COMMUNISTS

LIKE
Us
NEWSPACESOF
LIBERTY,
NEWLINESOFALLIANCE
FELIXGUArFARI
&ToMNEGP
WITH
A
"POSTSCRIPT, 1990"
BYToni NEGRI
qq0
(!qg)
Transl at ed
by
Mi chael
Ryan
SEMIOTEXT(E) FOREIGNAGENTSSERIES
0
Ai
C
Communists
Like
Us
Maintext
or iginal l y publ ished
in
Fr ench
in1985 asNouvel l es
espaces
de l iber t.
Thisis the
or iginal publ ication
of the
"Postscr ipt,
1990"
by
Toni
Negr i.
Special
thankstoJ ar ed Becker ,
J im
Fl eming,
J eff For t,
Michael Har dt,
Syl vr e Lotr inger ,
Michael
Ryan,
andTomYemm.
Tr ansl ation
copyr ight
1990Semiotext( e)
Semiotext( e)
522
Phil osophy
Hal l
Col umbia
Univer sity
NewYor k, NY10027USA
Pr inted inthe United Statesof Amer ica
-
The
pr oj ect :
t o r escue"communi sm"
fr om
i t s
own
di sr eput e.
Oncei nvoked as t he
l i ber at i on of wor k
t hr ough
manki nd' s col -
l ect i ve cr eat i on, communi smhas i nst ead
st i fl ed
humani t y.
Wewho see i n commu-
ni smt hel i ber at i onof bot hcol l ect i veand
i n-
di vi dual
possi bi l i t i es
must r ever se t hat
r egi -
ment at i on of
t hought
and
desi r e whi cht er -
mi nat es t he i ndi vi dual .
Bankr upt :
t he col l ect i vi st
r egi mes
havefai l ed t o r eal i ze soci al i st or communi st
i deal s.
Capi t al i sm
t oo has
pl ayed
fast and
l oosewi t h
pr omi ses
of
l i ber t y, equal i t y, pr og-
r ess and
enl i ght enment . For get capi t al i sm
and
soci al i sm: I nst ead wehavei n
pl ace
onevast
machi ne,
ext endi ng
over t he
pl anet
anen-
sl avement of al l manki nd.
Ever y aspect
of
humanl i fe
-
wor k, chi l dhood, l ove, l i fe,
t hought , fant asy,
ar t
-
i s
depr i ved
of
di g-
ni t y
i nt hi s wor khouse.
Ever yone
feel s
onl y
t he t hr eat of soci al demi se:
unempl oyment ,
pover t y,
wel far e.
8
FEUx
GUArrAm&
TONI NEGRI
Work
i t sel f def aul t s on
i t s
promi se
of
devel opi ng
t he rel at i ons
bet ween
humani t y
and
t he mat eri al envi ronment ;
now
everyone
works
f uri ousl y,
t o
evade evi ct i on,
yet
onl y
hast eni ng
t hei r
own
expul si on
f romt he me-
chani cal
process
t hat work
has become.
I ndeed work
i t sel f
-
as
organi zed
by
capi t al i sm
or soci al i sm
-
has become
t he i nt ersect i on
of i rrat i onal soci al
reproduc-
t i onand
ampl i f i ed
soci al const rai nt s.
Fet t ers
-
i rrat i onal soci al
const rai nt s
-
are t hus at
t he f oundat i on
of al l
subj ect i ve
consci ous-
ness
f ormed i nt he work
process.
And
est ab-
l i shi ng
t hi s col l ect i ve
subj ect i vi t y
of
rest ri c-
t i on and survei l l ance
i s t he
f i rst
i mperat i ve
of t he
capi t al i st
work
apparat us.
Sel f -survei l -
l ance and doubt
prevent any
i nt i mat i ons
of
escape,
and
preempt any
quest i oni ng
of t he
pol i t i cal ,
l egal
or
moral
l egi t i macy
of t he
sys-
t em. Noone can
wi t hdrawf rom
t hi s
capi t al -
i st
l egal i t y
of bl i ndness and
absurd
goal s.
Each
i nst ance of
work, each
sequence,
i s "overdet ermi ned"
by
t he
i mperat i ves
of
capi t al i st
reproduct i on;
every
act i on
hel ps
t o
sol i di f y
t he hi erarchi es
of val ue
and aut hor-
i t y.
