Saint Andrew/Andrewism

Day Nine of #BlackHistoryMonth Black Theory:

"To understand LandBack, and WaterBack, we need to understand Settlerism-Colonialism, or more simply, Settler Colonialism. Settler Colonialism is an ongoing project by settler states, like the US, New Zealand, Australia, Canada, Israel, etc. It involves external colonialism, also called settlerism, which is when a colonizing power exports settlers, resources, knowledge, plants, metals, weapons, and/or animals to increase its wealth and land, like when the European empires shipped millions of armed colonists to settle North America, many as indentured servants. And it involves internal colonialism, which is marked by the violent management of a colonized people and lands within the borders of the imperial nation through ghettos, reservations, police, schools, prisons, that sort of thing. A good example of internal colonialism would be the residential schools in the US and Canada up to the 20th century that stole Indigenous children from their families and stripped them of their cultures. Settler colonialism can be best summarized as the empire and the colony existing in the same geographical space. Settler colonialism is a process of destroying to replace." LandBack: The Indigenous Liberation Movement

"When the interests of rulers are prioritised above all others, everyone suffers. Those at the top might enjoy power and privilege, but their narrow position impedes the flow of information and insulates them from the experiences, ideas, and perspectives of those below them that can contribute to everyone’s well-being. Those at the bottom are compelled to obedience and subordination by a system greater than themselves, which fosters dependency and erodes our capacity to self-organise without authority and control our own destinies. Not to mention, hierarchy creates conflict, as authorities compete for control, subordinates compete for scraps, and authorities and subordinates clash over their opposing interests—one seeks greater power over as the other seeks greater autonomy from....The dichotomy between the individual and the collective is a false one; the freedom and well-being of the former is inextricably linked to the freedom and well-being of the latter. We rely on each other for various aspects of our lives, and that reliance creates a web of mutual interdependence that forms the basis of any human society, whether hierarchical or anarchic. Hierarchical society creates norms, practices, and institutions that shape how we cooperate. The predominance of hierarchy paired with our mutual interdependence compels us to obey authority and participate in exploitative systems whether we want to or not....In the absence of legal order implied by anarchy, mutual responsibility informed by our mutual interdependence will guide our action. Since there is no authority to impose a set of rules and punishments, conflicts are resolved organically as they emerge. It’s not that there aren’t consequences, quite the opposite in fact, it is just that consequences are not predefined. Free association creates a social environment of constant negotiation and consultation where needed to avoid unnecessary conflicts." How Anarchy Works A Guide To Organising Anarchy

"The reality is that under capitalism, property is not valued for itself or for its utility, it’s valued for the revenue it produces for its owner, and if that capitalist can maximise their revenue by destroying that property, they have the right to do so. The reality is that under capitalism, we can see that a person’s desire for profit outweighs their interest in their community’s long-term survival, but that perspective cannot be universally projected. It’s a perspective born out of and strongly incentivised by capitalism....The rich and powerful will continue to use the ‘tragedy of the commons’ to justify their theft, destruction and enclosure of the commons and communal life, because, without the commons and the community bonds that maintain them, we have no other recourse but to sell our labour to those rich and powerful to survive." Commons, Libraries & Degrowth "There is no green capitalism. There is no salvaging this planet under capitalism. Capitalism with renewable energy and electric cars is not a solution. We’re not going to “decouple” growth in GDP from ecological annihilation. If we treat renewable energy the same way we treat fossil fuels, to power continued growth in extraction and production capacities, because “oh, is clean energy,” we will continue to expand, fill our landfills, wreck our soils, raze our forests and fisheries, and decimate the biosphere....We simply cannot keep growing our economies, i.e. raising our GDP, i.e. increasing our energy demand, while trying to heal the planet, and capitalism cannot survive without constant, exponential growth. It keeps us trapped on this death treadmill of growth with the threat of recession. That’s why, despite knowing exactly what needs to be done to avert total apocalyptic catastrophe within our lifetimes, very little has been done. On the contrary, capitalists and politicians are relying on growth to somehow save us. Growth that will create innovations that will make growth “green,” or at the very least allow us to counteract our destruction with geoengineering. Our rulers would rather attempt to manipulate the atmosphere, block out the sun, and change the chemistry of the oceans than give up their pursuit of growth." Commons, Libraries & Degrowth

Links:

Website - https://www.andrewsage.org/

Transcripts/Writings - https://theanarchistlibrary.org/category/author/andrewism https://shado-mag.com/author/andrew-sage/

Videos - https://youtube.com/@andrewism