II. There are moments of a communist totality existing today, but in a fragmented form
The last revolutionary wave that began in the 1960s found its strength in developing – or at least proclaiming – a total critique of capitalist relations. But the subversive current of that time soon disintegrated into numerous isolated moments. That was at the origin of the women, gays, youth, apprentices, ecology movements plus some others, which, through restricting themselves to their own respective spheres, lost all dangerous intent. Therefore, they could not only be integrated easily into the old world, but also contributed to its modernization.
The various factions of contemporary European and US-American left radicals all have their roots in the revolutionary wave of the late sixties. They preserve some aspects of the negation of existing conditions and, in some cases, even develop them further – but each aspect is separated within itself, neglecting unification into a totality. The theoretical Marxists know that without enlightenment through consciousness there can be no emancipation and try patiently by schooling in seminars and summer camps to mill all the prejudices about the state, nation, wage labour, capital, family, democracy and all the other categories of the bourgeois world through the grinder of dialectical critique. On the other hand, for the hippies in their caravans, squats and communes, it is clear, that a purely head-related change is extremely one-sided. Therefore, they experiment with various life style changes attempting to free the passions from the straitjacket of bourgeois forms of the family, relationships and every day life directing them towards more harmonious and more open paths. The left communists hold onto the truth, that liberation can only be reached by the conscious action of the producers themselves, whose life situations and behaviours they therefore study attentively, trying to promote their implicit negativity through cavalier interventions. The insurrectional anarchists have recognized that social revolution will not happen without radical minorities. That’s why they try to carry out occasional courageous pinpoint sharp actions in order to make the vulnerability of the established order visible, bringing to the fore the responsibility of everyone in maintaining it. The Anti-Germans mention that the ruled are not just passive victims of bad conditions but that they often make these conditions even more unbearable by committing barbaric acts. The Anti-Imperialists enunciate that, despite the integration of everybody and everything into the existing system, it makes a big difference whether you have to spend your life say in Sweden or in Gaza. They argue that to attempt global liberation necessarily includes a struggle against the domination of the Great Powers and their military apparatuses over the rest of the world. The feminist post-structuralists point to the possibility of going beyond bigoted gender duality, of overcoming the ruling heterosexual, monogamous structures of desire. They formulate the idea of a world in which one could begin to speak of individuality seriously, because no longer linked to a particular identity, humans will form their nature individually. The subcultures, which can be found mainly in the autonomous centres in the form of punk and hard core, make it possible to act out repressed sexual, or aggressive desires and drives in a more or less protected framework continually reminding us of the fact that the promises of the culture industry such as sexual liberation, rebellion against authorities without penalties as well as the satisfaction of needs without wage labour are still something which awaits its truth.
As each different faction only negates a particular aspect of totality, they are a priori unable to become a serious subversive force. Moreover, the one-sided insights, pointed out above as factional partial truths, are revealed on closer inspection to be false. The texts of the theoretical Marxists are often written in the same, well-oiled jargon and therefore so predictable that one wonders if they were written by a living person or generated by a computer program; the reformists of everyday life entrap themselves in the most awkward contradictions, often forming their own scene morality which in terms of repressiveness doesn’t need to fear comparison with the bourgeois one; the left communists oscillate between contemplation without any consequences and a (sub) trade union activism which is without consequences, too. The insurrectionists either sooner or later end up in prison or have to spend most of their time and energy on solidarity work for their imprisoned fellows; the Anti-Germans and the Anti-Imperialists degenerate into ridiculous caricatures that more or less openly try to tender themselves as imaginary auxiliary troops of certain factions of the ruling powers. Not accepting the concept of the social totality, the post-structuralists reveal themselves to be civil rights activists, not questioning the social base of (re)production but only their discriminatory effect on certain groups of society. Whereupon at the very most they have an uneasy sense that the abrogation of the discrimination of one group only leads to the discrimination of the next. The subcultures marginalize women and by acting out repressed impulses, sexual assaults become a necessary part of the scene. But even in the feminist variants emerging out of this situation it’s often all about keeping the subculture pure from mainstream influences, cultivating the subculture with their precarious self-referential lifestyle. Poor but sexy.
For sure, we have forgotten one or another splinter group in this list, but we leave it at that as it should be clear what we want to say.