And
yet
-
why
i s i t
t hat t he di scus-
CoruvI uNI sTs LI KEUs 9
si onof communi smi s t aboo?
Thi s
di scourse
i s
def amed and bani shed
by
t he
verypeopl e
i t
pret ends
t ol i berat e f romt hei r chai ns. Coul d
i t be due t ot he seduct i ve,
"progressi vi st "
ra-
t i onal i t y
of
capi t al i sm
and i t s
organi zat i on
of
work?'
Af t eral l ,
capi t al i st
work
arrangement s
have succeededi n
appropri at i ng
t he di scourse
of communi sm
-
an
anal ysi s
of l abor and
i t s
l i berat orypower
-
andreducedi t t ot ech-
ni ques
of
mani pul at i on:
"Arbei t Macht Frei . "
Event he soci al i st vari et i es
t rumpet
recovery
and reconst ruct i onas
t hough
t hese were i n-
st rument al
goal s
at t ai nabl e
t hrough
t echni cal
means. The "et hi c" of soci al revol ut i onhas
become i nst ead a
ni ght mare
of l i berat i onbe-
t rayed,
and t he vi si onof t he f ut ure i s
f rei ght ed
wi t h a
t erri bl e
i nert i a. . .
Not so
l ongago,
t he
cri t i que
of
capi -
t al i smwas di rect ed at i t s dest ruct i ve,
pene-
t rat i ng
market .
Today
we submi t t oi t s t rau-
mat i zat i onof our soul s,
passi vel y assumi ng
t hat
rei nvest ment
st rat egi es
are t he
l east
op-
pressi ve
f ormof
pl anni ng
-
and
soci al i sm
or
capi t al i sm
becomes amoot
poi nt .
Sonow
everyt hi ng
must be rei n-
vent ed: t he
purpose
of workas wel l as t he
10 FEUxGUATFARI &To NEGRI
modal i t i es of soci al l i fe,
r i ght s
as wel l as
fr eedoms. We
wi l l
once
agai n begi n
t o de-
fi ne communi smas t he col l ect i ve
st r uggl e
for
t he
l i ber at i on
of wor k, t hat i s, at once, an
endt ot he cur r ent si t uat i on!
*****
Empt y-headed
economi st s domi nat e
al l over t he
gl obe
-
and
yet
t he
pl anet
i s
devast at ed,
per haps
i nexor abl y.
Wemust af-
fi r mfi r st of al l t hat t her e i s mor e t han one
pat h:
t he
pat h
of
capi t al i st i mper i um
and/ or
soci al i st / col l ect i vi st
wor k
for ms whose
per -
si st ence and
vi t al i t y depend
t o a
l ar ge par t
onour own
i ncapaci t y
t or edefi ne wor k as a
pr oj ect
and a
pr ocess
of l i ber at i on. We wi l l
defi ne communi smas t he assor t ment of so-
ci al
pr act i ces l eadi ng
t ot he t r ansfor mat i on
of
consci ousness and
r eal i t y
on
ever y
l evel :
pol i t i cal
and soci al ,
hi st or i cal and
ever yday,
consci ous
andunconsci ous.
Recogni zi ng
t hat
di scour se i s
act i on, we
wi l l
for ge
anewdi s-
cour se i n such a
fashi on as t o i ni t i at e t he
dest r uct i on of t he ol d
way.
But our
commu-
ni smwi l l not for al l t hat be a
spect r e
haunt -
i ng
t he ol d
Eur ope
. . . We r at her
envi sage
an
CoI vm1uNI s'r s Lu Us
11
i magi nat i ve,
cr eat i ve
pr ocess
at once
si ngu-
l ar and col l ect i ve,
sweepi ng
t he wor l dwi t h a
gr eat
waveof r efusal and of
hope.
Commu-
ni smi s
not hi ng
ot her t han a cal l t ol i fe: t o
br eak t he enci r cl ement of t he
capi t al i st
and
soci al i st
or gani zat i on
of wor k, whi ch
t oday
l eads not
onl y
t oa
cont i nui ng sur pl us
of r e-
pr essi on
and
expl oi t at i on,
but t o t he ext i nc-
t i on
of t he wor l dand
humani t y
wi t h
i t .
