We are taught pro-social values as children and we grow up to be thrust into a political economy designed to incentivise the exact opposite. We need a society built for ordinary people in solidarity, not a ruling class of psychopaths.
I think a lot of lip-service is done to pro-social values, but the reality enforced, at even at school is already very different.... I do agree with you though.
The only thing I was exposed to as a child, was how everyone very eagerly proclaimed to be for social value X or Y, but did not follow through in their actions. Hypocrisy, in other words. I'd very much like to know where these magical children are who were taught pro-social values, and actually internalized them, because from kindergarten onwards I only witnessed abuse, bullying, and the strong stepping on the weak, while everyone was patting themselves on the back for how virtuous and good they were, while they ignored these abuses. Adult and child alike, nobody took responsibility for anything. My experience in adulthood is no different, really, except that I know better how to stand up for myself. Be it socialists, communists, anarchists, liberals or conservatives, I have not been able to discern a meaningful difference between their actual social behavior in their day to day life. People lie, cheat, make fun of those they can get away with making fun of, they gossip and they judge, and are eager to receive help, but very rarely willing to give it. If they can get away with stepping over someone else for their own gain, 99% of the time, they will do so. Politically I'd say I'm a communist (because I believe it's the most democratic system), but I very much agree with the cliche of democracy being just the 'least bad' form of governance. My actual opinion is, that ordinary people are evil. Out of the thousands of people I've encountered throughout my life, maybe 1 or 2 actually lived according to a code, and I would call virtuous. The rest... hypocrites, and I include myself in this group. Truly good people are extraordinary, not ordinary. Morality and pro-social values are not the rule. They are the exception. Those ruling us, those 'psychopaths' as you call them, are just ordinary people who got lucky being born into privilege, or got lucky stepping over others on their way to the top. Personally I am quite sick and tired of anarchists perpetuating this myth, that human beings are naturally somehow moral and 'pro-social'. They are confusing mutually beneficial cooperation with morality. They are not the same. If they were the same thing, you could call ants saints and sages. Pro-social cooperation is just a compromise that all parties involved engage with, for their own gain. If you create conditions where it's more beneficial to cooperate, the people involved will do so (usually even then at the expense of someone else from an outgroup). If such conditions are not met, however, the people involved will be at each other's throats quicker than you can say 'social contract'. None of this is to say that I don't believe in kindness. I very much do. But you may have noticed how easy it is to be kind when it doesn't cost you anything. An actually 'pro-social' and moral person is the one who engages in kindness, when it's not easy for them to do so, and it costs them something that is difficult to give away, and they do it anyway, for its own sake. How many people do you know who live their life consistently like that?
@@eyeamstrongest Yeah it is quite depressing. I'd gladly think differently, but no one has managed to convince me that a more positive view of humanity is actually true. If you can offer me an alternative view, I'd be happy to entertain it. I'm serious. It's quite exhausting to think of humanity in this way. Don't want to argue. Like I said, viewing the world in this way doesn't really do me a lot of favors.
@@jonirischx8925 I think the way our un-egalitarian society constructed today, the amount of toxic ruling class notions ingrained inside our brain, makes it hard to distinguish malice born out of internalized propaganda and “natural” human evil(if it does exist). This kind of thing starts really young, like how 3 year old Black kids could be taught to prefer white dolls over their own race, and how many schools back where I lived propagate the notions “if you get 1 score higher than others on the test, you’d be stepping over thousands of students.” Our society incentivizes and encourages anti-social behaviors so much, that like the video says, Hobble’s view of humanity is becoming a self-fulfilling prophecy. It’s literally a vicious cycle--the more people are oppressed, the meaner they learnt to be. And the meaner they become, those on the top seemed to get better reason to treat them with greater apathy and dehumanization. I personally grew up with many good people who at least don’t put “stepping on others” on their first priority, and I’m trying to be so too. I don’t know how successful I will be, but I think there is faint hope that we could stop the vicious cycle……from my observations, one can’t chose their wealth, marginal status, ability and disability, trauma and experience, and all……but pure intentions or not, they can choose not being a bully. Once one could begin to see the problem systematically, it could be so empowering because you could discover “it doesn’t have to be this way”.
yesterday i went to a local meetup where folks stepped up to a mic and listed what organizing is already happening and how to get involved. then folks got up and shared what they didnt see and want to build. then we talked with one another directly, finding those who were doing stuff we were interesting in being involved with. was rly cool stuff. i guess im commenting to add on to the great content in the video and say that lots of people are already doing the work! we just have a marketing problem on the left haha
@@alexis_electronic my partner found the group who organized the event on instagram. but attending a smaller event in person and talking to people hooked me into signal group chats where people were advertising anarchist/leftist events more often. if youre comfortable sharing your location id be happy to help you search online!
@@alexis_electronic Yes, I also have this question. I've got to link up with more folks; it's been tough to find people in my current social circles who want to work on stuff with me
As a new anarchist, I value the fact that anarchism can be a life style of sorts. After this election, I now understand the value of grassroots and solutions that don’t wait on a state to drag it heels then double down on its own bad habits.
Anarchism, first and foremost, needs to be an *organizational strategy,* concerning how to build and structure systems, and create a non hierarchical *society.* If we reduce it to *just* a set of beliefs that informs how we conduct ourselves in our private lives, it runs the risk of becoming a LARP of aesthetics, easily co-opted, commodified, and sold back to us by the existing system.
thats a fair and just point, I personally see it as a lifestyle because it allows me to feel empowered but also free’s my thinking. That anarchism is a direction I can choose to push.
@@prod.arcsyne2990 lifestyle is cool, but lifestyle without the organizational push for a new society isn't going to get your fellow humans free. As a new anarchist you had the misfortune of choosing a hotly contested word within anarchist circles lol. For more, read Social Anarchism or Lifestyle Anarchism: An Unbridgeable Chasm by Murray Bookchin. But yeah, it's great how it can change the way we view our own interpersonality.
Even in the wildly individualist and socially isolating communities I've grown up in, Mutuality breaks through the concrete of disenfranchisement like a disobedient dandelion, again, and again. From simple things like helping a neighbor fix their car, to sharing what extra comes from the garden. It's actual laws, and certain aspects of economics that keep people in their homes, and behind white picket-fences instead or living WITH each other. Mutual Aid is such a powerful, and emergent tool worthy of being hyped up. Great video as always. Better communities are real, and possible, but getting there means lifting up that altruistic nature and analyzing how things like zoning laws, and the nature of "work" get in the way of that altruism.
individualism has nothing to do with isolation or "rugged" whatever. *individualism - the individual is an end in and of herself and NEVER the means to an end.* that is all it means.
19yo french trans woman here, discovering trans mutual aids spaces has been one of the greatest things I could imagine meeting in real life. But before that it was just one twitter friend wich helped me to find solutions to my troubles, just by talking, and I think he helped me not giving up. It truly made me realize that you can bring love to this world with easy day to day actions.
Hey, fellow french person here, do you have any advice on how to find those spaces irl? I'd love to participate in one but i don't know where to start looking :(
I would also add, that cutting down on bullying & jealousy based gossip are what will realistically allow all of this to happen over time. I've been around various communities, and that is what breaks them down every time. I'll keep saying it till people finally admit it and we can get on with it
This, combined with honesty. People are never going to be perfect, bullying behaviours and jealousy will always be possible, but confidently pointing out this meanness to sculpt a group of people so that people dont placate those behaviours
conflict resolution, deescalation, harm reduction, goal driven conflict assessment skills are something we all need to develop. planning on organizing workshops for this soon. recommend you do the same, whatever your experience level, find space and create interest
That is impossible. "Cutting down on bullying" implies rules and force, a system of authority. Gossip and jealousy are basic parts of human nature, they aren't going anywhere.
it's taken me several days of grieving, confusion, and planning for the worst to ground myself back on this view - I can't fix everything myself, but I can fix something. And the more we are willing to help each other, without regard to our personal register of financial (or social) profit, the more we can accomplish.
Yup, those emotions don't help anything unless they fuel action on your part. Otherwise you're just engaging in a ritual of disempowerment that gains you nothing and only helps those who you disagree with. Society will never be a utopia, goes against human nature, it will always be an ever-changing mishmash. But we can still help our community, we can do something.
Growing up in a small village in hills of Mexico, where the reach of state support/aid was virtually nonexistent. The people of the village would often help each other out, whether by collecting wood or water, sharing meals in large gatherings, and supporting the families that lost a loved one. Helping one another rather than ourselves, we may not always have everything figured out, but we sure try our best ti improve the lives of everyone. Seeing and experiencing this, compared to how people in cities and suburbs in America treat each other is disheartening. But nonetheless, it's a dream I hope we can all reach one day
A few weeks ago I had a character growth moment. After work I went to the store, it was raining hard, and an old man was standing there stopping people asking if they could drive him home. When he asked me, I told him no. Then I went in, did my shopping, and thought to myself. My good friend would have probably helped the man no questions asked. I like all this content on RUclips about solidarity, workers uniting and mutual aid. What was I doing? I finished my shopping, went outside, found the man and drove him home. Took me only 10 minutes. I hope that in the future I can help people I don't know without needing to think about it first.
Nice gesture , but I dont think anyone should be forced to help someone in need unless it was their fault theyre in need . Its a nice thing to help people , but not something that should be forced I dont think anyone should be ashamed if they dont want to help or share their stuff to the poor .
@Blue-5 I think that's just kinda you projecting a bit. I wasn't forced to help. In an ideal world someone else before me would have just decided on their own to help the old man, and I wouldn't have had to think about it. People wouldn't come up with excuses to not help.
