selv

es in

co

mpe

titi

on fo

r te

rrit

ory

and

reso

urce

s.

17

decl

arat

ions

of

war

from

Mafi

a K

’1 F

ry8 –

to

know

tha

t a

cert

ain

coex

iste

nce

will

end

soon

, tha

t a d

ecis

ion

is n

ear.

Thi

s boo

k is

sign

ed in

the

nam

e of

an

imag

inar

y co

llect

ive.

It

s ed

itor

s ar

e no

t it

s au

thor

s. T

hey

were

con

tent

mer

ely

to i

ntro

duce

a l

ittle

ord

er i

nto

the

com

mon

-pla

ces

of

our

tim

e, c

olle

ctin

g so

me

of t

he m

urm

urin

gs a

roun

d ba

rroo

m ta

bles

and

beh

ind

clos

ed b

edro

om d

oors

. The

y’ve

do

ne n

othi

ng m

ore

than

lay

dow

n a

few

nece

ssar

y tr

uths

, wh

ose

univ

ersa

l re

pres

sion

fills

psy

chia

tric

hos

pita

ls w

ith

pati

ents

, an

d ey

es w

ith

pain

. T

hey’

ve m

ade

them

selv

es

scri

bes o

f the

situ

atio

n. It

’s th

e pr

ivile

ged

feat

ure

of r

adic

al

circ

umst

ance

s th

at a

rig

orou

s ap

plic

atio

n of

logi

c le

ads

to

revo

luti

on.

It’s

enou

gh j

ust

to s

ay w

hat

is b

efor

e ou

r ey

es

and

not t

o sh

rink

from

the

conc

lusi

ons.

8. P

opul

ar F

renc

h ra

p gr

oup.

76Vis

ibili

ty m

ust b

e av

oide

d. B

ut a

forc

e th

at g

athe

rs in

the

shad

ows

can’

t avo

id it

fore

ver.

Our

app

eara

nce

as a

forc

e m

ust b

e pu

shed

ba

ck u

ntil

the

oppo

rtun

e m

omen

t. T

he lo

nger

we

avoi

d vi

sibi

lity,

th

e st

rong

er w

e’ll

be w

hen

it c

atch

es u

p wi

th u

s. A

nd o

nce

we

beco

me

visi

ble

our

days

will

be

num

bere

d. E

ithe

r we

will

be

in a

po

siti

on to

pul

veri

ze it

s rei

gn in

shor

t ord

er, o

r we

’ll b

e cr

ushe

d in

no

tim

e. O

rgan

ize S

elf-D

efens

e W

e

liv

e

un

de

r

an

o

cc

upa

tio

n,

unde

r po

lice

occu

pati

on.

Und

ocum

ente

d im

mig

rant

s are

rou

nded

up

in th

e m

iddl

e of

the

stre

et, u

nmar

ked

polic

e ca

rs p

atro

l the

bou

leva

rds,

met

ropo

litan

di

stri

cts

are

paci

fied

wit

h te

chni

ques

for

ged

in th

e co

loni

es,

the

Min

iste

r of

the

Int

erio

r m

akes

dec

lara

tion

s of

war

on

“gan

gs”

that

rem

ind

us o

f the

Alg

eria

n wa

r —

we

are

rem

inde

d of

it e

very

da

y. T

hese

are

rea

sons

eno

ugh

to n

o lo

nger

let

our

selv

es b

e be

aten

dow

n, r

easo

ns e

noug

h to

org

aniz

e ou

r se

lf-d

efen

se.

To th

e ex

tent

that

it g

rows

and

rad

iate

s, a

com

mun

e be

gins

to

see

the

oper

atio

ns o

f pow

er ta

rget

that

whi

ch co

nsti

tute

s it.

The

se

coun

tera

ttac

ks ta

ke th

e fo

rm o

f se

duct

ion,

of

recu

pera

tion

, an

d as

a la

st r

esor

t, b

rute

for

ce.

For

a co

mm

une,

sel

f-de

fens

e m

ust

be a

col

lect

ive

fact

, as

muc

h pr

acti

cal

as t

heor

etic

al.

Prev

enti

ng

an a

rres

t, g

athe

ring

qui

ckly

and

in la

rge

num

bers

aga

inst

evi

ctio

n at

tem

pts

and

shel

teri

ng o

ne o

f our

own

, will

not

be

supe

rflu

ous

refl

exes

in

com

ing

tim

es.

We

cann

ot c

ease

less

ly r

econ

stru

ct o

ur

base

s fro

m sc

ratc

h. L

et’s

stop

den

ounc

ing

repr

essi

on a

nd in

stea

d pr

epar

e to

mee

t it.

It’s

not

a si

mpl

e af

fair

, fo

r we

exp

ect

a su

rge

in p

olic

e wo

rk

bein

g do

ne b

y th

e po

pula

tion

itse

lf –

eve

ryth

ing

from

sni

tchi

ng

to

occa

sion

al

part

icip

atio

n in

ci

tize

ns’

mili

tias

. T

he

polic

e fo

rces

ble

nd i

n wi

th t

he c

rowd

. T

he u

biqu

itou

s m

odel

of

polic

e in

terv

enti

on,

even

in

riot

sit

uati

ons,

is

now

the

cop

in

civi

lian

clot

hes.

The

eff

ecti

vene

ss o

f th

e po

lice

duri

ng t

he l

ast

anti

-CPE

dem

onst

rati

ons

was

a re

sult

of p

lain

clot

hes

offi

cers

m

ixin

g am

ong

us a

nd w

aiti

ng f

or a

n in

cide

nt b

efor

e re

veal

ing

who

they

are

: ga

s, n

ight

stic

ks,

taze

rs,

deta

inm

ent;

all

in s

tric

t co

ordi

nati

on w

ith

dem

onst

rati

on s

tewa

rds.

The

mer

e po

ssib

ility

of

the

ir p

rese

nce

was

enou

gh t

o cr

eate

sus

pici

on a

mon

gst

the

dem

onst

rato

rs –

who

’s wh

o? –

and

to p

aral

yze

acti

on. I

f we

agre

e th

at a

dem

onst

rati

on is

not

mer

ely

a wa

y to

stan

d an

d be

cou

nted

75

utte

r de

cade

nce,

the

onl

y th

ing

impo

sing

abo

ut t

empl

es i

s th

e di

smal

trut

h th

at th

ey a

re a

lread

y rui

ns.

Ann

ihila

ting

thi

s no

thin

gnes

s is

har

dly

a sa

d ta

sk.

It g

ives

ac

tion

a f

resh

dem

eano

r. E

very

thin

g su

dden

ly c

oale

sces

and

m

akes

sen

se –

spa

ce, t

ime,

frie

ndsh

ip. W

e m

ust u

se a

ll m

eans

at

our

disp

osal

and

ret

hink

thei

r us

es –

we

ours

elve

s be

ing

mea

ns.

Perh

aps,

in

the

mis

ery

of t

he p

rese

nt,

“fuc

king

it

all

up”

will

serv

e –

not w

itho

ut r

easo

n –

as th

e la

st c

olle

ctiv

e se

duct

ion.

Flee

visib

ility.

Tur

n an

onym

ity in

to a

n of

fensiv

e pos

ition

In

a

d

em

on

str

atio

n,

a un

ion

mem

ber

tear

s th

e m

ask

off

of

an

anon

ymou

s pe

rson

wh

o ha

s ju

st

brok

en

a wi

ndow

. “T

ake

resp

onsi

bilit

y fo

r wh

at y

ou’r

e do

ing

inst

ead

of h

idin

g yo

urse

lf.”

To

be v

isib

le i

s to

be

expo

sed,

tha

t is

to

say

abov

e al

l,

vuln

erab

le.

Whe

n le

ftis

ts

ever

ywhe

re

cont

inua

lly

mak

e th

eir

caus

e m

ore

“vis

ible

” –

whet

her

that

of

the

hom

eles

s, o

f wo

men

, or

of

undo

cum

ente

d im

mig

rant

s –

in h

opes

that

it w

ill

get

deal

t wi

th,

they

’re

doin

g ex

actly

the

con

trar

y of

wha

t m

ust

be d

one.

Not

mak

ing

ours

elve

s vi

sibl

e, b

ut i

nste

ad t

urni

ng t

he

anon

ymit

y to

whi

ch w

e’ve

bee

n re

lega

ted

to o

ur a

dvan

tage

, an

d th

roug

h co

nspi

racy

, no

ctur

nal

or f

acel

ess

acti

ons,

cre

atin

g an

in

vuln

erab

le p

osit

ion

of a

ttac

k. T

he f

ires

of

Nov

embe

r 20

05

offe

r a

mod

el fo

r th

is. N

o le

ader

, no

dem

ands

, no

orga

niza

tion

, bu

t wo

rds,

ges

ture

s, c

ompl

icit

ies.

To

be s

ocia

lly n

othi

ng i

s no

t a

hum

iliat

ing

cond

itio

n, t

he s

ourc

e of

som

e tr

agic

lac

k of

re

cogn

itio

n –

from

who

m d

o we

see

k re

cogn

itio

n? –

but

is

on

the

cont

rary

the

con

diti

on f

or m

axim

um f

reed

om o

f ac

tion

. N

ot c

laim

ing

your

ille

gal

acti

ons,

onl

y at

tach

ing

to t

hem

som

e fi

ctio

nal

acro

nym

– w

e st

ill r

emem

ber

the

ephe

mer

al B

AFT

(B

rigad

e An

ti-Fl

ic de

s Tar

terêts

)25–

is a

way

to

pres

erve

tha

t fr

eedo

m.

Qui

te o

bvio

usly

, on

e of

the

reg

ime’

s fi

rst

defe

nsiv

e m

aneu

vers

wa

s th

e cr

eati

on o

f a

“ban

lieue

” su

bjec

t to

tre

at a

s th

e au

thor

of

the

“rio

ts o

f Nov

embe

r 20

05.

” Ju

st lo

okin

g at

the

face

s on

som

e of

this

soc

iety

’s so

meb

odies

illu

stra

tes

why

ther

e’s

such

joy

in b

eing

no

body

. 25

. Tar

terê

ts is

a b

anlie

ue in

the

Ess

onne

reg

ion

of F

ranc

e. T

he “

Tart

erêt

s A

nti-

Cop

Bri

gade

” wa

s a

nam

e th

at w

as e

mpl

oyed

to c

laim

res

pons

ibili

ty fo

r ac

tion

s ag

ains

t pol

ice

in th

is a

rea

in th

e 19

80s

18Fir

st C

ircl

e

“I A

M W

HA

T I

AM

”

“I A

M W

HAT

I A

M.”

Thi

s is

mar

keti

ng’s

late

st o

ffer

ing

to

the

worl

d, th

e fi

nal s

tage

in th

e de

velo

pmen

t of a

dver

tisi

ng,

far

beyo

nd a

ll th

e ex

hort

atio

ns to

be

diff

eren

t, to

be

ones

elf

and

drin

k Pe

psi.

Dec

ades

of c

once

pts i

n or

der

to g

et w

here

we

are

, to

arri

ve a

t pur

e ta

utol

ogy.

I =

I. H

e’s

runn

ing

on a

tr

eadm

ill in

fron

t of

the

mir

ror

in h

is g

ym.

She’

s co

min

g ba

ck fr

om w

ork,

beh

ind

the

whee

l of

her

Sm

art

car.

Will

th

ey m

eet?

“I A

M W

HAT

I A

M.”

My b

ody b

elon

gs to

me.

I am

me,

you

are

you,

and

som

ethin

g’s w

rong

. Mas

s pe

rson

aliz

atio

n. I

ndiv

idua

lizat

ion

of a

ll co

ndit

ions

– li

fe, w

ork

and

mis

ery.

Dif

fuse

sch

izop

hren

ia.

Ram

pant

dep

ress

ion.

Ato

miz

atio

n in

to fi

ne p

aran

oiac

par

ticl

es.

Hys

teri

zati

on o

f con

tact

. The

mor

e I w

ant t

o be

me,

the m

ore I

feel

an

em

ptin

ess.

The

mor

e I e

xpre

ss m

ysel

f, th

e m

ore

I am

dra

ined

. T

he m

ore

I run

aft

er m

ysel

f, th

e m

ore

tire

d I g

et. W

e cl

ing

to o

ur

self

like

a c

ovet

ed jo

b ti

tle. W

e’ve

bec

ome

our

own

repr

esen

tati

ves

in a

str

ange

com

mer

ce,

guar

anto

rs o

f a

pers

onal

izat

ion

that

fe

els,

in t

he e

nd,

a lo

t m

ore

like

an a

mpu

tati

on.

We

insu

re o

ur

selv

es t

o th

e po

int

of b

ankr

uptc

y, w

ith

a m

ore

or l

ess

disg

uise

d cl

umsi

ness

. M

eanw

hile

, I

man

age.

The

que

st f

or a

sel

f, m

y bl

og,

my

apar

tmen

t, t

he l

ates

t fa

shio

nabl

e cr

ap,

rela

tion

ship

dra

mas

, wh

o’s

fuck

ing

who…

wha

teve

r pr

osth

esis

it ta

kes

to h

old

onto

an

“I”!

If “

soci

ety”

had

n’t b

ecom

e su

ch a

def

init

ive

abst

ract

ion,

then

it

wou

ld d

enot

e al

l the

exi

sten

tial

cru

tche

s th

at a

llow

me

to k

eep

drag

ging

on,

the

ense

mbl

e of

dep

ende

ncie

s I’v

e co

ntra

cted

as t

he

pric

e of

my i

dent

ity.

The

hand

icapp

ed pe

rson i

s the

mod

el cit

izen o

f tom

orro

w.

It’s

not

with

out

fore

sigh

t th

at t

he a

ssoc

iati

ons

expl

oiti

ng t

hem

to

day

dem

and

that

they

be

gran

ted

a “s

ubsi

sten

ce in

com

e.”

19

Th

e

in

ju

nc

tio

n,

ev

er

yw

he

re

, t

o “b

e so

meo

ne”

mai

ntai

ns

the

path

olog

ical

sta

te t

hat

mak

es t

his

soci

ety

nece

ssar

y. T

he

inju

ncti

on t

o be

str

ong

prod

uces

the

ver

y we

akne

ss b

y wh

ich

it

mai

ntai

ns it

self

, so

that

ever

ythin

g see

ms t

o ta

ke o

n a

ther

apeu

tic ch

arac

ter,

even

wor

king

, ev

en l

ove.

All

thos

e “h

ow’s

it g

oing

s?”

that

we

exch

ange

giv

e th

e im

pres

sion

of

a so

ciet

y co

mpo

sed

of p

atie

nts

taki

ng e

ach

othe

r’s

tem

pera

ture

s. S

ocia

bilit

y is

now

mad

e up

of

a th

ousa

nd li

ttle

nic

hes,

a th

ousa

nd li

ttle

ref

uges

whe

re y

ou c

an

take

shel

ter.

Whe

re it

’s al

ways

bet

ter

than

the

bitt

er c

old

outs

ide.

W

here

eve

ryth

ing’

s fa

lse,

sin

ce i

t’s a

ll ju

st a

pre

text

for

get

ting

wa

rmed

up.

Whe

re n

othi

ng c

an h

appe

n si

nce

we’r

e al

l too

bus

y sh

iver

ing

sile

ntly

tog

ethe

r. S

oon

this

soc

iety

will

onl

y be

hel

d to

geth

er b

y th

e m

ere

tens

ion

of a

ll th

e so

cial

ato

ms

stra

inin

g to

ward

s an

illu

sory

cur

e. I

t’s a

pow

er p

lant

that

run

s it

s tu

rbin

es

on a

gig

anti

c re

serv

oir

of u

nwep

t te

ars,

alw

ays

on t

he v

erge

of

spill

ing

over

. “

I A

M W

HAT

I A

M.”

Nev

er h

as d

omin

atio

n fo

und

such

an

inn

ocen

t-so

undi

ng s

loga

n. T

he m

aint

enan

ce o

f th

e se

lf i

n a

perm

anen

t st

ate

of d

eter

iora

tion

, in

a c

hron

ic s

tate

of

near

-co

llaps

e, i

s th

e be

st-k

ept

secr

et o

f th

e pr

esen

t or

der

of t

hing

s.

The

wea

k, d

epre

ssed

, se

lf-c

riti

cal,

vir

tual

sel

f is

ess

enti

ally

tha

t en

dles

sly

adap

tabl

e su

bjec

t re

quir

ed b

y th

e ce

asel

ess

inno

vati

on

of p

rodu

ctio

n, t

he a

ccel

erat

ed o

bsol

esce

nce

of t

echn

olog

ies,

th

e co

nsta

nt

over

turn

ing

of

soci

al

norm

s,

and

gene

raliz

ed

flex

ibili

ty.

It i

s at

the

sam

e ti

me

the

mos

t vo

raci

ous

cons

umer

an

d, p

arad

oxic

ally

, th

e m

ost p

rodu

ctive

self

, th

e on

e th

at w

ill m

ost

eage

rly a

nd e

nerg

etic

ally

thro

w it

self

into

the

slig

htes

t pro

ject,

only

to

ret

urn

late

r to

its

orig

inal

larv

al s

tate

. “

WH

AT

AM

I,”

then

? Si

nce

chil

dhoo

d, I

’ve

pass

ed th

roug

h a

flow

of

mil

k, s

mel

ls,

stor

ies,

sou

nds,

em

otio

ns,

nurs

ery

rhym

es,

subs

tanc

es,

gest

ures

, id

eas,

impr

essi

ons,

gaz

es,

song

s,

and

food

s. W

hat

am I

? T

ied

in e

very

way

to

plac

es,

suff

erin

gs,

ance

stor

s, f

rien

ds,

love

s, e

vent

s, l

angu

ages

, m

emor

ies,

to

all

kind

s of t

hing

s tha

t obv

ious

ly a

re n

ot m

e. E

very

thin

g th

at a

ttac

hes

me

to t

he w

orld

, al

l the

link

s th

at c

onst

itut

e m

e, a

ll th

e fo

rces

th

at c

ompo

se m

e do

n’t f

orm

an

iden

tity

, a th

ing

disp

laya

ble

on

cue,

but

a s

ingu

lar,

sha

red,

livi

ng e

xiste

nce,

fro

m w

hich

em

erge

s –

at c

erta

in t

imes

and

pla

ces

– th

at b

eing

whi

ch s

ays

“I.”

Our

fe

elin

g of

inc

onsi

sten

cy i

s si

mpl

y th

e co

nseq

uenc

e of

thi

s fo

olis

h be

lief

in

the

perm

anen

ce o

f th

e se

lf a

nd o

f th

e li

ttle

ca

re w

e gi

ve to

wha

t mak

es u

s wh

at w

e ar

e.7

4a lo

ok a

t wha

t sur

roun

ds u

s: a

ll th

is w

ill h

ave

its

fina

l hou

r. T

he

met

ropo

lis s

udde

nly

take

s on

an

air

of n

osta

lgia

, lik

e a

fiel

d of

ru

ins.

A

ll th

e in

civi

litie

s of

the

str

eets

sho

uld

beco

me

met

hodi

cal

and

syst

emat

ic,

conv

ergi

ng

in

a di

ffus

e,

effe

ctiv

e gu

erri

lla

war

that

res

tore

s us

to

our

ungo

vern

abili

ty,

our

prim

ordi

al

unru

lines

s. I

t’s d

isco

ncer

ting

to

som

e th

at t

his

sam

e la

ck o

f di

scip

line

figu

res

so p

rom

inen

tly a

mon

g th

e re

cogn

ized

mili

tary

vi

rtue

s of

res

ista

nce

figh

ters

. In

fac

t th

ough

, ra

ge a

nd p

olit

ics

shou

ld n

ever

hav

e be

en s

epar

ated

. W

itho

ut th

e fi

rst,

the

seco

nd

is lo

st in

dis

cour

se; w

itho

ut th

e se

cond

the

firs

t exh

aust

s its

elf i

n ho

wls.

Whe

n wo

rds l

ike

“enr

agés

” an

d “e

xalté

s” r

esur

face

in p

olit

ics

they

’re

alwa

ys g

reet

ed w

ith

warn

ing

shot

s.24

A

s

fo

r

me

th

od

s, l

et’s

adop

t th

e fo

llowi

ng p

rinc

iple

fro

m

sabo

tage

: a m

inim

um o

f ris

k in

taki

ng th

e ac

tion

, a m

inim

um o

f ti

me,

and

max

imum

dam

age.

As

for

stra

tegy

, we

will

rem

embe

r th

at a

n ob

stac

le t

hat

has

been

cle

ared

awa

y, l

eavi

ng a

lib

erat

ed

but u

ninh

abit

ed sp

ace,

is e

asily

repl

aced

by a

noth

er o

bsta

cle,

one

th

at o

ffer

s m

ore

resi

stan

ce a

nd is

har

der

to a

ttac

k.N

o ne

ed t

o dw

ell

too

long

on

the

thre

e ty

pes

of w

orke

rs’

sabo

tage

: red

ucin

g th

e sp

eed

of w

ork,

from

“ea

sy d

oes

it”

paci

ng

to th

e “wo

rk-t

o-ru

le” s

trik

e; b

reak

ing t

he m

achi

nes,

or h

inde

ring

th

eir

func

tion

; and

div

ulgi

ng c

ompa

ny se

cret

s. B

road

ened

to th

e di

men

sion

s of t

he w

hole

soci

al fa

ctor

y, th

e pr

inci

ples

of s

abot

age

can

be a

pplie

d to

bot

h pr

oduc

tion

and

cir

cula

tion

. The

tech

nica

l in

fras

truc

ture

of

the

met

ropo

lis i

s vu

lner

able

. It

s fl

ows

amou

nt

to m

ore

than

the

tra

nspo

rtat

ion

of p

eopl

e an

d co

mm

odit

ies.

In

form

atio

n an

d en

ergy

cir

cula

tes

via

wire

net

work

s, f

iber

s an

d ch

anne

ls,

and

thes

e ca

n be

att

acke

d. N

owad

ays

sabo

tagi

ng

the

soci

al m

achi

ne w

ith

any

real

eff

ect

invo

lves

rea

ppro

pria

ting

an

d re

inve

ntin

g th

e wa

ys o

f in

terr

upti

ng i

ts n

etwo

rks.

How

can

a

TG

V l

ine

or a

n el

ectr

ical

net

work

be

rend

ered

use

less

? H

ow

does

one

find

the

weak

poi

nts i

n co

mpu

ter

netw

orks

, or

scra

mbl

e ra

dio

wave

s an

d fi

ll sc

reen

s wi

th w

hite

noi

se?

As

for

seri

ous

obst

acle

s,

it’s

wron

g to

im

agin

e th

em

invu

lner

able

to

all d

estr

ucti

on.

The

pro

met

hean

ele

men

t in

all

of t

his

boils

dow

n to

a c

erta

in u

se o

f fi

re,

all b

lind

volu

ntar

ism

as

ide.

In

356

BC

, E

rost

ratu

s bu

rned

dow

n th

e te

mpl

e of

A

rtem

is,

one

of t

he s

even

won

ders

of

the

worl

d. I

n ou

r ti

me

of

24. T

he en

ragé

s and

exal

tés w

ere

both

rad

ical

gro

ups

in th

e Fr

ench

rev

olut

ion.

73

Trav

el. O

pen

our o

wn li

nes o

f com

mun

icatio

n.

Th

e pr

in

ciple

o

f c

om

mu

ne

s is

not

to

coun

ter

the

met

ropo

lis

and

its

mob

ility

wi

th

loca

l sl

owne

ss

and

root

edne

ss.

The

ex

pans

ive

mov

emen

t of

co

mm

une

form

atio

n sh

ould

su

rrep

titi

ousl

y ov

erta

ke t

he m

ovem

ent

of t

he m

etro

polis

. W

e do

n’t h

ave

to r

ejec

t the

pos

sibi

litie

s of t

rave

l and

com

mun

icat

ion

that

the

com

mer

cial

inf

rast

ruct

ure

offe

rs;

we j

ust

have

to

know

th

eir

limit

s. W

e ju

st h

ave

to b

e pr

uden

t, i

nnoc

uous

. V

isit

s in

pe

rson

are

mor

e se

cure

, le

ave

no t

race

, an

d fo

rge

muc

h m

ore

cons

iste

nt c

onne

ctio

ns th

an a

ny li

st o

f con

tact

s on

the

inte

rnet

. T

he p

rivi

lege

man

y of

us

enjo

y of

bei

ng a

ble

to “

circ

ulat

e fr

eely

” fr

om o

ne e

nd o

f the

con

tine

nt to

the

othe

r, a

nd e

ven

acro

ss th

e wo

rld

with

out t

oo m

uch

trou

ble,

is n

ot a

neg

ligib

le a

sset

whe

n it

co

mes

to c

omm

unic

atio

n be

twee

n po

cket

s of

con

spir

acy.

One

of

the

char

ms o

f the

met

ropo

lis is

that

it a

llows

Am

eric

ans,

Gre

eks,

M

exic

ans,

and

Ger

man

s to

mee

t fur

tive

ly in

Par

is fo

r th

e ti

me

it

take

s to

dis

cuss

str

ateg

y.C

onst

ant m

ovem

ent b

etwe

en fr

iend

ly c

omm

unes

is o

ne o

f the

th

ings

that

kee

ps th

em fr

om d

ryin

g up

and

from

the

inev

itab

ility

of

aba

ndon

men

t. W

elco

min

g co

mra

des,

kee

ping

abr

east

of t

heir

in

itia

tive

s, r

efle

ctin

g on

thei

r ex

peri

ence

s and

mak

ing

use

of n

ew

tech

niqu

es t

hey’

ve d

evel

oped

doe

s m

ore

good

for

a c

omm

une

than

ster

ile se

lf-e

xam

inat

ions

beh

ind

clos

ed d

oors

. It w

ould

be

a m

ista

ke to

und

eres

tim

ate

how

muc

h ca

n be

dec

isiv

ely

work

ed o

ut

over

the

cour

se o

f eve

ning

s sp

ent c

ompa

ring

vie

ws o

n th

e wa

r in

pr

ogre

ss.

Rem

ove a

ll ob

stacle

s, on

e by o

ne

It’s w

ell k

no

wn

that

the

stre

ets

teem

wit

h in

civi

litie

s. B

etwe

en

what

they

are

and

wha

t the

y sh

ould

be

stan

ds th

e ce

ntri

peta

l for

ce

of th

e po

lice,

doi

ng th

eir

best

to r

esto

re o

rder

to th

em;

and

on

the

othe

r si

de th

ere’

s us,

the

oppo

site

cen

trif

ugal

mov

emen

t. W

e ca

n’t h

elp

but d

elig

ht in

the

fits

of

ange

r an

d di

sord

er w

here

ver

they

eru

pt.

It’s

not

surp

risi

ng t

hat

thes

e na

tion

al f

esti

vals

tha

t ar

en’t

real

ly c

eleb

rati

ng a

nyth

ing

anym

ore

are

now

syst

emat

ical

ly

goin

g ba

d. W

heth

er s

park

ling

or d

ilapi

date

d, th

e ur

ban

fixt

ures

–

but

wher

e do

the

y be

gin?

whe

re d

o th

ey e

nd?

– em

body

our

co

mm

on d

ispo

sses

sion

. Pe

rsev

erin

g in

the

ir n

othi

ngne

ss,

they

as

k fo

r no

thin

g m

ore

than

to r

etur

n to

that

sta

te f

or g

ood.

Tak

e

20

It’s

diz

zyin

g to

see

Ree

bok’

s “I

AM

WH

AT I

AM

” en

thro

ned

atop

a S

hang

hai

skys

crap

er.

The

Wes

t ev

eryw

here

rol

ls o

ut

its

favo

rite

Tro

jan

hors

e: t

he e

xasp

erat

ing

anti

mon

y be

twee

n th

e se

lf a

nd t

he w

orld

, th

e in

divi

dual

and

the

gro

up,

betw

een

atta

chm

ent a

nd f

reed

om.