Expl oi t at i on
has advanced, on t he
basi s of nucl ear
accumul at i on,
t obecome a
t hr eat of execut i on; t he
cycl es
of war and
t he
danger
of dest r uct i on ar e wel l known. Now
we
ar e not det er mi ni st s
-
but
t oday
i t i s not
onl y
det er mi ni st s
who
r ecogni ze
t hat t he end
i s, i f not near ,
cer t ai nl y
cl ose
by, especi al l y
i f we abandon
power
t o t he
capi t al i st
and
soci al i st
j ugger naut s
of l abor .
Pr event i ng
ca-
t ast r ophe
wi l l
r equi r e
a col l ect i ve mobi l i za-
t i onfor
fr eedom.
Cont i nui ng. . .
Why
does
ever yday
l i fe t r embl e wi t h
fear and
l oat hi ng?
Thi s fear i s not t he st at e
of nat ur e as descr i bed
by
Hobbes
-
t hat ol d
excuse of t he war of al l
agai nst
al l , i ndi vi d-
ual wi l l s
fr agment ed
i n a t hi r st for
power .
Rat her what
we have nowi s a t r anscenden-
12 FEUxGUATTARI &TONI NEGR1
t al ,
yet act ual l y
manmade f ear whi ch
seeps
i nt o
ever y
mi ndwi t h
i mmobi l i zi ng,
cat a-
st r ophi c
dr ead. I ndeed
hope
i t sel f has
f l ed
t hi s
hopel ess, hapl ess, gr ey
wor l d.
Beyond
mal ai se, l i f e si nks
i nt o
sadness,
bor edomand
monot ony,
wi t h no chance t o br eak out of
t he
mor ass of
absur di t y.
Communi cat i on
-
speech,
conver sat i on, bant er , even
conspi r -
acy
has al l beent akeni n
by
t he "di scour se"
of
mass medi a.
I nt er per sonal
r el at i ons l i ke-
wi se have
spoi l ed,
and
ar e
nowchar act er -
i zed
by
i ndi f f er ence,
di si ngenuous di sgust
and
sel f - hat r ed
-
i na wor d, we' r e al l
suf f er i ng
f r ombadf ai t h.
Amazi ngl y,
t he f abr i c of humanf eel -
i ngs
has i t sel f come unr avel ed, si nce i t no
l onger
succeeds i n
connect i ng
t he t hr eads of
desi r e and
hope.
As a r esul t , t hi s
pseudo- war
has
passed
over t he wor l df or 30
year s
wi t h-
out i t s
key
f eat ur es
bei ng
not i ced; t he Col d
War
escapes
unr ecogni zed
as
t he
t r ue cul -
pr i t .
Dur i ng
t hat whol e t i me, humancon-
sci ousness has been
gr ound
downi nt o some-
t hi ng
mor e
manageabl e,
even
compl i ci t .
As
t he
i ndi vi dual si nks i nt o i sol at ed
despai r ,
al l
t he bui l t
up
val ues i n t he wor l d
col l apse
COMMUNI STSLI KEUs 13
ar oundhi m. Fear
br eeds
i mpot ence
and
pa-
r al ysi s
of
ever y
sor t .
Onl y
t hi s col l ect i ve st u-
pef act i on pr event s
onr ushi ng despai r
f r om
r eachi ng
i t s
l ogi cal
concl usi on
i n
col l ect i ve
sui ci de;
appar ent l y
t her e' s not
enoughpas-
si onl ef t f or sucha
cr i sp
t r ansf or mat i on. But
t he r eal
t r agedy
i s t hat
expl oi t at i onmasquer -
ades as f ear :
i ndi vi dual ext ensi ons
-
of de-
si r es and
hoped-
f or
t he f ut ur e
-
have been
si mpl y pr ohi bi t ed,
but under a
met aphysi cal ,
r at her t han
pol i t i cal gui se.
And
yet .
And
yet
al l t he
devel opment s
i nt he sci ences andi nt he
pr oduct i ve capaci -
t i es of l abor
poi nt
t o t he exi st ence of anal -
t er nat i ve. Ext er mi nat i onor
communi smi s t he
choi ce
-
but t hi s
communi smmust
be
mor e
t han
j ust
t he
shar i ng
of weal t h
(who
want s
al l
t hi s shi t ?)
-
i t must
i naugur at e
a whol e
new
way
of
wor ki ngt oget her .