@@8xottox8 These videos about socialism and stuff make believe theyre trying to remove personal property and individual autonomy . Which is basically collectivism . If you wanna know more scroll down and find my other comment im not gonna explain it here . Use the "newest" filter to find it easier
@Blue-5 I mean you basically got told what I would have told you as well. I don't agree that "socialism and stuff" is about taking away individuality and personal property. I think it's quite the opposite, like an easy example is how it's capitalism, not socialism that wants you to rent your apartment, rent your car, rent your workplace, etc. With socialism you'd own your workplace together with all the other workers.
@@8xottox8 The workplaces being owned by everyone is fine . But I'm gonna draw the line at Homes , personal vechiles , etc . I think these things should remain ONLY yours or shared only if you allow it . When they talk about "communal" stuff it makes me think of stuff like shared living spaces or lack of privacy . Which is a removal of personal property and individuality Personal property is not private (for the sake of this comment at least ) property to be clear , (factories or other things that need more workers)
WAS CONSIDERING DOING THIS, my family is left but they are pretty much libs, so they need some work, especially with all the gaslamping capitalists spread about superior systems
I don't know how a RUclips video that's barely 15 minutes can contribute to becoming-anarchist, but wish you all the best with that. Here's a very helpful handbook about "How to defend yourself during a police interrogation" (PDF available) by Projet Evasions, if you manage to cultivate their interests in anarchist intervention.
Thanks for this! I’ve been seeing people online knocking community building efforts the past two days because they say it doesn’t do anything and it’s really frustrating to explain to them that it’s foundational to greater movements. Some people will not be swayed without direct positive community experiences, like you said. ❤
To the marginalized and working class, we've long since been at the point where we can no longer afford to be alone, both emotionally and pragmatically. It's never been a matter of the individual versus society, but oppressor versus oppressed, and that cannot, WILL not be ignored. Public ownership of land and work is the only reality in which humanity will thrive.
The area around my home was hit by a heavy rain event that caused intense flooding across the entire province of La Comunitat Valenciana (the central-western coast of Spain for reference). Not only did the local government fail to warn the population in advance, which caused over 200 excess deaths plus many more missing who will probably be added to that number, but also did not provide any sort of significant relief to the people, having dismantled the response team meant to help in this exact situation. They did, however, send the cops to beat a hundred thousand and some people into compliance during the protests I attended, but I digress. Do you know who did help? Who cleared the mud, who cooked the meals for the people whose homes were flooded, who brought necessary supplies? Thousands of volunteers who drove from all around the least affected areas into those who got the worst part. This video hits different for me, because for me it's not theory, a hypothetical scenario, or a plan for a hopeful future. Those are wonderful and necessary things, butI have seen this. I have lived mutuality. And I don't see a future when I change my mind about how crucial it is.
Books from around 3:40 Anarchism Works: Examples of Anarchist Ideas In Practice by Peter Gelderloos At The Café: Conversations On Anarchism by Errico Malatesta Anarchy A Graphic Guide by Clifford Harper Prefigurative Politics: Building Tomorrow Today by Paul Raekstad and Sofa Saio Gradin Anarchism and the Black Revolution The Definitive Edition by Lorenzo Kom'boa Ervin
Love to see a video address how unnatural the supremacy of "competition" really is. Kropotkin's "mutual aid"! but updated, not racist, and concise. Thank you again!
I'm an anthropology student and in taking courses on non-state societies and communities, I started to really gravitate torwards the same ideas in this video. It took me a while to draw a line from there to anarchy, and you have helped me organize my thoughts greatly. Sending all of you in the US strength given the election results, all the way from South America.
Thank you! We’re at both a moment of great uncertainty, but great opportunity to build parallel and most just systems locally. I appreciate the support, received with warmth in Lincoln, Nebraska
Excellent summary, very nice. I live rurally and, what would historically have been a thriving cooperating community. My neighbours are lovely people, but there's no mutual connection there. I take in their bin, but then there is the abstraction of the state, which actually takes our detritus out of sight. We don't need each other for anything, and it's the same with the rest of the village. There is a small water pump, where once the people of the community would have got all their fresh water. That was visible, and maintained by the community, as was access from cliffs to sea for the village fishermen. Now the state provides the water and if there are issues we talk to the municaplity with no neighbourly connection. We all commute to our places of work by car, occassionally passing one another on the road, or a quick chat if we happen to arrive home at the same time. It's unnatural. Anyway, thanks for taking the time to make this. I might have asked before, but have you read 33 myths of the system by Darren Allen?
@@archebaldmurlok449 there's actually nowhere to meet up. No church or municipal building. Even so, I know pretty much everyone in the village, and the appetite for even some basic philosophical discussions is lacking. They could likely be rallied round to oppose something. Like, say there was a drive to plant trees throughout the village to increase the bird population. They'd be organising a petition against all of nature.
@@ricos1497 bugs bunny reverse psychology w that! "We have to pay high prices for electricity because there's too much open space and concrete!" "How do we screw the people that take our money?" "Well, it would be cheaper and easier to plant a bunch of trees than try to get enough people on with a boycott" ... if such would work. Just slowly bringing in haters until their loud voices can be pointed at something that truly hurts them, and they can see they're not alone or weak for being hurt by or mad at. Maybe hopefully?
@@royceroyce7715 it took me a couple of reads to get what you were saying, but yes, I think that's exactly the best, quickest, approach. But, paradoxically, probably the wrong approach too! I suspect that the long term consequences of getting people on bored by directing their hate at something and appealing to their individualism would probably cause more friction further down the line. For example, my village is surrounded by monocrop agriculture and cattle grazing on land that could sustain significant wildlife and trees. I could make the argument that planting trees would reduce the need for fertiliser, and that it would add protection from the significant wind, but I'd be simultaneously pitting the farmer against the villagers, who's individual goals (i.e. what makes them most money or things) are opposed. When you (or I!) extrapolate out the issues, the sticking point is always land and ownership of the land. If, instead of a single farmer (or a few farmers) owning the land, the community owned the land, then a common set of goals could transpire. As it stands, we are all directly, or more often indirectly, competing against one another (whether it be the farmer making a profit from the village customer, or both farmer and villager competing in forms of material object or monetary wealth for purposes of ego and status), to the detriment of everyone. What we really desire is the sacrifice of the individual (not their personality, or what makes them themselves) for the benefit of the community. I don't believe that can come from appealing to each individual's best interests. I hope you know what I mean, I'm rambling!
I think the recent election helped me realize that I really need to act and be politically active. I do feel powerless at times, but then I remember that I am not alone. Your channel is an inspiration! Thank you
I'm watching this video at the perfect time! After a long writing session on a solar punk story that will become part of my masters thesis. The story revolves around the principle of mutuality and the SLOC (small, local, open, connected) concept by Ezio Manzini and is set in a huge concrete building complex from the 70s. The set of characters wakes up to clouds and know a flood is coming (it only rains twice or thrice a year and it's always a huge flood then). Through their actions to prepare for the flood I explain the world and how it works (how do they grow food, how do the communities interact, are people fundamentally different in this world -> hahha no, and so on). Eventually the set of characters comes together in the culture comittee and they start thinking about an entertainment and cultural event program for the time they will be shut off from the world. Your video gave me some additional thoughts I can incorporate! Thanks so much Andrew!
(This may be a bit random) the government is kind of like a neglectful and/abusive parent, and we are like children realizing that they are not reliable and we need to do things like cook for ourselves because they won’t.
@@asbergledooglepoof5545 This is bad analogy because it implies the notion of a "good government" as the caring parent figure. It means you'd love the government if it truly cared about its citizens, i.e., classic governmentalism without pretending to care about the citizens.
I was waiting for this. I knew after the election that for those of us who don't flee, mutual aid is the way. Ty for keeping this video short. I'd love to see one on where else to go to find people to offer and network these aid groups. Like specific places in cities in towns
truth be told, whether one flees or not, mutual aid and community organising will still be necessities--the solution isn't, and never will be, to go to a different place where the neoliberal ideals of individual hyperindependence and simultaneous dependence on the state hasn't made its final death rattle and sink into complacency there. whether you move down the street or halfway across the world, mutuality will always be a necessity. edit: i also would love to compile network aid groups locally !!!
2 cheers for anarchy! Spot on video! Liberation from oppression is not an ideology, it is a practice. It is a way of life. We can create a better system built on mutuality and cooperation and get back to the deepest root of what ACTUALLY makes us human instead of what we have been conditioned to believe by the system and doctrine of hierarchy.
Perfect timing on this one, at least for me. Ever since the results of the last US presidential election this is the message I've been trying to spread in my own way, tailored to my own community. I'm adding this very video to my knowledge library on the subject. VERY well done. Thanks so much for putting this together.
Thank you for providing such a well-made transcript! I've been working on sharing this and similar videos with friends, but some would rather have something to read rather than a video; I've been working for the past couple days to transcribe videos for them, but you have saved me a ton of time on this one ^~^
Your content makes me cry, dude. It always hits home and it hits hard. Thank you for the hard work and all your effort that is being put into this channel.
i love this, and i am a newer viewer of yours, so if you or any of your viewers can point me to other videos or books with suggestions on how to practice mutual aid with such limited resources. it feels daunting that corporations have such power to dictate how much compensation we get for our labor, and with everything we need so expensive, its hard to have money to invest in building our own things. and i know money isnt the only resource-but time and effort too. the need to work to survive takes up so much of those too. i dont want to think this way and an very welcoming of any commenters that have thoughts on this too-give me some hope! its just so hard to operate under late stage capitalism, even after mental divestment from the state.