Free

dom

isn’

t the

act

of

shed

ding

our

at

tach

men

ts,

but

the

prac

tical

cap

acit

y to

wor

k on

the

m,

to m

ove

arou

nd in

thei

r sp

ace,

to fo

rm o

r di

ssol

ve th

em. T

he fa

mily

onl

y ex

ists

as

a fa

mily

, th

at i

s, a

s a

hell,

for

tho

se w

ho’v

e qu

it t

ryin

g to

alte

r it

s de

bilit

atin

g m

echa

nism

s, o

r do

n’t

know

how

to.

The

fr

eedo

m t

o up

root

one

self

has

alwa

ys b

een

a ph

anta

smic

fre

edom

. W

e ca

n’t r

id o

urse

lves

of

what

bin

ds u

s wi

thou

t at t

he s

ame

tim

e lo

sing

the

very

thin

g to

whi

ch o

ur fo

rces

wou

ld b

e ap

plie

d. “

I A

M W

HAT

I A

M,”

the

n, i

s no

t si

mpl

y a

lie,

a si

mpl

e ad

vert

isin

g ca

mpa

ign,

but

a m

ilita

ry c

ampa

ign,

a w

ar c

ry d

irec

ted

agai

nst

ever

ythi

ng t

hat

exis

ts b

etwee

n be

ings

, ag

ains

t ev

eryt

hing

th

at c

ircu

late

s in

dist

inct

ly,

ever

ythi

ng t

hat

invi

sibl

y lin

ks t

hem

, ev

eryt

hing

that

pre

vent

s co

mpl

ete

deso

lati

on,

agai

nst e

very

thin

g th

at m

akes

us

exist

, an

d en

sure

s th

at t

he w

hole

wor

ld d

oesn

’t ev

eryw

here

hav

e th

e lo

ok a

nd f

eel

of a

hig

hway

, an

am

usem

ent

park

or

a ne

w to

wn: p

ure

bore

dom

, pas

sion

less

but

wel

l-or

dere

d,

empt

y, fr

ozen

spa

ce, w

here

not

hing

mov

es a

part

from

reg

iste

red

bodi

es, m

olec

ular

aut

omob

iles,

and

idea

l com

mod

itie

s.

Fr

an

ce

w

ou

ld

n’t

be

th

e

la

nd

o

f

an

xie

ty

pills t

hat

it’s

beco

me,

the

para

dise

of a

nti-

depr

essa

nts,

the

Mec

ca o

f neu

rosi

s,

if it

wer

en’t

also

the

Eur

opea

n ch

ampi

on o

f hou

rly

prod

ucti

vity

. Si

ckne

ss, f

atig

ue, d

epre

ssio

n, ca

n be

seen

as th

e ind

ividu

al sy

mpt

oms

of w

hat n

eeds

to b

e cu

red.

The

y con

trib

ute

to th

e m

aint

enan

ce o

f th

e ex

isti

ng o

rder

, to

my

doci

le a

djus

tmen

t to

idio

tic

norm

s, a

nd

to th

e m

oder

niza

tion

of

my

crut

ches

. T

hey

spec

ify

the

sele

ctio

n of

my

oppo

rtun

e, c

ompl

iant

, and

pro

duct

ive

tend

enci

es, a

s we

ll as

tho

se t

hat

mus

t be

gen

tly d

isca

rded

. “I

t’s n

ever

too

lat

e to

ch

ange

, you

kno

w.”

But

take

n as

facts

, my

faili

ngs

can

also

lead

to

the

dism

antli

ng o

f th

e hy

poth

esis

of

the

self

. T

hey

then

bec

ome

acts

of

resi

stan

ce i

n th

e cu

rren

t wa

r. T

hey

beco

me

a re

belli

on

and

a fo

rce

agai

nst e

very

thin

g th

at c

onsp

ires

to n

orm

aliz

e us

, to

ampu

tate

us.

The

self

is n

ot so

me

thin

g wi

thin

us t

hat i

s in

a st

ate

of c

risi

s; it

is t

he f

orm

the

y m

ean

to s

tam

p up

on u

s. T

hey

want

to

mak

e ou

r se

lf s

omet

hing

sha

rply

def

ined

, sep

arat

e, a

sses

sabl

e in

term

s of

qua

litie

s, c

ontr

olla

ble,

whe

n in

fac

t we

are

crea

ture

s am

ong

crea

ture

s,

sing

ular

itie

s am

ong

sim

ilars

, liv

ing

fles

h

21

weav

ing

the

fles

h of

the

worl

d. C

ontr

ary t

o wh

at h

as b

een

repe

ated

to

us s

ince

chi

ldho

od, i

ntel

ligen

ce d

oesn

’t m

ean

know

ing

how

to

adap

t -

or i

f th

at i

s a

kind

of

inte

llige

nce,

it’s

the

int

ellig

ence

of

sla

ves.

Our

inad

apta

bilit

y, o

ur f

atig

ue,

are

only

pro

blem

s fro

m t

he

stan

dpoi

nt o

f wh

at a

ims

to s

ubju

gate

us.

The

y in

dica

te r

athe

r a

depa

rtur

e po

int,

a m

eeti

ng p

oint

, fo

r ne

w co

mpl

icit

ies.

The

y re

veal

a l

ands

cape

mor

e da

mag

ed,

but

infi

nite

ly m

ore

shar

able

th

an a

ll th

e fa

ntas

y la

nds

this

soc

iety

mai

ntai

ns fo

r it

s pu

rpos

es.

We

are

not

depr

esse

d; w

e’re

on

stri

ke.

For

thos

e wh

o re

fuse

to

man

age

them

selv

es,

“dep

ress

ion”

is

not

a st

ate

but

a pa

ssag

e,

a bo

wing

out

, a

side

step

tow

ards

a p

oliti

cal

disa

ffili

atio

n. F

rom

th

en o

n m

edic

atio

n an

d th

e po

lice

are

the

only

pos

sibl

e fo

rms

of c

onci

liati

on.

Thi

s is

why

the

pre

sent

soc

iety

doe

sn’t

hesi

tate

to

impo

se R

ital

in o

n it

s ov

er-a

ctiv

e ch

ildre

n, o

r to

str

ap p

eopl

e in

to li

fe-l

ong

depe

nden

ce o

n ph

arm

aceu

tica

ls, a

nd w

hy it

cla

ims

to b

e ab

le t

o de

tect

“be

havi

oral

dis

orde

rs”

at a

ge t

hree

. B

ecau

se

ever

ywhe

re th

e hy

poth

esis

of t

he s

elf i

s be

ginn

ing

to c

rack

.

72Cr

eate

territ

ories

. Mul

tiply

zone

s of o

pacit

y

Mo

re

a

nd

m

or

e

re

fo

rm

ists

to

da

y

ag

re

e t

hat

with

“th

e ap

proa

ch o

f pe

ak o

il,”

and

in o

rder

to

“red

uce

gree

nhou

se g

as

emis

sion

s,”

we w

ill n

eed

to “

relo

caliz

e th

e ec

onom

y,” e

ncou

rage

re

gion

al s

uppl

y lin

es,

smal

l dis

trib

utio

n ci

rcui

ts,

reno

unce

eas

y ac

cess

to

impo

rts

from

far

away

, et

c. W

hat

they

for

get

is t

hat

what

cha

ract

eriz

es e

very

thin

g th

at’s

done

in

a lo

cal

econ

omy

is t

hat

it’s

done

und

er th

e ta

ble,

in

an “

info

rmal

” wa

y; t

hat

this

si

mpl

e ec

olog

ical

mea

sure

of

relo

caliz

ing

the

econ

omy

impl

ies

noth

ing

less

than

tota

l fre

edom

from

sta

te c

ontr

ol. O

r el

se to

tal

subm

issi

on to

it.

Toda

y’s t

erri

tory

is

the

prod

uct

of m

any

cent

urie

s of

pol

ice

oper

atio

ns.

Peop

le h

ave

been

pus

hed

out

of t

heir

fie

lds,

the

n th

eir

stre

ets,

the

n th

eir

neig

hbor

hood

s, a

nd f

inal

ly f

rom

the

ha

llway

s of

thei

r bu

ildin

gs, i

n th

e de

men

ted

hope

of c

onta

inin

g al

l lif

e be

twee

n th

e fo

ur s

weat

ing

walls

of p

riva

cy. T

he te

rrit

oria

l qu

esti

on is

n’t t

he s

ame

for

us a

s it

is fo

r th

e st

ate.

For

us

it’s

not

abou

t po

ssessi

ng t

erri

tory

. R

athe

r, i

t’s a

mat

ter

of i

ncre

asin

g th

e de

nsit

y of

the

com

mun

es,

of c

ircu

lati

on,

and

of s

olid

arit

ies

to

the

poin

t th

at t

he t

erri

tory

bec

omes

unr

eada

ble,

opa

que

to a

ll au

thor

ity.

We

don’

t wa

nt t

o oc

cupy

the

ter

rito

ry,

we w

ant

to b

e th

e te

rrit

ory.

Eve

ry p

ract

ice

brin

gs a

ter

rito

ry i

nto

exis

tenc

e –

a de

alin

g te

rrit

ory,

or

a hu

ntin

g te

rrit

ory;

a t

erri

tory

of

child

’s pl

ay,

of

love

rs, o

f a r

iot;

a te

rrit

ory

of fa

rmer

s, o

rnit

holo

gist

s, o

r fla

neur

s. T

he r

ule

is s

impl

e: th

e m

ore

terr

itor

ies

ther

e ar

e su

peri

mpo

sed

on a

giv

en z

one,

the

mor

e ci

rcul

atio

n th

ere

is b

etwe

en t

hem

, th

e ha

rder

it w

ill b

e fo

r po

wer

to g

et a

han

dle

on th

em.

Bis

tros

, pr

int

shop

s, s

port

s fa

cilit

ies,

was

tela

nds,

sec

ond-

hand

boo

k st

alls

, bui

ldin

g ro

ofto

ps, i

mpr

ovis

ed st

reet

mar

kets

, keb

ab sh

ops

and

gara

ges

can

all e

asily

be

used

for

pur

pose

s ot

her

than

the

ir

offi

cial

one

s if

eno

ugh

com

plic

itie

s co

me

toge

ther

in

them

. L

ocal

self

-org

aniz

atio

n su

peri

mpo

ses i

ts o

wn g

eogr

aphy

ove

r th

e st

ate

cart

ogra

phy,

scra

mbl

ing

and

blur

ring

it: i

t pro

duce

s its

own

se

cess

ion.

71

Trai

ning

and

lear

ning

Wh

at a

re

w

e le

ft w

ith

, ha

ving

use

d up

mos

t of

the

lei

sure

au

thor

ized

by

mar

ket

dem

ocra

cy?

Wha

t wa

s it

tha

t m

ade

us

go j

oggi

ng o

n a

Sund

ay m

orni

ng?

Wha

t ke

eps

all

thes

e ka

rate

fa

nati

cs,

thes

e D

IY,

fish

ing,

or

myc

olog

y fr

eaks

goi

ng?

Wha

t,

if n

ot t

he n

eed

to f

ill u

p so

me

tota

lly i

dle

tim

e, t

o re

cons

titu

te

thei

r la

bor

powe

r or

“he

alth

cap

ital

”? M

ost r

ecre

atio

nal a

ctiv

itie

s co

uld

easi

ly b

e st

ripp

ed o

f the

ir a

bsur

dity

and

bec

ome

som

ethi

ng

else

. B

oxin

g ha

s no

t al

ways

bee

n lim

ited

to

the

stag

ing

of

spec

tacu

lar

mat

ches

. A

t th

e be

ginn

ing

of t

he 2

0th

cen

tury

, as

C

hina

was

car

ved

up b

y ho

rdes

of

colo

nist

s an

d st

arve

d by

long

dr

ough

ts, h

undr

eds

of th

ousa

nds

of it

s po

or p

easa

nts

orga

nize

d th

emse

lves

int

o co

untle

ss o

pen-

air

boxi

ng c

lubs

, in

ord

er t

o ta

ke b

ack

what

the

col

onis

ts a

nd t

he r

ich

had

take

n fr

om t

hem

. T

his

was

the

Box

er R

ebel

lion.

It’s

nev

er t

oo e

arly

to

lear

n an

d pr

acti

ce w

hat

less

pac

ifie

d, l

ess

pred

icta

ble

tim

es m

ight

req

uire

of

us.

Our

dep

ende

nce

on t

he m

etro

polis

– o

n it

s m

edic

ine,

it

s ag

ricu

lture

, it

s po

lice

– is

so

grea

t at

pre

sent

tha

t we

can

’t at

tack

it

with

out

putt

ing

ours

elve

s in

dan

ger.

An

unsp

oken

aw

aren

ess

of t

his

vuln

erab

ility

acc

ount

s fo

r th

e sp

onta

neou

s se

lf-l

imit

atio

n of

tod

ay’s

soci

al m

ovem

ents

, an

d ex

plai

ns o

ur

fear

of

cris

es a

nd o

ur d

esir

e fo

r “s

ecur

ity.”

It’s

for

thi

s re

ason

th

at s

trik

es h

ave

usua

lly t

rade

d th

e pr

ospe

ct o

f re

volu

tion

for

a

retu

rn t

o no

rmal

cy.

Esc

apin

g th

is f

ate

calls

for

a l

ong

and

cons

iste

nt p

roce

ss o

f ap

pren

tice

ship

, an

d fo

r m

ulti

ple,

mas

sive

ex

peri

men

ts.

It’s

a qu

esti

on o

f kn

owin

g ho

w to

fig

ht,

to p

ick

lock

s, t

o se

t br

oken

bon

es a

nd t

reat

sic

knes

ses;

how

to

build

a

pira

te r

adio

tra

nsm

itte

r; h

ow t

o se

t up

str

eet

kitc

hens

; ho

w to

ai

m s

trai

ght;

how

to

gath

er t

oget

her

scat

tere

d kn

owle

dge

and

set

up w

arti

me

agro

nom

ics;

und

erst

and

plan

kton

bio

logy

; so

il co

mpo

siti

on;

stud

y th

e wa

y pl

ants

inte

ract

; ge

t to

know

pos

sibl

e us

es f

or a

nd c

onne

ctio

ns w

ith

our

imm

edia

te e

nvir

onm

ent

as

well

as t

he l

imit

s we

can

’t go

bey

ond

with

out

exha

usti

ng i

t. W

e m

ust

star

t to

day,

in

prep

arat

ion

for

the

days

whe

n we

’ll n

eed

mor

e th

an ju

st a

sym

bolic

por

tion

of o

ur n

ouri

shm

ent a

nd c

are.

22Seco

nd

Cir

cle

“Ent

erta

inm

ent

is a

vit

al n

eed”

A

gov

ernm

ent

that

dec

lare

s a

stat

e of

em

erge

ncy

agai

nst

fift

een-

year

-old

ki

ds.

A

coun

try

that

ta

kes

refu

ge

in

the

arm

s of

a f

ootb

all

team

. A

cop

in

a ho

spit

al b

ed,

com

plai

ning

abo

ut b

eing

the

vic

tim

of

“vio

lenc

e.”

A c

ity

coun

cilw

oman

iss

uing

a d

ecre

e ag

ains

t th

e bu

ildin

g of

tr

ee h

ouse

s. T

wo t

en y

ear

olds

, in

Che

lles,

cha

rged

wit

h bu

rnin

g do

wn a

vid

eo g

ame

arca

de.

Thi

s er

a ex

cels

in

a ce

rtai

n si

tuat

ion

of t

he g

rote

sque

tha

t se

ems

to e

scap

e it

ev

ery

tim

e. T

he tr

uth

is th

at th

e pl

aint

ive,

indi

gnan

t ton

es

of th

e ne

ws m

edia

are

una

ble

to s

tifl

e th

e bu

rst o

f lau

ghte

r th

at w

elco

mes

thes

e he

adlin

es.

A b

urst

of

laug

hter

is

the

only

app

ropr

iate

res

pons

e to

al

l the

ser

ious

“qu

esti

ons”

pos

ed b

y ne

ws a

naly

sts.

To

take

th

e m

ost

bana

l: t

here

is

no “

imm

igra

tion

que

stio

n.”

Who

st

ill g

rows

up

wher

e th

ey w

ere

born

? W

ho li

ves

wher

e th

ey

grew

up?

Who

wor

ks w

here

they

live

? W

ho li

ves w

here

thei

r an

cest

ors

did?

And

to

whom

do

the

child

ren

of t

his

era

belo

ng,

to t

elev

isio

n or

the

ir p

aren

ts?

The

tru

th i

s th

at

we h

ave

been

com

plet

ely

torn

fro

m a

ny b

elon

ging

, we

are

no

lon

ger

from

any

wher

e, a

nd t

he r

esul

t, i

n ad

diti

on t

o a

new

disp

osit

ion

to t

ouri

sm,

is a

n un

deni

able

suf

feri

ng.

Our

his

tory

is o

ne o

f col

oniz

atio

ns, o

f mig

rati

ons,

of w

ars,

of

exi

les,

of

the

dest

ruct

ion

of a

ll ro

ots.

It’s

the

sto

ry o

f ev

eryt

hing

that

has

mad

e us

fore

igne

rs in

this

wor

ld, g

uest

s in

our

own

fam

ily.

We

have

bee

n ex

prop

riat

ed f

rom

our

ow

n la

ngua

ge b

y ed

ucat

ion,

fro

m o

ur s

ongs

by

real

ity

TV

co

ntes

ts,

from

our

fle

sh b

y m

ass

porn

ogra

phy,

fro

m o

ur

23

city

by

the

polic

e, a

nd fr

om o

ur fr

iend

s by

wag

e-la

bor.

To

this

we

shou

ld a

dd,

in F

ranc

e, t

he f

eroc

ious

and

sec

ular

wo

rk o

f in

divi

dual

izat

ion

by t

he p

ower

of

the

stat

e, t

hat

clas

sifi

es,

com

pare

s, d

isci

plin

es a

nd s

epar

ates

its

sub

ject

s st

arti

ng f

rom

a v

ery

youn

g ag

e, t

hat

inst

inct

ivel

y gr

inds

do

wn a

ny s

olid

arit

ies

that

esc

ape

it u

ntil

noth

ing

rem

ains

ex

cept

cit

izen

ship

– a

pur

e, p

hant

asm

ic se

nse

of b

elon

ging

to

the

Rep

ublic

. T

he F

renc

hman

, m

ore

than

any

one

else

, is

the

em

bodi

men

t of

the

dis

poss

esse

d, t

he d

esti

tute

. H

is

hatr

ed o

f fo

reig

ners

is

base

d on

his

hat

red

of h

imse

lf a

s a

fore

igner

. T

he m

ixtu

re o

f je

alou

sy a

nd f

ear

he f

eels

tow

ard

the

“cité

s”9 e

xpre

sses

not

hing

but

his

res

entm

ent

for

all h

e ha

s lo

st.

He

can’

t he

lp e

nvyi

ng t

hese

so-

calle

d “p

robl

em”

neig

hbor

hood

s whe

re th

ere

still

per

sist

s a b

it o

f com

mun

al

life,

a

few

links

be

twee

n be

ings

, so

me

solid

arit

ies

not

cont

rolle

d by

the

sta

te,

an i

nfor

mal

eco

nom

y, a

n or

gani

zati

on t

hat

is n

ot y

et d

etac

hed

from

tho

se w

ho

orga

nize

. We

have

arr

ived

at a

poi

nt o

f pri

vati

on w

here

the

only

way

to fe

el F

renc

h is

to c

urse

the

imm

igra

nts a

nd th

ose

who

are

mor

e vis

ibly

fore

ign.

In t

his

coun

try,

the

im

mig

rant

s as

sum

e a

curi

ous

posi

tion

of

sove

reig

nty:

if th

ey w

eren

’t he

re,

the F

renc

h m

ight s

top

exist

ing.

Fra

nce

is a

pro

duct

of

its

scho

ols,

and

not

the

inve

rse.

W

e liv

e in

an

exce

ssiv

ely

scho

last

ic c

ount

ry,

wher

e on

e re

mem

bers

pas

sing

an

exam

as a

sort

of l

ife

pass

age.

Whe

re

reti

red

peop

le s

till

tell

you

abou

t th

eir

failu

re,

fort

y ye

ars

earl

ier,

in

such

and

suc

h an

exa

m,

and

how

it s

crew

ed u

p th

eir

whol

e ca

reer

, th

eir

whol

e lif

e. F

or a

cen

tury

and

a

half

, the

nat

iona

l sch

ool s

yste

m h

as b

een

prod

ucin

g a

type

of

sta

te s

ubje

ctiv

ity

that

sta

nds

out

amon

gst

all

othe

rs.

Peop

le w

ho a

ccep

t co

mpe

titi

on o

n th

e co

ndit

ion

that

the

pl

ayin

g fi

eld

is l

evel

. W

ho e

xpec

t in

lif

e th

at e

ach

pers

on

be r

ewar

ded

as in

a c

onte

st, a

ccor

ding

to th

eir

mer

it. W

ho

alwa

ys a

sk p

erm

issi

on b

efor

e ta

king

. W

ho s

ilent

ly r

espe

ct

cultu

re,

the

rule

s, a

nd t

hose

wit

h th

e be

st g

rade

s. E

ven

thei

r at

tach

men

t to

the

ir g

reat

, cr

itic

al i

ntel

lect

uals

and

9. c

ité –

a h

ousi

ng p

roje

ct, t

ypic

ally

in im

pove

rish

ed a

reas

like

the

banl

ieues

.

70we

can

follo

w at

our

leis

ure,

to th

eir

ends

, unt

il we

see

them

cro

ss

with

oth

ers.

Plun

der,

culti

vate,

fabr

icate

So

me

fo

rm

er

M

eta

lE

ur

op e

mplo

ye

es b

ecom

e ba

nk r

obbe

rs

rath

er p

riso

n gu

ards

. So

me

ED

F em

ploy

ees

show

fri

ends

and

fa

mily

how

to

rig

the

elec

tric

ity

met

ers.

Com

mod

itie

s th

at “

fell

off

the

back

of

a tr

uck”

are

sol

d le

ft a

nd r

ight

. A

wor

ld t

hat

so

open

ly p

rocl

aim

s it

s cy

nici

sm c

an’t

expe

ct m

uch

loya

lty f

rom

pr

olet

aria

ns.

On

the

one

hand

, a

com

mun

e ca

n’t

bank

on

the

“wel

fare

st

ate”

bei

ng a

roun

d fo

reve

r, a

nd o

n th

e ot

her,

it

can’

t co

unt

on l

ivin

g fo

r lo

ng o

ff s

hopl

ifti

ng,

nigh

ttim

e du

mps

ter

divi

ng

at s

uper

mar

kets

or

in t

he w

areh

ouse

s of

the

ind

ustr

ial

zone

s,

mis

dire

ctin

g go

vern

men

t su

bsid

ies,

ri

ppin

g of

f in

sura

nce

com

pani

es a

nd o

ther

fra

uds,

in

a wo

rd:

plun

der.

So

it h

as t

o co

nsid

er h

ow t

o co

ntin

ually

inc

reas

e th

e le

vel

and

scop

e of

its

se

lf-o

rgan

izat

ion.

Not

hing

wou

ld b

e m

ore

logi

cal t

han

usin

g th

e la

thes

, m

illin

g m

achi

nes,

and

pho

toco

pier

s so

ld a

t a

disc

ount

af

ter

a fa

ctor

y cl

osur

e to

supp

ort a

con

spir

acy

agai

nst c

omm

odit

y so

ciet

y.T

he f

eelin

g of

im

min

ent

colla

pse

is e

very

wher

e so

str

ong

thes

e da

ys t

hat

it w

ould

be

hard

to

enum

erat

e al

l of

the

curr

ent

expe

rim

ents

in

m

atte

rs

of

cons

truc

tion

, en

ergy

, m

ater

ials

, ill

egal

ity

or

agri

cultu

re.

The

re’s

a wh

ole

set

of

skill

s an

d te

chni

ques

jus

t wa

itin

g to

be

plun

dere

d an

d ri

pped

fro

m t

heir

hu

man

isti

c, s

tree

t-cu

lture

, or

eco

-fri

endl

y tr

appi

ngs.

Yet

thi

s gr

oup

of e

xper

imen

ts is

but

one

par

t of a

ll of

the

intu

itio

ns, t

he

know

-how

, and

the

inge

nuit

y fo

und

in s

lum

s th

at w

ill h

ave

to b

e de

ploy

ed if

we

inte

nd to

rep

opul

ate

the

met

ropo

litan

des

ert a

nd

ensu

re th

e vi

abili

ty o

f an

insu

rrec

tion

bey

ond

its

firs

t sta

ges.

How

will

we

com

mun

icat

e an

d m

ove

abou

t du

ring

a t

otal

in

terr

upti

on o

f th

e fl

ows?

How

will

we

rest

ore

food

pro

duct

ion

in r

ural

are

as t

o th

e po

int

wher

e th

ey c

an o

nce

agai

n su

ppor

t th

e po

pula

tion

den

sity

that

they

had

six

ty y

ears

ago

? H

ow w

ill w

e tr

ansf

orm

con

cret

e sp

aces

into

urb

an v

eget

able

gar

dens

, as C

uba

has

done

in o

rder

to w

iths

tand

bot

h th

e A

mer

ican

em

barg

o an

d th

e liq

uida

tion

of t

he U

SSR

?

69

GE

T O

RG

AN

IZE

D

Get

orga

nize

d in

ord

er to

no

long

er h

ave t

o wo

rk W

e kn

ow t

hat

indi

vidu

als

are

poss

esse

d of

so

little

life

tha

t th

ey

have

to ea

rn a

livin

g, to

sell

thei

r ti

me

in e

xcha

nge

for

a m

odic

um o

f so

cial

exi

sten

ce. P

erso

nal t

ime

for

soci

al e

xist

ence

: su

ch is

wor

k,

such

is

the

mar

ket.

Fro

m t

he o

utse

t, t

he t

ime

of t

he c

omm

une

elud

es w

ork,

it

does

n’t

func

tion

acc

ordi

ng t

o th

at s

chem

e -

it

pref

ers

othe

rs.

Gro

ups

of A

rgen

tine

piq

ueter

os c

olle

ctiv

ely

exto

rt

a so

rt o

f lo

cal w

elfa

re c

ondi

tion

ed b

y a

few

hour

s of

wor

k; t

hey

don’

t cl

ock

thei

r ho

urs,

the

y pu

t th

eir

bene

fits

in

com

mon

an

d ac

quir

e cl

othi

ng w

orks

hops

, a

bake

ry,

putt

ing

in p

lace

the

ga

rden

s th

at th

ey n

eed.

T

he c

omm

une

need

s m

oney

, bu

t no

t be

caus

e we

nee

d to

ea

rn a

liv

ing.

All

com

mun

es h

ave

thei

r bl

ack

mar

kets

. T

here

ar

e pl

enty

of

hust

les.

Asi

de f

rom

wel

fare

, th

ere

are

vari

ous

bene

fits

, di

sabi

lity

mon

ey,

accu

mul

ated

stu

dent

aid

, su

bsid

ies

draw

n of

f fi

ctit

ious

chi

ldbi

rths

, al

l ki

nds

of t

raff

icki

ng,

and

so

man

y ot

her

mea

ns t

hat

aris

e wi

th e

very

mut

atio

n of

con

trol

. It

’s no

t fo

r us

to

defe

nd t

hem

, or

to

inst

all

ours

elve

s in

the

se

tem

pora

ry s

helte

rs o

r to

pre

serv

e th

em a

s a

priv

ilege

for

tho

se

in th

e kn

ow.

The

impo

rtan

t thi

ng is

to c

ulti

vate

and

spr

ead

this

ne

cess

ary d

ispo

siti

on to

ward

s fra

ud, a

nd to

shar

e it

s inn

ovat

ions

. Fo

r co

mm

unes

, the

que

stio

n of

wor

k is

onl

y po

sed

in r

elat

ion

to

othe

r al

read

y ex

isti

ng i

ncom

es.

