Thriving In Spite Of Capitalism
Morning Comrades.
There are a solid number of new comrades who have joined us on here over the last week and with that a few introductions and what goes on here before we start. For everyone that has been here for some time feel free to skip this part.
Mostly, these newsletters are my own musings in and around Marxist theory and praxis, how they apply to our daily life’s, how we can make the world around us a better place along the lines of Marxist thought, past, present and future. There isn’t much structure other than that and I am well aware that consistency in presentation isn’t my strong point. My name is Steven and most people will have come here because of IG, a place I am only using for advertising for this space these days. I’m 44 years old, a cook, father, occasional illustrator and teacher. I have a PhD in Philosophy but don’t let that fool you into some inherent incorrect assumption of respect. In addition to the ideas and resources shared in here every Monday, Wednesday and Thursday’s you get a weekly playlist of tunes that made me vibe the week prior with no other “curation” than that. Additionally, you have the option to become a patreon to this newsletter with a monthly / yearly paid subscription that gets you an additional newsletter a week, a free piece of artwork a week and a discount code on any merch I put out. That’s essentially it.
As always let’s kick off this week with another Weekly Jams, number 160 to be exact.
This week is silly laid back and I have no idea why. Sure, there are some serious bangers in here but mostly, it is mellow in all the right ways. 3 hours of mostly vibing, coffee and sex to be honest. Enjoy.
Thriving In Spite Of Capitalism
Earlier last week I came across a tweet that has stuck with me all weekend.
The first part is obvious, I have no feelings of gratitude to have been born into capitalism, it is however the second part that I have been chewing on for the past few days. Of course, I and I would suspect everyone else feels gratitude for enduring despite capitalism, there isn’t much to argue here either and whilst we obviously have to acknowledge our galactic luck for having been born in the Global North West I wanted to spin this line of thought a little further.
There’s going to be a few disclaimers for some of the words I have to use, only because they have been bastardized by capitalism but maybe it is time we reclaim them by giving them actual material, non-transactional, meaning. We’ll see about that later.
I will propose that not only do I feel gratitude despite, but more importantly, am thriving despite and in spite of capitalism. All so often, especially in my early years of being involved in anti-capitalist structures, creating a world outside of the boundaries and restrictions of capitalism equalled refusing to consume. Especially here in Western Europe this created an aestehtic1 and tribalism based around said aesthetic rather than political theory. This changed, but mostly due to outside forces rather than internal ones, starting from 9/11 to the Wall Street meltdown in 08/09 and the subsequent Occupy movements, and truthfully, we owe David Graeber that one to a larger degree also.
The political theory jump that came in the mid 2000’s has been incredible and the subsequent praxis is making bounds also. Opposition, in on itself, is no longer a viable tactic in the 21st Century, especially for us here in the heart of the Capitalist Empire. Rather than enduring despite, I am proposing that we have to, and some of us already are, thriving despite and in spite, the later actually being more important, of capitalism. Obviously, the most vital question then is how do we thrive despite and in spite of it all.
Most of this musing really comes down to my own personal experiences as I have been trying to do so for years, decades actually and I break it down as such for myself. Important to note is the usage of the word: to thrive. In our capitalist warped mind, thriving equals growth and we associate growth with materialism - a brutally effective result of advertising for the past 70 years. Thriving to me these days means to be free of life threatening outside forces, a relative stress free existence, love for by my community and doing what is needed rather than wanted. The most vital parts in order to thrive are: shelter, warmth, food and love, hence these being the cornerstones of any all materialist communist praxis- providing these without harm to others, but we have spoken about this plenty of times beforehand.
This is the part where I have to use a word that is essential to the above process but one that has been bastardized: community.2 I don’t truly make a differentiation between physical and electronic communities anymore, as both off and online friendships carry the same weight in my experience. Nevertheless, I am extremely fortunate to be part of an offline community here that not only provides all of the above but one that allows me to provide the same for them. Most importantly, this is all non-transactional and that is truly the most revolutionary act in spite of capitalism that we all can do with the the result being that we receive food, shelter, warmth and love. I know, it all does sound a little hippy-ish and I was a little weary of approaching this topic because of that. Nevertheless, this is really what it is all about. All the posturing of the late 80s and 90s were never a threat to capitalism and at best helped for a sense of identity ( still debatable ) and the time for that is over. Again, we have to keep in mind what our roles in the grand scheme of things here in the heart of the empire are: predominately being a cog in the machine, teaching, nurturing and caring outside the protocols of capitalism and all its inherent inequality.
Providing and receiving your basic needs outside of the above is truly revolutionary and the basis for any and all further revolutionary work. Again, I make no distinction between online and offline here, but get to it. Assess what you need, talk about it with your friends and find out what they need. Build non-transactional networks3 of care and start your revolution there.
No better day to start than today.
Yours,
Warmly,
V.
Yes, a lot of Western European “Anti-Capitalism” in the late 80s and 90s broke down to aesthetics, it was more about creating a visual “tribe” of sorts in opposition to a consumer, marketing based society and rarely went beyond that. Granted, most of us were teenagers at the time but most of our elders had given up the fight for theoretical advancement of Marxism in opposition to Capitalism. This came later, past 2000 I would wager.
The use of the word community, especially from my old streetwear community but everyone else with something to sell that you don’t need is exhausting / depressing. None of those people care or care for anything but their bottomline. Nevertheless, it is a community that we all need, it just cannot depend on transactions. That is key.
I know, sounds hard, but that really just boils down to asking: yo, what do you need, how can I help and flip the switch in your head that expects anything in return off. It’s fine, we all have it, we have been indoctrinated that way, but that only means we can unlearn it.