I think it's important to understand that anarchy isn't something that will happen someday after the revolution. I'm an anarchist today. A friend, who had dealings with officials in many countries, once told me, "Government isn't nearly as real as it thinks it is." Another friend said, "Live as if you were already free." Do anarchist things now. Do things that don't require capitalism. Thow a party. Play chess in a park. You'll further the cause more at a weekly poker game, or movie night with friends than marching in the street. Odds are, the state won't even know they should be worried. You can ignore them 99 percent of the time.
"Indeed, the keynote of government is injustice. With the arrogance and self-sufficiency of the King who could do no wrong, governments ordain, judge, condemn, and punish the most insignificant offenses, while maintaining themselves by the greatest of all offenses, the annihilation of individual liberty." ~ Emma Goldman
Just when I started feeling hopeless again, you came with this video to remind me what we need to work for. I always appreciate your hopeful tone and grounded takes on anarchy, and you call to action including what real things we need to do in order to fight for it.
Thank you for this! I’m really excited about mutual interdependence that is taking shape in my community, and am so grateful for videos like this to share with my neighbors and friends
I really like listening to your essays. The way you disseminate information in a digestible format with a calm demeanor that lets through your passion for this topic and outrage at the current system, really is amazing.
I think one of the big things it took me a while to grasp about Anarchism is that it, like perfection, isn't an achievable thing, but rather like you said, a process. I think this video will be useful in some conversations in the future :)
Much as regligious freedom includes the right to Not Have A Faith, I feel very strongly that Personal Freedom MUST include food, water, and transit support so people can Opt Out of a community they don't fit in easily. Co operation also means respecting boundaries and leaving all paths to 'no thanks' unobstructed.
As a commie, anarchists are my best friends. To understand that we have to fight together, to work together, to live together for a mutual good, is what we need to do. We need to undefine ourselves from the logic of capitalism and redefine ourselves through the lense of the collective. What is the best for myself can only be that, which is the best for the collective and what is the best for the collective is what is best for me.
troll mo_shiota: *anarchism (=no rulers) and socialism (requires rulers) are diametrically opposed*. you are "commie"? as in you are SOCIALIST? bc you defo don't live on a commune nor do you know what that entails, though it is a very good system as long as govt DOES NOT EXIST. socialism is FASCISM. anarchy is against all socialism.
@legalfictionnaturalfact3969 ah yes i see a socialist transitionary system as absolutely necessary to get rid of the capitalist system and therefore am supporting fascism. The one who is doing the trolling is you. If you want a society that is based on cooperation and intrinsically opposed to hierarchy you need to establish the foundation on which these horizontal forms of social organizations are possible. You can not create an anarchist system inside the capitalist system and just hope people will support you and that the state will just vanish by wishing it would vanish.
@@mo_shiota1637 no, troll. socialism REQUIRES a state and therefore THEFT. you don't get to steal, sorry. *common sense allows us all to be on the same page organically.* no one individual or subgroup or collective "establishes the foundation" across the board. the individual simply does what is right and not what is wrong. when everyone does this, everything falls into place. just like how each drop of rain flows together into the stream without having to form "decision" groups first. you do not get to just make committees and design things. unless everyone is unanimous on extending the corn crop, it doesn't extend. not by vote. by open, casual, neighborly discussion. no one gets to make decisions for others. an idea is proffered and if EVERYONE affected AGREES UNANIMOUSLY via normal everyday organic conversations that take place over months (to give the idea time to develop and "marinate"), then it doesn't happen.
This happens every day and goes unnoticed..you hold the door open for whoever is behind you...a coworker is short of change for the vending machine and you put in some quarters...everyday courtesies that most people do...
Thank you for helping me keep the hope alive. Sometimes it seems to me that consumer and competition culture has well and truly ruined the desire to do this, that everyone seems to just want to be the little monarch of their own little hill and then wonder why they’re so lonely. It’s nice to remember that I’m just being too cynical.
Thank you for sharing this Andrew. Mutual Aid is something I have learned about and want to practice more, but Mutual Defense and the other mutuality concepts are new to me. This is going to take some time. Your videos help.
As a critic of anarchy you have real plans in place to it make happen. One you have to deal with the fact you are trying to create a permanent power vacuum where no one will try to dominate others or a mass power. Anarchy has to rely on the mutual trust of other people without a mediator and even the best of us can’t be fully trusted. I’m not saying you can’t have a society built on mutuality but you can’t pure anarchy without eventually going into us vs them or a common sense of morality. There’s also the idea that even in a merit based system there will be natural hierarchy cause the best house maker will become the authority of house making whether they planned it or not. In summary I love the idea of mutual society but I question its viability without some form of hierarchy eventually showing up. It can be benevolent but it’s still hierarchy so not pure anarchy.
"I believe - indeed, I know - that whatever is fine and beautiful in the human expresses and asserts itself in spite of government, and not because of it." ~ Emma Goldman
Honestly, I have a pretty good idea already! I just need to let my symptoms subside, then plan and execute it. Nothing huge, just book a free art space nearby and run a session helping people with their tech problems tbh
There are a couple of hangups I have on the issue of conflict resolution. Meaning I'm not sure you can even reach the pragmatists on the chart, if the revolution requires practicing non-cooperation. I can't help but feel that a guerilla reclamation of the streets is an example of force due to a lack of assumed mutuality and will be seen as such by those on the outside looking in. In this hypothetical scenario, is every resident on board? For clarity, there seems to be a path to mutality, but I'm not sure occupations, strikes and non-cooperation help us in that goal. It seems that by getting what we want when we demand it, we would only enforce that the system "works" in that you can demand and then receive, re-enforcing the status quo. This isn't an argument against anarchy as much as it's a "hey, these kind of feel like inevitable catch 22's we might encounter". You may already have a video that addresses this, so if anybody could direct me there it would be greatly appreciated, thanks.
This video could not be more timely for me as I look around for what I can do to change this world so I don't slip into nihilism thanks to this demoralising, disempowering, disenfranchising, dystopian capitalist society we live in. Thank you!
I wonder if the website/organization Mutual Aid Networks or maybe Transition Network could be inclusive enough to support systemic change parallel economies that are explicitly anti-capitalist, pro-direct democracy and social ecology? I mean, they seem close, but seem pretty under-developed and missing a few key features to make them viable platforms for social change. Awareness if very low as I had to stumble upon them almost by direct research to even seen they were around. I just think cooperation organizations for system change need to be simple, localized, but collaborative in function, secure and capable of helping any community of people genuinely interest in transitioning out of capitalism to do so, with relative ease. Love your work, Andrew! Always like the mentions of Libraries of Things and community gardens or kitchens for mutual aid.
Does anarchy require the absence of power imbalance? If so, how is that avoided? I think my fear is that whoever has the most guns can assert a narcissistic system.
Just wrote a whole response but it seems RUclips deleted it. I quoted my old video: "Anarchism is the term given to the political philosophy and practice that opposes all hierarchies along with their “justifying” dogmas and proposes the unending pursuit of anarchy, a world without rule where free association, self-determination, and mutual aid form the basis of our society By hierarchies, anarchists are referring to the stratification of society which gives some individuals, groups, or institutions authority over others. In this context, authority refers to the recognised right above others in a social relationship to give commands, make decisions, and enforce obedience. I’ve seen authority and hierarchy get confused with force, violence, expertise, influence, respect, and coordination. None of those concepts, on their own, necessarily grant authority." I feel the same confusion may apply here. Anarchy doesn’t require the absence of power imbalances altogether-it recognises that some imbalances, like differences in knowledge or physical ability, are a natural part of life. The goal isn’t to eliminate all differences but to create structures where those differences don’t lead to domination. For example, someone with expertise might guide others in a specific task, but their knowledge wouldn’t give them authority to control others' lives. Instead, decisions would be made based on free association and mutual agreement. As for the fear of someone asserting power through force, like with guns, this is why anarchists emphasise vigilance, mutual defence, and the creation of anarchic cultures that resist domination in all forms. A community that’s actively engaged in mutuality and cooperation is less likely to tolerate or enable coercive violence.
The global production\distribution machine naturally blocks a lot of this. People come together out of need. When the stores have what we need and we can have it all delivered to our door, there is inherently less incentive to work together. During hard times, need grows, so mutualism increases because we are a deeply social species at the core. Everything we do is about each other, even the self emerges from interaction with other. Horrible experiments on chimps showed that most essential social behaviors are learned during infancy and childggood, not programmed in genetically. Raised in isolation and impregnated, the chimp momma tore her baby apart because she had no experience with other, no ape teachings from her momma as a baby. People can be ridiculously evil, it's still astonishing despite the millions of examples. So I welcome the coming collapse, nothing else can break the momentum of this world-devouring machine. Nothing else brings people together and refines our approaches like real need.
I love this, and it fits with the society I'm describing in my own Solarpunk novel, which makes me happy. Also a fan of Graeber/Wengrow's amazing book. I've been thinking a lot recently about the way back in the 70s, Christopher Alexander and his team wrote the 'Pattern Language' to inspire/guide/inform communities relating to the built environment. I had the idea (probably considering physical vs social permaculture) that maybe what could help guide the change might be a Social Pattern Language... a gathering together of patterns of social organization that help create this better world. I feel like rather than an academic tome, it would be better done collaboratively, anarchically, in some way. What do you think?
Thank you for your video, very informative. Would love to see a video about what punishment or restorative justice looks like in Anarchy. I keep thinking how does mutual defence work in a anarchy system where one group holds the power to exert more violence than other groups and does not want to cooperate?