And

we

shou

ldn’

t fo

rget

all

the

usef

ul k

nowl

edge

tha

t ca

n be

acq

uire

d th

roug

h ce

rtai

n tr

ades

, pr

ofes

sion

s an

d we

ll-po

siti

oned

jobs

. T

he

ex

ig

en

cy

of t

he

co

mm

un

e is

to fr

ee u

p th

e m

ost t

ime

for

the

mos

t pe

ople

. A

nd w

e’re

not

jus

t ta

lkin

g ab

out

the

num

ber o

f ho

urs f

ree

of a

ny w

age-

labo

r ex

ploi

tati

on.

Lib

erat

ed ti

me

does

n’t

mea

n a

vaca

tion

. Va

cant

tim

e, d

ead

tim

e, th

e ti

me

of e

mpt

ines

s an

d th

e fe

ar o

f em

ptin

ess

– th

is i

s th

e ti

me

of w

ork.

The

re w

ill

be n

o m

ore

tim

e to

fill,

but

a li

bera

tion

of e

nerg

y th

at n

o “t

ime”

co

ntai

ns;

lines

tha

t ta

ke s

hape

, th

at a

ccen

tuat

e ea

ch o

ther

, th

at

24thei

r re

ject

ion

of c

apit

alis

m a

re b

rand

ed b

y th

is l

ove

of

scho

ol.

It’s

this

con

stru

ctio

n of

sub

ject

ivit

ies

by t

he s

tate

th

at i

s br

eaki

ng d

own,

eve

ry d

ay a

lit

tle m

ore,

wit

h th

e de

clin

e of

the

sch

olar

ly i

nsti

tuti

ons.

The

rea

ppea

ranc

e,

over

the

pas

t tw

enty

yea

rs,

of a

sch

ool

and

a cu

lture

of

the

stre

et,

in c

ompe

titi

on w

ith

the

scho

ol o

f th

e re

publ

ic

and

its

card

boar

d cu

lture

, is

the

mos

t pr

ofou

nd t

raum

a th

at F

renc

h un

iver

salis

m is

pre

sent

ly u

nder

goin

g. O

n th

is

poin

t, th

e ex

trem

e ri

ght i

s alr

eady

rec

onci

led

with

the

mos

t vi

rule

nt l

eft.

How

ever

, th

e na

me

Jule

s Fe

rry

– M

inis

ter

of T

hier

s du

ring

the

cru

shin

g of

the

Com

mun

e an

d th

eore

tici

an o

f co

loni

zati

on –

sho

uld

itse

lf b

e en

ough

to

rend

er th

is in

stit

utio

n su

spec

t.10

Whe

n we

see

tea

cher

s fr

om s

ome

“cit

izen

s’ vi

gila

nce

com

mit

tee”

com

e on

the

eve

ning

new

s to

whi

ne a

bout

so

meo

ne b

urni

ng d

own

their

sch

ool,

we

rem

embe

r ho

w m

any

tim

es,

as c

hild

ren,

we

drea

med

of

doin

g ex

actly

th

is.

Whe

n we

hea

r a

left

ist

inte

llect

ual

blab

beri

ng a

bout

th

e ba

rbar

ism

of

grou

ps o

f ki

ds h

aras

sing

pas

sers

by i

n th

e st

reet

, sh

oplif

ting

, bu

rnin

g ca

rs,

and

play

ing

cat

and

mou

se w

ith

riot

pol

ice,

we

rem

embe

r wh

at t

hey

said

ab

out

the

grea

sers

in

the

50s

or,

bett

er,

the

apac

hes

in

the

“Bel

le É

poqu

e”:

“The

gen

eric

nam

e ap

ache

s,” w

rite

s a

judg

e at

the

Sei

ne t

ribu

nal i

n 19

07,

“ha

s fo

r th

e pa

st f

ew

year

s be

en a

way

of

desi

gnat

ing

all d

ange

rous

ind

ivid

uals

, en

emie

s of

soc

iety

, wi

thou

t na

tion

or

fam

ily,

dese

rter

s of

al

l du

ties

, re

ady

for

the

mos

t au

daci

ous

conf

ront

atio

ns,

and

for

any

sort

of

atta

ck o

n pe

rson

s an

d pr

oper

ties

.”

The

se g

angs

who

fle

e wo

rk,

who

adop

t th

e na

mes

of

thei

r ne

ighb

orho

ods,

and

con

fron

t the

pol

ice

are

the

nigh

tmar

e of

the

goo

d, i

ndiv

idua

lized

Fre

nch

citi

zen:

the

y em

body

ev

eryt

hing

he

has

reno

unce

d, a

ll th

e po

ssib

le j

oy h

e wi

ll ne

ver

expe

rien

ce.

The

re i

s so

met

hing

im

pert

inen

t ab

out

exist

ing

in a

cou

ntry

whe

re a

chi

ld s

ingi

ng a

s sh

e pl

ease

s is

in

evit

ably

sile

nced

wit

h a

“sto

p, y

ou’r

e go

ing

to s

tir

thin

gs

10. T

he F

erry

laws

– fo

undi

ng F

ranc

e’s

secu

lar

and

repu

blic

an s

yste

m o

f edu

ca-

tion

– w

ere

nam

ed a

fter

Jul

es F

erry

who

init

ially

pro

pose

d th

em in

188

1.

25

up,”

whe

re sc

hola

stic

cas

trat

ion

unle

ashe

s flo

ods o

f pol

iced

em

ploy

ees.

The

aur

a th

at p

ersi

sts a

roun

d M

esri

ne11 h

as le

ss

to d

o wi

th h

is u

prig

htne

ss a

nd h

is a

udac

ity

than

wit

h th

e fa

ct t

hat

he t

ook

it u

pon

him

self

to

enac

t ve

ngea

nce

on

what

we

shou

ld a

ll av

enge

. O

r ra

ther

, of

wha

t we

sho

uld

aven

ge

dire

ctly,

wh

en

inst

ead

we

cont

inue

to

he

sita

te

and

defe

r en

dles

sly.

Bec

ause

the

re i

s no

dou

bt t

hat

in a

th

ousa

nd i

mpe

rcep

tibl

e an

d un

derc

over

way

s, i

n al

l so

rts

of s

land

erou

s re

mar

ks,

in e

very

spi

tefu

l lit

tle e

xpre

ssio

n an

d ve

nom

ous

polit

enes

s, t

he F

renc

hman

con

tinu

es t

o av

enge

, pe

rman

ently

and

aga

inst

eve

ryon

e, t

he f

act

that

he

’s re

sign

ed h

imse

lf t

o be

ing

tram

pled

ove

r. I

t wa

s ab

out

tim

e th

at fu

ck th

e po

lice!

rep

lace

d ye

s sir,

offi

cer!

In

this

sen

se,

the

un-n

uanc

ed h

osti

lity

of c

erta

in g

angs

onl

y ex

pres

ses,

in

a s

light

ly l

ess

muf

fled

way

, th

e po

ison

ous

atm

osph

ere,

th

e ro

tten

spi

rit,

the

desi

re fo

r a

salv

atio

nal d

estr

ucti

on in

wh

ich

the

coun

try

is c

ompl

etel

y co

nsum

ed.

To c

all t

his p

opul

atio

n of

stra

nger

s in

the

mid

st o

f whi

ch

we li

ve “

soci

ety”

is su

ch a

n us

urpa

tion

that

eve

n so

ciol

ogis

ts

drea

m o

f re

noun

cing

a c

once

pt t

hat

was,

for

a c

entu

ry,

thei

r br

ead

and

butt

er. N

ow th

ey p

refe

r th

e m

etap

hor

of a

ne

twor

k to

des

crib

e th

e co

nnec

tion

of

cybe

rnet

ic s

olit

udes

, th

e in

term

eshi

ng o

f we

ak i

nter

acti

ons

unde

r na

mes

lik

e “c

olle

ague

,” “

cont

act,”

“bu

ddy,”

“ac

quai

ntan

ce,”

or

“dat

e.”

Such

net

work

s so

met

imes

con

dens

e in

to a

mili

eu,

wher

e no

thin

g is

sha

red

but

code

s, a

nd w

here

not

hing

is

play

ed

out e

xcep

t the

ince

ssan

t rec

ompo

siti

on o

f ide

ntit

y.It

wou

ld b

e a

wast

e of

tim

e to

det

ail

all

that

whi

ch

is a

goni

zing

in

exis

ting

soc

ial

rela

tion

s. T

hey

say

the

fam

ily i

s co

min

g ba

ck,

that

the

cou

ple

is c

omin

g ba

ck.

But

the

fam

ily t

hat’s

com

ing

back

is

not

the

sam

e on

e th

at w

ent

away

. It

s re

turn

is

noth

ing

but

a de

epen

ing

of

the

reig

ning

sep

arat

ion

that

it

serv

es t

o m

ask,

bec

omin

g wh

at i

t is

thr

ough

thi

s m

asqu

erad

e. E

very

one

can

test

ify

to t

he r

atio

ns o

f sa

dnes

s co

nden

sed

from

yea

r to

yea

r in

11.

A le

gend

ary

Fren

ch o

utla

w, 1

936-

1979

68that

will

dis

plac

e th

e in

stit

utio

ns o

f so

ciet

y: f

amily

, sc

hool

, un

ion,

spo

rts

club

, et

c. C

omm

unes

tha

t ar

en’t

afra

id,

beyo

nd

thei

r sp

ecif

ical

ly p

olit

ical

act

ivit

ies,

to

orga

nize

the

mse

lves

for

th

e m

ater

ial a

nd m

oral

sur

viva

l of e

ach

of th

eir

mem

bers

and

of

all t

hose

aro

und

them

who

rem

ain

adri

ft. C

omm

unes

that

wou

ld

not d

efin

e th

emse

lves

– a

s col

lect

ives

tend

to d

o -

by w

hat’s

insi

de

and

what

’s ou

tsid

e th

em,

but

by t

he d

ensi

ty o

f th

e ti

es a

t th

eir

core

. N

ot b

y th

eir

mem

bers

hip,

but

by

the

spir

it t

hat

anim

ates

th

em.

A c

omm

une

form

s ev

ery

tim

e a

few

peop

le,

free

d of

the

ir

indi

vidu

al s

trai

tjack

ets,

dec

ide

to r

ely

only

on

them

selv

es a

nd

mea

sure

the

ir s

tren

gth

agai

nst

real

ity.

Eve

ry w

ildca

t st

rike

is

a co

mm

une;

eve

ry b

uild

ing

occu

pied

col

lect

ivel

y an

d on

a

clea

r ba

sis

is a

com

mun

e, t

he a

ctio

n co

mm

itte

es o

f 19

68 w

ere

com

mun

es,

as w

ere

the

slav

e m

aroo

ns i

n th

e U

nite

d St

ates

, or

R

adio

Alic

e in

Bol

ogna

in 1

977.

Eve

ry c

omm

une

seek

s to

be

its

own

base

. It

see

ks t

o di

ssol

ve t

he q

uest

ion

of n

eeds

. It

see

ks t

o br

eak

all

econ

omic

dep

ende

ncy

and

all

polit

ical

sub

juga

tion

; it

de

gene

rate

s in

to a

mili

eu t

he m

omen

t it

los

es c

onta

ct w

ith

the

trut

hs o

n wh

ich

it is

fou

nded

. T

here

are

all

kind

s of

com

mun

es

that

wai

t nei

ther

for

the

num

bers

nor

the

mea

ns to

get

org

aniz

ed,

and

even

less

for

the

“rig

ht m

omen

t” –

whi

ch n

ever

arr

ives

.

67

enco

unte

r ca

n on

ly b

e re

aliz

ed o

utsi

de t

he o

rgan

izat

ion

and,

un

avoi

dabl

y, a

t odd

s wi

th it

. Fa

r m

ore

drea

dful

are

socia

l mili

eus,

with

the

ir s

uppl

e te

xtur

e,

thei

r go

ssip

, an

d th

eir

info

rmal

hie

rarc

hies

. Fl

ee a

ll m

ilieu

s.

Eac

h an

d ev

ery

mili

eu i

s or

ient

ated

tow

ards

the

neu

tral

izat

ion

of s

ome

trut

h.

Lit

erar

y ci

rcle

s ex

ist

to s

mot

her

the

clar

ity

of

writ

ing.

Ana

rchi

st m

ilieu

s to

blu

nt t

he d

irec

tnes

s of

dir

ect

acti

on.

Scie

ntif

ic m

ilieu

s to

wit

hhol

d th

e im

plic

atio

ns o

f th

eir

rese

arch

fro

m t

he m

ajor

ity

of p

eopl

e to

day.

Spo

rt m

ilieu

s to

co

ntai

n in

thei

r gy

ms t

he va

riou

s for

ms o

f lif

e th

ey sh

ould

cre

ate.

Pa

rtic

ular

ly t

o be

avo

ided

are

the

cul

tura

l an

d ac

tivi

st c

ircl

es.

The

y ar

e th

e ol

d pe

ople

’s ho

mes

whe

re a

ll re

volu

tion

ary

desi

res

trad

itio

nally

go

to d

ie.

The

tas

k of

cul

tura

l ci

rcle

s is

to

spot

na

scen

t int

ensi

ties

and

to e

xpla

in a

way

the

sens

e of

wha

teve

r it

is

you’

re d

oing

, whi

le th

e ta

sk o

f act

ivis

t cir

cles

is to

sap

your

ene

rgy

for

doin

g it

. Act

ivis

t mili

eus s

prea

d th

eir

diff

use

web

thro

ugho

ut

the

Fren

ch t

erri

tory

, an

d ar

e en

coun

tere

d on

the

pat

h of

eve

ry

revo

luti

onar

y de

velo

pmen

t. T

hey

offe

r no

thin

g bu

t th

e st

ory

of

thei

r m

any

defe

ats a

nd th

e bi

tter

ness

thes

e ha

ve p

rodu

ced.

The

ir

exha

usti

on h

as m

ade

them

inc

apab

le o

f se

izin

g th

e po

ssib

iliti

es

of t

he p

rese

nt.

Bes

ides

, to

nur

ture

the

ir w

retc

hed

pass

ivit

y th

ey

talk

far

too

muc

h an

d th

is m

akes

them

unr

elia

ble

when

it c

omes

to

the

pol

ice.

Jus

t as

it’s

use

less

to

expe

ct a

nyth

ing

from

the

m,

it’s

stup

id t

o be

dis

appo

inte

d by

the

ir s

cler

osis

. It

’s be

st t

o ju

st

aban

don

this

dea

d we

ight

.A

ll m

ilieu

s ar

e co

unte

r-re

volu

tion

ary

beca

use

they

are

onl

y co

ncer

ned

with

the

pres

erva

tion

of t

heir

sad

com

fort

. Fo

rm co

mm

unes

C

om

mu

ne

s c

om

e in

to

b

ein

g w

hen

peop

le f

ind

each

oth

er,

get

on w

ith

each

oth

er,

and

deci

de o

n a

com

mon

pat

h. T

he

com

mun

e is

per

haps

wha

t get

s de

cide

d at

the

very

mom

ent w

hen

we w

ould

nor

mal

ly p

art

ways

. It

’s th

e jo

y of

an

enco

unte

r th

at

surv

ives

its

expe

cted

end

. It’s

wha

t mak

es u

s sa

y “w

e,”

and

mak

es

that

an

even

t. W

hat’s

str

ange

isn’

t tha

t peo

ple

who

are

attu

ned

to

each

oth

er fo

rm c

omm

unes

, but

that

they

rem

ain

sepa

rate

d. W

hy

shou

ldn’

t co

mm

unes

pro

lifer

ate

ever

ywhe

re?

In e

very

fac

tory

, ev

ery

stre

et,

ever

y vi

llage

, ev

ery

scho

ol.

At

long

las

t, t

he r

eign

of

the

bas

e co

mm

itte

es!

Com

mun

es t

hat

acce

pt b

eing

wha

t th

ey

are,

whe

re th

ey a

re. A

nd if

pos

sibl

e, a

mul

tipl

icit

y of

com

mun

es

26fam

ily

gath

erin

gs,

the

forc

ed

smile

s,

the

awkw

ardn

ess

of s

eein

g ev

eryo

ne p

rete

ndin

g in

vai

n, t

he f

eelin

g th

at a

co

rpse

is

lyin

g th

ere

on t

he t

able

, an

d ev

eryo

ne a

ctin

g as

th

ough

it

were

not

hing

. Fr

om f

lirta

tion

to

divo

rce,

fro

m

coha

bita

tion

to

step

fam

ilies

, ev

eryo

ne f

eels

the

ina

nity

of

the

sad

fam

ily n

ucle

us,

but

mos

t se

em t

o be

lieve

tha

t it

wou

ld b

e sa

dder

sti

ll to

ren

ounc

e it

. T

he f

amily

is

no

long

er s

o m

uch

the

suff

ocat

ion

of m

ater

nal c

ontr

ol o

r th

e pa

tria

rchy

of

beat

ings

as

it i

s th

is i

nfan

tile

aba

ndon

to

a fu

zzy d

epen

denc

y, w

here

eve

ryth

ing

is fa

mili

ar, t

his c

aref

ree

mom

ent

in t

he f

ace

of a

wor

ld t

hat

nobo

dy c

an d

eny

is

brea

king

dow

n, a

wor

ld w

here

“be

com

ing

self

-suf

fici

ent”

is

a e

uphe

mis

m f

or “

havi

ng f

ound

a b

oss.

” T

hey

want

to

use

the

“fam

iliar

ity”

of t

he b

iolo

gica

l fam

ily a

s an

excu

se to

ea

t awa

y at

any

thin

g th

at b

urns

pas

sion

atel

y wi

thin

us

and,

un

der

the

pret

ext

that

the

y ra

ised

us,

mak

e us

ren

ounc

e th

e po

ssib

ility

of

grow

ing

up,

as w

ell

as e

very

thin

g th

at i

s se

riou

s in

chi

ldho

od.

It i

s ne

cess

ary

to p

rese

rve

ones

elf

from

suc

h co

rros

ion.

T

he c

oupl

e is

lik

e th

e fi

nal

stag

e of

the

gre

at s

ocia

l de

bacl

e. I

t’s t

he o

asis

in

the

mid

dle

of t

he h

uman

des

ert.

U

nder

the

aus

pice

s of

“in

tim

acy,”

we

com

e to

it

look

ing

for

ever

ythi

ng th

at h

as so

obv

ious

ly d

eser

ted

cont

empo

rary

so

cial

rel

atio

ns:

warm

th,

sim

plic

ity,

tru

th,

a lif

e wi

thou

t th

eate

r or

spe

ctat

or.

But

onc

e th

e ro

man

tic

high

has

pa

ssed

, “i

ntim

acy”

str

ips

itse

lf b

are:

it

is i

tsel

f a

soci

al

inve

ntio

n, i

t sp

eaks

the

lan

guag

e of

gla

mou

r m

agaz

ines

an

d ps

ycho

logy

; lik

e ev

eryt

hing

els

e, it

is b

olst

ered

wit

h so

m

any

stra

tegi

es t

o th

e po

int

of n

ause

a. T

here

is

no m

ore

trut

h he

re t

han

else

wher

e; h

ere

too

lies

and

the

laws

of

estr

ange

men

t dom

inat

e. A

nd w

hen,

by

good

for

tune

, on

e di

scov

ers

this

tru

th,

it d

eman

ds a

sha

ring

tha

t be

lies

the

very

for

m o

f th

e co

uple

. W

hat

allo

ws b

eing

s to

lov

e ea

ch

othe

r is

als

o wh

at m

akes

them

lova

ble,

and

rui

ns th

e ut

opia

of

aut

ism

-for

-two

. I

n re

alit

y, t

he d

ecom

posi

tion

of

all

soci

al f

orm

s is

a

bles

sing

. It i

s fo

r us

the

idea

l con

diti

on fo

r a

wild

, mas

sive

27

expe

rim

enta

tion

wit

h ne

w ar

rang

emen

ts,

new

fide

litie

s.

The

fam

ous

“par

enta

l re

sign

atio

n” h

as i

mpo

sed

on u

s a

conf

ront

atio

n wi

th t

he w

orld

tha

t de

man

ds a

pre

coci

ous

luci

dity

, an

d fo

resh

adow

s lo

vely

re

volts

to

co

me.

In

th

e de

ath

of t

he c

oupl

e, w

e se

e th

e bi

rth

of t

roub

ling

form

s of

col

lect

ive

affe

ctiv

ity,

now

tha

t se

x is

all

used

up

and

mas

culin

ity

and

fem

inin

ity

para

de a

roun

d in

suc

h m

oth-

eate

n cl

othe

s, n

ow t

hat

thre

e de

cade

s of

non

-sto

p po

rnog

raph

ic i

nnov

atio

n ha

ve e

xhau

sted

all

the

allu

re o

f tr

ansg

ress

ion

and

liber

atio

n. W

e co

unt

on m

akin

g th

at

whic

h is

unc

ondi

tion

al i

n re

lati

onsh

ips

the

arm

or o

f a

polit

ical

sol

idar

ity

as im

pene

trab

le to

sta

te in

terf

eren

ce a

s a

gyps

y ca

mp.

T

here

is

no r

easo

n th

at t

he i

nter

min

able

su

bsid

ies

that

num

erou

s re

lati

ves

are

com

pelle

d to

off

load

on

to t

heir

pro

leta

rian

ized

pro

geny

can

’t be

com

e a

form

of

pat

rona

ge i

n fa

vor

of s

ocia

l su

bver

sion

. “B

ecom

ing

auto

nom

ous,

” co

uld

just

as

easi

ly m

ean

lear

ning

to

figh

t in

the

stre

et, t

o oc

cupy

em

pty

hous

es, t

o ce

ase

work

ing,

to

love

eac

h ot

her

mad

ly, a

nd to

sho

plif

t.

66

We

’v

e

be

en

g

iv

en

a

n

eu

tr

al

id

ea

o

f

fr

ie

nd

sh

ip,

unde

rsto

od a

s a

pure

aff

ecti

on w

ith

no c

onse

quen

ces.

But

all

affi

nity

is

affi

nity

with

in a

com

mon

tru

th.

Eve

ry e

ncou

nter

is

an

enco

unte

r wi

thin

a c

omm

on a

ffir

mat

ion,

eve

n th

e af

firm

atio

n of

de

stru

ctio

n. N

o bo

nds a

re in

noce

nt in

an

age

when

hol

ding

ont

o so

met

hing

and

ref

usin

g to

let g

o us

ually

lead

s to

unem

ploy

men

t,

wher

e yo

u ha

ve t

o lie

to

work

, an

d yo

u ha

ve t

o ke

ep o

n wo

rkin

g in

ord

er t

o co

ntin

ue l

ying

. Pe

ople

who

swe

ar b

y qu

antu

m

phys

ics

and

purs

ue i

ts c

onse

quen

ces

in a

ll do

mai

ns a

re n

o le

ss

boun

d po

litic

ally

than

com

rade

s fi

ghti

ng a

gain

st a

mul

tina

tion

al

agri

busi

ness

. T

hey

will

all

be l

ed,

soon

er o

r la

ter,

to

defe

ctio

n an

d to

com

bat.

The

pio

neer

s of t

he w

orke

rs’ m

ovem

ent w

ere

able

to fi

nd e

ach

othe

r in

the

wor

ksho

p, t

hen

in t

he f

acto

ry.

The

y ha

d th

e st

rike

to

sho

w th

eir

num

bers

and

unm

ask

the

scab

s. T

hey

had

the

wage

re

lati

on,

pitt

ing

the

part

y of

cap

ital

aga

inst

the

par

ty o

f la

bor,

on

whi

ch t

hey

coul

d dr

aw t

he l

ines

of

solid

arit

y an

d of

bat

tle

on a

glo

bal s

cale

. W

e ha

ve t

he w

hole

of

soci

al s

pace

in

whic

h to

fi

nd e

ach

othe

r. W

e ha

ve e

very

day

insu

bord

inat

ion

for

show

ing

our

num

bers

and

unm

aski

ng c

owar

ds.

We

have

our

hos

tilit

y to

th

is c

ivili

zati

on f

or d

rawi

ng li

nes

of s

olid

arit

y an

d of

bat

tle o

n a

glob

al s

cale

.

Expe

ct no

thin

g fro

m o

rgan

izatio

ns.

Bewa

re o

f all

exist

ing s

ocia

l mili

eus,

and

abov

e all,

don

’t be

com

e one

. It’s n

ot u

nc

om

mo

n, in

the

cour

se o

f a

sign

ific

ant b

reak

ing

of

the

soci

al b

ond,

to

cros

s pa

ths

with

org

aniz

atio

ns –

pol

itic

al,

labo

r, h

uman

itar

ian,

com

mun

ity

asso

ciat

ions

, etc

. Am

ong

thei

r m

embe

rs,

one

may

eve

n fi

nd i

ndiv

idua

ls w

ho a

re s

ince

re –

if

a lit

tle d

espe

rate

— w

ho a

re e

nthu

sias

tic

– if

a l

ittle

con

nivi

ng.

Org

aniz

atio

ns a

re a

ttra

ctiv

e du

e to

the

ir a

ppar

ent

cons

iste

ncy

– th

ey h

ave

a hi

stor

y, a

hea

d of

fice

, a

nam

e, r

esou

rces

, a

lead

er,

a st

rate

gy a

nd a

dis

cour

se. T

hey

are

none

thel

ess

empt

y st

ruct

ures

, wh

ich,

in

spit

e of

the

ir g

rand

ori

gins

, ca

n ne

ver

be f

illed

. In

al

l the

ir a

ffai

rs, a

t eve

ry le

vel,

thes

e or

gani

zati

ons

are

conc

erne

d ab

ove

all w

ith

thei

r ow

n su

rviv

al a

s or

gani

zati

ons,

and

litt

le e

lse.

T

heir

rep

eate

d be

tray

als

have

oft

en a

liena

ted

the

com

mit

men

t of

thei

r ow

n ra

nk a

nd fi

le. A

nd th

is is

why

you

can

, on

occa

sion

, ru

n in

to w

orth

y be

ings

wit

hin

them

. B

ut t

he p

rom

ise

of t

he

65

FIN

D E

AC

H O

THE

R

Atta

ch yo

urse

lf to

wha

t you

feel

to be

true

.Be

gin th

ere.

An

enco

unte

r, a

dis

cove

ry,

a va

st w

ave

of s

trik

es,

an e

arth

quak

e:

ever

y ev

ent

prod

uces

tru

th b

y ch

angi

ng o

ur w

ay o

f be

ing

in t

he

worl

d. C

onve

rsel

y, a

ny o

bser

vati

on t

hat

leav

es u

s in

diff

eren

t,

does

n’t

affe

ct u

s, d

oesn

’t co

mm

it u

s to

any

thin

g, n

o lo

nger

de

serv

es t

he n

ame

trut

h. T

here

’s a

trut

h be

neat

h ev

ery

gest

ure,

ev

ery

prac

tice

, eve

ry r

elat

ions

hip,

and

eve

ry si

tuat

ion.

We

usua

lly

just

avo

id i

t, m

anag

e it

, wh

ich

prod

uces

the

mad

ness

of

so m

any

in o

ur e

ra.

In

real

ity,

eve

ryth

ing

invo

lves

eve

ryth

ing

else

. T

he

feel

ing

that

one

is

livin

g a

lie i

s st

ill a

tru

th.

It i

s a

mat

ter

of

not

lett

ing

it g

o, o

f st

arti

ng f

rom

the

re.

A t

ruth

isn

’t a

view

on

the

worl

d bu

t wh

at b

inds

us

to i

t in

an

irre

duci

ble

way.

A t

ruth

is

n’t

som

ethi

ng w

e ho

ld b

ut s

omet

hing

tha

t ca

rrie

s us

. It

mak

es

and

unm

akes

me,

con

stit

utes

and

und

oes

me

as a

n in

divi

dual

; it

dis

tanc

es m

e fr

om m

any

and

brin

gs m

e cl

oser

to

thos

e wh

o al

so e

xper

ienc

e it

. A

n is

olat

ed b

eing

who

hol

ds f

ast

to a

tru

th

will

inev

itab

ly m

eet o

ther

s lik

e he

r. I

n fa

ct,

ever

y in

surr

ecti

onal

pr

oces

s st

arts

from

a tr

uth

that

we

refu

se to

giv

e up

. D

urin

g th

e 19

80s i

n H

ambu

rg, a

few

inha

bita

nts o

f a sq

uatt

ed h

ouse

dec

ided

th

at f

rom

the

n on

the

y wo

uld

only

be

evic

ted

over

the

ir d

ead

bodi

es.