Real
communi smconsi st s i n
cr eat i ng
t he condi t i ons f or
humanr enewal : act i vi t i es
i nwhi ch
peopl e
can
devel op
t hemsel ves as
t hey pr oduce,
or gani zat i ons
i nwhi cht he i n-
di vi dual i s
val uabl e r at her t han f unct i onal .
Accompl i shi ng
t hi s
r equi r es
a movement
-
t o
change
t he char act er of
wor k i t sel f . And
r edef i ni ng
wor k as cr eat i ve
act i vi t y
can
onl y
14 FELI X
GUATrARI &TONI NEGRI
happen
as
i ndi vi dual s
emerge
fromst i fl ed,
emot i onal l y
bl ocked
rhyt hms
of const rai nt .
I t wi l l t ake moret hant he wi l l t o
change,
i n
t he current si t uat i on;
t o resi st neut ral i zat i on
i t sel f demands desi re.
Paradoxi cal as i t seems, workcanbe
l i berat ed because i t i s
essent i al l y
t he one
humanmode of exi st ence whi chi s si mul t a-
neousl y
col l ect i ve, rat i onal and
i nt erdepend-
ent . I t
generat es sol i dari t y. Capi t al i sm
and
soci al i smhave
onl y
succeeded
i n
subj ugat -
i ng
workt o asoci al mechani smwhi chi s l o-
gocent ri c
or
paranoi d,
aut hori t ari an and
po-
t ent i al l y
dest ruct i ve.
By
means of
progres-
si ve
st ruggl es,
workers i nt he advanced i n-
dust ri al count ri es havesucceeded i nl ower-
i ng
t het hreshol d of di rect and
dangerous
ex-
pl oi t at i on;
but t hi s has been count ered
by
changes
i n t he charact er
of t hat domi nat i on.
Modem
expl oi t at i on
accent uat es t he
di spar-
i t y
bet weenri ch and
poor
count ri es
-
now
i t i s unfree workers i n
underdevel oped
na-
t i ons who bear t he brunt of
expl oi t at i on
t hrough
vi ol ence and t he t hreat of
hunger.
Therel at i ve
i mprovement
i nt he si t uat i on of
t he
"Met ropol i t an
Prol et ari at " i s bal anced
by
ext ermi nat i on i n
t he Thi rd and Fourt h
COMMUNI STS
Lwi
Us
15
Worl ds. As cont radi ct i ons bui l t i nt o work
have
proceeded
t o t hei r l i mi t , i t i s not an
acci dent t hat t he l i berat i onof workcannow
be
accompl i shed by
workers i n t he most ad-
vanced sect ors of sci ence and
t echnol ogy.
What i s at st ake i s t he fundament al
abi l i t y
of
communi t i es- , raci al and soci al
groups,
i ndeed
mi nori t i es of
every
ki nd t o
conquer
and es-
t abl i sh aut onomous modes of
expressi on
-
not
j ust l i fest yl es,
but t he work
process
i t -
sel f.
There i s
not hi ng
i nevi t abl e about
work
-
no
dest i ny
l eads work i nt o ever
great er repressi ons.
I nfact , t he
pot ent i al
for
l i berat i oni nherent i nworki t sel f i s morevi s-
i bl e t hanever. Howcan
Capi t al
cont i nue t o
present
i t s work
process
as nat ural and un-
changeabl e,
whenfor t echni cal reasons i t i s
changi ng every day?
Thi s unexami ned
gap
i n t he
l ogi c
of work i s t he
openi ng t hrough
whi chnewmovement s of soci al t ransforma-
t i onwi l l
chargepel l
mel l .
Tradi t i onal l y,
t he refusal t o work, as
an i nst ance of
st ruggl e
and
as
spont aneous
act i on, has ai med at t hose st ruct ures whi ch
are obst acl es t o t he real l i berat i on of work.
Fromnowon, t hat
st ruggl e
i nvol ves
appro-
16 FEuxGUATFARI &Tor ' n NEGI u
pr i at i ng
a new
capi t al ,
t hat
of a col l ect i ve
i n-
t el l i gencegai ned
i n
f r eedom, t he
exper i ence
and
knowl edge
t hat comes f r om
br eaki ng
downt heonedi mensi onal
exper i ence
of
pr es-
ent
daycapi t al i sm.