I love your videos, thank you for inspiring me so much. My friend and I are starting an organization online and in our community to hopefully start chipping away at the individualism and misinformation that is so rampant nowadays. We don't know where it will take us but it starts with a few of us at a time, right?
Totally agree, it’s not anarchy tho if you force wealthy individuals to share their resources, people need to be free to live as they choose. A lot of people think they are anarchists yet want to confiscate and redistribute others wealth. In a voluntary society productive people would naturally have more, what they do with that is up to them
The best way to organize, is by fractally, where smoll groups create bigger groups made out off smoller groups, and this scales on and on, kinda like pyramids but in reverse since humans are better organized in smoller groups,so i decided to compermentalise big groups into smoller groups to increase organization and cihesion in a group.
Btv, I am a centrist, meaning that it will be balanced by a libertarian system in my system where top and bottom balance each outer in harmony, top down and bottom up.
I wonder if there exists much fiction that portrays a world such as this. Considering how I've seen some process reality, putting stories into this idea of how things should be might help some understand in ways primarily education-first presentations might now.
Care is the generative principle of natural law. And there is no legitimate authority other than natural law. What you care about will determine how you behave. So look at your behaviour and it will tell you what you truly care about. Not just what you think you care about. Knowledge leads to understanding which leads to wisdom and how you behave or in other words the result of your actions.
Life under capitalism is structured in such a way as to place higher value & greater incentive on rugged individualism than on community. Additionally, life under capitalism makes it near impossible to have the funds or time outside of work necessary to build efficient & prosperous communities based upon mutual care. Even the structuring of our cities largely prohibits co-operation on any meaningful level with it's car-centric design & lack of public transit & lack of public spaces. It can even be hampered by law. Not only that but society itself with its public & private education sectors are used to indoctrinate the masses with anti-communist, anti-socialist, anti-collectivism of any form. We are taught WHAT to think, not HOW to think. We are steeped from birth into the theology of a "natural hierarchy" & to never question our authority leaders, i.e. those who presume to rule us. Respect your elders, never question your parents, do whatever the police say, etc. It's an example of contradictions; our society praises & lauds rugged individualism while at the same time punishing those who are TOO individualistic & begin to question the structured hierarchy or dare to challenge the status quo. Just enough individualism to give the illusion of freedom, but step outside the bounds of what's accepted & you'll find yourself ostracized, blacklisted from being able to work anywhere to earn money that is a "necessary evil" to survive under capitalism. But that's what capitalism does, that's its purpose. To grind us down so hard that escape seems impossible, that a better life, a better world seems impossible. To keep us compliant under fear of not being able to access the very basics of survival --- shelter, clothing, food, education, healthcare. To partially quote Ursula Le Guin, so did the authority (divine right?) of kings seem impossible to topple. But we brought the monarchies down. More than once. We can do it again. But I don't believe our society, particularly here in the heart of Empire --- the United States --- is ready for that. YET. We're close, but not quite close enough. Things may change over the next 10 years. I hope they do, & for the better, because as it stands here in the States, our options are socialism or barbarism. & too many are leaning towards fascism & barbarism.
Bro capitalism isn't anti-collectivism. Capitalism inherently crushes individual autonomy and forces one into the community of capital and group control before it allows one to enjoy their little crumbs of freedom. To capitalism, the individual does not matter. They don't exist except in the bourgeois legal form - they are nothing more than machine parts, completely interchangeable and without significance. As a matter of facts, the non-Western instances of capitalism which refer to the USSR and Maoist China, and modern AES countries; they're all examples of collectivism as well and clearly subject the workers to their pseudo-"socialist" markets and property norms in place there. They routinely mass censor info which may damage their dominant image, and anyone who attempts to expose the truth about the Party to the proletariat, will face punishment.
@@StanleyNumber427 I'd argue that capitalism (or properly the world of the commodity) knows no bounds when it comes to recuperation and individualism is no exception, which is to say commodity domination is not necessarily always collectivist in all moments. There are several instances of self-id Stirnerian individuals still getting caught within the circulation of commodities [and I'm not talking about bourgeois egoists, mind you], and a consistent problem faced by insurrectionary anarchists is the boundary of the black markets from which they haven't found a path to escape. It's also not true that anyone who spreads propaganda of any kind about the AES vanguards will face punishment. In Vietnam, the Internet censorship is nowhere as severe as in China; you can google almost anything because access to most foreign websites is still available as of now. You're 'allowed' to put up reactionary propaganda about the state of the country, and the reason behind this permission is a bit complex, but it all lies in cyber warfare, a modern cybernetic form of ideological efficiency. >Cyberspace is considered a part of the national territory and plays a vital role in the cause of national construction and defence. In the face of expanded globalisation and international integration, and the rapid and strong development of information technology, the firm protection of national sovereignty in cyberspace becomes more and more urgent and should be thoroughly grasped and effectively implemented. [...] >Although cyberspace is a combat domain that is both visible and invisible, limited and unlimited, real and virtual, it is considered one of the important battlefields where countries always try to consolidate, enhance their capabilities, and compete for influence. Operations to protect national sovereignty in cyberspace shares some features of information warfare, such as: difficult to identify, evaluate, and forecast; unlimited in space and time; diverse and complex in combatants; high intellectuality; mainly soft kill with high efficiency. In addition, it has its own characteristics, such as: all activities (tactically and technically) are associated with the development of science and technology, especially information and communication technology; lethal attacks on important national, military and defence information systems; autonomous command and control systems of the enemy; and extremely flexible methods of fighting. [...] >General goal of operations in cyberspace is to protect national sovereignty and interests in cyberspace, the Marxist-Leninist theory, Ho Chi Minh's thought, the Party's guidelines and point of views, the State's policies and laws, the independence, freedom, social regime, and territorial integrity of the Fatherland. Its specific goals include: military, national defence and security information systems, directing and managing information of the Party and State, weapon control systems, important national information infrastructures, such as: telecommunications, transportation, electricity, banking, aviation, etc., and information systems of major enterprises and economic groups of the country. [...] >In terms of forces, mobilising fighting forces in cyberspace. The cyber warfare forces comprise of the force of the entire Party, Army and people; in which, the force of the 35th Central Steering Committee and the cyber warfare force of the Ministry of National Defence are the cores, combining with the civilian cyber warfare and information technology forces. The cyber warfare force of the Ministry of Defence includes the strategic and operational-level cyber warfare force and information technology force of units and military corporations. * Cyber warfare - a new form of warfare to defend the Fatherland It's not known that during the war with the US, the Vietnamese socialists were quite effective at propaganda and information warfare. They've mastered this school of warfare and survived every attempt to overthrow their rulership over the nation, and the rise of cybernetics only sharpens their power.
![Jack Harlow - Hello Miss Johnson [Official Music Video]](http://i.ytimg.com/vi/Q86_nlRoIGw/mqdefault.jpg)
NHNN
Neighbors Helping Neighbors November
Neighbors Helping Neighbors... Nut 😂
It comes after NHNO neighbours helping neighbours October and before NHND neighbours helping neighbours December
Nnnhn~
@@fat6776 NNHNN No Nut Help Neighbor November
This would make everyone nut
We are taught pro-social values as children and we grow up to be thrust into a political economy designed to incentivise the exact opposite. We need a society built for ordinary people in solidarity, not a ruling class of psychopaths.
I think a lot of lip-service is done to pro-social values, but the reality enforced, at even at school is already very different.... I do agree with you though.
The only thing I was exposed to as a child, was how everyone very eagerly proclaimed to be for social value X or Y, but did not follow through in their actions. Hypocrisy, in other words. I'd very much like to know where these magical children are who were taught pro-social values, and actually internalized them, because from kindergarten onwards I only witnessed abuse, bullying, and the strong stepping on the weak, while everyone was patting themselves on the back for how virtuous and good they were, while they ignored these abuses. Adult and child alike, nobody took responsibility for anything.
My experience in adulthood is no different, really, except that I know better how to stand up for myself. Be it socialists, communists, anarchists, liberals or conservatives, I have not been able to discern a meaningful difference between their actual social behavior in their day to day life. People lie, cheat, make fun of those they can get away with making fun of, they gossip and they judge, and are eager to receive help, but very rarely willing to give it.
If they can get away with stepping over someone else for their own gain, 99% of the time, they will do so.
Politically I'd say I'm a communist (because I believe it's the most democratic system), but I very much agree with the cliche of democracy being just the 'least bad' form of governance. My actual opinion is, that ordinary people are evil. Out of the thousands of people I've encountered throughout my life, maybe 1 or 2 actually lived according to a code, and I would call virtuous. The rest... hypocrites, and I include myself in this group. Truly good people are extraordinary, not ordinary.
Morality and pro-social values are not the rule. They are the exception. Those ruling us, those 'psychopaths' as you call them, are just ordinary people who got lucky being born into privilege, or got lucky stepping over others on their way to the top.
Personally I am quite sick and tired of anarchists perpetuating this myth, that human beings are naturally somehow moral and 'pro-social'. They are confusing mutually beneficial cooperation with morality. They are not the same. If they were the same thing, you could call ants saints and sages.
Pro-social cooperation is just a compromise that all parties involved engage with, for their own gain. If you create conditions where it's more beneficial to cooperate, the people involved will do so (usually even then at the expense of someone else from an outgroup). If such conditions are not met, however, the people involved will be at each other's throats quicker than you can say 'social contract'.
None of this is to say that I don't believe in kindness. I very much do. But you may have noticed how easy it is to be kind when it doesn't cost you anything. An actually 'pro-social' and moral person is the one who engages in kindness, when it's not easy for them to do so, and it costs them something that is difficult to give away, and they do it anyway, for its own sake.
