more circulation
more communication
more collectivity
move
affirm your autonomy
recognize
engage empire
more mixing
more mingling
more mashing Me up
It is
Our time
It is
Our talk multitude
We
control
the production of
Us
Meditations on next places
ReplyDeleteReading Empire by Hardt & Negri was a thrilling experience. Such a wealth of thoughts and ideas.
What speaks to me in particular is the profoundly pragmatist undertone of the book. We are social creatures – there's a lot of nurture involved in the creation of Us. Hardt & Negri take up the challenge of feeding the Self. And even though communism is not my cup of tea, the latent rage that lights up now and then, I find enchanting. Still.
That rage and their skillful analysis of our postmodern condition lead them to a meditation on next places. A goal, set for the multitude. Bands of 'New Barbarians' – Nietzschean creatures with a strong enough will to break through the suffocating conditions of society – will reach that goal. And the question is, which posse will You be part of?
How will the multitude organize it Self in order to break on through to the other side? It makes one feel romantic. Good.
‘Why do men fight for their servitude as stubbornly as though it were their salvation?’ This question they consider to be the fundamental problem of political philosophy. They understand it to mean that men fight for their servitude because it is so difficult to determine who the real enemy is – Empire. Men don’t know they are fighting for their servitude. They think it is their salvation, but it is not.
Hardt & Negri show us their truth that is Empire. The will to be-against and the desire for liberation is very important in their minds, to say the least. I have so much enjoyed reading their analysis of Empire. I am fascinated by barbarians. Deep inside I guess I want to be one. Do I dare to be? Is my will to be-against strong enough? My desire for liberation hot enough?
But for someone like Me, this is not the whole truth. My place is in the Middle – and Empire is only part of that. I have to find a way for Me to position my Self in the Middle. The barbarian is definitely part of Me. But the slave who desires servitude too. Why break through to the other side? Apart from my problems with 'their other side', I believe My place can be achieved right here, right in the Middle.
The barbarian in Me doesn't have to push through all the way. If no one follows My private posse, that's okay.
As long as I can put up My tent in the Middle.
As long as I control the creation of Me, out there.
That is My desire. That is what I will.
A pyramid, in the Middle of the desert
where I can be My own slave
where I can be My own pharaoh
That is the object of My meditation on next places.