Direct action
The world we live in is a world of contradictions. The environment is in a state of decline, yet industry continues to pump pollutants into the atmosphere whilst non-polluting technologies are neglected. Thousands starve, while food stocks remain unused. We can communicate with strangers from all around the globe, yet no-one knows their neighbour. Automation could free us from labour, yet we are chained to the machine. We live amongst vast material possibilities, yet poverty is the universal experience - not just in the narrow economic sense but also in terms of the quality of lived experience. “Never in history has there been such a glaring contrast between what could be and what actually exists.”
If a household gets a washing machine, you never hear the family members who used to do
the laundry by hand complain that this “puts them out of work.” But strangely
enough, if a similar development occurs on a broader social scale it is seen as a serious
problem — “unemployment” — which can only be solved by inventing more
jobs for people to do.
A new international movement emerges?
The recent mass actions in Genoa are the latest in a series of impressive mobilizations against 'globalization'.[1] The most radical elements involved, especially here in Britain, have adopted the definition 'anti-capitalism'.
Theoryandpractice.org.uk is part of a personal project which aims to develop a clear understanding of the world as it exists today; and through the use of this knowledge, discover what might be needed to change it for the better. It is an attempt to learn from the successes and failures of the past and to formulate better methods for acting on the present.