How many people do you know who live their life consistently like that?
@@jonirischx8925 get a load of this downer
@@eyeamstrongest Yeah it is quite depressing. I'd gladly think differently, but no one has managed to convince me that a more positive view of humanity is actually true.
If you can offer me an alternative view, I'd be happy to entertain it. I'm serious. It's quite exhausting to think of humanity in this way.
Don't want to argue. Like I said, viewing the world in this way doesn't really do me a lot of favors.
@@jonirischx8925 I think the way our un-egalitarian society constructed today, the amount of toxic ruling class notions ingrained inside our brain, makes it hard to distinguish malice born out of internalized propaganda and “natural” human evil(if it does exist).
This kind of thing starts really young, like how 3 year old Black kids could be taught to prefer white dolls over their own race, and how many schools back where I lived propagate the notions “if you get 1 score higher than others on the test, you’d be stepping over thousands of students.”
Our society incentivizes and encourages anti-social behaviors so much, that like the video says, Hobble’s view of humanity is becoming a self-fulfilling prophecy. It’s literally a vicious cycle--the more people are oppressed, the meaner they learnt to be. And the meaner they become, those on the top seemed to get better reason to treat them with greater apathy and dehumanization.
I personally grew up with many good people who at least don’t put “stepping on others” on their first priority, and I’m trying to be so too. I don’t know how successful I will be, but I think there is faint hope that we could stop the vicious cycle……from my observations, one can’t chose their wealth, marginal status, ability and disability, trauma and experience, and all……but pure intentions or not, they can choose not being a bully. Once one could begin to see the problem systematically, it could be so empowering because you could discover “it doesn’t have to be this way”.
yesterday i went to a local meetup where folks stepped up to a mic and listed what organizing is already happening and how to get involved. then folks got up and shared what they didnt see and want to build. then we talked with one another directly, finding those who were doing stuff we were interesting in being involved with. was rly cool stuff. i guess im commenting to add on to the great content in the video and say that lots of people are already doing the work! we just have a marketing problem on the left haha
funny you say marketing, as that relates to a video I'll be releasing next year. Great to hear about this work!
please. how do you find things like this
@@alexis_electronic my partner found the group who organized the event on instagram. but attending a smaller event in person and talking to people hooked me into signal group chats where people were advertising anarchist/leftist events more often. if youre comfortable sharing your location id be happy to help you search online!
@@alexis_electronic Yes, I also have this question. I've got to link up with more folks; it's been tough to find people in my current social circles who want to work on stuff with me
find a space thatll host you, find a day, make a flier, tell your friends, get them to tell their friends, repeat ad nauseum
As a new anarchist, I value the fact that anarchism can be a life style of sorts. After this election, I now understand the value of grassroots and solutions that don’t wait on a state to drag it heels then double down on its own bad habits.
💯
Anarchism, first and foremost, needs to be an *organizational strategy,* concerning how to build and structure systems, and create a non hierarchical *society.*
If we reduce it to *just* a set of beliefs that informs how we conduct ourselves in our private lives, it runs the risk of becoming a LARP of aesthetics, easily co-opted, commodified, and sold back to us by the existing system.
thats a fair and just point, I personally see it as a lifestyle because it allows me to feel empowered but also free’s my thinking. That anarchism is a direction I can choose to push.
@@prod.arcsyne2990 lifestyle is cool, but lifestyle without the organizational push for a new society isn't going to get your fellow humans free. As a new anarchist you had the misfortune of choosing a hotly contested word within anarchist circles lol. For more, read Social Anarchism or Lifestyle Anarchism: An Unbridgeable Chasm by Murray Bookchin. But yeah, it's great how it can change the way we view our own interpersonality.
i'm have trouble seeing anarchism as anything but an infantile disorder akin to liberalism
Even in the wildly individualist and socially isolating communities I've grown up in, Mutuality breaks through the concrete of disenfranchisement like a disobedient dandelion, again, and again. From simple things like helping a neighbor fix their car, to sharing what extra comes from the garden. It's actual laws, and certain aspects of economics that keep people in their homes, and behind white picket-fences instead or living WITH each other. Mutual Aid is such a powerful, and emergent tool worthy of being hyped up. Great video as always. Better communities are real, and possible, but getting there means lifting up that altruistic nature and analyzing how things like zoning laws, and the nature of "work" get in the way of that altruism.
After seeing Gaza in the news this past year I recognize zoning laws and their Karen NIMBYS as settler colonial law and behavior brother.
individualism has nothing to do with isolation or "rugged" whatever. *individualism - the individual is an end in and of herself and NEVER the means to an end.*
that is all it means.
@@JohnTravena Agreed.
19yo french trans woman here, discovering trans mutual aids spaces has been one of the greatest things I could imagine meeting in real life.
But before that it was just one twitter friend wich helped me to find solutions to my troubles, just by talking, and I think he helped me not giving up.
It truly made me realize that you can bring love to this world with easy day to day actions.
Hey, fellow french person here, do you have any advice on how to find those spaces irl? I'd love to participate in one but i don't know where to start looking :(
@lilaniloxi tu as twitter ?
@@lilaniloxi tu as twitter ?
@@iyoiyo270 Ouais mais je l'utilise presque plus, c'est @LoxiLilani
@@iyoiyo270 Je crois que ma réponse s'est pas envoyé, mais oui j'ai twitter!
I would also add, that cutting down on bullying & jealousy based gossip are what will realistically allow all of this to happen over time. I've been around various communities, and that is what breaks them down every time. I'll keep saying it till people finally admit it and we can get on with it
This, combined with honesty. People are never going to be perfect, bullying behaviours and jealousy will always be possible, but confidently pointing out this meanness to sculpt a group of people so that people dont placate those behaviours
conflict resolution, deescalation, harm reduction, goal driven conflict assessment skills are something we all need to develop. planning on organizing workshops for this soon. recommend you do the same, whatever your experience level, find space and create interest
That is impossible. "Cutting down on bullying" implies rules and force, a system of authority. Gossip and jealousy are basic parts of human nature, they aren't going anywhere.
@@HoboGardenerBen anarchism doesnt meant a lack of authority.
@@toddberkely6791 Yes it does, that is literally the definition
it's taken me several days of grieving, confusion, and planning for the worst to ground myself back on this view - I can't fix everything myself, but I can fix something. And the more we are willing to help each other, without regard to our personal register of financial (or social) profit, the more we can accomplish.
Yup, those emotions don't help anything unless they fuel action on your part. Otherwise you're just engaging in a ritual of disempowerment that gains you nothing and only helps those who you disagree with. Society will never be a utopia, goes against human nature, it will always be an ever-changing mishmash. But we can still help our community, we can do something.
Growing up in a small village in hills of Mexico, where the reach of state support/aid was virtually nonexistent. The people of the village would often help each other out, whether by collecting wood or water, sharing meals in large gatherings, and supporting the families that lost a loved one. Helping one another rather than ourselves, we may not always have everything figured out, but we sure try our best ti improve the lives of everyone.
Seeing and experiencing this, compared to how people in cities and suburbs in America treat each other is disheartening. But nonetheless, it's a dream I hope we can all reach one day
De dónde eres?
Small communities are usually natural communism. Community is what communism is to be.
It’s just no country uses it right.
Pleasure, purpose and peace to everyone watching this.
to you as well ♥
To you as well 😁
A few weeks ago I had a character growth moment. After work I went to the store, it was raining hard, and an old man was standing there stopping people asking if they could drive him home. When he asked me, I told him no.
Then I went in, did my shopping, and thought to myself. My good friend would have probably helped the man no questions asked. I like all this content on RUclips about solidarity, workers uniting and mutual aid. What was I doing?
I finished my shopping, went outside, found the man and drove him home. Took me only 10 minutes.
I hope that in the future I can help people I don't know without needing to think about it first.
Nice gesture , but I dont think anyone should be forced to help someone in need unless it was their fault theyre in need .
Its a nice thing to help people , but not something that should be forced
I dont think anyone should be ashamed if they dont want to help or share their stuff to the poor .
@Blue-5 I think that's just kinda you projecting a bit. I wasn't forced to help. In an ideal world someone else before me would have just decided on their own to help the old man, and I wouldn't have had to think about it. People wouldn't come up with excuses to not help.
@@8xottox8 These videos about socialism and stuff make believe theyre trying to remove personal property and individual autonomy .
Which is basically collectivism .
If you wanna know more scroll down and find my other comment im not gonna explain it here .
Use the "newest" filter to find it easier
@Blue-5 I mean you basically got told what I would have told you as well. I don't agree that "socialism and stuff" is about taking away individuality and personal property. I think it's quite the opposite, like an easy example is how it's capitalism, not socialism that wants you to rent your apartment, rent your car, rent your workplace, etc. With socialism you'd own your workplace together with all the other workers.
@@8xottox8 The workplaces being owned by everyone is fine .
But I'm gonna draw the line at Homes , personal vechiles , etc . I think these things should remain ONLY yours or shared only if you allow it .
When they talk about "communal" stuff it makes me think of stuff like shared living spaces or lack of privacy .
Which is a removal of personal property and individuality
Personal property is not private (for the sake of this comment at least ) property to be clear , (factories or other things that need more workers)
Great resource for trying times. Sharing this with some loved ones I'm trying to radicalize.
WAS CONSIDERING DOING THIS, my family is left but they are pretty much libs, so they need some work, especially with all the gaslamping capitalists spread about superior systems
I don't know how a RUclips video that's barely 15 minutes can contribute to becoming-anarchist, but wish you all the best with that.