The current state of organization: the group
A rather undogmatic left wing person, who wants to organize herself, will become a member of a group. Groups usually relate to one of the shattered fragments mentioned above and there are for example groups of left communists, anarchists, post-structuralists, Anti-Germans, Anti-Imperialists etc. Compared to ‚the party‘, which today has a reputation for authoritarianism and is suspected of being Stalinist inclined, the group is considered to be more unconstrained and democratic in a grass-roots way. But the groups too, possess some authoritarian traits, so they are not only an inadequate form for overcoming the current state of misery, but on the contrary, often further intensify it. There are particularly the following counter-revolutionary moments to be named, which are intrinsic to current revolutionary groups in a more or less pronounced way.
The partial aspect becomes the whole
Perhaps the essential lack within groups consists in the fact, that in most cases they are not aware of their particularity and one-sidedness. Usually their particular fragment is taken to be the essence of the matter; the groups believe that their respective thoughts and actions are already the totality of a revolutionary project or at least its only possible successful preliminary. What one is doing is seen as the real thing: „If only everybody would diligently support Israel / deconstruct the heterosexual matrix as we do“ etc. In the case of groups with a practical orientation, this often leads to getting lost in so called single issue political movements: Struggles which perhaps originally even had some potential to transcend their particularity are continued in the form of a campaign, so that the activity subsequently loses itself in ludicrous reformism. The involved activists constantly talk about a possible radicalization of these movements which are centred around one particular grievance, a radicalization, which, alas, never happens. In the case of theoretical orientated groups that claim to be the exclusive representation of subversion often leads to the belief of having found the universal key to understand the world through a certain intellectual approach. These groups start, as once Eugen Dühring did, to create a whole system of science, reproducing every conceivable aspect in their jargon. Sometimes these groups form schools finding followers in different cities. An example is the group Exit! with its theorem of value and value detachment or also the Gegenstandpunkt. – It is obvious that the refusal of the groups to accept themselves as fragmented shards among others makes them unable from the outset to perceive and overcome their own blind spots.
The pursuit of purity
Far from seeing their one-sidedness as a distinct lack and counteracting it through a bit of a punch-up with other forces, contemporary groups or currents mostly strive to remain pure. Newspapers, books, internet pages, summer camps and conferences do not serve as a means to converse with other people but to promote a line. If there is no recognizable line, at least as many people as possible should be mobilized, even though nobody knows for what purpose. And here although everybody is implicitly very critical of everybody else, no explicit criticism is desired and therefore there is no conflict. The people on the podium, too, are not allowed to criticize the organizers, because the invited speaker has to be thankful for his invitation. Speakers are sometimes considered ‚external‘ and thus like foreigners, have less rights. At best the audience likes a well performed polemic because after all this brings them out of their shells. As an argument against words of real critique, the hard work the organizers have to put into these respective ‚events‘ is often mentioned. But wouldn’t it be easy to redistribute these tasks, not only diverse political content but also organizational work? Discussions in newspapers or magazines representing more then one current are usually not taking place, or at least not very often; so it’s censorship rather than confrontation. The reason for this attitude is obviously a deep-seated insecurity about positions, because if one is sure about the cause, there is no need to be afraid of criticism.
One’s own organization as an end in itself
Due to the lack of real practice, and one which is difficult to develop when facing up to the lack of an actual revolutionary situation, the group is often fetishistically charged. Thus the success of the group in competition with other groups becomes more important than the question whether an action contributes to the cause. Rather than understanding the group as a tool for a broader purpose, the increase in membership and prestige or even simply the continuation of your own organization becomes the essential point to hand. This often leads to the fact that their own practice is exaggerated via self advertising and manipulation. If one meets for example someone in Athens belonging to a small splinter group, one is directly „organizing with international activists“. Outwardly, no action must be loudly criticized. Nothing ever is allowed to fail. For example, it is good enough, if many people are turning up to an event or if the call of one’s own organization is read by people from different spectra. The content of the whole thing or whether some people in the assembly have started to concoct together something else is deemed less important.
Inwardly, group exaggeration has the function of satisfying the narcissism of the individual. The ego is flattered by the feeling of participation in something of relevance; the leftist superego, which constantly asks: „And what do you do for the revolution“, is placated by the reply: „Well, at least I’m in group xy.“ This, however, at the price that even sitting around in a plenary session is stylistically presented as practice. May be one reason – beyond all group dynamics – why in groups often only one maker and shaker can be found and where there are less female makers and shakers and many more passive members which leads up to the eternal lament about the group’s low liability as well as frustration with the authoritarian bell weathers. At the end it is unclear whether the alpha animals or papa Smurfs abrogate all authority and responsibilities to themselves, just because they do a lot or because they suppress others independence so that the latter quickly get tired. Group psychology certainly knows how to say a few more things on that topic.
