The World As Abbey Saw It
photo credit: timloco (the man)
Edward Abbey has been called a lot of things. Curmudgeon, communist, asshole. And nature writer, the one term he probably loathed. Ed’s writing about his forays into the wilds were secondary to another, more important, theme. The one that really drove him and occupied his thoughts: The human condition and the effect of man on the environment.
Ed correctly stated that the “techno-military-industrial system and its overreaching oligarchy” was the real enemy of the planet. The growth machine, gobbling up resources and laying waste to wilderness, whether it be an industrial plant, a damn dam or grazing upon public lands. In his eyes, they were all the same.
The solution he proposed was to dismantle centralization, to decentralize, because “centralization is what sustains oligarchy.” He envisioned a world (with far fewer humans) where individuals assume responsibility and the where the community is directed by consensus. Real, grass-roots democracy, where an armed citizenry policed itself.
He envisioned a world where geopolitical boundaries no longer exist and where the concept of wealth is based on the health of the bioregion (he would have said regions defined by watersheds, which is essentially the same thing).
Anarchist communism.
As Ed saw it, this was a rational response to a dangerous, collapsing world. He believed an eventual collapse was probably certain, but the solution was not something that could easily be constructed overnight. Ed felt it would take a long time, certainly way beyond the end of his life, for this to evolve. For the “collective sense of responsibility” to evolve that’s necessary to sustain autonomous communities founded on the principle of mutual aid.
So, what to do in the interim? As I see it, the only worthwhile effort is to practice and establish egalitarianism, altruism and sustainability, to the greatest degree possible, in our homes and in our communities. It’s the best, perhaps the only way, to directly and effectively resist.
I experience great frustration when attempting to come up with an effective plan where results can be measured. Readily seen. And not a day goes by where I fail to ponder a strategy. A way I can battle the powers dedicated to accumulation of wealth through the destruction of the land. To be more than a speed bump in the road to progress. I want to be a gaping hole in the road.
My children are grown and on their way, so I have to devote whatever remaining energy I have to something other than wandering around in the wilderness. There must be something more. A method of decentralized resistance beyond what we’ve already discussed. Something we’ve missed.
Abbey believed that violence is justified in the defense of one’s home. Sabotage, that is, or the dismantling of the tools of terrorism. I’m interested in how this, sabotage of the machine, might possibly be accomplished legally, and without violence, by using a new tactic. A new way to combat the system without breaking the law and risking imprisonment. Is it possible to eliminate or cripple capital, or restrict access to capital, so developers and politicos will have a hard time using it as a tool for destruction?
Hit ‘em where it hurts. In the wallet.
I find it incredibly satisfying to beat the bastards. To outsmart ‘em. To watch ‘em squeal like pigs while they’re losing money, facing foreclosure and selling off assets.
How to kill capital. Something that will lead more of ‘em to bankruptcy and cripple their ability. That’s the question, and I think I have an idea.
Well, don’t just sit there grinning, tell us!
If there is a way to cripple capital, I haven’t found it yet.
It looks like Ma Nature has a few ideas, though.
Peak Oil and climate change should do the job nicely.