Morning Comrades! The countdown to the end of the year has, at this end especially, kicked off and there are a couple of topics to cover until I tune out for a little bit. For your own records, I will take a break from this newsletter on December 22nd until January 5th. Obviously, if I get too much cabin fever during this time you might get an email but that’s just a cautionary disclaimer at my end.
In regards to the merch department of Black Lodges, there will be one final drop this Friday and then a sale with whatever random stock I have left, kicking off on the 22nd with the last email from here.
With this weekend being the last drop of 2021 I wanted to drop a couple of designs that I am incredibly excited about. First up, is the above. Anyone that read Monday’s email will instantly recognize Gernd Artz’ artwork that I have re-appropriated a little and added the classic phrase to.
Secondly, I am honoured to announce a collaboration with the legend Yobbo De Kwal, tattooist and artist from the Netherlands whose twist on old school tattooing has over the last two decades become more than legendary. Not one to dabble in merch himself this is a rare chance to actually pick up gear designed by this legend. Similar to the above design I am not entirely sure how I am going to merchandise these yet but rest assured I will do my best to give these pieces justice.
The paying subscribers to this newsletter will be getting their usual early bird email on Thursday alongside their discount code as well as another more casual essay. Once again, if clothing isn’t your thing at this point and are still looking for a meaningful present to give, you can gift a subscription to this newsletter here. It costs 10USD a month, of which I get about 8USD, can be cancelled at any time and well, on top of the above you get my utmost appreciation.
For workers’ use of technology to be truly effective, it must always be linked to a tactical and strategic class project. We also cannot confuse cause and consequence neither in our analyses nor in practice.
Electronic surveillance (be it individual or mass), fake news, the spread of hate speech and antidemocratic discourse, and the precarisation of work imposed by applications are the expression of a deeper economic logic. This debate is essential to calibrate our energies as to where and how to act, be it in the immediate, medium, or long term.
There has been a massive increase in “talk” about tech, with the advent of the so-called Metaverse, NFT’s, web3 and such over the last few months, most of which can and should be disregarded as capitalist, ponzi-scheme drivel but nonetheless, “progress” is inevitable. I am not necessarily worried about the future and the potential of “tech” as long as we can move past the analysis stage of ownership and get going on actionable tasks of redistributing the ownership of said technology. I wanted to point you to an incredibly insightful essay on Big Tech and the current Class Struggle by my friends over on the TriContinental. It addresses a lot of the issues we occasionally speak about but from the a Global Southern Marxist Perspective and yes, you should read this.
We cannot give ourselves the luxury of being technophobic, of negating the importance of technologies and their potential in the struggle. At the same time, we cannot believe in the idea that technology in itself will result in advances for the organised working class. Technological development is not autonomous from the form of social organisation into which it is inserted; the element of class struggle is our beacon for the appropriation of scientific knowledge and for the construction of viable alternative technologies. The debate about digital technologies and capitalism cannot be a niche debate, advanced by individuals or small groups interested in the subject. Given the issue’s impact on the economy, politics, geopolitics, education, culture, organisation, mobilisation, and struggle, it must be a debate carried out in all its dimensions, by all organisations. Only through a wider, collective, and participatory debate will we be able to redefine the terms of technological ‘solutions’ and ‘efficiency’ from a socialist perspective.
A few words on the tragic death of over 70 workers, this time in Kentucky, USA due to a hurricane that ploughed through the town of Mayfield. There is no need, at this point, to get into the realities we face caused by man-made climate change, but, the point to make are the emerging facts that, despite extreme weather warnings, 100s of people were forced, under the threat of getting fired, to work in factories and distribution centres that ultimately led to their death. For Profit. Whilst we have a sordid history in the Global North West of Capitalistic-related worker deaths, thanks to violent mass protests over the last 150 years those have become somewhat a thing of the past. The other reason these types of tragedies do not regularly occur here is that we have outsourced this type of brutal exploitation to the Global South, where our insane consumption is the primary cause for a multitude of these horrific deaths.
At this stage of techno-fascist capitalism, the tragedy of these deaths in Kentucky will become more regular. Unless, of course we start a systematic response to the exploitation of both us workers and the earth. We are way past the point of passively accepting the conditions provided by this hell and this sad event should radicalize you, once and for all.
I am going to leave you with an additional selection of hot shots for today, more of which I will drop into today’s IG stories, I am sure. Stay tuned and up to date by signing up the Black Lodges Telegram Group in regards to this last drop of 2021 and other tidbits. Until then, I remain yours, without compromise,
V.