Preventing individuality
The flip side of organizational mystification is the prevention of the individual potentiality of its members. In any case surly people are pretty standard fare in general and anyway there wouldn’t be much individuality with or without political groups. Yet one experiences again and again the notion that young people still appear somehow unconventional although they have much nonsense in their heads. But then they join a group, and they soon become reified officials using a reified language. From then on, they do not know ‚people‘ anymore, but only ‚the proletarianized‘ and they only use phrases which sometimes are trotted out by rote like for example something „is not an argument“. Now there’s a popular running gag as long as it doesn’t relate to oneself!
It’s fitting that in some circles it’s quite fashionable to sign texts only with the name of the group. Surely the discussion preceding the publication of such texts ideally contributes to the conceptual clarification to the benefit of all involved. But usually differing positions and individualistic expressions are air-brushed out of the frame. The consent of the group can hardly withstand fluctuations in this or that direction.
Finally, except the makers and shakers, only those stay in groups who think that being there is everything, firmly believing in the organization, those who have no opinion or those who are somehow indifferent but have found a niche for themselves. If not everything, at least a lot is subordinated to the preservation or defence of the group. Already we have in formation the party soldier, who seems to be concerned much more about being member of an important group than about what the group actually does. Substantive similarities and real friendships are at some point considered to be less important then the group membership. For sure, some also try to infiltrate groups submerging like a submarine to help move them on towards greater openness. They will not be thanked. Quickly, they are classified as tragic figures.
The individual is nothing, the group is all. The result is that even those who do not want to join any group see themselves only relative to the existing groups – sometimes to the effect that they consider themselves as nothing. If you ask somebody if she does something politically, you get to hear either the name of the group or some excuses for not being in a group at the moment. Exceptions are at most well known writers, bloggers and musicians.
Such or similar criticisms of groups are mostly nonchalantly wiped away by the groups themselves. Yes, yes, much of it could be true, but at least one is doing something. That strongly sounds like a defence mechanism, but nevertheless they are right insofar as without these groups, the radical left movement and the idea of communism or the liberated society would be noticed even less than now. Like there is also something true in the remark, that the eternal criticizers often become arrogant whiners not having any alternative and sooner or later opt for the private life.
The current state of the debate: discussion meetings
Today, discussion meetings are the preferred place where representatives of various prickly factions come together and enter into conversation with each other – or at least claim to do so. But the current events are not indicative of a serious interest in conversation. It seems more likely that the purpose of such events is to allow a speaker time to present his ego. One is then supposed to follow a more or less interesting series of thoughts exposed in there full glory. Yet after the third sentence one would like to make a comment but only after forty-five minutes is one allowed to ask a question querying what does all this mean? But then asking the guy what he means by terms like „society“, „capitalism“ or „penis envy“ might not be seen as accurate anyway.
You hold out for a long time, enduring the boredom, hoping that at least something might yet happen, and then finally it comes: the discussion! But what happens: Instead of a lively debate there’s just a tiresome question and answer game. Strict care is taken that there is no counter
presentation. Lists of speakers suspend every spontaneous discussion because there can’t be any interplay between each other as you are supposed to indicate that you want to say something by a hand signal – and then have to wait ten minutes before you’re actually allowed to speak. Sometimes the questions are collected together in advance and discussion is made impossible. This format, which aims at structuring the discussion, has the result of strengthening the central position of the speaker, so even those who are not intimidated or scared of the situation in advance are now more than ever scared or intimated.
It is also popular to delegate discussion around a podium. Here any fool who doesn’t feel ashamed by such activity can open up a proxy dispute in place of audience intervention whereupon the latter remains sunk in complete passivity. This is neither about knowledge nor about people coming together to talk but perhaps rather a kind of a spectacle. One really doesn’t know exactly what to think of events like these.
In response to the shortcomings of this speaker-centered formation of events, in the meantime some procedural methods taken from pedagogy (cluster graphs, card drawings, fish bowls etc.) are used in political events, too, in order to achieve the goal of greater audience participation. Normally this obtains little: on the one hand this creates at most only a bogus self-activity but done only under supervision. This gives the impression of not being taken seriously and treated like a child. On the other hand, even the most sophisticated methods of communication can’t conjure up any relevant exchange where no common concern or internal need exits.