A n

eigh

borh

ood

was

besi

eged

by

tank

s an

d he

licop

ters

, wi

th d

ays

of s

tree

t ba

ttle

s, h

uge

dem

onst

rati

ons

– an

d a

may

or

who,

fin

ally

, ca

pitu

late

d.

In 1

940

, G

eorg

es G

uing

ouin

, th

e “f

irst

Fre

nch

resi

stan

ce fi

ghte

r,”

star

ted

with

not

hing

oth

er th

an

the

cert

aint

y of

his

ref

usal

of

the

Naz

i occ

upat

ion.

At t

hat t

ime,

to

the

Com

mun

ist

Part

y, h

e wa

s no

thin

g bu

t a

“mad

man

liv

ing

in t

he w

oods

,” u

ntil

ther

e we

re 2

0,0

00

mad

men

liv

ing

in t

he

wood

s, a

nd L

imog

es w

as li

bera

ted.

Don’t

back

awa

y fro

m w

hat i

s pol

itica

l in

frien

dshi

p

28Thir

d C

ircl

e

“Lif

e, h

ealt

h a

nd

lo

ve a

re

pre

cari

ou

s –

wh

y sh

ou

ld

wo

rk b

e a

n e

xcep

tio

n?

” N

o qu

esti

on is

mor

e co

nfus

ed, i

n Fr

ance

, tha

n th

e qu

esti

on

of w

ork.

No

rela

tion

is

mor

e di

sfigu

red

than

the

one

be

twee

n th

e Fr

ench

and

wor

k. G

o to

And

alus

ia, t

o A

lger

ia,

to N

aple

s. T

hey d

espi

se w

ork,

pro

foun

dly.

Go

to G

erm

any,

to

the

Uni

ted

Stat

es,

to J

apan

. T

hey

reve

re w

ork.

Thi

ngs

are

chan

ging

, it

’s tr

ue.

The

re a

re p

lent

y of

ota

ku i

n Ja

pan,

fro

he A

rbeit

slose

in G

erm

any

and

work

ahol

ics in

And

alus

ia.

But

fo

r th

e ti

me

bein

g th

ese

are

only

cur

iosi

ties

. In

Fran

ce, w

e ge

t dow

n on

all

four

s to

clim

b th

e la

dder

s of h

iera

rchy

, but

pr

ivat

ely

flat

ter

ours

elve

s th

at w

e do

n’t

real

ly g

ive

a sh

it.

We

stay

at w

ork

unti

l ten

o’c

lock

in th

e ev

enin

g wh

en w

e’re

sw

ampe

d, b

ut w

e’ve

nev

er h

ad a

ny s

crup

les

abou

t st

ealin

g offi

ce s

uppl

ies

here

and

ther

e, o

r ca

rtin

g off

the

inve

ntor

y in

ord

er t

o re

sell

it l

ater

. W

e ha

te b

osse

s, b

ut w

e wa

nt t

o be

em

ploy

ed a

t an

y co

st.

To h

ave

a jo

b is

an

hono

r, y

et

work

ing

is a

sig

n of

ser

vilit

y. I

n sh

ort:

the

per

fect

clin

ical

ill

ustr

atio

n of

hys

teri

a. W

e lo

ve w

hile

hat

ing,

we

hate

whi

le

lovi

ng.

And

we

all

know

the

stu

por

and

conf

usio

n th

at

stri

ke t

he h

yste

ric

when

he

lose

s hi

s vi

ctim

— h

is m

aste

r.

Mor

e oft

en th

an n

ot, h

e do

es’n

t get

ove

r it

.

Thi

s ne

uros

is

is

the

foun

dati

on

upon

wh

ich

succ

essi

ve

gove

rnm

ents

cou

ld d

ecla

re w

ar o

n jo

bles

snes

s, p

rete

ndin

g to

wa

ge a

“ba

ttle

on

unem

ploy

men

t” w

hile

ex-

man

ager

s ca

mpe

d wi

th th

eir c

ell p

hone

s in

Red

Cro

ss sh

elte

rs a

long

the

bank

s of t

he

Sein

e. W

hile

the D

epar

tmen

t of L

abor

was

mas

sive

ly m

anip

ulat

ing

its

stat

isti

cs i

n or

der

to b

ring

une

mpl

oym

ent

num

bers

bel

ow

29

two

mill

ion.

Whi

le w

elfa

re c

heck

s an

d dr

ug d

ealin

g we

re t

he

only

gua

rant

ees,

as

the

Fren

ch s

tate

has

rec

ogni

zed,

aga

inst

the

po

ssib

ility

of

soci

al u

nres

t at

eac

h an

d ev

ery

mom

ent.

It

’s th

e ps

ychi

c ec

onom

y of

the

Fre

nch

as m

uch

as t

he p

olit

ical

sta

bilit

y of

the

coun

try

that

is a

t sta

ke in

the

mai

nten

ance

of t

he w

orke

rist

fi

ctio

n.

Exc

use

us if

we

don’

t giv

e a

fuck

. W

e be

long

to

a ge

nera

tion

tha

t liv

es v

ery

well

in t

his

fict

ion.

T

hat h

as n

ever

cou

nted

on

eith

er a

pen

sion

or

the

righ

t to

work

, le

t alo

ne r

ight

s at

wor

k. T

hat i

sn’t

even

“pr

ecar

ious

,” a

s th

e m

ost

adva

nced

fact

ions

of t

he m

ilita

nt le

ft li

ke to

theo

rize

, bec

ause

to

be p

reca

riou

s is s

till

to d

efin

e on

esel

f in

rela

tion

to th

e sp

here

of

work

, tha

t is,

to it

s dec

ompo

sitio

n. W

e ac

cept

the

nece

ssit

y of

find

ing

mon

ey,

by w

hate

ver

mea

ns,

beca

use

it is

cur

rent

ly im

poss

ible

to

do w

itho

ut it

, but

we

reje

ct th

e ne

cess

ity

of w

orki

ng. B

esid

es, w

e do

n’t

work

any

mor

e: w

e do

our t

ime .

Bus

ines

s is

not

a p

lace

whe

re

we e

xist

, it

’s a

plac

e we

pas

s th

roug

h. W

e ar

en’t

cyni

cal,

we

are

just

rel

ucta

nt to

be

dece

ived

. All

thes

e di

scou

rses

on

mot

ivat

ion,

qu

alit

y an

d pe

rson

al i

nves

tmen

t pa

ss u

s by

, to

the

gre

at d

ism

ay

of h

uman

res

ourc

es m

anag

ers.

The

y sa

y we

are

dis

appo

inte

d by

bu

sine

ss,

that

it

faile

d to

hon

or o

ur p

aren

ts’ l

oyal

ty,

that

it

let

them

go

too

quic

kly.

The

y ar

e ly

ing.

To

be d

isap

poin

ted,

one

m

ust

have

hop

ed f

or s

omet

hing

. A

nd w

e ha

ve n

ever

hop

ed f

or

anyt

hing

fro

m b

usin

ess:

we

see

it f

or w

hat

it i

s an

d fo

r wh

at i

t ha

s al

ways

bee

n, a

fool

’s ga

me

of v

aryi

ng d

egre

es o

f com

fort

. On

beha

lf o

f ou

r pa

rent

s, o

ur o

nly

regr

et i

s th

at t

hey

fell

into

the

tr

ap, a

t lea

st th

e on

es w

ho b

elie

ved.

Th

e s

en

tim

en

ta

l c

on

fu

sio

n t

ha

t s

ur

ro

un

ds t

he

qu

estio

n

of w

ork

can

be e

xpla

ined

thu

s: t

he n

otio

n of

wor

k ha

s al

ways

in

clud

ed t

wo c

ontr

adic

tory

dim

ensio

ns:

a di

men

sion

of

expl

oita

tion

and

a di

men

sion

of

parti

cipat

ion.

Exp

loit

atio

n of

ind

ivid

ual

and

colle

ctiv

e la

bor p

ower

thro

ugh

the

priv

ate

or so

cial

app

ropr

iati

on

of s

urpl

us v

alue

; pa

rtic

ipat

ion

in a

com

mon

eff

ort

thro

ugh

the

rela

tion

s lin

king

thos

e wh

o co

oper

ate

at th

e he

art o

f the

uni

vers

e of

pro

duct

ion.

The

se t

wo d

imen

sion

s ar

e pe

rver

sely

con

fuse

d in

the

not

ion

of w

ork,

whi

ch e

xpla

ins

work

ers’

indi

ffer

ence

, at

th

e en

d of

the

day

, to

bot

h M

arxi

st r

heto

ric

– wh

ich

deni

es t

he

dim

ensi

on o

f pa

rtic

ipat

ion

– an

d m

anag

eria

l rh

etor

ic –

whi

ch

deni

es th

e di

men

sion

of e

xplo

itat

ion.

Hen

ce th

e am

biva

lenc

e of

th

e re

lati

on o

f wo

rk,

whic

h is

sha

mef

ul i

nsof

ar a

s it

mak

es u

s 6

4post

poni

ng b

y a

thou

sand

sub

terf

uges

the

mom

ent

when

the

cr

owd

will

stri

ng y

ou u

p, a

nd e

very

act

of g

over

nmen

t is

noth

ing

but a

way

of n

ot lo

sing

con

trol

of t

he p

opul

atio

n.

We

’r

e se

ttin

g o

ut fr

om

a

po

in

t o

f e

xtr

em

e iso

la

tio

n,

of e

xtre

me

weak

ness

. A

n in

surr

ecti

onal

pro

cess

mus

t be

bui

lt fr

om

the

grou

nd

up.

Not

hing

ap

pear

s le

ss

likel

y th

an

an

insu

rrec

tion

, but

not

hing

is m

ore

nece

ssar

y.

63

GE

T G

OIN

G!

We

can

no lo

nger

eve

n se

e ho

w an

insu

rrec

tion

mig

ht b

egin

. Six

ty

year

s of

pac

ific

atio

n an

d co

ntai

nmen

t of

his

tori

cal

uphe

aval

s,

sixt

y ye

ars

of d

emoc

rati

c an

esth

esia

and

the

man

agem

ent

of

even

ts,

have

dul

led

our

perc

epti

on o

f th

e re

al,

our

sens

e of

the

wa

r in

pro

gres

s. W

e ne

ed to

sta

rt b

y re

cove

ring

this

per

cept

ion.

It’s u

se

le

ss t

o ge

t in

dign

ant

abou

t op

enly

unc

onst

itut

iona

l la

ws

such

as

Perb

en I

I. I

t’s f

utile

to

lega

lly p

rote

st t

he c

ompl

ete

impl

osio

n of

the

lega

l fra

mew

ork.

We

have

to g

et o

rgan

ized

.

It’s u

se

le

ss to

get

invo

lved

in t

his

or t

hat

citi

zens

’ gro

up,

in t

his

or t

hat

dead

-end

of

the

far

left

, or

in

the

late

st “

com

mun

ity

effo

rt.”

Eve

ry o

rgan

izat

ion

that

cla

ims

to c

onte

st t

he p

rese

nt

orde

r m

imic

s th

e fo

rm, m

ores

and

lang

uage

of m

inia

ture

sta

tes.

T

hus

far,

eve

ry i

mpu

lse

to “

do p

olit

ics

diff

eren

tly”

has

only

co

ntri

bute

d to

the

inde

fini

te s

prea

d of

the

stat

e’s

tent

acle

s.

It’s u

se

le

ss t

o re

act

to t

he n

ews

of t

he d

ay;

inst

ead

we s

houl

d un

ders

tand

eac

h re

port

as

a m

aneu

ver

in a

hos

tile

fie

ld o

f st

rate

gies

to

be d

ecod

ed,

oper

atio

ns d

esig

ned

to p

rovo

ke a

sp

ecif

ic r

eact

ion.

It’s

thes

e op

erat

ions

them

selv

es th

at s

houl

d be

ta

ken

as th

e re

al in

form

atio

n co

ntai

ned

in th

ese

piec

es o

f new

s.

It’s

use

le

ss t

o wa

it—fo

r a

brea

kthr

ough

, fo

r th

e re

volu

tion

, th

e nu

clea

r ap

ocal

ypse

or

a so

cial

mov

emen

t. T

o go

on

wait

ing

is m

adne

ss.

The

cat

astr

ophe

is

not

com

ing,

it

is h

ere.

We

are

alre

ady

situ

ated

with

in t

he c

olla

pse

of a

civ

iliza

tion

. It

is

with

in

this

rea

lity

that

we

mus

t cho

ose

side

s.

To

n

o lo

ng

er

w

ait is, in

o

ne

w

ay

o

r a

no

th

er

, to

e

nte

r

in

to

th

e lo

gic

o

f in

su

rr

ec

tio

n. I

t is

to

once

aga

in h

ear

the

slig

ht b

ut a

lway

s pr

esen

t tre

mbl

ing

of te

rror

in th

e vo

ices

of o

ur

lead

ers.

Bec

ause

gov

erni

ng h

as n

ever

bee

n an

ythi

ng o

ther

than

30stra

nger

s to

wha

t we

are

doin

g, a

nd –

at t

he s

ame

tim

e –

ador

ed,

inso

far

as a

par

t of

our

selv

es i

s br

ough

t in

to p

lay.

The

dis

aste

r ha

s al

read

y oc

curr

ed:

it r

esid

es i

n ev

eryt

hing

tha

t ha

d to

be

dest

roye

d, in

all

thos

e wh

o ha

d to

be

upro

oted

, in

orde

r fo

r wo

rk

to e

nd u

p as

the

only

way

of e

xistin

g. T

he h

orro

r of

wor

k is

les

s in

th

e wo

rk it

self

than

in th

e m

etho

dica

l rav

agin

g, fo

r ce

ntur

ies,

of

all

that

isn

’t wo

rk:

the

fam

iliar

itie

s of

one

’s ne

ighb

orho

od a

nd

trad

e, o

f one

’s vi

llage

, of s

trug

gle,

of k

insh

ip, o

ur a

ttac

hmen

t to

plac

es, t

o be

ings

, to

the

seas

ons,

to w

ays

of d

oing

and

spe

akin

g. H

ere

lies

the

pres

ent

para

dox:

wor

k ha

s to

tally

tri

umph

ed

over

all

othe

r wa

ys o

f exi

stin

g, a

t the

ver

y m

omen

t whe

n wo

rker

s ha

ve b

ecom

e su

perf

luou

s. G

ains

in

prod

ucti

vity

, ou

tsou

rcin

g,

mec

hani

zati

on,

auto

mat

ed

and

digi

tal

prod

ucti

on

have

so

pr

ogre

ssed

tha

t th

ey h

ave

alm

ost

redu

ced

to z

ero

the

quan

tity

of

liv

ing

labo

r ne

cess

ary

in t

he m

anuf

actu

re o

f an

y pr

oduc

t.

We

are

livin

g th

e pa

rado

x of

a s

ocie

ty o

f wo

rker

s wi

thou

t wo

rk,

wher

e en

tert

ainm

ent,

con

sum

ptio

n an

d le

isur

e on

ly u

nder

scor

e th

e la

ck f

rom

whi

ch t

hey

are

supp

osed

to

dist

ract

us.

The

min

e in

Car

mau

x, f

amou

s fo

r a

cent

ury

of v

iole

nt s

trik

es,

has

now

been

rec

onve

rted

int

o C

ape

Dis

cove

ry.

It’s

an e

nter

tain

men

t “m

ulti

plex

” fo

r sk

ateb

oard

ing

and

biki

ng,

dist

ingu

ishe

d by

a

“Min

ing

Mus

eum

” in

whi

ch m

etha

ne b

last

s ar

e si

mul

ated

for

va

cati

oner

s. I

n co

rpor

atio

ns,

work

is

divi

ded

in a

n in

crea

sing

ly v

isib

le

way

into

hi

ghly

sk

illed

po

siti

ons

of

rese

arch

, co

ncep

tion

, co

ntro

l, c

oord

inat

ion

and

com

mun

icat

ion

whic

h de

ploy

all

the

know

ledg

e ne

cess

ary

for

the

new,

cyb

erne

tic

prod

ucti

on p

roce

ss,

and

unsk

illed

pos

itio

ns fo

r th

e m

aint

enan

ce a

nd s

urve

illan

ce o

f th

is p

roce

ss. T

he fi

rst a

re fe

w in

num

ber,

ver

y we

ll pa

id a

nd th

us

so c

ovet

ed t

hat

the

min

orit

y wh

o oc

cupy

the

se p

osit

ions

will

do

anyt

hing

to a

void

losi

ng th

em. T

hey a

nd th

eir

work

are

eff

ecti

vely

bo

und

in

one

angu

ishe

d em

brac

e.

Man

ager

s,

scie

ntis

ts,

lobb

yist

s, r

esea

rche

rs,

prog

ram

mer

s, d

evel

oper

s, c

onsu

ltant

s an

d en

gine

ers,

lit

eral

ly n

ever

sto

p wo

rkin

g. E

ven

thei

r se

x liv

es

serv

e to

aug

men

t pro

duct

ivit

y. A

Hum

an R

esou

rces

phi

loso

pher

wr

ites

, “[

t]he

mos

t cr

eati

ve b

usin

esse

s ar

e th

e on

es w

ith

the

grea

test

num

ber

of i

ntim

ate

rela

tion

s.”

“Bus

ines

s as

soci

ates

,”

a D

aim

ler-

Ben

z H

uman

Res

ourc

es M

anag

er c

onfi

rms,

“ar

e an

im

port

ant

part

of

the

busi

ness

’s ca

pita

l [.

..]

The

ir m

otiv

atio

n,

thei

r kn

ow-h

ow, t

heir

cap

acit

y to

inno

vate

and

thei

r at

tent

ion

to

clie

nts’

desi

res

cons

titu

te th

e ra

w m

ater

ial o

f in

nova

tive

ser

vice

s

31

[...

] T

heir

beh

avio

r, th

eir

soci

al a

nd e

mot

iona

l com

pete

nce,

are

a

grow

ing

fact

or in

the

eval

uati

on o

f the

ir w

ork

[...

] T

his w

ill n

o lo

nger

be

eval

uate

d in

term

s of n

umbe

r of

hou

rs o

n th

e jo

b, b

ut

on th

e ba

sis o

f obj

ecti

ves a

ttai

ned

and

qual

ity

of r

esul

ts. T

hey

are

entr

epre

neur

s.”

The

seri

es o

f tas

ks th

at c

an’t

be d

eleg

ated

to a

utom

atio

n fo

rm

a ne

bulo

us c

lust

er o

f job

s th

at, b

ecau

se th

ey c

anno

t be

occu

pied

by

mac

hine

s, a

re o

ccup

ied

by a

ny o

ld h

uman

– w

areh

ouse

men

, st

ock

peop

le,

asse

mbl

y lin

e wo

rker

s, s

easo

nal w

orke

rs,

etc.

Thi

s fl

exib

le,

undi

ffer

enti

ated

wor

kfor

ce t

hat

mov

es f

rom

one

tas

k to

the

nex

t an

d ne

ver

stay

s lo

ng i

n a

busi

ness

can

no

long

er

even

con

solid

ate

itse

lf a

s a

forc

e, b

eing

out

side

the

cen

ter

of

the

prod

ucti

on p

roce

ss a

nd e

mpl

oyed

to

plug

the

hol

es o

f wh

at

has

not

yet

been

mec

hani

zed,

as

if p

ulve

rize

d in

a m

ulti

tude

of

inte

rsti

ces.

The

tem

p is

the

figu

re o

f the

wor

ker

who

is n

o lo

nger

a

work

er, w

ho n

o lo

nger

has

a tr

ade –

but

onl

y abi

litie

s tha

t he

sells

wh

ere

he c

an –

and

who

se v

ery

avai

labi

lity

is a

lso

a ki

nd o

f wor

k.

O

n th

e m

ar

gin

s o

f th

is w

or

kfo

rc

e t

hat

is e

ffec

tive

and

ne

cess

ary

for

the

func

tion

ing

of t

he m

achi

ne,

is a

gro

wing

m

ajor

ity

that

has

bec

ome

supe

rflu

ous,

tha

t is

cer

tain

ly u

sefu

l to

the

flo

w of

pro

duct

ion

but

not

muc

h el

se,

whic

h in

trod

uces

th

e ri

sk t

hat,

in

its

idle

ness

, it

will

set

abo

ut s

abot

agin

g th

e m

achi

ne. T

he m

enac

e of

a g

ener

al d

emob

iliza

tion

is th

e sp

ecte

r th

at h

aunt

s th

e pr

esen

t sy

stem

of

prod

ucti

on.

Not

eve

rybo

dy

resp

onds

to

the

ques

tion

“wh

y wo

rk?”

in

the

sam

e wa

y as

thi

s ex

-wel

fare

rec

ipie

nt:

“for

my

well-

bein

g. I

hav

e to

kee

p m

ysel

f bu

sy.”

Ther

e is a

serio

us ri

sk th

at w

e will

end

up fi

ndin

g a jo

b in

our

very

idlen

ess.

Thi

s fl

oati

ng p

opul

atio

n m

ust

som

ehow

be

kept

occ

upie

d. B

ut

to t

his

day

they

hav

e no

t fo

und

a be

tter

dis

cipl

inar

y m

etho

d th

an w

ages

. It

’s th

eref

ore

nece

ssar

y to

pur

sue

the

dism

antli

ng

of “

soci

al g

ains

” so

tha

t th

e m

ost

rest

less

one

s, t

hose

who

will

on

ly s

urre

nder

whe

n fa

ced

with

the

alte

rnat

ive

betw

een

dyin

g of

hun

ger

or s

tagn

atin

g in

jai

l, a

re l

ured

bac

k to

the

bos

om o

f wa

ge-l

abor

. T

he b

urge

onin

g sl

ave

trad

e in

“pe

rson

al s

ervi

ces”

m

ust

cont

inue

: cl

eani

ng,

cate

ring

, m

assa

ge,

dom

esti

c nu

rsin

g,

pros

titu

tion

, tu

tori

ng,

ther

apy,

psy

chol

ogic

al a

id,

etc.

Thi

s is

ac

com

pani

ed b

y a

cont

inua

l rai

sing

of

the

stan

dard

s of

sec

urit

y,

hygi

ene,

con

trol

, an

d cu

lture

, an

d by

an

acce

lera

ted

recy

clin

g of

fas

hion

s, a

ll of

whi

ch e

stab

lish

the

need

for

suc

h se

rvic

es.

In

Rou

en,

we n

ow h

ave

“hum

an p

arki

ng m

eter

s:”

som

eone

who

6

2

So

w

e h

av

e a

c

or

pse

o

n o

ur

b

ac

ks, b

ut w

e wo

n’t

be a

ble

to

rid

ours

elve

s of

it ju

st li

ke t

hat.

Not

hing

is t

o be

exp

ecte

d fr

om

the

end

of c

ivili

zati

on,

from

its

clin

ical

dea

th.

In a

nd o

f it

self

, it

can

onl

y be

of

inte

rest

to

hist

oria

ns.

It’s

a fa

ct, a

nd it

mus

t be

tr

ansl

ated

into

a d

ecisi

on. F

acts

can

be

conj

ured

awa

y, b

ut d

ecis

ion

is p

olit

ical

. To

dec

ide

on t

he d

eath

of

civi

lizat

ion,

the

n to

wor

k ou

t how

it w

ill h

appe

n: o

nly

deci

sion

will

rid

us

of th

e co

rpse

.

61

No

so

cia

l o

rd

er

ca

n s

ec

ur

ely

fo

un

d i

tse

lf o

n th

e pr

inci

ple

that

not

hing

is

true

. Ye

t it

mus

t be

mad

e se

cure

. A

pply

ing

the

conc

ept

of “

secu

rity

” to

eve

ryth

ing

thes

e da

ys i

s th

e ex

pres

sion

of

a p

roje

ct t

o se

cure

ly f

aste

n on

to p

lace

s, b

ehav

iors

, an

d ev

en

peop

le t

hem

selv

es,

an i

deal

ord

er t

o wh

ich

they

are

no

long

er

read

y to

sub

mit

. Say

ing

“not

hing

is tr

ue”

says

not

hing

abo

ut th

e wo

rld

but e

very

thin

g ab

out t

he W

este

rn c

once

pt o

f tru

th. F

or th

e W

est,

tru

th i

s no

t an

att

ribu

te o

f be

ings

or

thin

gs,

but

of t

heir

re

pres

enta

tion

. A

rep

rese

ntat

ion

that

con

form

s to

exp

erie

nce

is h

eld

to b

e tr

ue.

Scie

nce

is,

in t

he l

ast

anal

ysis

, th

is e

mpi

re

of u

nive

rsal

ver

ific

atio

n. S

ince

all

hum

an b

ehav

ior,

fro

m t

he

mos

t or

dina

ry t

o th

e m

ost

lear

ned,

is

base

d on

a f

ound

atio

n of

un

even

ly f

orm

ulat

ed p

resu

ppos

itio

ns,

and

sinc

e al

l pr

acti

ces

star

t fro

m a

poi

nt w

here

thin

gs a

nd th

eir

repr

esen

tati

ons

can

no

long

er b

e di

stin

guis

hed,

a d

ose

of tr

uth

that

the

Wes

tern

con

cept

kn

ows

noth

ing

abou

t en

ters

int

o ev

ery

life.

We

talk

in

the

Wes

t ab

out “

real

peo

ple,

” bu

t onl

y in

ord

er to

moc

k th

ese

sim

plet

ons.

T

his

is w

hy W

este

rner

s ha

ve a

lway

s be

en t

houg

ht o

f as

liar

s an

d hy

pocr

ites

by

the

peop

le t

hey’

ve c

olon

ized

. T

his

is w

hy t

hey’

re

envi

ed f

or w

hat

they

hav

e, f

or t

heir

tec

hnol

ogic

al d

evel

opm

ent,

bu

t ne

ver

for

what

the

y ar

e, f

or w

hich

the

y ar

e ri

ghtly

hel

d in

co

ntem

pt.

Sade

, N

ietz

sche

and

Art

aud

woul

dn’t

be t

augh

t in

sc

hool

s if

the

kind

of t

ruth

men

tion

ed a

bove

was

not

dis

cred

ited

in

adv

ance

. C

onta

inin

g al

l af

firm

atio

ns a

nd d

eact

ivat

ing

all

cert

aint

ies

as t

hey

irre

sist

ibly

com

e to

lig

ht—

such

is

the

long

la

bor

of th

e W

este

rn in

telle

ct. T

he p

olic

e an

d ph

iloso

phy

are

two

conv

erge

nt, i

f for

mal

ly d

isti

nct,

mea

ns to

this

end

.

Of c

ou

rse

, th

is im

pe

ria

lism

of

the

rel

ativ

e fi

nds

a su

itab

le

enem

y in

ev

ery

empt

y do

gmat

ism

, in

wh

atev

er

form

of

M

arxi

st-L

enin

ism

, Sa

lifis

m,

or N

eo-N

azis

m:

anyo

ne w

ho,

like

Wes

tern

ers,

mis

take

s pr

ovoc

atio

n fo

r af

firm

atio

n.

At

th

is

ju

nc

tu

re

,

an

y

str

ic

tly

so

cia

l

co

nte

sta

tio

n

that

ref

uses

to s

ee th

at w

hat w

e’re

face

d wi

th is

not

the

cris

is o

f a

soci

ety

but t

he e

xtin

ctio

n of

a c

ivili

zati

on b

ecom

es a

n ac

com

plic

e in

its

perp

etua

tion

. It

’s ev

en b

ecom

e a

cont

empo

rary

str

ateg

y to

cr

itiq

ue th

is s

ocie

ty in

the

vain

hop

e of

sav

ing

this

civ

iliza

tion

.

32wait

s ar

ound

on

the

stre

et a

nd d

eliv

ers

you

your

par

king

slip

, an

d, if

it’s

rain

ing,

will

eve

n re

nt y

ou a

n um

brel

la.