Here's a very helpful handbook about "How to defend yourself during a police interrogation" (PDF available) by Projet Evasions, if you manage to cultivate their interests in anarchist intervention.
Thanks for this! I’ve been seeing people online knocking community building efforts the past two days because they say it doesn’t do anything and it’s really frustrating to explain to them that it’s foundational to greater movements. Some people will not be swayed without direct positive community experiences, like you said. ❤
I hate that people think that the fight is irreparably lost because of the election. It's not. It's only lost once nobody carries on.
Don’t trust anybody who tells you community building doesn’t work.
To the marginalized and working class, we've long since been at the point where we can no longer afford to be alone, both emotionally and pragmatically. It's never been a matter of the individual versus society, but oppressor versus oppressed, and that cannot, WILL not be ignored. Public ownership of land and work is the only reality in which humanity will thrive.
The area around my home was hit by a heavy rain event that caused intense flooding across the entire province of La Comunitat Valenciana (the central-western coast of Spain for reference). Not only did the local government fail to warn the population in advance, which caused over 200 excess deaths plus many more missing who will probably be added to that number, but also did not provide any sort of significant relief to the people, having dismantled the response team meant to help in this exact situation. They did, however, send the cops to beat a hundred thousand and some people into compliance during the protests I attended, but I digress.
Do you know who did help? Who cleared the mud, who cooked the meals for the people whose homes were flooded, who brought necessary supplies? Thousands of volunteers who drove from all around the least affected areas into those who got the worst part.
This video hits different for me, because for me it's not theory, a hypothetical scenario, or a plan for a hopeful future. Those are wonderful and necessary things, butI have seen this. I have lived mutuality. And I don't see a future when I change my mind about how crucial it is.
Thank you for sharing this story, examples of solidarity always bring a tear to my eye.
Books from around 3:40
Anarchism Works: Examples of Anarchist Ideas In Practice by Peter Gelderloos
At The Café: Conversations On Anarchism by Errico Malatesta
Anarchy A Graphic Guide by Clifford Harper
Prefigurative Politics: Building Tomorrow Today by Paul Raekstad and Sofa Saio Gradin
Anarchism and the Black Revolution
The Definitive Edition by Lorenzo Kom'boa Ervin
Love to see a video address how unnatural the supremacy of "competition" really is. Kropotkin's "mutual aid"! but updated, not racist, and concise. Thank you again!
nice user name, commie
/s btw
Especially important lesson in times like these. People that stick together and take care of eachother will end up succeeding in the end :3
I'm an anthropology student and in taking courses on non-state societies and communities, I started to really gravitate torwards the same ideas in this video. It took me a while to draw a line from there to anarchy, and you have helped me organize my thoughts greatly.
Sending all of you in the US strength given the election results, all the way from South America.
Thank you! We’re at both a moment of great uncertainty, but great opportunity to build parallel and most just systems locally. I appreciate the support, received with warmth in Lincoln, Nebraska
Change the incentive, change the world.
Dignity, Solidarity and Self-determination
Excellent summary, very nice. I live rurally and, what would historically have been a thriving cooperating community. My neighbours are lovely people, but there's no mutual connection there. I take in their bin, but then there is the abstraction of the state, which actually takes our detritus out of sight. We don't need each other for anything, and it's the same with the rest of the village. There is a small water pump, where once the people of the community would have got all their fresh water. That was visible, and maintained by the community, as was access from cliffs to sea for the village fishermen. Now the state provides the water and if there are issues we talk to the municaplity with no neighbourly connection. We all commute to our places of work by car, occassionally passing one another on the road, or a quick chat if we happen to arrive home at the same time. It's unnatural.
Anyway, thanks for taking the time to make this. I might have asked before, but have you read 33 myths of the system by Darren Allen?
consider organizing meetups?
@@archebaldmurlok449 there's actually nowhere to meet up. No church or municipal building. Even so, I know pretty much everyone in the village, and the appetite for even some basic philosophical discussions is lacking. They could likely be rallied round to oppose something. Like, say there was a drive to plant trees throughout the village to increase the bird population. They'd be organising a petition against all of nature.
@@ricos1497 bugs bunny reverse psychology w that! "We have to pay high prices for electricity because there's too much open space and concrete!"
"How do we screw the people that take our money?"
"Well, it would be cheaper and easier to plant a bunch of trees than try to get enough people on with a boycott" ... if such would work. Just slowly bringing in haters until their loud voices can be pointed at something that truly hurts them, and they can see they're not alone or weak for being hurt by or mad at. Maybe hopefully?
@@royceroyce7715 it took me a couple of reads to get what you were saying, but yes, I think that's exactly the best, quickest, approach. But, paradoxically, probably the wrong approach too! I suspect that the long term consequences of getting people on bored by directing their hate at something and appealing to their individualism would probably cause more friction further down the line. For example, my village is surrounded by monocrop agriculture and cattle grazing on land that could sustain significant wildlife and trees. I could make the argument that planting trees would reduce the need for fertiliser, and that it would add protection from the significant wind, but I'd be simultaneously pitting the farmer against the villagers, who's individual goals (i.e. what makes them most money or things) are opposed. When you (or I!) extrapolate out the issues, the sticking point is always land and ownership of the land. If, instead of a single farmer (or a few farmers) owning the land, the community owned the land, then a common set of goals could transpire. As it stands, we are all directly, or more often indirectly, competing against one another (whether it be the farmer making a profit from the village customer, or both farmer and villager competing in forms of material object or monetary wealth for purposes of ego and status), to the detriment of everyone. What we really desire is the sacrifice of the individual (not their personality, or what makes them themselves) for the benefit of the community. I don't believe that can come from appealing to each individual's best interests. I hope you know what I mean, I'm rambling!
I think the recent election helped me realize that I really need to act and be politically active. I do feel powerless at times, but then I remember that I am not alone. Your channel is an inspiration! Thank you
I'm watching this video at the perfect time! After a long writing session on a solar punk story that will become part of my masters thesis. The story revolves around the principle of mutuality and the SLOC (small, local, open, connected) concept by Ezio Manzini and is set in a huge concrete building complex from the 70s. The set of characters wakes up to clouds and know a flood is coming (it only rains twice or thrice a year and it's always a huge flood then). Through their actions to prepare for the flood I explain the world and how it works (how do they grow food, how do the communities interact, are people fundamentally different in this world -> hahha no, and so on). Eventually the set of characters comes together in the culture comittee and they start thinking about an entertainment and cultural event program for the time they will be shut off from the world.
Your video gave me some additional thoughts I can incorporate! Thanks so much Andrew!
that sounds so cool !! i would love to read it when it's released
The art in this video is amazing, I would love to have some as prints
he credits the artists in the corners of the video
Protesting is like asking for the state to build a well for you, direct action is building the well yourself and dare the state to stop you
(This may be a bit random) the government is kind of like a neglectful and/abusive parent, and we are like children realizing that they are not reliable and we need to do things like cook for ourselves because they won’t.
@@asbergledooglepoof5545 This is so real holy shit
@@asbergledooglepoof5545 This is bad analogy because it implies the notion of a "good government" as the caring parent figure. It means you'd love the government if it truly cared about its citizens, i.e., classic governmentalism without pretending to care about the citizens.
ANARCHY IS PEAK OF HUMANITY MATURITY ❤
That george bellows quote on the leviathan was soo good, that I literally had to pause the video and reflect on it for 10 minutes
I was waiting for this. I knew after the election that for those of us who don't flee, mutual aid is the way. Ty for keeping this video short. I'd love to see one on where else to go to find people to offer and network these aid groups. Like specific places in cities in towns
truth be told, whether one flees or not, mutual aid and community organising will still be necessities--the solution isn't, and never will be, to go to a different place where the neoliberal ideals of individual hyperindependence and simultaneous dependence on the state hasn't made its final death rattle and sink into complacency there. whether you move down the street or halfway across the world, mutuality will always be a necessity.
edit: i also would love to compile network aid groups locally !!!
Do not deem yourself High and Mighty just because you did not flee.
There is a website and a yt channel called A Radical Guide. They list orgs and Mutual Aid groups by location.
just a comment to show support. great video!
This was lovely, thank for everything!
2 cheers for anarchy! Spot on video! Liberation from oppression is not an ideology, it is a practice. It is a way of life. We can create a better system built on mutuality and cooperation and get back to the deepest root of what ACTUALLY makes us human instead of what we have been conditioned to believe by the system and doctrine of hierarchy.
Perfect timing on this one, at least for me. Ever since the results of the last US presidential election this is the message I've been trying to spread in my own way, tailored to my own community. I'm adding this very video to my knowledge library on the subject. VERY well done. Thanks so much for putting this together.
Individuals helping each other despite incentives to do otherwise is the backbone of any resistance movement.
Thank you for providing such a well-made transcript! I've been working on sharing this and similar videos with friends, but some would rather have something to read rather than a video; I've been working for the past couple days to transcribe videos for them, but you have saved me a ton of time on this one ^~^
Exceptional video. I hope this inspires others to practice these values in their communities, families, etc.
This video is so invigorating! It's like a warm blanket after a week out in the cold. Thank you so much for the work that you do. ♥
Your content makes me cry, dude. It always hits home and it hits hard. Thank you for the hard work and all your effort that is being put into this channel.
i love this, and i am a newer viewer of yours, so if you or any of your viewers can point me to other videos or books with suggestions on how to practice mutual aid with such limited resources. it feels daunting that corporations have such power to dictate how much compensation we get for our labor, and with everything we need so expensive, its hard to have money to invest in building our own things. and i know money isnt the only resource-but time and effort too. the need to work to survive takes up so much of those too. i dont want to think this way and an very welcoming of any commenters that have thoughts on this too-give me some hope! its just so hard to operate under late stage capitalism, even after mental divestment from the state.