Thi s
i nvol ves
al l
pr oj ect s
of
awakeni ng
and
bui l di ng
t owar ds l i ber a-
t i on; i n shor t ,
anyt hi ng
t hat
hel ps
r ecl ai m
mast er y
over wor k t i me, t he essent i al com-
ponent
of l i f e t i me. Al l t he cur r ent cat ch-
wor ds of
capi t al i st pr oduct i on
i nvoke t hi s
same
st r at egy:
t he
r evol ut i onar y
di f f usi on of
i nf or mat i on
t echnol ogi es among
a
newcol -
l ect i ve
subj ect i vi t y.
Thi s
i s t he newt er r ai n
of
st r uggl e,
and i t i s not
ut opi an
t o bel i eve
t hat consci ousness i t sel f i s t he
"swi ng
vot er "
deci di ng
i f
capi t al i st
or
non- capi t al i st
r oads
ar et aken. Once,
knowl edge
and
power
wer e
st ockpi l ed
l i ke so
many
canon or mi ssi l es;
now
t he
empower i ng
of a col l ect i ve con-
sci ousness,
par t
of t he t ur moi l of t he
wor kpl ace,
t hr eat ens t o uni t esmal l ar msi nt o
a massr evol t .
Fr omt hi s
per spect i ve,
communi smi s
t heest abl i shment of a
communal l i f e
st yl e
i n
whi ch
i ndi vi dual i t y
i s
r ecogni zed
and
t r ul y
l i ber at ed,
not
mer el y opposed
t o t he
col l ec-
t i ve. That ' s t he
most
i mpor t ant
l esson: t hat
CoMMuNI sI s LamUs
17
t heconst r uct i on of
heal t hy
communi t i es be-
gi ns
andends wi t h
uni queper sonal i t i es,
t hat
t he
col l ect i ve
pot ent i al 2
i s
r eal i zed
onl y
when
t he
si ngul ar
i s f r ee. Thi s
i nsi ght
i s f unda-
ment al t o t he l i ber at i on of
wor k.
Wor k as
expl oi t at i on
has
compl et ed
i t s
devel opment
of t he
gener al ,
t hemass, t he
pr oduct i on
l i ne;
what ' snow
possi bl e
i s t o
t ap
i nt o t he
pot en-
t i al of i ndi vi dual cr eat i ve
ener gi es, pr evi ousl y
suppr essed. Not hi ng
l ess t hana
genet i c
br eak-
t hr ough,
t hi s r hi zome* of
aut onomy
i n t he
wor kpl ace
can est abl i sh i t sel f as a
pr oduc-
t i veenhancement
-
and a ser i ous
chal l enge
t o t hedead
wei ght
of bur eaucr at i c
capi t al i sm
wi t h i t s
"over - coded" and de- i ndi vi dual i zed
i ndi vi dual .
Makeno mi st ake about i t : commu-
ni sm
i s not a bl i nd, r educt i oni st col l ect i vi sm
dependent
on
r epr essi on.
I t i s t he
si ngul ar
expr essi on
f or t hecombi ned
pr oduct i vi t y
of
i ndi vi dual s and
gr oups
( "col l ect i vi t i es")
em-
phat i cal l y
not r educi bl et o each ot her . I f i t i s
not a cont i nuousr eaf f i r mat i on of
si ngul ar i t y,
t hen i t i s
not hi ng
-
and so i t i s not
par a-
doxi cal t o def i necommuni smas t he
pr ocess
of
si ngul ar i zat i on.
Communi smcannot be
r educed i n
any way
what soever
t o an i deo-
18 FEUxGUA1TARI
&TONI NEGRI
l ogi cal
bel i ef
syst em,
a
si mpl e l egal
cont r act ,
or even
t o an abst r act
egal i t ar i ani sm.
I t i s
par t
of
a cont i nuous
pr ocess
whi ch r uns
t hr oughout hi st or y,
ent ai l i ng
a
quest i oni ng
of t he
col l ect i ve
goal s
of wor k
i t sel f .
Gl i mpses
of t hese new
al l i ances ar e
al r eady
avai l abl e.