T

he

or

de

r o

f w

or

k w

as t

he

or

de

r o

f a

wo

rld

. T

he e

vide

nce

of it

s ru

in is

par

alyz

ing

to th

ose

who

drea

d wh

at w

ill c

ome

afte

r.

Toda

y wo

rk i

s ti

ed l

ess

to t

he e

cono

mic

nece

ssit

y of

pro

duci

ng

good

s th

an t

o th

e po

litica

l ne

cess

ity

of p

rodu

cing

pro

duce

rs

and

cons

umer

s, a

nd o

f pr

eser

ving

by

any

mea

ns n

eces

sary

the

or

der

of w

ork.

Pro

duci

ng o

nese

lf is

bec

omin

g th

e do

min

ant

occu

pati

on o

f a

soci

ety

wher

e pr

oduc

tion

no

long

er h

as a

n ob

ject

: lik

e a

carp

ente

r wh

o’s

been

evi

cted

fro

m h

is s

hop

and

in d

espe

rati

on s

ets

abou

t ha

mm

erin

g an

d sa

wing

him

self

. A

ll th

ese

youn

g pe

ople

sm

iling

for

the

ir j

ob i

nter

view

s, w

ho h

ave

thei

r te

eth

whit

ened

to g

ive

them

an

edge

, wh

o go

to n

ight

club

s to

boo

st th

e co

mpa

ny s

piri

t, w

ho le

arn

Eng

lish

to a

dvan

ce th

eir

care

ers,

who

get

div

orce

d or

mar

ried

to

mov

e up

the

lad

der,

wh

o ta

ke c

ours

es i

n le

ader

ship

or

prac

tice

“se

lf-i

mpr

ovem

ent”

in

ord

er t

o be

tter

“m

anag

e co

nflic

ts” –

“th

e m

ost

inti

mat

e ‘s

elf-

impr

ovem

ent’”

, sa

ys o

ne g

uru,

“wi

ll le

ad t

o in

crea

sed

emot

iona

l st

abili

ty,

to s

moo

ther

and

mor

e op

en r

elat

ions

hips

, to

sha

rper

inte

llect

ual f

ocus

, and

ther

efor

e to

a b

ette

r ec

onom

ic

perf

orm

ance

.” T

his

swar

min

g lit

tle c

rowd

that

wai

ts im

pati

ently

to

be

hire

d wh

ile d

oing

wha

teve

r it

can

to

seem

nat

ural

is

the

resu

lt of

an

atte

mpt

to

resc

ue t

he o

rder

of

work

thr

ough

an

etho

s of

mob

ility.

To

be

mob

ilize

d is

to

rela

te t

o wo

rk n

ot a

s an

ac

tivi

ty b

ut a

s a

possi

bilit

y.

If t

he u

nem

ploy

ed p

erso

n re

mov

es

his

pier

cing

s, g

oes

to t

he b

arbe

r an

d ke

eps

him

self

bus

y wi

th

“pro

ject

s,”

if h

e re

ally

wor

ks o

n hi

s “e

mpl

oyab

ility

,” a

s th

ey s

ay,

it’s

beca

use

this

is h

ow h

e de

mon

stra

tes

his

mob

ility

. M

obili

ty is

th

is sl

ight

det

achm

ent f

rom

the

self

, thi

s min

imal

dis

conn

ecti

on

from

wha

t co

nsti

tute

s us

, th

is c

ondi

tion

of

stra

ngen

ess

wher

eby

the

self

can

now

be

take

n up

as

an o

bjec

t of

wor

k, a

nd i

t no

w be

com

es p

ossi

ble

to s

ell o

nese

lf ra

ther

tha

n on

e’s

labo

r po

wer,

to

be r

emun

erat

ed n

ot f

or w

hat

one

does

but

for

wha

t on

e is

, fo

r ou

r ex

quis

ite

mas

tery

of

soci

al c

odes

, fo

r ou

r re

lati

onal

tal

ents

, fo

r ou

r sm

ile a

nd o

ur w

ay o

f pr

esen

ting

our

selv

es.

Thi

s is

the

ne

w st

anda

rd o

f so

cial

izat

ion.

Mob

ility

bri

ngs

abou

t a f

usio

n of

th

e tw

o co

ntra

dict

ory

pole

s of

wor

k: h

ere

we p

arti

cipa

te i

n ou

r ow

n ex

ploi

tati

on,

and

all p

arti

cipa

tion

is e

xplo

ited

. Id

eally

, yo

u ar

e yo

urse

lf a

litt

le b

usin

ess,

you

r ow

n bo

ss,

your

own

pro

duct

. W

heth

er o

ne i

s wo

rkin

g or

not

, it

’s a

ques

tion

of

gene

rati

ng

33

cont

acts

, ab

iliti

es,

netw

orki

ng,

in s

hort

: “h

uman

cap

ital

.” T

he

plan

etar

y in

junc

tion

to m

obili

ze a

t the

slig

htes

t pre

text

– c

ance

r,

“ter

rori

sm,”

an

eart

hqua

ke, t

he h

omel

ess –

sum

s up

the

reig

ning

po

wers

’ det

erm

inat

ion

to m

aint

ain

the

reig

n of

wor

k be

yond

its

phys

ical

dis

appe

aran

ce.

The

pre

sent

pro

duct

ion

appa

ratu

s is

the

refo

re,

on t

he o

ne

hand

, a

giga

ntic

mac

hine

for

psy

chic

and

phy

sica

l mob

iliza

tion

, fo

r su

ckin

g th

e en

ergy

of h

uman

s tha

t hav

e be

com

e su

perf

luou

s,

and,

on

the

othe

r ha

nd,

it i

s a

sorti

ng m

achi

ne t

hat

allo

cate

s su

rviv

al t

o co

nfor

med

sub

ject

ivit

ies

and

reje

cts

all

“pro

blem

in

divi

dual

s,”

all

thos

e wh

o em

body

ano

ther

use

of

life

and,

in

this

way

, re

sist

it.

On

the

one

hand

, gh

osts

are

bro

ught

to

life,

an

d on

the

oth

er,

the

livin

g ar

e le

ft t

o di

e. T

his

is t

he p

rope

rly

polit

ical

func

tion

of t

he c

onte

mpo

rary

pro

duct

ion

appa

ratu

s.

To

or

ga

nize

be

yo

nd

an

d a

ga

in

st w

or

k, t

o co

llect

ivel

y de

sert

th

e re

gim

e of

mob

ility

, to

dem

onst

rate

the

exis

tenc

e of

a v

ital

ity

and

a di

scip

line

prec

isel

y in

dem

obili

zatio

n, i

s a

crim

e fo

r wh

ich

a ci

viliz

atio

n on

its k

nees

is n

ot a

bout

to fo

rgiv

e us

. In

fact

, it’s

the

only

way

to s

urvi

ve it

.

60soci

ety

as a

who

le,

from

the

wor

ker

to t

he b

aron

; ju

st a

s ca

pita

l ha

d to

sac

rifi

ce it

self

as a

wag

e rela

tion

in o

rder

to im

pose

itse

lf a

s a

soci

al r

elat

ion

– be

com

ing

cultu

ral c

apit

al a

nd h

ealth

cap

ital

in

addi

tion

to

fina

nce

capi

tal;

jus

t as

Chr

isti

anit

y ha

d to

sac

rifi

ce

itse

lf a

s a

relig

ion

in o

rder

to

surv

ive

as a

n af

fect

ive

stru

ctur

e –

as a

vag

ue in

junc

tion

to h

umili

ty,

com

pass

ion,

and

wea

knes

s; so

th

e Wes

t has

sacr

ifice

d its

elf a

s a p

artic

ular

civil

izatio

n in

ord

er to

impo

se it

self

as

a un

iversa

l cul

ture

. T

he o

pera

tion

can

be

sum

mar

ized

lik

e th

is:

an

enti

ty in

its

deat

h th

rows

sac

rifi

ces

itse

lf a

s a

cont

ent i

n or

der

to

surv

ive

as a

form

.T

he f

ragm

ente

d in

divi

dual

sur

vive

s as

a f

orm

tha

nks

to t

he

“spi

ritu

al”

tech

nolo

gies

of

coun

selin

g. P

atri

arch

y su

rviv

es b

y at

trib

utin

g to

wom

en a

ll th

e wo

rst a

ttri

bute

s of m

en: w

illfu

lnes

s,

self

-con

trol

, in

sens

itiv

ity.

A d

isin

tegr

ated

soc

iety

sur

vive

s by

pr

opag

atin

g an

epi

dem

ic o

f so

ciab

ility

and

ent

erta

inm

ent.

So

it

goes

wit

h al

l the

gre

at, o

utm

oded

fict

ions

of t

he W

est m

aint

aini

ng

them

selv

es t

hrou

gh a

rtif

ices

tha

t co

ntra

dict

the

se f

icti

ons

poin

t by

poi

nt.

Th

er

e is n

o “c

la

sh

o

f c

iv

iliza

tio

ns.” T

here

is

a cl

inic

ally

de

ad c

ivili

zati

on k

ept

aliv

e by

all

sort

s of

life

-sup

port

mac

hine

s th

at sp

read

a p

ecul

iar

plag

ue in

to th

e pl

anet

’s at

mos

pher

e. A

t thi

s po

int i

t can

no

long

er b

elie

ve in

a s

ingl

e on

e of

its

own

“val

ues”

, an

d an

y af

firm

atio

n of

the

m i

s co

nsid

ered

an

impu

dent

act

, a

prov

ocat

ion

that

sho

uld

and

mus

t be

tak

en a

part

, de

cons

tructe

d,

and

retu

rned

to

a st

ate

of d

oubt

. To

day

Wes

tern

im

peri

alis

m

is t

he i

mpe

rial

ism

of

rela

tivi

sm,

of t

he “

it a

ll de

pend

s on

you

r po

int

of v

iew”

; it

’s th

e ey

e-ro

lling

or

the

woun

ded

indi

gnat

ion

at a

nyon

e wh

o’s

stup

id,

prim

itiv

e, o

r pr

esum

ptuo

us e

noug

h to

st

ill b

elie

ve in

som

ethi

ng,

to a

ffir

m a

nyth

ing

at a

ll. Y

ou c

an s

ee

the

dogm

atis

m o

f co

nsta

nt q

uest

ioni

ng g

ive

its

com

plic

it w

ink

of t

he e

ye e

very

wher

e in

the

uni

vers

itie

s an

d am

ong

the

liter

ary

inte

llige

ntsi

as.

No

crit

ique

is

too

radi

cal

amon

g po

stm

oder

nist

th

inke

rs, a

s lon

g as

it m

aint

ains

this

tota

l abs

ence

of c

erti

tude

. A

cent

ury

ago,

sca

ndal

was

ide

ntif

ied

with

any

par

ticu

larl

y un

ruly

an

d ra

ucou

s ne

gati

on,

while

tod

ay i

t’s f

ound

in

any

affi

rmat

ion

that

fails

to tr

embl

e.

59

repu

blic

s is

com

ing

to a

n en

d; th

is c

ount

ry th

at s

acri

fice

d al

l its

lif

e to

thes

e fo

rms i

s sti

ll du

mbf

ound

ed. T

he fi

rest

orm

cau

sed

by

Josp

in’s

sim

ple

sent

ence

“th

e st

ate

can’

t do

ever

ythi

ng”

allo

wed

us

to g

limps

e th

e on

e th

at w

ill ig

nite

whe

n it

bec

omes

cle

ar th

at th

e st

ate

can

no lo

nger

do

anyt

hing

at a

ll. T

he fe

elin

g th

at w

e’ve

bee

n tr

icke

d is

lik

e a

woun

d th

at i

s be

com

ing

incr

easi

ngly

inf

ecte

d.

It’s

the

sour

ce o

f th

e la

tent

rag

e th

at j

ust

abou

t an

ythi

ng w

ill

set

off

thes

e da

ys.

The

fac

t th

at i

n th

is c

ount

ry t

he o

bitu

ary

of

the

age

of n

atio

ns h

as y

et t

o be

wri

tten

is

the

key

to t

he F

renc

h an

achr

onis

m,

and

to t

he r

evol

utio

nary

pos

sibi

litie

s Fr

ance

sti

ll ha

s in

sto

re.

Wha

teve

r th

eir

outc

ome

may

be

, th

e ro

le

of

the

next

pr

esid

enti

al e

lect

ions

will

be

to si

gnal

the

end

of F

renc

h ill

usio

ns

and

the

burs

ting

of

the

hist

oric

al b

ubbl

e in

whi

ch w

e ar

e liv

ing

– an

d wh

ich

mak

es p

ossi

ble

even

ts lik

e th

e an

ti-C

PE m

ovem

ent,

wh

ich

was

puzz

led

over

by

othe

r co

untr

ies

as if

it w

ere

som

e ba

d dr

eam

tha

t es

cape

d th

e 19

70s.

Tha

t’s w

hy,

deep

dow

n, n

o on

e wa

nts

thes

e el

ecti

ons.

Fra

nce

is i

ndee

d th

e re

d la

nter

n of

the

we

ster

n zo

ne.23

To

da

y

th

e

We

st

is

th

e

GI

wh

o

da

sh

es

in

to

Fa

llu

ja

h

on a

n M

1 A

bram

s ta

nk,

liste

ning

to

heav

y m

etal

at

top

volu

me.

It

’s th

e to

uris

t los

t on

the

Mon

golia

n pl

ains

, moc

ked

by a

ll, w

ho

clut

ches

his

cre

dit

card

as

his

only

lif

elin

e. I

t’s t

he C

EO

who

sw

ears

by

the

gam

e G

o. I

t’s th

e yo

ung

girl

who

cha

ses

happ

ines

s in

clo

thes

, gu

ys,

and

moi

stur

izin

g cr

eam

s. I

t’s t

he S

wiss

hum

an

righ

ts a

ctiv

ist

who

trav

els

to t

he f

our

corn

ers

of t

he e

arth

to

show

sol

idar

ity

with

all

the

worl

d’s

rebe

ls –

pro

vide

d th

ey’v

e be

en d

efea

ted.

It’s

the

Spa

niar

d wh

o co

uldn

’t ca

re l

ess

abou

t po

litic

al f

reed

om o

nce

he’s

been

gra

nted

sex

ual

free

dom

. It

’s th

e ar

t lo

ver

who

want

s us

to

be a

west

ruck

bef

ore

the

“mod

ern

geni

us”

of a

cen

tury

of

arti

sts,

fro

m s

urre

alis

m t

o V

ienn

ese

acti

onis

m,

all

com

peti

ng t

o se

e wh

o co

uld

best

spi

t in

the

fac

e of

civ

iliza

tion

. It’s

the

cybe

rnet

icis

t who

’s fo

und

a re

alis

tic

theo

ry

of c

onsc

ious

ness

in B

uddh

ism

and

the

qua

ntum

phy

sici

st w

ho’s

hopi

ng t

hat

dabb

ling

in H

indu

met

aphy

sics

will

ins

pire

new

sc

ient

ific

dis

cove

ries

.T

he W

est i

s a c

ivili

zati

on th

at h

as su

rviv

ed a

ll th

e pr

ophe

cies

of

its

colla

pse

with

a s

ingu

lar

stra

tage

m. J

ust a

s th

e bo

urge

oisi

e ha

d to

den

y it

self

as a

clas

s in

orde

r to

per

mit

the

bour

geoi

sifi

cati

on o

f 23

. The

“re

d la

nter

n” is

the

last

pla

ce fi

nish

er in

the

Tour

de

Fran

ce.

34Fo

urt

h C

ircl

e

“Mo

re s

imp

le, m

ore

fu

n,

mo

re m

ob

ile, m

ore

secu

re!”

We’

ve h

eard

eno

ugh

abou

t th

e “c

ity”

and

the

“co

untr

y,”

and

part

icul

arly

abo

ut t

he s

uppo

sed

anci

ent

oppo

siti

on

betw

een

the

two.

Fr

om

up

clos

e or

fr

om

afar

, wh

at

surr

ound

s us

loo

ks n

othi

ng l

ike

that

: it

is

one

sing

le

urba

n cl

oth,

wit

hout

for

m o

r or

der,

a b

leak

zon

e, e

ndle

ss

and

unde

fine

d, a

glo

bal

cont

inuu

m o

f m

useu

m-l

ike

city

ce

nter

s an

d na

tura

l par

ks, o

f eno

rmou

s su

burb

an h

ousi

ng

deve

lopm

ents

and

mas

sive

agr

icul

tura

l pro

ject

s, in

dust

rial

zo

nes

and

subd

ivis

ions

, co

untr

y in

ns a

nd tr

endy

bar

s: th

e m

etro

polis

. C

erta

inly

the

anc

ient

cit

y ex

iste

d, a

s di

d th

e ci

ties

of

med

ieva

l and

mod

ern

tim

es.

But

ther

e is

no

such

th

ing

as a

met

ropo

litan

cit

y. A

ll te

rrit

ory

is s

ynth

esiz

ed

with

in th

e m

etro

polis

. Eve

ryth

ing

occu

pies

the

sam

e sp

ace,

if

not

geo

grap

hica

lly th

en th

roug

h th

e in

term

eshi

ng o

f it

s ne

twor

ks.

It’s

beca

use

the

city

has

fin

ally

dis

appe

ared

tha

t it

has

no

w be

com

e fe

tish

ized

, as

his

tory

. T

he f

acto

ry b

uild

ings

of

Lill

e be

com

e co

ncer

t ha

lls.

The

reb

uilt

conc

rete

cor

e of

Le

Hav

re i

s no

w a

UN

ESC

O W

orld

Her

itag

e si

re.

In

Bei

jing,

the

hut

ongs

sur

roun

ding

the

For

bidd

en C

ity

were

dem

olis

hed,

rep

lace

d by

fak

e ve

rsio

ns,

plac

ed a

litt

le

fart

her

out,

on

disp

lay

for

sigh

tsee

rs.

In T

roye

s th

ey p

aste

ha

lf-t

imbe

r fa

cade

s on

to c

inde

rblo

ck b

uild

ings

, a

type

of

past

iche

tha

t re

sem

bles

the

Vic

tori

an s

hops

at

Dis

neyl

and

Pari

s mor

e tha

n an

ythi

ng el

se. T

he o

ld h

isto

ric c

ente

rs, o

nce

hotb

eds o

f rev

olut

iona

ry se

diti

on, a

re n

ow w

isel

y int

egra

ted

into

the

orga

niza

tion

al d

iagr

am o

f the

met

ropo

lis. T

hey’

ve

35

been

giv

en o

ver

to to

uris

m a

nd c

onsp

icuo

us c

onsu

mpt

ion.

T

hey

are

the

fair

y-ta

le c

omm

odit

y is

land

s, p

ropp

ed u

p by

the

ir e

xpos

and

dec

orat

ions

, an

d by

for

ce i

f ne

cess

ary.

T

he o

ppre

ssiv

e se

ntim

enta

lity

of e

very

“C

hris

tmas

Vill

age”

is

off

set

by e

ver

mor

e se

curi

ty g

uard

s an

d ci

ty p

atro

ls.

Con

trol

has

a w

onde

rful

way

of

inte

grat

ing

itse

lf i

nto

the

com

mod

ity

land

scap

e, s

howi

ng i

ts a

utho

rita

rian

fac

e to

an

yone

who

wan

ts to

see

it. I

t’s a

n ag

e of

fusi

ons,

of m

uzak

, te

lesc

opin

g po

lice

bato

ns a

nd c

otto

n ca

ndy.

Equ

al p

arts

po

lice

surv

eilla

nce

and

ench

ante

men

t!T

his

tast

e fo

r th

e “a

uthe

ntic

,” a

nd f

or t

he c

ontr

ol t

hat

goes

wit

h it

, is

car

ried

by

the

pett

y bo

urge

oisi

e th

roug

h th

eir

colo

nizi

ng d

rive

s in

to w

orki

ng c

lass

nei

ghbo

rhoo

ds.

Push

ed o

ut o

f the

city

cent

ers,

they

find

on

the

fron

tier

s the

ki

nd o

f “n

eigh

borh

ood

feel

ing”

the

y m

isse

d in

the

pre

fab

hous

es o

f su

burb

ia.

In c

hasi

ng o

ut t

he p

oor

peop

le,

the

cars

, an

d th

e im

mig

rant

s, i

n m

akin

g it

tidy

, in

get

ting

rid

of

all

the

germ

s, t

he p

etty

bou

rgeo

isie

pul

veri

zes

the

very

th

ing

it c

ame

look

ing

for.

A p

olic

e of

fice

r an

d a

garb

age

man

sha

ke h

ands

in a

pic

ture

on

a to

wn b

illbo

ard,

and

the

slog

an r

eads

: “M

onta

uban

– C

lean

Cit

y.”T

he sa

me

sens

e of

dec

ency

that

obl

iges

urb

anis

ts to

stop

sp

eaki

ng o

f th

e “c

ity”

(wh

ich

they

des

troy

ed)

and

inst

ead

to t

alk

of t

he “

urba

n,”

shou

ld c

ompe

l th

em a

lso

to d

rop

“cou

ntry

” (s

ince

it

no l

onge

r ex

ists

). T

he u

proo

ted

and

stre

ssed

-out

mas

ses

are

inst

ead

show

n a

coun

trys

ide,

a

visi

on o

f th

e pa

st t

hat’s

eas

y to

sta

ge n

ow t

hat

the

coun

try

folk

hav

e be

en s

o de

plet

ed.

It i

s a

mar

keti

ng c

ampa

ign

depl

oyed

on

a “t

erri

tory

” in

whi

ch e

very

thin

g m

ust

be

valo

rize

d or

rec

onst

itut

ed a

s nat

iona

l her

itag

e. E

very

wher

e it

’s th

e sa

me

chill

ing

void

, re

achi

ng i

nto

even

the

mos

t re

mot

e an

d ru

stic

cor

ners

.

58

The

re e

xist

s a

cred

ible

thes

is th

at m

oder

n lit

erat

ure

was

born

wi

th B

aude

lair

e, H

eine

, an

d Fl

aube

rt a

s a

repe

rcus

sion

of

the

stat

e m

assa

cre

of J

une

1848

. It

’s in

the

blo

od o

f th

e Pa

risi

an

insu

rgen

ts,

agai

nst

the

sile

nce

surr

ound

ing

the

slau

ghte

r,

that

mod

ern

liter

ary

form

s we

re b

orn

– sp

leen

, am

biva

lenc

e,

feti

shis

m

of

form

, an

d m

orbi

d de

tach

men

t.

The

ne

urot

ic

affe

ctio

n th

at th

e Fr

ench

ple

dge

to th

eir

Rep

ublic

– in

the

nam

e of

whi

ch e

very

sm

udge

of i

nk a

ssum

es a

n ai

r of

dig

nity

, and

any

pa

thet

ic h

ack

is h

onor

ed –

und

erwr

ites

the

perp

etua

l rep

ress

ion

of i

ts o

rigi

nary

sac

rifi

ces.

The

Jun

e da

ys o

f 18

48 –

1,5

00

dea

d in

com

bat,

tho

usan

ds o

f su

mm

ary

exec

utio

ns o

f pr

ison

ers,

and

th

e A

ssem

bly

welc

omin

g th

e su

rren

der

of th

e la

st b

arri

cade

wit

h cr

ies o

f “L

ong

Liv

e th

e R

epub

lic!”

– a

nd th

e B

lood

y W

eek

of 18

71

are

birt

hmar

ks n

o su

rger

y ca

n hi

de.

In

19

45

, K

oje

ve

wr

ote

: “

The

“of

fici

al”

polit

ical

idea

l of F

ranc

e an

d of

the

Fren

ch is

toda

y st

ill th

at o

f the

nat

ion-

Stat

e, o

f the

‘one

an

d in

divi

sibl

e R

epub

lic.’

On

the

othe

r ha

nd, i

n th

e de

pths

of i

ts

soul

, the

cou

ntry

und

erst

ands

the

inad

equa

cy o

f thi

s ide

al, o

f the

po

litic

al a

nach

roni

sm o

f the

stri

ctly

“na

tion

al”

idea

. Thi

s fee

ling

has a

dmit

tedl

y not

yet r

each

ed th

e le

vel o

f a cl

ear a

nd d

isti

nct i

dea:

T

he c

ount

ry c

anno

t, a

nd st

ill d

oes n

ot w

ant t

o, e

xpre

ss it

ope

nly.

M

oreo

ver,

for

the

ver

y re

ason

of

the

unpa

ralle

led

brill

ianc

e of

it

s na

tiona

l pas

t, it

is p

arti

cula

rly

diff

icul

t for

Fra

nce

to r

ecog

nize

cl

earl

y an

d to

acc

ept f

rank

ly th

e fa

ct o

f th

e en

d of

the

‘nat

iona

l’ pe

riod

of H

isto

ry a

nd to

und

erst

and

all o

f its

con

sequ

ence

s. It

is

hard

for

a co

untr

y wh

ich

crea

ted,

out

of n

othi

ng, t

he id

eolo

gica

l fr

amew

ork

of n

atio

nalis

m a

nd w

hich

exp

orte

d it

to

the

whol

e wo

rld

to r

ecog

nize

that

all

that

rem

ains

of

it n

ow is

a d

ocum

ent

to b

e fi

led

in th

e hi

stor

ical

arc

hive

s.”

Thi

s qu

esti

on o

f th

e na

tion

-sta

te a

nd i

ts m

ourn

ing

is a

t th

e he

art

of w

hat

for

the

past

hal

f-ce

ntur

y ca

n on

ly b

e ca

lled

the

Fren

ch m

alai

se.

We

polit

ely

give

the

nam

e of

“al

tern

atio

n” t

o th

is

twit

chy

inde

cisi

on,

this

pen

dulu

m-l

ike

osci

llati

on f

rom

lef

t to

ri

ght,

the

n ri

ght

to l

eft;

lik

e a

man

ic p

hase

aft

er a

dep

ress

ive

one

that

is th

en fo

llowe

d by

ano

ther

, or

like

the

way

a co

mpl

etel

y rh

etor

ical

cri

tiqu

e of

ind

ivid

ualis

m u

neas

ily c

o-ex

ists

wit

h th

e m

ost

fero

ciou

s cy

nici

sm,

or t

he m

ost

gran

dios

e ge

nero

sity

wit

h an

ave

rsio

n to

cro

wds.

Sin

ce 1

945,

this

mal

aise

, wh

ich

seem

s to

ha

ve d

issi

pate

d on

ly d

urin

g th

e in

surr

ecti

onar

y fe

rvor

of

May

68

, ha

s co

ntin

ually

wor

sene

d. T

he e

ra o

f st

ates

, na

tion

s an

d

57

man

ipul

atin

g the

mas

ses,

secr

et se

rvic

e ope

rati

ons,

the r

estr

icti

on

of p

ublic

libe

rtie

s, a

nd t

he c

ompl

ete

sove

reig

nty

of a

wid

e ar

ray

of p

olic

e fo

rces

wer

e ap

prop

riat

e wa

ys t

o en

sure

dem

ocra

cy,

free

dom

and

civ

iliza

tion

. A

t the

fin

al s

tage

of

this

evo

luti

on,

we

see

the

firs

t soc

ialis

t may

or o

f Par

is p

utti

ng th

e fi

nish

ing

touc

hes

on u

rban

pac

ific

atio

n wi

th a

new

pol

ice

prot

ocol

for

a p

oor

neig

hbor

hood

, an

noun

ced

with

the

fol

lowi

ng c

aref

ully

cho

sen

word

s: “

We’

re b

uild

ing

a ci

viliz

ed s

pace

her

e.”

The

re’s

noth

ing

mor

e to

say

, eve

ryth

ing

has

to b

e de

stro

yed.

Th

ou

gh

it

se

em

s

ge

ne

ra

l

in

n

atu

re

, th

e qu

esti

on

of

civi

lizat

ion

is n

ot a

t all

a ph

iloso

phic

al o

ne.

A c

ivili

zati

on is

not

an

abs

trac

tion

hov

erin

g ov

er li

fe. I

t is w

hat r

ules

, tak

es p

osse

ssio

n of

, co

loni

zes

the

mos

t ba

nal,

per

sona

l, d

aily

exi

sten

ce.