Despite the current boredom of daily events one mustn’t forget that sometimes great preachers – in some cases even female preachers – appear, captivating and stirring everybody up forcing them out of their lethargy. Rudi Dutschke for example is considered to have been someone like this, well at least until the assassination attempt which virtually destroyed him as a sentient human being. We are not absolutely condemning the lecture form rather, even in the best case, such agitation by charismatic personalities suits only the beginning of a movement: Should there be an intensification, it is necessary that many men and women find their own voices setting their interlocutors in motion around hundreds of kitchen tables and bars.
It should be pointed out finally that events, even if the speeches and official discussions are completely useless themselves, have at least the benefit of bringing different people together which sometimes result in quite stimulating conversations afterwards in the pub.
Relationship of the fragments to each other
With the topic of discussion meetings, the question was already touched upon, how individual factions deal with their fragmentation and how they react to other factions. This will now be considered in more detail. There are at first the ways of acting which do not question the state of fragmentation.
This includes firstly mutual ignorance: respective factions are self-sufficient and don’t care about what other subversives do or think. This attitude is, for individuals as well as for groups or whole tendencies, a later phenomenon: After a time of searching, disputes and splits, one thinks to have „found the right way“ to which one now stubbornly clings to. Due to this, one avoids the risk of becoming challenged, an attitude that leads to stagnation and goes with the ossification of thought, language and manners.
A second, widespread way of dealing with each other is mutual proselytizing. This formally recognizes the state of fragmentation by stating that there are other radical lefties who do or say something different to oneself. But because they consider themselves as an already completed totality, one thinks that you only have to develop quantitatively by convincing the other factions of the leftist milieu as well as the rest of the population to join one’s own practice and to do exactly the same as what one is already doing. Through our essence the world will coalesce. Unlike in the case of mutual ignorance, a dispute takes place to a certain degree, although not a very productive one, since the challenge occurs only on the terrain of the proselytizing object; the weapons of criticism are only directed against the opponent though not against the protagonists’ own position.
The third relationship to be named in this context is the fight tooth and nail between different factions: Here a particular position is deemed so wrong and dangerous that its representatives are not even considered fit to be proselytizing objects. These people are then expelled from the radical left family through denunciation, isolation and throwing them out of meeting places or sometimes by beating them up. Thereby it is mostly the case that a position about an isolated problem is inflated to a question of „all or nothing“, which should alone decide if somebody is „right“ or „wrong“, „belongs to“ or not – regardless of all other expressions regarding the life of the person or group. Recently, such isolated phenomena were for example around the re-evaluation of the state of Israel, the assessment of this or that military conflict, or whether you consider a specific incident a rape or not. The consequences of such an approach are obvious: Black and white thinking, reduction of perception, the mirror-inverted one-sidedness of the counter-parties. These annihilation campaigns aren’t successful: Neither has the exclusion of real or alleged rapists banished sexism from the autonomous scene, nor have the campaigns against anti-Germans and anti-imperialists cleansed the left of perceived or real warmongers and anti-Semites. The shortcoming of these attempts is that here objective contradictions are trivialized as subjective failings of individuals or groups. A personification of social contradictions is practiced, which saves one from dealing with both general and self-relevant problems.
Attempting to repeal fragmentation whilst remaining on the terrain of fragmentation
In addition to the quite unconscious ways of dealing with fragmentation mentioned above, the need to achieve a higher form of organization is sometimes formulated in and among the fractions. The most popular form of current efforts to associate beyond the group is the alliance. It exists in two versions: firstly, as a permanent gathering of groups with very similar characteristics who agree on a conceptual and/or practical line. The groups are often from different cities or countries. This is preferred to working together with people from the same city who aren’t members of the same current. – This highlights once again the tendency of ghettoisation and purification of one’s own milieu. One’s own particularity is not acknowledged as such, but instead, one tries to become some kind of a giant fragment by joining forces with similar shattered fragments. Incidentally, the same rules apply here as with the group.
In the other variant the alliance consists of various shard-like fragments. The splintering remains intact, but gathers together temporarily, e.g. for a campaign or for a joint action. To mobilize for these actions, a shared call is formulated that is so generic that everyone can live with it and which is therefore worse than every single group acting for themselves alone. Again, the fragmentation is not really overcome, since the contradictions are not challenged but swept under the table in favour of a formal, meaningless unity.