Mutual Aid by Dean Spade is a useful resource! I wish you the best in this process
I think it's important to understand that anarchy isn't something that will happen someday after the revolution. I'm an anarchist today. A friend, who had dealings with officials in many countries, once told me, "Government isn't nearly as real as it thinks it is." Another friend said, "Live as if you were already free." Do anarchist things now. Do things that don't require capitalism. Thow a party. Play chess in a park. You'll further the cause more at a weekly poker game, or movie night with friends than marching in the street. Odds are, the state won't even know they should be worried. You can ignore them 99 percent of the time.
There is so much joy and love that is cultivated in mutual aid and solidarity. All power to all people!
"Indeed, the keynote of government is injustice. With the arrogance and self-sufficiency of the King who could do no wrong, governments ordain, judge, condemn, and punish the most insignificant offenses, while maintaining themselves by the greatest of all offenses, the annihilation of individual liberty." ~ Emma Goldman
Just when I started feeling hopeless again, you came with this video to remind me what we need to work for. I always appreciate your hopeful tone and grounded takes on anarchy, and you call to action including what real things we need to do in order to fight for it.
Thank you for this! I’m really excited about mutual interdependence that is taking shape in my community, and am so grateful for videos like this to share with my neighbors and friends
Do what you love and share it with the world. Thank you Andrewism for this and all your videos.
❤❤❤❤ Thank you for making this video. It's so beautiful.
I really like listening to your essays. The way you disseminate information in a digestible format with a calm demeanor that lets through your passion for this topic and outrage at the current system, really is amazing.
I think one of the big things it took me a while to grasp about Anarchism is that it, like perfection, isn't an achievable thing, but rather like you said, a process. I think this video will be useful in some conversations in the future :)
You ask what’s in common. Size. What you describe as chaos is how small groups bring order. It’s anti-chaos.
its been way too long since ive tuned in. thanks for the kind words and good work friend
Much as regligious freedom includes the right to Not Have A Faith, I feel very strongly that Personal Freedom MUST include food, water, and transit support so people can Opt Out of a community they don't fit in easily.
Co operation also means respecting boundaries and leaving all paths to 'no thanks' unobstructed.
Yoooo i just found you through FD and im so surprised to find a Trini like myself doing this! Keep up the great work man
As a commie, anarchists are my best friends. To understand that we have to fight together, to work together, to live together for a mutual good, is what we need to do. We need to undefine ourselves from the logic of capitalism and redefine ourselves through the lense of the collective. What is the best for myself can only be that, which is the best for the collective and what is the best for the collective is what is best for me.
troll mo_shiota: *anarchism (=no rulers) and socialism (requires rulers) are diametrically opposed*. you are "commie"? as in you are SOCIALIST? bc you defo don't live on a commune nor do you know what that entails, though it is a very good system as long as govt DOES NOT EXIST. socialism is FASCISM.
anarchy is against all socialism.
@legalfictionnaturalfact3969 ah yes i see a socialist transitionary system as absolutely necessary to get rid of the capitalist system and therefore am supporting fascism. The one who is doing the trolling is you.
If you want a society that is based on cooperation and intrinsically opposed to hierarchy you need to establish the foundation on which these horizontal forms of social organizations are possible. You can not create an anarchist system inside the capitalist system and just hope people will support you and that the state will just vanish by wishing it would vanish.
@@mo_shiota1637 no, troll. socialism REQUIRES a state and therefore THEFT. you don't get to steal, sorry. *common sense allows us all to be on the same page organically.* no one individual or subgroup or collective "establishes the foundation" across the board. the individual simply does what is right and not what is wrong. when everyone does this, everything falls into place. just like how each drop of rain flows together into the stream without having to form "decision" groups first.
you do not get to just make committees and design things. unless everyone is unanimous on extending the corn crop, it doesn't extend. not by vote. by open, casual, neighborly discussion.
no one gets to make decisions for others. an idea is proffered and if EVERYONE affected AGREES UNANIMOUSLY via normal everyday organic conversations that take place over months (to give the idea time to develop and "marinate"), then it doesn't happen.
This happens every day and goes unnoticed..you hold the door open for whoever is behind you...a coworker is short of change for the vending machine and you put in some quarters...everyday courtesies that most people do...
Thank you for helping me keep the hope alive. Sometimes it seems to me that consumer and competition culture has well and truly ruined the desire to do this, that everyone seems to just want to be the little monarch of their own little hill and then wonder why they’re so lonely. It’s nice to remember that I’m just being too cynical.
7 min ago, earliest Ive ever been ngl. Buenos dias everybody lemme put on a pot of coffee
Always a pleasure...
Thank you for sharing this Andrew. Mutual Aid is something I have learned about and want to practice more, but Mutual Defense and the other mutuality concepts are new to me.
This is going to take some time. Your videos help.
3rd, definitely not last
I have always been an anarchist. A peaceful resistance kind...
Thanks, as always, for another interesting and beautiful video. Keep it up!
As a critic of anarchy you have real plans in place to it make happen. One you have to deal with the fact you are trying to create a permanent power vacuum where no one will try to dominate others or a mass power. Anarchy has to rely on the mutual trust of other people without a mediator and even the best of us can’t be fully trusted. I’m not saying you can’t have a society built on mutuality but you can’t pure anarchy without eventually going into us vs them or a common sense of morality. There’s also the idea that even in a merit based system there will be natural hierarchy cause the best house maker will become the authority of house making whether they planned it or not.
In summary I love the idea of mutual society but I question its viability without some form of hierarchy eventually showing up. It can be benevolent but it’s still hierarchy so not pure anarchy.
"People can't be trusted, so let's put people in charge."
The Chaverim roadside aid organizations, made by Orthodox Jews for Orthodox Jews, are one example of how mutual aid is heavily ethnocentric.
SECOND AND EARLIEST IVE EVER BEEN
Amazing video u did on how Anarchism would function 🙂👍
"I believe - indeed, I know - that whatever is fine and beautiful in the human expresses and asserts itself in spite of government, and not because of it." ~ Emma Goldman
AYEE WELCOME BACKK
W video glad to here some hopeful messages. The anarchist lens is critical to understanding our society. Another tool in the toolkit
Mi rate di content mi dawg. A nuh everyday mi get fi hear a Caribbean voice pon ya a share dem kind a idea ya. Luv fram cross di wata 🇯🇲🇹🇹
Thank you. I need these type of videos to help keep me from slipping into doomerism.
Always a good day when Andrewism uploads
Learning what I can about anarchism. I'm more of a left-com and a Marxist, but I'm sympathetic
Which country do you live in?
@Goated_Eminem 🇺🇸
@@missZoey5387 are you a member of any marxist political party?
Honestly, I have a pretty good idea already! I just need to let my symptoms subside, then plan and execute it.
Nothing huge, just book a free art space nearby and run a session helping people with their tech problems tbh
Whew...that was good, was real. I do NOT want to go talk to my neighbors when their music is loud :/
In a healthy community, they should ask for your consent and invite you to the party.
There are a couple of hangups I have on the issue of conflict resolution. Meaning I'm not sure you can even reach the pragmatists on the chart, if the revolution requires practicing non-cooperation. I can't help but feel that a guerilla reclamation of the streets is an example of force due to a lack of assumed mutuality and will be seen as such by those on the outside looking in. In this hypothetical scenario, is every resident on board?
For clarity, there seems to be a path to mutality, but I'm not sure occupations, strikes and non-cooperation help us in that goal. It seems that by getting what we want when we demand it, we would only enforce that the system "works" in that you can demand and then receive, re-enforcing the status quo.
This isn't an argument against anarchy as much as it's a "hey, these kind of feel like inevitable catch 22's we might encounter". You may already have a video that addresses this, so if anybody could direct me there it would be greatly appreciated, thanks.
Just responding to your hypothetical scenario. I believe that the residents would have to work up to that via a long period of trust building.
Wow, I enjoyed the the information and the rap 🔥. lol
Much love! ❤
This video could not be more timely for me as I look around for what I can do to change this world so I don't slip into nihilism thanks to this demoralising, disempowering, disenfranchising, dystopian capitalist society we live in.
Thank you!
Another amazing video
This was great, thanks
I wonder if the website/organization Mutual Aid Networks or maybe Transition Network could be inclusive enough to support systemic change parallel economies that are explicitly anti-capitalist, pro-direct democracy and social ecology? I mean, they seem close, but seem pretty under-developed and missing a few key features to make them viable platforms for social change. Awareness if very low as I had to stumble upon them almost by direct research to even seen they were around.
I just think cooperation organizations for system change need to be simple, localized, but collaborative in function, secure and capable of helping any community of people genuinely interest in transitioning out of capitalism to do so, with relative ease.
Love your work, Andrew! Always like the mentions of Libraries of Things and community gardens or kitchens for mutual aid.
thanks for your videos
Does anarchy require the absence of power imbalance? If so, how is that avoided? I think my fear is that whoever has the most guns can assert a narcissistic system.
Just wrote a whole response but it seems RUclips deleted it.
I quoted my old video:
"Anarchism is the term given to the political philosophy and practice that opposes all hierarchies along with their “justifying” dogmas and proposes the unending pursuit of anarchy, a world without rule where free association, self-determination, and mutual aid form the basis of our society
By hierarchies, anarchists are referring to the stratification of society which gives some individuals, groups, or institutions authority over others.
In this context, authority refers to the recognised right above others in a social relationship to give commands, make decisions, and enforce obedience.
