JW Mason wrote:
>
>
> Unfortunately it's not just anarchists who have this problem. There's
> something seriously screwy about the whole Ruckus-style approach, which
> teaches how to rock-climb and set up tripods and get arrested but nothing
> about knocking on doors or phone-banking or, you know, talking to people.
> Seattle led a lot of smart people down a blind alley, IMHO.
>
A sense of contradiction is needed here -- and the contradiction which needs to be 'sensed' is one which has never been solved and probably never will be in a general formula.
"Anarchism," "participatory democracy," "consensus," etc. lead to the social structure characteristic of high school cliques, an invisible leadership grounded in 'charisma,' physical attraction, taste in clothing, etc. -- i.e. a leadership which because it is informal and invisible cannot be held responsible.
Tahir, Dennis P, Thos. S., etc. can give a fairly accurate portrayal of the other pole of the contradiction, i.e. the abyss of rigid bureaucracy formal leadership (even if democratically elected and responsible) can nevertheless fall.
I think the contradiction can be partially resolved within particular concrete conditions, but no formula can grasp that 'solution' in advance.
Carrol
> Josh
>
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