It’s

what

ho

lds

toge

ther

tha

t wh

ich

is m

ost

inti

mat

e an

d m

ost

gene

ral.

In

Fra

nce,

civ

iliza

tion

is

inse

para

ble

from

the

sta

te.

The

old

er

and

mor

e po

werf

ul t

he s

tate

, th

e le

ss i

t is

a s

uper

stru

ctur

e or

exo

skel

eton

of

a so

ciet

y an

d th

e m

ore

it c

onst

itut

es t

he

subj

ecti

viti

es t

hat

peop

le i

t. T

he F

renc

h st

ate

is t

he v

ery

text

ure

of F

renc

h su

bjec

tivi

ties

, th

e fo

rm a

ssum

ed b

y th

e ce

ntur

ies-

old

cast

rati

on o

f it

s su

bjec

ts.

Thu

s it

sho

uld

com

e as

no

surp

rise

th

at i

n th

eir

delir

ium

s ps

ychi

atri

c pa

tien

ts a

re a

lway

s co

nfus

ing

them

selv

es w

ith

polit

ical

fig

ures

, th

at w

e ag

ree

that

our

lea

ders

ar

e th

e ro

ot o

f all

our

ills,

that

we

like

to g

rum

ble

so m

uch

abou

t th

em a

nd t

hat

this

gru

mbl

ing

is t

he c

onse

crat

ion

that

cro

wns

them

as

our

mas

ters

. Her

e, p

olit

ics

is n

ot c

onsi

dere

d so

met

hing

ou

tsid

e of

us

but a

s pa

rt o

f our

selv

es. T

he li

fe w

e in

vest

in th

ese

figu

res

is th

e sa

me

life

that

’s ta

ken

from

us.

If t

here

is

a Fr

ench

exc

epti

on,

this

is

why.

Eve

ryth

ing,

eve

n th

e gl

obal

inf

luen

ce o

f Fr

ench

lit

erat

ure,

is

a re

sult

of t

his

ampu

tati

on. I

n Fr

ance

, lit

erat

ure

is th

e pr

escr

ibed

spa

ce fo

r th

e am

usem

ent o

f the

cas

trat

ed. I

t is t

he fo

rmal

free

dom

con

cede

d to

th

ose

who

cann

ot a

ccom

mod

ate

them

selv

es to

the

noth

ingn

ess o

f th

eir

real

free

dom

. Tha

t’s w

hat g

ives

ris

e to

all

the

obsc

ene

wink

s ex

chan

ged,

for

cent

urie

s now

, bet

ween

the

stat

esm

en a

nd m

en o

f le

tter

s in

thi

s co

untr

y, a

s ea

ch g

ladl

y do

ns t

he o

ther

’s co

stum

e.

Tha

t’s a

lso

why i

ntel

lect

uals

her

e te

nd to

talk

so lo

ud w

hen

they

’re

so m

eek,

and

why

they

alw

ays f

ail a

t the

dec

isiv

e m

omen

t, th

e on

ly

mom

ent t

hat w

ould

’ve

give

n m

eani

ng to

thei

r ex

iste

nce,

but

that

al

so w

ould

’ve

had

them

ban

ishe

d fr

om th

eir

prof

essi

on.

36

The

met

ropo

lis i

s th

is s

imul

tane

ous

deat

h of

cit

y an

d co

untr

y. I

t is

the

cro

ssro

ads

wher

e al

l th

e pe

tty

bour

geoi

s co

me

toge

ther

, in

the

mid

dle

of t

his

mid

dle

clas

s th

at

stre

tche

s ou

t in

defi

nite

ly,

as m

uch

a re

sult

of r

ural

flig

ht

as o

f ur

ban

spra

wl.

To c

over

the

pla

net

with

gla

ss w

ould

fi

t pe

rfec

tly t

he c

ynic

ism

of

cont

empo

rary

arc

hite

ctur

e.

A s

choo

l, a

hos

pita

l, o

r a

med

ia c

ente

r ar

e al

l va

riat

ions

on

the

sam

e th

eme:

tra

nspa

renc

y, n

eutr

alit

y, u

nifo

rmit

y.

The

se m

assi

ve,

flui

d bu

ildin

gs a

re c

once

ived

wit

hout

any

ne

ed to

kno

w wh

at th

ey w

ill h

ouse

. The

y cou

ld be

here

as m

uch

as a

nywh

ere

else

. W

hat

to d

o wi

th a

ll th

e of

fice

tow

ers

at

La

Déf

ense

in

Pari

s, t

he a

part

men

t bl

ocks

of

Lyo

n’s

La

Part

Die

u, o

r th

e sh

oppi

ng c

ompl

exes

of

Eur

aLill

e? T

he

expr

essi

on “

flam

bant

neu

f” 12

per

fect

ly c

aptu

res

thei

r de

stin

y.

A S

cott

ish

trav

eler

tes

tifi

es t

o th

e un

ique

att

ract

ion

of

the

powe

r of

fir

e, s

peak

ing

afte

r re

bels

had

bur

ned

the

Hôt

el d

e V

ille

in P

aris

in

May

, 18

71:

“Nev

er c

ould

I h

ave

imag

ined

any

thin

g so

bea

utif

ul.

It’s

supe

rb.

I wo

n’t

deny

th

at th

e pe

ople

of

the

Com

mun

e ar

e fr

ight

ful r

ogue

s. B

ut

what

art

ists

! A

nd t

hey

were

not

eve

n aw

are

of t

heir

own

m

aste

rpie

ce! [

...]

I ha

ve se

en th

e ru

ins o

f Am

alfi

bat

hed

in

the

azur

e sw

ells

of t

he M

edit

erra

nean

, and

the

ruin

s of t

he

Tung

-hoo

r te

mpl

es i

n Pu

njab

. I’

ve s

een

Rom

e an

d m

any

othe

r th

ings

. But

not

hing

can

com

pare

to w

hat I

hav

e se

en

here

toni

ght b

efor

e m

y ve

ry e

yes.

”

Th

er

e still r

em

ain

so

me

fr

ag

me

nts o

f th

e c

ity

and

so

me

trac

es o

f th

e co

untr

y ca

ught

up

in t

he m

etro

polit

an

mes

h. B

ut v

ital

ity

has

take

n up

qua

rter

s in

the

so-

calle

d “p

robl

em”

neig

hbor

hood

s. I

t’s a

par

adox

tha

t th

e pl

aces

th

ough

t to

be th

e m

ost u

ninh

abit

able

turn

out

to b

e th

e on

ly

ones

still

in so

me

way

inha

bite

d. A

n ol

d sq

uatt

ed sh

ack

still

fe

els

mor

e liv

ed i

n th

an t

he s

o-ca

lled

luxu

ry a

part

men

ts

wher

e it

is o

nly

poss

ible

to s

et d

own

the

furn

itur

e an

d ge

t th

e dé

cor

just

rig

ht w

hile

wai

ting

for

the

next

mov

e. W

ithi

n

12. “

flam

bant

neu

f,” –

lite

rally

, “bu

rnin

g ne

w” –

is th

e Fr

ench

equ

ival

ent o

f the

E

nglis

h “b

rand

new

.”

37

man

y of

tod

ay’s

meg

alop

olis

es,

the

shan

tyto

wns

are

the

last

livi

ng a

nd li

vabl

e ar

eas,

and

als

o, o

f co

urse

, th

e m

ost

dead

ly. T

hey

are

the

flip

-sid

e of

the

elec

tron

ic d

écor

of t

he

glob

al m

etro

polis

. T

he d

orm

itor

y to

wers

in

the

subu

rbs

nort

h of

Par

is, a

band

oned

by

a pe

tty

bour

geoi

sie

that

wen

t of

f hun

ting

for

swim

min

g po

ols,

hav

e be

en b

roug

ht b

ack

to

life

by m

ass

unem

ploy

men

t an

d no

w ra

diat

e m

ore

ener

gy

than

the

Lat

in Q

uart

er. I

n wo

rds

as m

uch

as fi

re.

The

con

flag

rati

on o

f N

ovem

ber

200

5 wa

s no

t a

resu

lt of

ext

rem

e di

spos

sess

ion,

as

it i

s of

ten

port

raye

d. I

t wa

s,

on t

he c

ontr

ary,

a c

ompl

ete

poss

essi

on o

f a

terr

itor

y.

Peop

le c

an b

urn

cars

bec

ause

the

y ar

e pi

ssed

off

, bu

t to

ke

ep th

e ri

ots

goin

g fo

r a

mon

th, w

hile

kee

ping

the

polic

e in

che

ck –

to

do t

hat

you

have

to

know

how

to

orga

nize

, yo

u ha

ve t

o es

tabl

ish

com

plic

itie

s, y

ou h

ave

to k

now

the

terr

ain

perf

ectly

, an

d sh

are

a co

mm

on l

angu

age

and

a co

mm

on e

nem

y. M

ile a

fter

mile

and

wee

k af

ter

week

, th

e fi

re s

prea

d. N

ew b

laze

s re

spon

ded

to t

he o

rigi

nal

ones

, ap

pear

ing

wher

e th

ey w

ere

leas

t exp

ecte

d. R

umor

s ca

n’t b

e wi

reta

pped

.

Th

e

me

tr

opo

lis

is

a

te

rr

ain

o

f

co

nsta

nt

lo

w-

in

te

nsity

c

on

flic

t,

in

whic

h th

e ta

king

of

B

asra

, M

ogad

ishu

, or

Nab

lus

mar

k po

ints

of

culm

inat

ion.

For

a

long

tim

e, t

he c

ity

was

a pl

ace

for

the

mili

tary

to

avoi

d,

or i

f an

ythi

ng,

to b

esie

ge;

but

the

met

ropo

lis i

s pe

rfec

tly

com

pati

ble

with

war

. A

rmed

con

flic

t is

onl

y a

mom

ent

in

its

cons

tant

rec

onfi

gura

tion

. T

he b

attle

s le

d by

the

gre

at

powe

rs r

esem

ble

a ki

nd o

f nev

er-e

ndin

g po

lice

work

in th

e bl

ack

hole

s of

the

met

ropo

lis,

“whe

ther

in

Bur

kina

Fas

o,

in t

he S

outh

Bro

nx,

in K

amag

asak

i, i

n C

hiap

as,

or i

n L

a C

ourn

euve

.” N

o lo

nger

und

erta

ken

in v

iew

of v

icto

ry

or p

eace

, or

eve

n th

e re

-est

ablis

hmen

t of

ord

er,

such

“i

nter

vent

ions

” co

ntin

ue a

secu

rity

ope

rati

on th

at is

alw

ays

alre

ady

at w

ork.

War

is n

o lo

nger

a d

isti

nct

even

t in

tim

e,

but

inst

ead

diff

ract

s in

to a

ser

ies

of m

icro

-ope

rati

ons,

by

both

mili

tary

and

pol

ice,

to e

nsur

e se

curi

ty.

56Seve

nth

Cir

cle

“We a

re b

uild

ing

a c

ivil

ized

sp

ace

here

” T

he fi

rst g

loba

l sla

ught

er, w

hich

from

191

4 to

191

8 di

d aw

ay w

ith

a la

rge

port

ion

of t

he u

rban

and

rur

al p

role

tari

at,

was

wage

d in

th

e na

me

of f

reed

om,

dem

ocra

cy,

and

civi

lizat

ion.

For

the

pas

t fi

ve ye

ars,

the

so-c

alle

d “w

ar o

n te

rror

” wi

th it

s spe

cial

ope

rati

ons

and

targ

eted

ass

assi

nati

ons

has

been

pur

sued

in

the

nam

e of

th

ese

sam

e va

lues

. Yet

the

rese

mbl

ance

stop

s the

re: a

t the

leve

l of

appe

aran

ces.

The

valu

e of

civ

iliza

tion

is n

o lo

nger

so o

bvio

us th

at

it c

an b

roug

ht to

the

nati

ves

with

out f

urth

er a

do. F

reed

om is

no

long

er a

nam

e sc

rawl

ed o

n wa

lls,

for

toda

y it

is a

lway

s fo

llowe

d,

as if

by

its

shad

ow, w

ith

the

word

“se

curi

ty.”

And

it is

wel

l kno

wn

that

dem

ocra

cy c

an b

e di

ssol

ved

in p

ure

and

sim

ple

“em

erge

ncy”

ed

icts

— f

or e

xam

ple,

in

the

offi

cial

rei

nsti

tuti

on o

f to

rtur

e in

th

e U

S, o

r in

Fra

nce’

s Pe

rben

II

law.

22

In a

sin

gle

cent

ury,

free

dom

, dem

ocra

cy a

nd c

ivili

zati

on h

ave

reve

rted

to th

e st

ate

of h

ypot

hese

s. O

ur le

ader

s’ wo

rk fr

om h

ere

on o

ut w

ill c

onsi

st i

n sh

apin

g th

e m

ater

ial a

nd m

oral

as

well

as

sym

bolic

and

soc

ial

cond

itio

ns i

n wh

ich

thes

e hy

poth

eses

can

be

mor

e or

less

val

idat

ed,

in c

onfi

guri

ng s

pace

s wh

ere

they

can

se

em t

o fu

ncti

on.

All

mea

ns t

o th

ese

ends

are

acc

epta

ble,

eve

n th

e le

ast d

emoc

rati

c, th

e le

ast c

ivili

zed,

the

mos

t rep

ress

ive.

Thi

s is

a c

entu

ry in

whi

ch d

emoc

racy

reg

ular

ly p

resi

ded

over

the

birt

h of

fasc

ist r

egim

es, c

ivili

zati

on c

onst

antly

rhy

med

– to

the

tune

of

Wag

ner

or Ir

on M

aide

n –

with

ext

erm

inat

ion,

and

in w

hich

, one

da

y in

192

9, f

reed

om-

show

ed i

ts t

wo f

aces

: a

bank

er t

hrow

ing

him

self

from

a w

indo

w an

d a

fam

ily o

f wor

kers

dyi

ng o

f hun

ger.

Si

nce

then

– l

et’s

say,

sin

ce 1

945

– it

’s ta

ken

for

gran

ted

that

22

. Per

ben

II is

a la

w in

trod

uced

in F

ranc

e in

20

04

that

targ

ets

“org

aniz

ed

crim

e” a

nd “

delin

quen

cy”

and

allo

ws fo

r se

nten

cing

wit

hout

tria

l.

55

Ne

w

Or

le

an

s,

a

fe

w

da

ys

afte

r

Hu

rr

ic

an

e

Ka

tr

in

a.

In th

is ap

ocal

ypti

c atm

osph

ere,

her

e and

ther

e, li

fe is

reor

gani

zing

it

self

. In

the

fac

e of

the

ina

ctio

n of

the

pub

lic a

utho

riti

es,

who

were

too

busy

cle

anin

g up

the

tour

ist a

reas

of t

he F

renc

h Q

uart

er

and

prot

ecti

ng s

hops

to h

elp

the

poor

er c

ity

dwel

lers

, fo

rgot

ten

form

s are

rebo

rn. I

n sp

ite

of o

ccas

iona

lly st

rong

-arm

ed a

ttem

pts

to e

vacu

ate

the

area

, in

spi

te o

f wh

ite

supr

emac

ist

lync

h m

obs,

a

lot

of p

eopl

e re

fuse

d to

lea

ve t

he t

erra

in.

For

the

latt

er,

who

refu

sed

to b

e de

port

ed li

ke “

envi

ronm

enta

l ref

ugee

s” a

ll ov

er th

e co

untr

y, a

nd f

or t

hose

who

cam

e fr

om a

ll ar

ound

to

join

the

m

in s

olid

arit

y, r

espo

ndin

g to

a c

all f

rom

a f

orm

er B

lack

Pan

ther

, se

lf-o

rgan

izat

ion

cam

e ba

ck to

the

fore

. In

a fe

w we

eks

tim

e, th

e C

omm

on G

roun

d C

linic

was

set

up.

21 F

rom

the

ver

y fi

rst

days

, th

is v

erit

able

“co

untr

y ho

spit

al”

prov

ided

fre

e an

d ef

fect

ive

trea

tmen

t to

tho

se w

ho n

eede

d it

, th

anks

to

the

cons

tant

inf

lux

of vo

lunt

eers

. For

mor

e th

an a

year

now

, the

clin

ic is

still

the

base

of

a d

aily

res

ista

nce

to th

e cl

ean-

swee

p op

erat

ion

of g

over

nmen

t bu

lldoz

ers,

whi

ch a

re t

ryin

g to

tur

n th

at p

art

of t

he c

ity

into

a

past

ure

for

prop

erty

dev

elop

ers.

Pop

ular

kit

chen

s, s

uppl

ies,

st

reet

med

icin

e, il

lega

l tak

eove

rs, t

he c

onst

ruct

ion

of e

mer

genc

y ho

usin

g, a

ll th

is p

ract

ical

kno

wled

ge a

ccum

ulat

ed h

ere

and

ther

e in

the

cou

rse

of a

lif

e, h

as n

ow f

ound

a s

pace

whe

re i

t ca

n be

de

ploy

ed. F

ar fr

om th

e un

ifor

ms

and

sire

ns.

Who

ever

kne

w th

e pe

nnile

ss j

oy o

f th

ese

New

Orl

eans

ne

ighb

orho

ods

befo

re t

he c

atas

trop

he,

thei

r de

fian

ce t

owar

ds

the

stat

e an

d th

e wi

desp

read

pra

ctic

e of

mak

ing

do w

ith

what

’s av

aila

ble

woul

dn’t

be a

t al

l su

rpri

sed

by w

hat

beca

me

poss

ible

th

ere.

On

the

othe

r ha

nd,

anyo

ne t

rapp

ed i

n th

e an

emic

and

at

omiz

ed e

very

day

rout

ine

of o

ur r

esid

enti

al d

eser

ts m

ight

do

ubt

that

su

ch

dete

rmin

atio

n co

uld

be

foun

d an

ywhe

re

anym

ore.

Rec

onne

ctin

g wi

th s

uch

gest

ures

, bu

ried

und

er y

ears

of

nor

mal

ized

life

, is

the

onl

y pr

acti

cabl

e m

eans

of

not

sink

ing

down

wit

h th

e wo

rld.

The

tim

e wi

ll co

me

when

we

take

thes

e up

on

ce m

ore.

21.

A c

erta

in d

ista

nce

lead

s to

a c

erta

in o

bscu

rity

. Com

mon

Gro

und

has

been

cr

itic

ized

in N

orth

Am

eric

an fo

r th

e fa

ct th

at it

s ac

tivi

ties

wer

e ge

ared

towa

rds

a re

turn

to n

orm

alit

y –

that

is, t

o th

e no

rmal

func

tion

ing

of th

ings

. In

any

case

it

cle

arly

rem

ains

in th

e re

alm

of c

lass

ical

pol

itic

s. T

he fo

unde

r of

Com

mon

G

roun

d, fo

rmer

-Bla

ck P

anth

er M

alik

Rah

im, e

vent

ually

use

d th

e pr

ojec

t as

part

of h

is u

nsuc

cess

ful r

un fo

r th

e U

S C

ongr

ess

in 2

00

8. I

t was

als

o la

ter

reve

aled

that

one

of t

he m

ain

spok

esm

en fo

r th

e pr

ojec

t, B

rand

on D

arby

, was

an

FB

I in

form

ant.

38

The

pol

ice

and

the

arm

y ar

e ev

olvi

ng i

n pa

ralle

l an

d in

loc

k-st

ep.

A c

rim

inol

ogis

t re

ques

ts t

hat

the

nati

onal

ri

ot p

olic

e re

orga

nize

its

elf

into

sm

all,

pro

fess

iona

lized

, m

obile

uni

ts.

The

mili

tary

aca

dem

y, c

radl

e of

dis

cipl

inar

y m

etho

ds,

is r

ethi

nkin

g it

s ow

n hi

erar

chic

al o

rgan

izat

ion.

Fo

r hi

s in

fant

ry b

atta

lion

a N

ATO

off

icer

em

ploy

s a

“par

tici

pato

ry

met

hod

that

in

volv

es

ever

yone

in

th

e an

alys

is,

prep

arat

ion,

exe

cuti

on,

and

eval

uati

on o

f an

ac

tion

. T

he p

lan

is c

onsi

dere

d an

d re

cons

ider

ed f

or d

ays,

ri

ght t

hrou

gh th

e tr

aini

ng p

hase

and

acc

ordi

ng to

the

late

st

inte

llige

nce

[...

] T

here

is n

othi

ng li

ke g

roup

pla

nnin

g fo

r bu

ildin

g te

am c

ohes

ion

and

mor

ale.

”T

he

arm

ed

forc

es

don’

t si

mpl

y ad

apt

them

selv

es

to

the

met

ropo

lis,

they

pro

duce

it.

Thu

s, s

ince

the

bat

tle o

f N

ablu

s,

Isra

eli

sold

iers

ha

ve

beco

me

inte

rior

de

sign

ers.

Fo

rced

by

Pa

lest

inia

n gu

erri

llas

to a

band

on th

e st

reet

s, w

hich

had

bec

ome

too

dang

erou

s, th

ey le

arne

d to

adv

ance

vert

ical

ly a

nd h

oriz

onta

lly

into

the

hear

t of t

he u

rban

arc

hite

ctur

e, p

okin

g ho

les i

n wa

lls a

nd

ceili

ngs

in o

rder

to m

ove

thro

ugh

them

. An

offi

cer

in th

e Is

rael

D

efen

se F

orce

s, a

nd a

gra

duat

e in

phi

loso

phy,

exp

lain

s: “

the

enem

y in

terp

rets

spa

ce i

n a

trad

itio

nal,

cla

ssic

al m

anne

r, a

nd I

do

not

wan

t to

obe

y th

is i

nter

pret

atio

n an

d fa

ll in

to h

is t

raps

. […

] I

want

to s

urpr

ise

him

! Thi

s is

the

esse

nce

of w

ar. I

nee

d to

wi

n […

] Thi

s is w

hy th

at w

e op

ted

for

the

met

hodo

logy

of m

ovin

g th

roug

h wa

lls [

…]

Lik

e a

worm

that

eat

s it

s wa

y fo

rwar

d.”

Urb

an

spac

e is

mor

e th

an ju

st th

e th

eate

r of

con

fron

tati

on, i

t is a

lso

the

mea

ns. T

his e

choe

s the

adv

ice

of B

lanq

ui w

ho r

ecom

men

ded

(in

this

cas

e fo

r th

e pa

rty

of in

surr

ecti

on)

that

the

futu

re in

surg

ents

of

Par

is ta

ke o

ver

the

hous

es o

n th

e ba

rric

aded

str

eets

to p

rote

ct

thei

r po

siti

ons,

that

they

sho

uld

bore

hol

es in

the

walls

to a

llow

pass

age

betw

een

hous

es,

brea

k do

wn t

he g

roun

d fl

oor

stai

rwel

ls

and

poke

hol

es i

n th

e ce

iling

s to

def

end

them

selv

es a

gain

st

pote

ntia

l att

acke

rs,

rip

out t

he d

oors

and

use

them

to b

arri

cade

th

e wi

ndow

s, a

nd tu

rn e

ach

floo

r in

to a

gun

turr

et.

The

met

ropo

lis i

s no

t ju

st t

his

urba

n pi

le-u

p, t

his

fina

l co

llisi

on b

etwe

en c

ity

and

coun

try.

It i

s al

so a

flow

of b

eing

s an

d th

ings

, a cu

rren

t tha

t run

s th

roug

h fi

ber-

opti

c ne

twor

ks, t

hrou

gh

high

-spe

ed tr

ain

lines

, sat

ellit

es, a

nd vi

deo

surv

eilla

nce

cam

eras

, m

akin

g su

re t

hat

this

wor

ld n

ever

sto

ps r

unni

ng s

trai

ght

to i

ts

ruin

. It

is

a cu

rren

t th

at w

ould

like

to

drag

eve

ryth

ing

alon

g in

39

its

hope

less

mob

ility

, to

mob

ilize

eac

h an

d ev

ery

one

of u

s. W

here

in

form

atio

n pu

mm

els

us li

ke s

ome

kind

of h

osti

le fo

rce.

Whe

re

the

only

thi

ng le

ft t

o do

is

run.

Whe

re i

t be

com

es h

ard

to w

ait,

ev

en fo

r th

e um

ptee

nth

subw

ay tr

ain.

Wit

h th

e pr

olif

erat

ion

of

mea

ns

of

mov

emen

t an

d co

mm

unic

atio

n, a

nd w

ith

the

lure

of a

lway

s be

ing

else

wher

e, w

e ar

e co

ntin

uous

ly to

rn fr

om th

e he

re a

nd n

ow. H

op o

n an

inte

rcit

y or

com

mut

er tr

ain,

pic

k up

a te

leph

one –

in o

rder

to b

e alre

ady g

one.

Su

ch m

obili

ty o

nly

ever

mea

ns u

proo

tedn

ess,

isol

atio

n, e

xile

. It

woul

d be

ins

uffe

rabl

e if

it

were

n’t

alwa

ys t

he m

obili

ty o

f a p

rivat

e sp

ace,

of

a po

rtab

le in

teri

or.

The

pri

vate

bub

ble

does

n’t b

urst

, it

fl

oats

aro

und.

The

pro

cess

of

coco

onin

g is

not

goi

ng a

way,

it is

m

erel

y be

ing

put i

nto

mot

ion.

Fro

m a

trai

n st

atio

n, to

an

offi

ce

park

, to

a c

omm

erci

al b

ank,

fro

m o

ne h

otel

to a

noth

er,

ther

e is

ev

eryw

here

a f

orei

gnne

ss,

a fe

elin

g so

ban

al a

nd s

o ha

bitu

al i

t be

com

es t

he la

st f

orm

of

fam

iliar

ity.

Met

ropo

litan

exc

ess

is t

his

capr

icio

us m

ixin

g of

def

init

e m

oods

, in

defi

nite

ly r

ecom

bine

d.

The

cit

y ce

nter

s of

the

met

ropo

lis a

re n

ot c

lone

s of

the

mse

lves

, bu

t off

er in

stea

d th

eir

own

aura

s; w

e gl

ide

from

one

to th

e ne

xt,

sele

ctin

g th

is o

ne a

nd r

ejec

ting

that

one

, to

the

tune

of a

kin

d of

ex

iste

ntia

l sho

ppin

g tr

ip a

mon

g di

ffer

ent s

tyle

s of

bar

s, p

eopl

e,

desi

gns,

or

play

lists

. “W

ith

my

mp3

pla

yer,

I’m

the

mas

ter

of m

y wo

rld.

” To

cop

e wi

th th

e un

ifor

mit

y th

at s

urro

unds

us,

our

onl

y op

tion

is

to c

onst

antly

ren

ovat

e ou

r ow

n in

teri

or w

orld

, lik

e a

child

who

con

stru

cts

the

sam

e lit

tle h

ouse

ove

r an

d ov

er a

gain

, or

like

Rob

inso

n C

ruso

e re

prod

ucin

g hi

s sh

opke

eper

’s un

iver

se

on a

des

ert i

slan

d –

yet o

ur d

eser

t isl

and

is c

ivili

zati

on it

self

, and

th

ere

are

billi

ons

of u

s co

ntin

ually

was

hing

up

on it

.It

is

prec

isel

y du

e to

thi

s ar

chit

ectu

re o

f fl

ows

that

the

m

etro

polis

is

one

of t

he m

ost

vuln

erab

le h

uman

arr

ange

men

ts

that

has

eve

r ex

iste

d. S

uppl

e, s

ubtle

, bu

t vu

lner

able

. A

bru

tal

shut

ting

dow

n of

bor

ders

to fe

nd o

ff a

rag

ing

epid

emic

, a su

dden

in

terr

upti

on o

f su

pply

lin

es,

orga

nize

d bl

ocka

des

of t

he a

xes

of c

omm

unic

atio

n –

and

the

whol

e fa

cade

cru

mbl

es,

a fa

cade

th

at c

an n

o lo

nger

mas

k th

e sc

enes

of

carn

age

haun

ting

it f

rom

m

orni

ng t

o ni

ght.