I’ve seen authority and hierarchy get confused with force, violence, expertise, influence, respect, and coordination. None of those concepts, on their own, necessarily grant authority."
I feel the same confusion may apply here. Anarchy doesn’t require the absence of power imbalances altogether-it recognises that some imbalances, like differences in knowledge or physical ability, are a natural part of life. The goal isn’t to eliminate all differences but to create structures where those differences don’t lead to domination. For example, someone with expertise might guide others in a specific task, but their knowledge wouldn’t give them authority to control others' lives. Instead, decisions would be made based on free association and mutual agreement. As for the fear of someone asserting power through force, like with guns, this is why anarchists emphasise vigilance, mutual defence, and the creation of anarchic cultures that resist domination in all forms. A community that’s actively engaged in mutuality and cooperation is less likely to tolerate or enable coercive violence.
First
Woof, we're getting further and further from this kinda thing. The future looks grim.
I know... Yet we still have to look up and not give up hope or the future may become even more grim
Peace to you.
The global production\distribution machine naturally blocks a lot of this. People come together out of need. When the stores have what we need and we can have it all delivered to our door, there is inherently less incentive to work together. During hard times, need grows, so mutualism increases because we are a deeply social species at the core. Everything we do is about each other, even the self emerges from interaction with other. Horrible experiments on chimps showed that most essential social behaviors are learned during infancy and childggood, not programmed in genetically. Raised in isolation and impregnated, the chimp momma tore her baby apart because she had no experience with other, no ape teachings from her momma as a baby. People can be ridiculously evil, it's still astonishing despite the millions of examples.
So I welcome the coming collapse, nothing else can break the momentum of this world-devouring machine. Nothing else brings people together and refines our approaches like real need.
I love this, and it fits with the society I'm describing in my own Solarpunk novel, which makes me happy. Also a fan of Graeber/Wengrow's amazing book.
I've been thinking a lot recently about the way back in the 70s, Christopher Alexander and his team wrote the 'Pattern Language' to inspire/guide/inform communities relating to the built environment. I had the idea (probably considering physical vs social permaculture) that maybe what could help guide the change might be a Social Pattern Language... a gathering together of patterns of social organization that help create this better world. I feel like rather than an academic tome, it would be better done collaboratively, anarchically, in some way. What do you think?
I'll have to check out that book, but it sounds like a fantastic idea
It's much easier to change an existing system than build an entirely new one. Much easier to defend from outside threats.
Thank you for your video, very informative. Would love to see a video about what punishment or restorative justice looks like in Anarchy. I keep thinking how does mutual defence work in a anarchy system where one group holds the power to exert more violence than other groups and does not want to cooperate?
I love your videos, thank you for inspiring me so much. My friend and I are starting an organization online and in our community to hopefully start chipping away at the individualism and misinformation that is so rampant nowadays. We don't know where it will take us but it starts with a few of us at a time, right?
Totally agree, it’s not anarchy tho if you force wealthy individuals to share their resources, people need to be free to live as they choose. A lot of people think they are anarchists yet want to confiscate and redistribute others wealth. In a voluntary society productive people would naturally have more, what they do with that is up to them
Thanks!
I love community gardening
The best way to organize, is by fractally, where smoll groups create bigger groups made out off smoller groups, and this scales on and on, kinda like pyramids but in reverse since humans are better organized in smoller groups,so i decided to compermentalise big groups into smoller groups to increase organization and cihesion in a group.
Btv, I am a centrist, meaning that it will be balanced by a libertarian system in my system where top and bottom balance each outer in harmony, top down and bottom up.
Here before it's cool 😎
I wonder if there exists much fiction that portrays a world such as this.
Considering how I've seen some process reality, putting stories into this idea of how things should be might help some understand in ways primarily education-first presentations might now.
Ursula K. LeGuin's novel "The Dispossessed" depicts an anarchist society. It's quite a good book, I recommend it.
@johntr5964 Imma see if my library has it on Libby!
Edit: It Do!!!
Pain and excitement. That was my reaction lmao.
Care is the generative principle of natural law. And there is no legitimate authority other than natural law. What you care about will determine how you behave. So look at your behaviour and it will tell you what you truly care about. Not just what you think you care about. Knowledge leads to understanding which leads to wisdom and how you behave or in other words the result of your actions.
Life under capitalism is structured in such a way as to place higher value & greater incentive on rugged individualism than on community. Additionally, life under capitalism makes it near impossible to have the funds or time outside of work necessary to build efficient & prosperous communities based upon mutual care. Even the structuring of our cities largely prohibits co-operation on any meaningful level with it's car-centric design & lack of public transit & lack of public spaces. It can even be hampered by law.
Not only that but society itself with its public & private education sectors are used to indoctrinate the masses with anti-communist, anti-socialist, anti-collectivism of any form. We are taught WHAT to think, not HOW to think. We are steeped from birth into the theology of a "natural hierarchy" & to never question our authority leaders, i.e. those who presume to rule us. Respect your elders, never question your parents, do whatever the police say, etc.
It's an example of contradictions; our society praises & lauds rugged individualism while at the same time punishing those who are TOO individualistic & begin to question the structured hierarchy or dare to challenge the status quo. Just enough individualism to give the illusion of freedom, but step outside the bounds of what's accepted & you'll find yourself ostracized, blacklisted from being able to work anywhere to earn money that is a "necessary evil" to survive under capitalism.
But that's what capitalism does, that's its purpose. To grind us down so hard that escape seems impossible, that a better life, a better world seems impossible. To keep us compliant under fear of not being able to access the very basics of survival --- shelter, clothing, food, education, healthcare. To partially quote Ursula Le Guin, so did the authority (divine right?) of kings seem impossible to topple.
But we brought the monarchies down. More than once. We can do it again. But I don't believe our society, particularly here in the heart of Empire --- the United States --- is ready for that. YET. We're close, but not quite close enough. Things may change over the next 10 years. I hope they do, & for the better, because as it stands here in the States, our options are socialism or barbarism. & too many are leaning towards fascism & barbarism.
Bro capitalism isn't anti-collectivism. Capitalism inherently crushes individual autonomy and forces one into the community of capital and group control before it allows one to enjoy their little crumbs of freedom. To capitalism, the individual does not matter. They don't exist except in the bourgeois legal form - they are nothing more than machine parts, completely interchangeable and without significance.
As a matter of facts, the non-Western instances of capitalism which refer to the USSR and Maoist China, and modern AES countries; they're all examples of collectivism as well and clearly subject the workers to their pseudo-"socialist" markets and property norms in place there. They routinely mass censor info which may damage their dominant image, and anyone who attempts to expose the truth about the Party to the proletariat, will face punishment.
@@StanleyNumber427 I'd argue that capitalism (or properly the world of the commodity) knows no bounds when it comes to recuperation and individualism is no exception, which is to say commodity domination is not necessarily always collectivist in all moments. There are several instances of self-id Stirnerian individuals still getting caught within the circulation of commodities [and I'm not talking about bourgeois egoists, mind you], and a consistent problem faced by insurrectionary anarchists is the boundary of the black markets from which they haven't found a path to escape.
It's also not true that anyone who spreads propaganda of any kind about the AES vanguards will face punishment. In Vietnam, the Internet censorship is nowhere as severe as in China; you can google almost anything because access to most foreign websites is still available as of now. You're 'allowed' to put up reactionary propaganda about the state of the country, and the reason behind this permission is a bit complex, but it all lies in cyber warfare, a modern cybernetic form of ideological efficiency.
>Cyberspace is considered a part of the national territory and plays a vital role in the cause of national construction and defence. In the face of expanded globalisation and international integration, and the rapid and strong development of information technology, the firm protection of national sovereignty in cyberspace becomes more and more urgent and should be thoroughly grasped and effectively implemented.
[...]
>Although cyberspace is a combat domain that is both visible and invisible, limited and unlimited, real and virtual, it is considered one of the important battlefields where countries always try to consolidate, enhance their capabilities, and compete for influence. Operations to protect national sovereignty in cyberspace shares some features of information warfare, such as: difficult to identify, evaluate, and forecast; unlimited in space and time; diverse and complex in combatants; high intellectuality; mainly soft kill with high efficiency. In addition, it has its own characteristics, such as: all activities (tactically and technically) are associated with the development of science and technology, especially information and communication technology; lethal attacks on important national, military and defence information systems; autonomous command and control systems of the enemy; and extremely flexible methods of fighting.
[...]
>General goal of operations in cyberspace is to protect national sovereignty and interests in cyberspace, the Marxist-Leninist theory, Ho Chi Minh's thought, the Party's guidelines and point of views, the State's policies and laws, the independence, freedom, social regime, and territorial integrity of the Fatherland. Its specific goals include: military, national defence and security information systems, directing and managing information of the Party and State, weapon control systems, important national information infrastructures, such as: telecommunications, transportation, electricity, banking, aviation, etc., and information systems of major enterprises and economic groups of the country.
[...]
>In terms of forces, mobilising fighting forces in cyberspace. The cyber warfare forces comprise of the force of the entire Party, Army and people; in which, the force of the 35th Central Steering Committee and the cyber warfare force of the Ministry of National Defence are the cores, combining with the civilian cyber warfare and information technology forces. The cyber warfare force of the Ministry of Defence includes the strategic and operational-level cyber warfare force and information technology force of units and military corporations.
* Cyber warfare - a new form of warfare to defend the Fatherland
It's not known that during the war with the US, the Vietnamese socialists were quite effective at propaganda and information warfare. They've mastered this school of warfare and survived every attempt to overthrow their rulership over the nation, and the rise of cybernetics only sharpens their power.