The

wor

ld w

ould

not

be

mov

ing

so f

ast

if i

t di

dn’t

have

to c

onst

antly

out

run

its

own

colla

pse.

The

m

etro

polis

ai

ms

to

shel

ter

itse

lf

from

in

evit

able

m

alfu

ncti

on v

ia it

s net

work

stru

ctur

e, v

ia it

s ent

ire

tech

nolo

gica

l in

fras

truc

ture

of

no

des

and

conn

ecti

ons,

it

s de

cent

raliz

ed

arch

itec

ture

. T

he i

nter

net

is s

uppo

sed

to s

urvi

ve a

nuc

lear

5

4the

syst

em,

to t

he s

light

est

clim

acti

c ri

sk.

As

the

late

st t

suna

mi

appr

oach

ed a

nd th

e to

uris

ts c

onti

nued

to fr

olic

in th

e wa

ves,

the

isla

nds’

hunt

er-g

athe

rers

has

tene

d to

fle

e th

e co

ast,

fol

lowi

ng

the

bird

s. E

nvir

onm

enta

lism

’s pr

esen

t par

adox

is th

at u

nder

the

pret

ext

of s

avin

g th

e pl

anet

fro

m d

esol

atio

n it

mer

ely

save

s th

e ca

uses

of

its

deso

lati

on.

The

nor

mal

fun

ctio

ning

of

the

worl

d us

ually

ser

ves

to h

ide

our

stat

e of

tru

ly c

atas

trop

hic

disp

osse

ssio

n. W

hat

is c

alle

d “c

atas

trop

he”

is n

o m

ore

than

the

for

ced

susp

ensi

on o

f th

is

stat

e, o

ne o

f th

ose

rare

mom

ents

whe

n we

reg

ain

som

e so

rt o

f pr

esen

ce in

the

worl

d. L

et th

e pe

trol

eum

res

erve

s run

out

ear

lier

than

exp

ecte

d; le

t the

inte

rnat

iona

l flo

ws th

at r

egul

ate

the

tem

po

of th

e m

etro

polis

be

inte

rrup

ted,

let u

s su

ffer

som

e gr

eat s

ocia

l di

srup

tion

and

som

e gr

eat “

retu

rn to

sava

gery

of t

he p

opul

atio

n,”

a “p

lane

tary

thr

eat,”

the

“en

d of

civ

iliza

tion

!” E

ithe

r wa

y, a

ny

loss

of

cont

rol w

ould

be

pref

erab

le to

all

the

cris

is m

anag

emen

t sc

enar

ios

they

env

isio

n. W

hen

this

com

es,

the

spec

ialis

ts i

n su

stai

nabl

e de

velo

pmen

t wo

n’t

be t

he o

nes

with

the

bes

t ad

vice

. It

’s wi

thin

the

mal

func

tion

and

sho

rt-c

ircu

its

of t

he s

yste

m

that

we

find

the

ele

men

ts o

f a

resp

onse

who

se lo

gic

woul

d be

to

abol

ish

the

prob

lem

s th

emse

lves

. A

mon

g th

e si

gnat

ory

nati

ons

to t

he K

yoto

Pro

toco

l, t

he o

nly

coun

trie

s th

at h

ave

fulf

illed

th

eir

com

mit

men

ts,

in s

pite

of

them

selv

es,

are

the

Ukr

aine

and

R

oman

ia.

Gue

ss w

hy.

The

mos

t ad

vanc

ed e

xper

imen

tati

on w

ith

“org

anic

” ag

ricu

lture

on

a gl

obal

leve

l has

take

n pl

ace

sinc

e 19

89

on t

he i

slan

d of

Cub

a. G

uess

why

. A

nd i

t’s a

long

the

Afr

ican

hi

ghwa

ys,

and

nowh

ere

else

, th

at a

uto

mec

hani

cs h

as b

een

elev

ated

to a

form

of p

opul

ar a

rt. G

uess

how

. W

hat

mak

es t

he c

risi

s de

sira

ble

is t

hat

in t

he c

risi

s th

e en

viro

nmen

t ce

ases

to

be t

he e

nvir

onm

ent.

We

are

forc

ed t

o re

esta

blis

h co

ntac

t, a

lbei

t a

pote

ntia

lly f

atal

one

, wi

th w

hat’s

th

ere,

to

redi

scov

er t

he r

hyth

ms

of r

ealit

y. W

hat

surr

ound

s us

is

no

long

er a

land

scap

e, a

pan

oram

a, a

the

ater

, bu

t so

met

hing

to

inha

bit,

som

ethi

ng w

e ne

ed to

com

e to

term

s wit

h, so

met

hing

we

can

lea

rn f

rom

. W

e wo

n’t

let

ours

elve

s be

led

ast

ray

by t

he

one’

s wh

o’ve

bro

ught

abo

ut t

he c

onte

nts

of t

he “

cata

stro

phe.

” W

here

the

man

ager

s pl

aton

ical

ly d

iscu

ss a

mon

g th

emse

lves

how

th

ey m

ight

dec

reas

e em

issi

ons

“wit

hout

bre

akin

g th

e ba

nk,”

the

on

ly r

ealis

tic

opti

on w

e ca

n se

e is

to “

brea

k th

e ba

nk”

as s

oon

as

poss

ible

and

, in

the

mea

ntim

e, t

ake

adva

ntag

e of

eve

ry c

olla

pse

in th

e sy

stem

to in

crea

se o

ur o

wn s

tren

gth.

53

Trac

king

, tr

ansp

aren

cy,

cert

ific

atio

n,

eco-

taxe

s,

envi

ronm

enta

l ex

celle

nce,

and

the

pol

icin

g of

wat

er,

all

give

us

an id

ea o

f the

com

ing

stat

e of

eco

logi

cal e

mer

genc

y. E

very

thin

g is

pe

rmit

ted

to a

pow

er st

ruct

ure

that

bas

es it

s aut

hori

ty in

Nat

ure,

in

hea

lth a

nd in

wel

l-be

ing.

“O

nce

the

new

econ

omic

and

beh

avio

ral c

ultu

re h

as b

ecom

e co

mm

on p

ract

ice,

coe

rciv

e m

easu

res

will

doub

tless

fall

into

dis

use

of t

heir

own

acc

ord.

” Yo

u’d

have

to

have

all

the

ridi

culo

us

aplo

mb

of a

TV

cru

sade

r to

mai

ntai

n su

ch a

fro

zen

pers

pect

ive

and

in t

he s

ame

brea

th i

ncit

e us

to

feel

suf

fici

ently

“so

rry

for

the

plan

et”

to g

et m

obili

zed,

whi

lst

rem

aini

ng a

nest

heti

zed

enou

gh t

o wa

tch

the

whol

e th

ing

with

res

trai

nt a

nd c

ivili

ty.

The

ne

w gr

een-

asce

tici

sm i

s pr

ecis

ely

the

self-

cont

rol t

hat

is r

equi

red

of u

s al

l in

ord

er t

o ne

goti

ate

a re

scue

ope

rati

on w

here

the

sy

stem

has

tak

en i

tsel

f ho

stag

e. F

rom

now

on,

it’s

in

the

nam

e of

env

iron

men

talis

m t

hat

we m

ust

all

tigh

ten

our

belts

, ju

st a

s we

did

yes

terd

ay i

n th

e na

me

of t

he e

cono

my.

The

roa

ds c

ould

ce

rtai

nly

be t

rans

form

ed i

nto

bicy

cle

path

s, w

e ou

rsel

ves

coul

d pe

rhap

s, to

a c

erta

in d

egre

e, b

e gr

atef

ul o

ne d

ay fo

r a

guar

ante

ed

inco

me,

but

onl

y at t

he p

rice

of a

n en

tire

ly th

erap

euti

c ex

iste

nce.

T

hose

who

cla

im th

at g

ener

aliz

ed s

elf-

cont

rol w

ill s

pare

us

from

an

env

iron

men

tal d

icta

tors

hip

are

lyin

g: th

e on

e wi

ll pr

epar

e th

e wa

y fo

r th

e ot

her,

and

we’

ll en

d up

wit

h bo

th.

As

long

as

ther

e is

Man

and

Env

iron

men

t, t

he p

olic

e wi

ll be

th

ere

betw

een

them

.

Ev

er

yth

in

g a

bo

ut t

he

en

vir

on

me

nta

list’s d

isc

ou

rse

mus

t be

tur

ned

upsi

de-d

own.

Whe

re t

hey

talk

of

“cat

astr

ophe

s” t

o la

bel t

he p

rese

nt s

yste

m’s

mis

man

agem

ent o

f be

ings

and

thin

gs,

we o

nly

see

the

cata

stro

phe

of i

ts a

ll to

o pe

rfec

t op

erat

ion.

The

gr

eate

st w

ave

of f

amin

e ev

er k

nown

in

the

trop

ics

(187

6-18

79)

coin

cide

d wi

th a

glo

bal

drou

ght,

but

mor

e si

gnif

ican

tly,

it a

lso

coin

cide

d wi

th t

he a

poge

e of

col

oniz

atio

n. T

he d

estr

ucti

on

of t

he p

easa

nt’s

worl

d an

d of

loc

al a

limen

tary

pra

ctic

es m

eant

th

e di

sapp

eara

nce

of

the

mea

ns

for

deal

ing

with

sc

arci

ty.

Mor

e th

an t

he l

ack

of w

ater

, it

was

the

eff

ect

of t

he r

apid

ly

expa

ndin

g co

loni

al

econ

omy

that

lit

tere

d th

e Tr

opic

s wi

th

mill

ions

of

emac

iate

d co

rpse

s. W

hat

pres

ents

its

elf

ever

ywhe

re

as a

n ec

olog

ical

cat

astr

ophe

has

nev

er s

topp

ed b

eing

, ab

ove

all,

the

man

ifes

tati

on o

f a

disa

stro

us r

elat

ions

hip

to t

he w

orld

. In

habi

ting

a n

owhe

re m

akes

us

vuln

erab

le to

the

slig

htes

t jol

t in

40atta

ck.

Perm

anen

t co

ntro

l of

the

flo

w of

inf

orm

atio

n, p

eopl

e an

d pr

oduc

ts m

akes

the

mob

ility

of t

he m

etro

polis

sec

ure,

whi

le

its’

trac

king

sys

tem

s en

sure

that

no

ship

ping

con

tain

ers

get l

ost,

th

at n

ot a

sin

gle

dolla

r is

sto

len

in a

ny t

rans

acti

on,

and

that

no

terr

oris

t en

ds u

p on

an

airp

lane

. A

ll th

anks

to

an R

FID

chi

p, a

bi

omet

ric

pass

port

, a D

NA

pro

file

.B

ut t

he m

etro

polis

als

o pr

oduc

es t

he m

eans

of

its

own

dest

ruct

ion.

An

Am

eric

an s

ecur

ity

expe

rt e

xpla

ins

the

defe

at

in I

raq

as a

res

ult

of t

he g

uerr

illas

’ ab

ility

to

take

adv

anta

ge o

f ne

w wa

ys o

f co

mm

unic

atin

g. T

he U

S in

vasi

on d

idn’

t so

muc

h im

port

dem

ocra

cy t

o Ir

aq a

s it

did

cyb

erne

tic

netw

orks

. T

hey

brou

ght w

ith

them

one

of

the

weap

ons

of th

eir

own

defe

at.

The

pr

olif

erat

ion

of m

obile

pho

nes

and

inte

rnet

acc

ess

poin

ts g

ave

the

guer

rilla

s ne

wfou

nd w

ays

to s

elf-

orga

nize

, and

allo

wed

them

to

bec

ome

such

elu

sive

targ

ets.

Eve

ry n

etwo

rk h

as i

ts w

eak

poin

ts,

the

node

s th

at m

ust

be u

ndon

e in

ord

er to

inte

rrup

t cir

cula

tion

, to

unwi

nd th

e we

b. T

he l

ast

grea

t E

urop

ean

elec

tric

al b

lack

out

prov

ed

it:

a si

ngle

inci

dent

wit

h a

high

-ten

sion

wir

e an

d a

dece

nt

part

of

the

cont

inen

t was

plu

nged

into

dar

knes

s. I

n or

der

for

som

ethi

ng t

o ri

se u

p in

the

mid

st o

f th

e m

etro

polis

an

d op

en u

p ot

her

poss

ibili

ties

, th

e fi

rst

act

mus

t be

to

inte

rrup

t it

s pe

rpetu

um m

obile

. T

hat

is w

hat

the

Tha

i re

bels

un

ders

tood

whe

n th

ey k

nock

ed o

ut e

lect

rica

l st

atio

ns.

Tha

t is

what

the

Fren

ch a

nti-

CPE

13 p

rote

stor

s un

ders

tood

in

20

06

when

the

y sh

ut d

own

the

univ

ersi

ties

wit

h a

view

to

ward

shut

ting

dow

n th

e en

tire

eco

nom

y. T

hat i

s wha

t the

A

mer

ican

lon

gsho

rem

en u

nder

stoo

d wh

en t

hey

stru

ck i

n O

ctob

er, 2

00

2 in

supp

ort o

f thr

ee h

undr

ed jo

bs, b

lock

ing

the m

ain

port

s on

the W

est C

oast

for t

en d

ays.

The

Am

eric

an

econ

omy

is s

o de

pend

ent o

n go

ods

com

ing

from

Asi

a th

at

the

cost

of

the

bloc

kade

was

ove

r a

billi

on d

olla

rs p

er d

ay.

Wit

h te

n th

ousa

nd p

eopl

e, t

he la

rges

t ec

onom

ic p

ower

in

the

worl

d ca

n be

bro

ught

to it

s kne

es. A

ccor

ding

to c

erta

in

“exp

erts

,” if

the

acti

on h

ad la

sted

ano

ther

mon

th, i

t wou

ld

have

pro

duce

d “a

rec

essi

on i

n th

e U

nite

d St

ates

and

an

13.

A 2

00

6 m

ovem

ent i

n Fr

ance

, pri

ncip

ally

of u

nive

rsit

y an

d hi

gh-s

choo

l stu

-de

nts,

aga

inst

a n

ew e

mpl

oym

ent l

aw (

Cont

rat p

rem

ière e

mba

uche

– C

PE)

perm

itti

ng

less

sec

ure

job

cont

ract

s fo

r yo

ung

peop

le.

41

econ

omic

nig

htm

are

in S

outh

east

Asi

a.”

52the

Eth

iopi

ans

like

in t

he 1

980

s, n

ot f

or e

mpl

oym

ent

like

in

the

1990

s. N

o, t

his

tim

e it

’s fo

r th

e en

viro

nmen

t. I

t wi

ll th

ank

you

for

it. A

l Gor

e an

d ne

gati

ve g

rowt

h m

ovem

ent s

tand

sid

e by

si

de w

ith

the

eter

nal g

reat

sou

ls o

f th

e R

epub

lic to

do

thei

r pa

rt

in r

esus

cita

ting

the

litt

le p

eopl

e of

the

Lef

t an

d th

e we

ll-kn

own

idea

lism

of y

outh

. Vol

unta

ry a

uste

rity

wri

t lar

ge o

n th

eir

bann

er,

they

wor

k be

nevo

lent

ly t

o m

ake

us c

ompl

iant

wit

h th

e “c

omin

g ec

olog

ical

sta

te o

f em

erge

ncy.”

The

rou

nd a

nd s

tick

y m

ass

of

thei

r gu

ilt la

nds

on o

ur ti

red

shou

lder

s, c

oddl

ing

us to

cul

tiva

te

our

gard

en, s

ort o

ut o

ur tr

ash,

and

eco

-com

post

the

left

over

s of

th

is m

acab

re fe

ast.

M

anag

ing

the

phas

ing

out

of n

ucle

ar p

ower

, ex

cess

CO

2 in

the

atm

osph

ere,

mel

ting

gla

cier

s, h

urri

cane

s, e

pide

mic

s, g

loba

l ov

er-p

opul

atio

n, e

rosi

on o

f th

e so

il, m

ass

exti

ncti

on o

f liv

ing

spec

ies.

.. th

is w

ill b

e ou

r bu

rden

. The

y tel

l us,

“ev

eryo

ne m

ust d

o th

eir

part

,” if

we

want

to sa

ve o

ur b

eaut

iful

mod

el o

f civ

iliza

tion

. W

e ha

ve to

con

sum

e a

little

less

in o

rder

to b

e abl

e to

keep

cons

umin

g.

We

have

to

prod

uce

orga

nica

lly in

ord

er to

kee

p pr

oduc

ing.

We

have

to

con

trol

our

selv

es in

ord

er to

go o

n co

ntro

lling

. T

his

is t

he l

ogic

of

a wo

rld

stra

inin

g to

mai

ntai

n it

self

whi

lst

givi

ng i

tsel

f an

air

of

hist

oric

al r

uptu

re.

Thi

s is

how

they

wou

ld li

ke to

con

vinc

e us

to

part

icip

ate

in th

e gr

eat i

ndus

tria

l cha

lleng

es o

f thi

s cen

tury

. And

in

our

bew

ilder

men

t we’

re r

eady

to le

ap in

to th

e ar

ms o

f the

ver

y sa

me

ones

who

pre

side

d ov

er t

he d

evas

tati

on,

in t

he h

ope

that

th

ey w

ill g

et u

s ou

t of i

t.

Ec

olo

gy

isn

’t s

im

ply

th

e l

og

ic

of a

to

ta

l e

co

no

my

; it’s

the

new

mor

alit

y of

cap

ital

. T

he s

yste

m’s

inte

rnal

sta

te o

f cr

isis

and

th

e ri

goro

us s

cree

ning

tha

t’s u

nder

way

dem

and

a ne

w cr

iter

ion

in th

e na

me

of w

hich

this

scr

eeni

ng a

nd s

elec

tion

will

be

carr

ied

out.

Fro

m o

ne e

ra to

the

next

, th

e id

ea o

f vi

rtue

has

nev

er b

een

anyt

hing

but

an

inve

ntio

n of

vic

e. W

itho

ut e

colo

gy, h

ow c

ould

we

just

ify

the

exis

tenc

e of

two

diff

eren

t foo

d re

gim

es,

one

“hea

lthy

and

orga

nic”

for

the

ric

h an

d th

eir

child

ren,

and

the

oth

er

noto

riou

sly

toxi

c fo

r th

e pl

ebes

, wh

ose

offs

prin

g ar

e da

mne

d to

obe

sity

. T

he p

lane

tary

hyp

er-b

ourg

eois

ie w

ould

n’t

be a

ble

to

mak

e th

eir

norm

al li

fest

yle

seem

res

pect

able

if it

s la

test

cap

rice

s we

ren’

t so

scru

pulo

usly

“re

spec

tful

of t

he e

nvir

onm

ent.”

Wit

hout

ec

olog

y, n

othi

ng w

ould

hav

e en

ough

aut

hori

ty to

gag

any

and

all

obje

ctio

ns to

the

exor

bita

nt p

rogr

ess

of c

ontr

ol.

51

Th

e s

itu

atio

n l

ik

e t

his: th

ey h

ired

our

par

ents

to d

estr

oy th

is

worl

d, n

ow t

hey’

d lik

e to

put

us

to w

ork

rebu

ildin

g it

, an

d –

to

top

it a

ll of

f –

at a

pro

fit.

The

mor

bid

exci

tem

ent t

hat a

nim

ates

jo

urna

lists

and

adv

erti

sers

the

se d

ays

as t

hey

repo

rt e

ach

new

proo

f of g

loba

l war

min

g re

veal

s th

e st

eely

sm

ile o

f the

new

gre

en

capi

talis

m,

in t

he m

akin

g si

nce

the

70s,

whi

ch w

e wa

ited

for

at

the

turn

of t

he c

entu

ry b

ut w

hich

nev

er c

ame.

Wel

l, h

ere

it is

! It’s

su

stai

nabi

lity!

Alte

rnat

ive

solu

tion

s, t

hat’s

it

too!

The

hea

lth o

f th

e pl

anet

dem

ands

it!

No

doub

t ab

out

it a

nym

ore,

it’s

a g

reen

sc

ene;

the

envi

ronm

ent w

ill b

e th

e cr

ux o

f the

pol

itic

al e

cono

my

of th

e 21

st c

entu

ry. A

new

vol

ley

of “

indu

stri

al s

olut

ions

” co

mes

wi

th e

ach

new

cata

stro

phic

pos

sibi

lity.

The

inv

ento

r of

the

H-b

omb,

Edw

ard

Telle

r, p

ropo

ses

shoo

ting

mill

ions

of

tons

of

met

allic

dus

t in

to t

he s

trat

osph

ere

to s

top

glob

al w

arm

ing.

NA

SA,

frus

trat

ed a

t hav

ing

to s

helv

e it

s id

ea o

f an

anti

-mis

sile

shie

ld in

the

mus

eum

of c

old

war

horr

ors,

su

gges

ts in

stal

ling

a gi

gant

ic m

irro

r be

yond

the

moo

n’s

orbi

t to

pr

otec

t us

fro

m t

he s

un’s

now-

fata

l ra

ys.

Ano

ther

vis

ion

of t

he

futu

re:

a m

otor

ized

hum

anit

y, d

rivi

ng o

n bi

o-et

hano

l fr

om

Sao

Paul

o to

Sto

ckho

lm;

the

drea

m o

f ce

real

gro

wers

the

wor

ld

over

, for

it o

nly

mea

ns c

onve

rtin

g al

l of t

he p

lane

t’s a

rabl

e la

nds

into

soy

and

sug

ar b

eet

fiel

ds.

Eco

-fri

endl

y ca

rs,

clea

n en

ergy

, an

d en

viro

nmen

tal

cons

ulti

ng c

oexi

st p

ainl

essl

y wi

th t

he l

ates

t C

hane

l ad

in th

e pa

ges

of g

loss

y m

agaz

ines

. W

e ar

e to

ld th

at th

e en

viro

nmen

t has

the

inco

mpa

rabl

e m

erit

of

bei

ng t

he f

irst

tru

ly g

loba

l pro

blem

pre

sent

ed t

o hu

man

ity.

A

globa

l pro

blem

, wh

ich

is t

o sa

y a

prob

lem

tha

t on

ly t

hose

who

are

or

gani

zed

on a

glo

bal

leve

l wi

ll be

abl

e to

sol

ve.

And

we

know

wh

o th

ey a

re.

The

se a

re t

he v

ery

sam

e gr

oups

tha

t fo

r cl

ose

to a

ce

ntur

y ha

ve b

een

the

vang

uard

of d

isas

ter,

and

cer

tain

ly in

tend

to

rem

ain

as s

uch,

for

the

sm

all p

rice

of

a ch

ange

of

logo

. T

hat

ED

F20 h

ad t

he i

mpu

denc

e to

bri

ng b

ack

its

nucl

ear

prog

ram

as

the

new

solu

tion

to t

he g

loba

l en

ergy

cri

sis

says

ple

nty

abou

t ho

w m

uch

the

new

solu

tion

s re

sem

ble

the

old

prob

lem

s.

Fro

m S

ecre

tari

es o

f St

ate

to t

he b

ack

room

s of

alte

rnat

ive

café

s, c

once

rns

are

alwa

ys e

xpre

ssed

in

the

sam

e wo

rds,

the

sa

me

as t

hey’

ve a

lway

s be

en.

We

have

to

get

mob

ilize

d. T

his

tim

e it

’s no

t to

reb

uild

the

cou

ntry

lik

e in

the

pos

t-wa

r er

a, n

ot f

or

20.

Éle

ctri

cité

de

Fran

ce (

ED

F) is

the

mai

n el

ectr

icit

y ge

nera

tion

and

dis

trib

u-ti

on c

ompa

ny in

Fra

nce

and

one

of th

e la

rges

t in

the

worl

d, s

uppl

ying

mos

t of

its

powe

r fr

om n

ucle

ar r

eact

ors.

42Fif

th C

ircl

e

“Less

po

ssess

ion

s,

mo

re c

on

nect

ion

s!”

Thi

rty

year

s of

“cr

isis

,” m

ass

unem

ploy

men

t an

d fl

aggi

ng

grow

th,

and

they

sti

ll wa

nt u

s to

bel

ieve

in

the

econ

omy.

T

hirt

y yea

rs p

unct

uate

d, it

is tr

ue, b

y del

usio

nary

inte

rlud

es:

the

inte

rlud

e of

198

1-83

, wh

en w

e we

re d

elud

ed i

nto

thin

king

a g

over

nmen

t of t

he le

ft m

ight

mak

e pe

ople

bet

ter

off;

the

“eas

y m

oney

” in

terl

ude

of 1

986-

89, w

hen

we w

ere

all s

uppo

sed

to b

e pl

ayin

g th

e m

arke

t and

get

ting

ric

h; th

e in

tern

et in

terl

ude

of 19

98-2

00

1, w

hen

ever

yone

was

goi

ng

to g

et a

vir

tual

car

eer

thro

ugh

bein

g we

ll-co

nnec

ted,

whe

n a

dive

rse

but

unit

ed F

ranc

e, c

ultu

red

and

mul

ticu

ltura

l,

woul

d br

ing

hom

e ev

ery

Wor

ld C

up. B

ut h

ere

we a

re, w

e’ve

dr

aine

d ou

r su

pply

of d

elus

ions

, we’

ve h

it r

ock

bott

om a

nd

are

tota

lly b

roke

, or

buri

ed in

deb

t.W

e ha

ve t

o se

e th

at t

he e

cono

my

is n

ot “

in”

cris

is,

the

econ

omy

is it

self

the

cris

is. I

t’s n

ot th

at th

ere’

s no

t eno

ugh

work

, it’s

that

ther

e is

too m

uch o

f it.

All

thin

gs c

onsi

dere

d, it

’s no

t the

cri

sis

that

dep

ress

es u

s, it

’s gr

owth

. We

mus

t adm

it

that

the

lit

any

of s

tock

mar

ket

pric

es m

oves

us

abou

t as

m

uch

as a

Lat

in m

ass.

Luc

kily

for

us, t

here

are

qui

te a

few

of u

s wh

o ha

ve c

ome

to t

his

conc

lusi

on.

We’

re n

ot t

alki

ng

abou

t tho

se w

ho li

ve o

ff v

ario

us s

cam

s, w

ho d

eal i

n th

is o

r th

at,

or w

ho h

ave

been

on

welf

are

for

the

last

ten

yea

rs.

Or

of a

ll th

ose

who

no l

onge

r fi

nd t

heir

ide

ntit

y in

the

ir

jobs

and

liv

e fo

r th

eir

tim

e of

f. N

or a

re w

e ta

lkin

g ab

out

thos

e wh

o’ve

bee

n sw

ept

unde

r th

e ru

g, t

he h

idde

n on

es

who

mak

e do

wit

h th

e le

ast,

and

yet

out

num

ber

the

rest

. A

ll th

ose

stru

ck b

y th

is st

rang

e m

ass d

etach

men

t, ad

ding

to th

e

43

rank

s of

ret

iree

s an

d th

e cy

nica

lly o

vere

xplo

ited

fle

xibl

e la

bor

forc

e. W

e’re

not

tal

king

abo

ut t

hem

, al

thou

gh t

hey

too

shou

ld,

in o

ne w

ay o

r an

othe

r, a

rriv

e at

a s

imila

r co

nclu

sion

.W

e ar

e ta

lkin

g ab

out

all o

f th

e co

untr

ies,

inde

ed e

ntir

e co

ntin

ents

, th

at h

ave

lost

fai

th i

n th

e ec

onom

y, e

ithe

r be

caus

e th

ey’v

e se

en t

he I

MF

com

e an

d go

am

id c

rash

es

and

enor

mou

s lo

sses

, or

bec

ause

the

y’ve

got

ten

a ta

ste

of

the

Wor

ld B

ank.

The

sof

t cri

sis

of v

ocat

ion

that

the

Wes

t is

now

expe

rien

cing

is co

mpl

etel

y abs

ent i

n th

ese

plac

es. W

hat

is h

appe

ning

in G

uine

a, R

ussi

a, A

rgen

tina

and

Bol

ivia

is a

vi

olen

t and

long

-las

ting

deb

unki

ng o

f thi

s re

ligio

n an

d it

s cl

ergy

. “W

hat d

o yo

u ca

ll a

thou

sand

IM

F ec

onom

ists

lyin

g at

the

bott

om o

f the

sea?

” we

nt th

e jo

ke a

t the

Wor

ld B

ank,

–

“a g

ood

star

t.” A

Rus

sian

jok

e: “

Two

eco

nom

ists

mee

t.

One

ask

s th

e ot

her:

‘Yo

u un

ders

tand

wha

t’s h

appe

ning

?’

The

oth

er r

espo

nds:

‘Wai

t, I

’ll e

xpla

in it

to y

ou.’

‘No,

no,

’ sa

ys th

e fi

rst,

‘exp

lain

ing

is n

o pr

oble

m, I

’m a

n ec

onom

ist,

to

o. W

hat

I’m

ask

ing

is:

do y

ou u

nder

stan

d?”

Ent

ire

sect

ions

of

this

cle

rgy

pret

end

to b

e di

ssid

ents

and

to

crit

ique

thi

s re

ligio

n’s

dogm

a. T

he la

test

att

empt

to

revi

ve

the

so-c

alle

d “s

cien

ce o

f th

e ec

onom

y” —

a c

urre

nt t

hat

stra

ight

-fac

edly

ref

ers

to it

self

as

“pos

t aut

isti

c ec

onom

ics”

—

m

akes

a

livin

g fr

om

dism

antli

ng

the

usur

pati

ons,

sl

eigh

ts o

f ha

nd a

nd c

ooke

d bo

oks

of a

sci

ence

who

se

only

tan

gibl

e fu

ncti

on i

s to

rat

tle t

he m

onst

ranc

e du

ring

th

e vo

cife

rati

ons

of t

he c

hief

s, g

ivin

g th

eir

dem

ands

for

su

bmis

sion

a b

it o

f ce

rem

ony,

and

ulti

mat

ely

doin

g wh

at

relig

ions

hav

e al

ways

don

e: p

rovid

ing

expl

anat

ions

. Fo

r to

tal

mis

ery

beco

mes

int

oler

able

the

mom

ent

it i

s sh

own

for

what

it is

, wit

hout

cau

se o

r re

ason

.

50acco

rdin

g to

the

int

ensi

ty a

nd q

ualit

y of

the

tie

s at

tach

ing

us t

o al

l of t

hese

bei

ngs,

to a

ll of

thes

e pl

aces

. It’s

onl

y us

, the

chi

ldre

n of

the

fina

l dis

poss

essi

on, e

xile

s of t

he fi

nal h

our

– th

e on

es w

ho

com

e in

to t

he w

orld

in

conc

rete

cub

es,

pick

our

fru

its

at t

he

supe

rmar

ket,

and

wat

ch f

or a

n ec

ho o

f th

e wo

rld

on t

elev

isio

n –

only

we

get

to h

ave a

n en

viron

men

t. A

nd t

here

’s no

one

but

us

to

witn

ess o

ur o

wn a

nnih

ilati

on, a

s if i

t wer

e ju

st a

sim

ple

chan

ge o

f sc

ener

y, to

get

indi

gnan

t abo

ut th

e la

test

pro

gres

s of t

he d

isas

ter,

to

pat

ient

ly c

ompi

le it

s en

cycl

oped

ia.

W

ha

t h

as c

on

ge

ale

d a

s a

n e

nv

ir

on

me

nt i

s a

re

la

tio

nsh

ip

to

the

worl

d ba

sed

on

man

agem

ent,

wh

ich

is

to

say,

on

es

tran

gem

ent.

A r

elat

ions

hip

to t

he w

orld

whe

rein

we’

re n

ot

mad

e up

just

as m

uch

of t

he r

ustli

ng t

rees

, th

e sm

ell

of f

ryin

g oi

l in

the

bui

ldin

g, r

unni

ng w

ater

, th

e hu

bbub

of

scho

olro

oms,

th

e m

uggi

ness

of

sum

mer

eve

ning

s. A

rel

atio

nshi

p to

the

wor

ld

wher

e th

ere

is m

e an

d th

en m

y en

viro

nmen

t, s

urro

undi

ng m

e bu

t nev

er r

eally

con

stit

utin

g m

e. W

e ha

ve b

ecom

e ne

ighb

ors i

n a

plan

etar

y co

-op

owne

rs’ b

oard

mee

ting

. It

’s di

ffic

ult t

o im

agin

e a

mor

e co

mpl

ete

hell.

No

mat

eria

l ha

bita

t ha

s ev

er

dese

rved

th

e na

me

“env

iron

men

t,” e

xcep

t pe

rhap

s th

e m

etro

polis

of

toda

y. T

he

digi

tize

d vo

ices

mak

ing

anno

unce

men

ts,

tram

ways

wit

h su

ch

a 21

st c

entu

ry w

hist

le,

blui

sh s

tree

tlam

ps s

hape

d lik

e gi

ant

mat

chst

icks

, ped

estr

ians

don

e up

like

faile

d fa

shio

n m

odel

s, th

e si

lent

rot

atio

n of

a v

ideo

sur

veill

ance

cam

era,

the

luci

d cl

icki

ng

of t

he s

ubwa

y tu

rnst

yles

su

perm

arke

t ch

ecko

uts,

off

ice

tim

e-cl

ocks

, th

e el

ectr

onic

am

bian

ce o

f th

e cy

ber

café

, th

e pr

ofus

ion

of p

lasm

a sc

reen

s, e

xpre

ss l

anes

and

lat

ex.

Nev

er h

as a

set

ting

be

en s

o ab

le t

o do

wit

hout

the

sou

ls t

rave

rsin

g it

. N

ever

has

a

surr

ound

ing

been

mor

e au

tom

atic

. N

ever

has

a c

onte

xt b

een

so

indi

ffer

ent,

and

dem

ande

d in

ret

urn

– as

the

pric

e of

sur

viva

l –

such

equ

al in

diff

eren

ce f

rom

us.

Ulti

mat

ely

the

envi

ronm

ent i

s no

thin

g m

ore

than

the

rel

atio

nshi

p to

the

wor

ld t

hat

is p

rope

r to

the

met

ropo

lis,

and

that

pro

ject

s it

self

ont

o ev

eryt

hing

tha

t wo

uld

esca

pe it

.

49

Six

th C

ircl

e

“Th

e e

nvi

ron

men

t is

an

in

du

stri

al ch

allen

ge.”

Eco

logy

is

the

disc

over

y of

the

dec

ade.

For

the

las

t th

irty

ye

ars

we’v

e le

ft i

t up

to

the

envi

ronm

enta

lists

, jo

king

abo

ut i

t on

Sun

day

so

that

we

can

act c

once

rned

aga

in o

n M

onda

y. A

nd

now

it’s

caug

ht u

p to

us,

inva

ding

the

airw

aves

like

a h

it s

ong

in

sum

mer

tim

e, b

ecau

se it

’s 68

deg

rees

in D

ecem

ber.

O

ne q

uart

er o

f th

e fi

sh s

peci

es h

ave

disa

ppea

red

from

the

oc

ean.

The

res

t won

’t la

st m

uch

long

er.

Bir

d fl

u al

ert:

we

are

give

n as

sura

nces

tha

t hu

ndre

ds o

f th

ousa

nds

of m

igra

ting

bir

ds w

ill b

e sh

ot fr

om th

e sk

y.

Mer

cury

leve

ls in

hum

an b

reas

t milk

are

ten

tim

es h

ighe

r th

an

the

lega

l lev

el fo

r co

ws. A

nd th

ese

lips

whic

h sw

ell u

p af

ter

I bi

te

the

appl

e –

but

it c

ame

from

the

far

mer

’s m

arke

t. T

he s

impl

est

gest

ures

hav

e be

com

e to

xic.

One

die

s at

the

age

of

35 f

rom

“a

prol

onge

d ill

ness

” th

at’s

to b

e m

anag

ed j

ust

like

one

man

ages

ev

eryt

hing

els

e. W

e sh

ould

’ve

seen

it c

omin

g be

fore

we

got t

o th

is

plac

e, to

pav

ilion

B o

f the

pal

liati

ve c

are

cent

er.

You

hav

e to

adm

it:

this

who

le “

cata

stro

phe,

” wh

ich

they

so

nois

ily i

nfor

m u

s ab

out,

it

does

n’t

real

ly t

ouch

us.

At

leas

t no

t un

til

we a

re h

it b

y on

e of

its

for

esee

able

con

sequ

ence

s. I

t m

ay

conc

ern

us, b

ut it

doe

sn’t

touc

h us.

And

that

is th

e re

al ca

tast

roph

e. T

here

is

no “

envi

ronm

enta

l ca

tast

roph

e.”

The

cat

astr

ophe

is

the

env

ironm

ent

itself

. T

he e

nvir

onm

ent

is w

hat’s

lef

t to

man

af

ter

he’s

lost

eve

ryth

ing.

Tho

se w

ho l

ive

in a

nei

ghbo

rhoo

d,

a st

reet

, a

valle

y, a

war

zon

e, a

wor

ksho

p –

they

don

’t ha

ve a

n “e

nvir

onm

ent;

” th

ey m

ove

thro

ugh

a wo

rld p

eopl

ed b

y pr

esen

ces,

da

nger

s, f

rien

ds,

enem

ies,

mom

ents

of

life

and

deat

h, a

ll ki

nds

of b

eing

s. S

uch

a wo

rld

has

its

own

cons

iste

ncy,

whi

ch v

arie

s

44No

bo

dy

r

espe

cts m

on

ey

a

ny

mo

re

, n

eith

er t

hose

who

ha

ve i

t no

r th

ose

who

don’

t. W

hen

aske

d wh

at t

hey

want

to

be

som

e da

y, t

went

y pe

rcen

t of

you

ng G

erm

ans

answ

er

“art

ist.”

Wor

k is

no

long

er e

ndur

ed a

s a g

iven

of t

he h

uman

co

ndit

ion.

The

acc

ount

ing

depa

rtm

ents

of

corp

orat

ions

co

nfes

s tha

t the

y hav

e no

idea

whe

re va

lue

com

es fr

om. T

he

mar

ket’s

bad

rep

utat

ion

woul

d ha

ve d

one

it in

a d

ecad

e ag

o if

not

for

the

blu

ster

and

fur

y, n

ot t

o m

enti

on t

he d

eep

pock

ets,

of

its

apol

ogis

ts.

It i

s co

mm

on s

ense

now

to

see

prog

ress

as

syno

nym

ous

with

dis

aste

r. I

n th

e wo

rld

of t

he

econ

omic

, ev

eryt

hing

is

in f

light

, ju

st l

ike

in t

he U

SSR

un

der

And

ropo

v.14 A

nyon

e wh

o ha

s sp

ent

a lit

tle t

ime

anal

yzin

g th

e fi

nal y

ears

of

the

USS

R k

nows

ver

y we

ll th

at

the

plea

s fo

r go

odwi

ll co

min

g fr

om o

ur r

uler

s, a

ll of

thei

r fa

ntas

ies

abou

t so

me

futu

re t

hat

has

disa

ppea

red

with

out

a tr

ace,

all

of t

heir

pro

fess

ions

of

fait

h in

“re

form

ing”

th

is a

nd t

hat,

are

jus

t th

e fi

rst

fiss

ures

in

the

stru

ctur

e of

th

e wa

ll. T

he c

olla

pse

of t

he s

ocia

list

bloc

was

in

no w

ay

vict

ory

of c

apit

alis

m;

it w

as m

erel

y th

e ba

nkru

ptin

g of

one

of

the

for

ms

capi

talis

m t

akes

. B

esid

es,

the

dem

ise

of t

he

USS

R d

id n

ot c

ome

abou

t be

caus

e a

peop

le r

evol

ted,

but

be

caus

e th

e no

men

clat

ure

was

unde

rgoi

ng a

pro

cess

of

reco

nver

sion

. W

hen

it p

rocl

aim

ed t

he e

nd o

f so

cial

ism

, a

smal

l fr

acti

on o

f th

e ru

ling

clas

s em

anci

pate

d it

self

fro

m

the

anac

hron

isti

c du

ties

that

still

bou

nd it

to th

e pe

ople

. It

took

priv

ate c

ontr

ol o

f wha

t it a

lrea

dy c

ontr

olle

d in

the

nam

e of

“ev

eryo

ne.”

In

the

fact

orie

s, th

e jo

ke w

ent:

“we

pre

tend

to

wor

k, t

hey

pret

end

to p

ay u

s.”

The

olig

arch

y re

plie

d,

“the

re’s

no p

oint

, le

t’s s

top

pret

endi

ng!”

The

y en

ded

up

with

th

e ra

w m

ater

ials

, in

dust

rial

in

fras

truc

ture

s,

the

mili

tary

-ind

ustr

ial c

ompl

ex, t

he b

anks

and

the

nigh

tclu

bs.

Eve

ryon

e el

se g

ot p

over

ty o

r em

igra

tion

. Ju

st a

s no

one

in

And

ropo

v’s t

ime

belie

ved

in t

he U

SSR

, no

one

in

the

mee

ting

hal

ls,

work

shop

s an

d of

fice

s be

lieve

s in

Fra

nce

toda

y. “

The

re’s

no p

oint

,” r

espo

nd th

e bo

sses

and

pol

itic

al

14. A

ndro

pov

was

Gen

eral

Sec

reta

ry o

f the

Com

mun

ist P

arty

of t

he S

ovie

t U

nion

from

198

2 to

198

4.

45

lead

ers,

who

no

long

er e

ven

both

er t

o fi

le t

he e

dges

off

th

e “i

ron

laws

of

the

econ

omy.”

The

y st

rip

fact

orie

s in

th

e m

iddl

e of

the

nigh

t and

ann

ounc

e th

e sh

utdo

wn e

arly

ne

xt m

orni

ng.

The

y no

lon

ger

hesi

tate

to

send

in

anti

-te

rror

ism

uni

ts to

shu

t dow

n a

stri

ke,

like

with

the

ferr

ies

and

the

occu

pied

rec

yclin

g ce

nter

in

Ren

nes.

The

bru

tal

acti

vity

of

powe

r to

day

cons

ists

bot

h in

adm

inis

teri

ng t

his

ruin

whi

le,

at t

he s

ame

tim

e, e

stab

lishi

ng t

he f

ram

ewor

k fo

r a

“new

eco

nom

y.”

An

d y

et th

er

e is n

o d

ou

bt t

hat

we a

re c

ut o

ut f

or t

he

econ

omy.

For

gen

erat

ions

we

were

dis

cipl

ined

, pa

cifi

ed

and

mad

e in

to su

bjec

ts, p

rodu

ctiv

e by

nat

ure

and

cont

ent t

o co

nsum

e. A

nd su

dden

ly e

very

thin

g th

at w

e we

re c

ompe

lled

to f

orge

t is

rev

eale

d: t

hat

the

econ

omy

is po

litica

l. A

nd t

hat

this

pol

itic

s is

, to

day,

a p

olit

ics

of d

iscr

imin

atio

n wi

thin

a

hum

anit

y th

at h

as,

as a

who

le,

beco

me

supe

rflu

ous.

Fro

m

Col

bert

15 t

o de

Gau

lle,

by w

ay o

f N

apol

eon

III,

the

sta

te

has

alwa

ys t

reat

ed t

he e

cono

mic

as

polit

ical

, as

hav

e th

e bo

urge

oisi

e (w

ho p

rofi

t fr

om i

t) a

nd t

he p

role

tari

at (

who

conf

ront

it)

. A

ll th

at’s

left

is

this

str

ange

, m

iddl

ing

part

of

the

pop

ulat

ion,

the

cur

ious

and

pow

erle

ss a

ggre

gate

of

thos

e who

take

no

sides

: th

e pe

tty

bour

geoi

sie.

The

y ha

ve a

lway

s pr

eten

ded

to b

elie

ve th

at th

e ec

onom

y is

a r

ealit

y—be

caus

e th

eir

neut

ralit

y is

sa

fe

ther

e.

Smal

l bu

sine

ss

owne

rs,

smal

l bo

sses

, m

inor

bur

eauc

rats

, m

anag

ers,

pro

fess

ors,

jo

urna

lists

, m

iddl

emen

of

ever

y so

rt m

ake

up t

his

non-

clas

s in

Fra

nce,

thi

s so

cial

gel

atin

com

pose

d of

the

mas

s of

all

thos

e wh

o ju

st w

ant

to l

ive

thei

r lit

tle p

riva

te l

ives

at

a d

ista

nce

from

his

tory

and

its

tum

ults

. T

his

swam

p is

pr

edis

pose

d to

be

the

cham

pion

of

fals

e co

nsci

ousn

ess,

ha

lf-a

slee

p an

d al

ways

rea

dy t

o cl

ose

its

eyes

on

the

war

that

rag

es a

ll ar

ound

it.

Eac

h cl

arif

icat

ion

of a

fro

nt i

n th

is w

ar is

thus

acc

ompa

nied

in F

ranc

e by

the

inve

ntio

n of

15. J

ean-

Bap

tist

e C

olbe

rt s

erve

d as

the

Fren

ch m

inis

ter

of fi

nanc

e fr

om 1

665

to

1683

und

er th

e ru

le o

f Kin

g L

ouis

XIV

48of l

ife.

Suc

h a

scie

nce

thre

aten

s to

mak

e us

mis

s th

e go

od o

ld

days

whe

n un

relia

ble

indi

ces

like

GD

P gr

owth

wer

e su

ppos

ed to

m

easu

re th

e we

ll-be

ing

of a

peo

ple—

for

at le

ast n

o on

e be

lieve

d in

them

.“R

eval

oriz

e th

e no

n-ec

onom

ic a

spec

ts o

f lif

e” i

s th

e sl

ogan

sh

ared

by

th

e ne

gati

ve

grow

th

mov

emen

t an

d by

ca

pita

l’s

refo

rm

prog

ram

. E

co-v

illag

es,

vide

o-su

rvei

llanc

e ca

mer

as,

spir

itua

lity,

bio

tech

nolo

gies

and

soc

iabi

lity

all

belo

ng t

o th

e sa

me

“civ

iliza

tion

al p

arad

igm

” no

w ta

king

sha

pe,

that

of

a to

tal

econ

omy

rebu

ilt f

rom

the

gro

und

up.

Its

inte

llect

ual

mat

rix

is n

one

othe

r th

an c

yber

neti

cs,

the

scie

nce

of s

yste

ms—

that

is,

th

e sc

ienc

e of

their

cont

rol.

In t

he 1

7th

cent

ury

it w

as n

eces

sary

, in

or

der

to c

ompl

etel

y im

pose

the

for

ce o

f ec

onom

y an

d it

s et

hos

of w

ork

and

gree

d, t

o co

nfin

e an

d el

imin

ate

the

whol

e se

amy

mas

s of

lay

abou

ts,

liars

, wi

tche

s, m

adm

en,

scou

ndre

ls a

nd a

ll th

e ot

her

vagr

ant

poor

, a

whol

e hu

man

ity

whos

e ve

ry e

xist

ence

ga

ve t

he l

ie t

o th

e or

der

of i

nter

est

and

cont

inen

ce.

The

new

ec

onom

y ca

nnot

be

esta

blis

hed

with

out

a si

mila

r se

lect

ion

of

subj

ects

and

zon

es s

ingl

ed o

ut f

or t

rans

form

atio

n. T

he c

haos

th

at w

e co

nsta

ntly

hea

r ab

out w

ill e

ithe

r pr

ovid

e th

e op

port

unit

y fo

r th

is s

cree

ning

, or

for

our

vict

ory

over

this

odi

ous

proj

ect.

47

are

so c

ivili

zed.

Aft

erwa

rds,

som

e of

the

m w

ill g

o wo

rk i

n th

e ne

ighb

orho

od c

omm

unit

y ga

rden

, wh

ile o

ther

s wi

ll da

bble

in

pott

ery,

som

e Z

en B

uddh

ism

, or

in

the

mak

ing

of a

n an

imat

ed f

ilm.

The

y fi

nd c

omm

unio

n in

the

sm

ug

feel

ing

that

they

con

stit

ute

a ne

w hu

man

ity,

wis

er a

nd m

ore

refi

ned

than

the

pre

viou

s on

e. A

nd t

hey

are

righ

t. T

here

is

a c

urio

us a

gree

men

t be

twee

n A

pple

and

the

neg

ativ

e gr

owth

mov

emen

t abo

ut th

e ci

viliz

atio

n of

the

futu

re. S

ome

peop

le’s

idea

of

retu

rnin

g to

the

eco

nom

y of

yes

tery

ear

offe

rs o

ther

s th

e co

nven

ient

scr

een

behi

nd w

hich

a g

reat

te

chno

logi

cal l

eap

forw

ard

can

be la

unch

ed. F

or in

his

tory

th

ere

is n

o go

ing

back

. A

ny e

xhor

tati

on t

o re

turn

to

the

past

is

only

the

exp

ress

ion

of o

ne f

orm

of

cons

ciou

snes

s of

the

pre

sent

, an

d ra

rely

the

lea

st m

oder

n. I

t is

not

by

chan

ce t

hat

nega

tive

gro

wth

is t

he b

anne

r of

the

dis

side

nt

adve

rtis

ers o

f the

mag

azin

e Ca

sseur

s de P

ub18

. The

inve

ntor

s of

zero

gro

wth—

the

Clu

b of

Rom

e in

197

2—we

re t

hem

selv

es

a gr

oup

of i

ndus

tria

lists

and

bur

eauc

rats

who

rel

ied

on a

re

sear

ch p

aper

wri

tten

by

cybe

rnet

icia

ns a

t MIT

.T

his

conv

erge

nce

is h

ardl

y a

coin

cide

nce.

It

is p

art

of t

he

forc

ed m

arch

towa

rds

a m

oder

nize

d ec

onom

y. C

apit

alis

m g

ot a

s m

uch

as it

cou

ld fr

om u

ndoi

ng a

ll th

e ol

d so

cial

ties

, and

it is

now

in

the

proc

ess o

f rem

akin

g it

self

by r

ebui

ldin

g th

ese

sam

e ti

es on

its

own

term

s. C

onte

mpo

rary

met

ropo

litan

soc

ial l

ife

is it

s in

cuba

tor.

In

the

sam

e wa

y, it

rav

aged

the

natu

ral w

orld

and

is d

rive

n by

the

fant

asy

that

it

can

now

be r

econ

stit

uted

as

so m

any

cont

rolle

d en

viro

nmen

ts,

furn

ishe

d wi

th a

ll th

e ne

cess

ary

sens

ors.

Thi

s ne

w hu

man

ity

requ

ires

a n

ew e

cono

my

that

wou

ld n

o lo

nger

be

a se

para

te s

pher

e of

exi

sten

ce b

ut,

on th

e co

ntra

ry,

its

very

tiss

ue,

the

raw

mat

eria

l of h

uman

rel

atio

ns; i

t req

uire

s a n

ew d

efin

itio

n of

wor

k as

wor

k on

one

self

, a n

ew d

efin

itio

n of

cap

ital

as

hum

an

capi

tal,

a n

ew id

ea o

f pro

duct

ion

as th

e pr

oduc

tion

of r

elat

ions

, an

d co

nsum

ptio

n as

the

con

sum

ptio

n of

sit

uati

ons;

and

abo

ve

all a

new

ide

a of

val

ue t

hat

woul

d en

com

pass

all

of t

he q

ualit

ies

of b

eing

s. T

his

burg

eoni

ng “

bioe

cono

my”

con

ceiv

es t

he p

lane

t as

a c

lose

d sy

stem

to

be m

anag

ed a

nd c

laim

s to

est

ablis

h th

e fo

unda

tion

s fo

r a

scie

nce

that

wou

ld in

tegr

ate

all t

he p

aram

eter

s

18.

A F

renc

h eq

uiva

lent

of t

he E

nglis

h la

ngua

ge m

agaz

ine

Adbu

sters.

46som

e ne

w fa

d. F

or t

he p

ast

ten

year

s, i

t wa

s AT

TA

C16 a

nd

its

impr

obab

le T

obin

tax

—a

tax

whos

e im

plem

enta

tion

wo

uld

requ

ire

noth

ing

less

tha

n a

glob

al g

over

nmen

t—wi

th it

s sy

mpa

thy

for

the

“rea

l eco

nom

y” a

s op

pose

d to

the

fina

ncia

l m

arke

ts,

not

to m

enti

on i

ts t

ouch

ing

nost

algi

a fo

r th

e st

ate.

The

com

edy

last

s on

ly s

o lo

ng b

efor

e tu

rnin

g in

to a

sha

m.

And

the

n an

othe

r fa

d re

plac

es i

t. S

o no

w we

hav

e “n

egat

ive g

rowt

h”17.

Whe

reas

AT

TA

C t

ried

to

save

ec

onom

ics

as a

scien

ce w

ith

its

popu

lar

educ

atio

n co

urse

s,

nega

tive

gro

wth

pres

erve

s th

e ec

onom

ic a

s a m

oral

ity.

The

re

is o

nly

one

alte

rnat

ive

to t

he c

omin

g ap

ocal

ypse

: re

duce

gr

owth

. C

onsu

me

and

prod

uce

less

. B

ecom

e jo

yous

ly

frug

al.

Eat

org

anic

, ri

de y

our

bike

, st

op s

mok

ing,

and

pay

cl

ose

atte

ntio

n to

the

pro

duct

s yo

u bu

y. B

e co

nten

t wi

th

what

’s st

rict

ly n

eces

sary

. Vo

lunt

ary

sim

plic

ity.

“R

edis

cove

r tr

ue w

ealth

in

the

blos

som

ing

of c

onvi

vial

soc

ial r

elat

ions

in

a h

ealth

y wo

rld.

” “D

on’t

use

up o

ur n

atur

al c

apit

al.”

W

ork

towa

rd a

“he

alth

y ec

onom

y.” “

No

regu

lati

on th

roug

h ch

aos.

” “A

void

a so

cial

cri

sis t

hat w

ould

thre

aten

dem

ocra

cy

and

hum

anis

m.”

Sim

ply

put:

bec

ome

econ

omica

l. G

o ba

ck t

o da

ddy’s

eco

nom

y, to

the

gold

en ag

e of

the

pett

y bou

rgeo

isie

: th

e 19

50s.

“W

hen

an i

ndiv

idua

l is

frug

al,

prop

erty

ser

ves

its

func

tion

per

fect

ly,

whic

h is

to

allo

w th

e in

divi

dual

to

enjo

y hi

s or

her

own

life

she

ltere

d fr

om p

ublic

exi

sten

ce,

in th

e pr

ivat

e sa

nctu

ary

of h

is o

r he

r lif

e.”

A

gr

aph

ic

d

esig

ne

r

we

ar

in

g

a

ha

nd

ma

de

sw

ea

te

r

is d

rink

ing

a fr

uity

coc

ktai

l wi

th s

ome

frie

nds

on t

he

terr

ace

of a

n “e

thni

c” c

afé.

The

y’re

cha

tty

and

cord

ial,

they

jo

ke a

roun

d a

bit,

the

y m

ake

sure

not

to

be t

oo l

oud

or

too

quie

t, t

hey

smile

at

each

oth

er,

a lit

tle b

lissf

ully

: we

16.

Ass

ocia

tion

for

the

Taxa

tion

of F

inan

cial

Tra

nsac

tion

s fo

r th

e A

id o

f Cit

i-ze

ns (

ATT

AC

) is

a n

on p

arty

-pol

itic

al o

rgan

izat

ion

that

adv

ocat

es s

ocia

l-de

m-

ocra

tic

refo

rms,

par

ticu

larl

y th

e “T

obin

tax”

on

inte

rnat

iona

l for

eign

exc

hang

e in

tend

ed to

cur

tail

curr

ency

spe

cula

tion

and

fund

soc

ial p

olic

ies.

17.

la d

écro

issan

ce (n

egat

ive

grow

th) i

s a

Fren

ch le

ft-e

colo

gica

l mov

emen

t whi

ch

advo

cate

s a

redu

ctio

n in

con

sum

ptio

n an

d pr

oduc

tion

for

the

sake

of e

nvir

on-

men

tal s

usta

inab

ility

and

an

incr

ease

in th

e qu

alit

y of

life

.