They began
t o f or m
and
seekeachot her
out at t he t i me of t he
spont a-
nei st and
cr eat i ve
phase,
whi ch of
cour se
devel oped par al l el
t o t he
bi g br eak- up
and
r eal i gnment
i n
capi t al i st soci et y
t o whi chwe
have
been wi t ness over t he
past
t hr ee dec-
ades. To
bet t er l ocat e and
appr eci at e
t hei r
i mpor t ance,
one can
di st i ngui sh:
*
"mol ar
ant agoni sms": st r uggl es
i n
t he
wor kpl ace
over
expl oi t at i on,
cr i t i ci sms
of t he
or gani zat i on
of wor k, of i t s
f or m, f r om
t he
per spect i ve
of l i ber at i on;
"
"mol ecul ar
pr ol i f er at i on"
of
t hese
i sol at ed i nst ances
of
st r uggl e
i nt o t he
out si de
wor l d, i n whi ch
si ngul ar st r uggl es
i r r ever si -
bl y
t r ansf or mt he
r el at i ons bet ween i ndi vi du-
al s and
col l ect i vi t i es on t he
one hand, mat e-
r i al
nat ur e and
l i ngui st i c
si gns
(meani ngs)
on t he ot her .
Thus
t he
mat ur i ng
soci al
t r ansf or ma-
t i ons, whi chi n t ur n
af f ect
pr oduct i ve
wor k
CovI uI snsTs
Lna Us 19
ar r angement s,
ar e i nduced,
pi ecemeal ,
by
each
and
ever y
mol ar
ant agoni sm:
any
st r uggl e agai nst capi t al i st
and/ or soci al i st
power
f or mat i ons cont r i but es t o over al l t r ans-
f or mat i on. Soci al ,
pol i t i cal
and
wor kpl ace
ad-
vances condi t i on eachot her . But , and t hi s i s
our
poi nt ,
t he
r evol ut i onar y
t r ansf or mat i on
occur s i n t he cr eat i on of a new
subj ect i ve
consci ousness bor n of t he col l ect i ve wor k
exper i ence
-
t hi s moment i s
pr i mar y,
al l
st akes ar e won or l ost her e, i n t he col l ect i ve
cr eat i on of
subj ect i vi t y by
i ndi vi dual s. We
need t o save t he
gl or i ous
dr eamof commu-
ni sm
f r om
J acobi n'
myst i f i cat i ons
and
St a- l i ni st
ni ght mar es
al i ke;
l et ' s
gi ve
i t backt hi s
power
of ar t i cul at i on: an al l i ance, bet ween
t he
l i ber at i on of wor k
and t he
l i ber at i on
of
subj ect i vi t y.
Si ngul ar i t y, aut onomy,
and f r eedom
ar e t he
t hr ee banner s whi ch
uni t e i n sol i dar -
i t y ever y st r uggl e agai nst
t he
capi t al i st
and!
or soci al i st or der s. Fr omnowon, t hi s al l i -
ance i nvent s newf or ms of f r eedom, i n t he
emanci pat i on
of wor k and i n t he wor k of
emanci pat i on.
20
FEUx
GUATrARI &ToMNEGRI
2
THEREVOLUTI ON
BEGANI N' 68
I . SOCI ALI ZED
PRODUCTI ON
I t i s not
necessary
t osi t
readi ng
i n
a
caf t o real i ze t hat t he
cycl e
of revol ut i on
reopened
i n 1968, and i ndeed achi eved i t s
hi gh
wat er markof
i nt ensi t y.
What was
onl y
an
i ndi cat i on i n 1917, and whi ch
subsequent
wars of nat i onal l i berat i on f ai l ed t oachi eve
i n
any l ast i ng way,
was
brought
t o
l i ght by
t he event s of
1968 as t he i mmedi at e
possi -
bi l i t y
of
col l ect i ve consci ousness andact i on.
Yes,
communi smi s
possi bl e.
I t i s
t rue, more now
t han ever, t hat i t haunt s t he
ol d worl d. 1968
reveal ed t he
f ragi l i t y
of t he
soci al cont ract s
i nst al l ed
successi vel y
t ocon-
t ai n t he
revol ut i onary
movement s of t he be-
gi nni ng
of t he
cent ury,
t hose whi ch
f ol l owed
t he
bi g
cri si s of 1929 and t he movement s
whi ch
accompani ed
and f ol l owedt he
second
great i mperi al i st
war. Howeverone vi ews t he
event s of 1968, i t
i s undeni abl e t hat
t hey
re-
veal ed t he f ai l ure
of t hi s soci al
compromi se
CoMI vI ur4l sm
Lnu Us 21
t o el i mi nat e or
supersede
t he
ant agoni st i c
cont radi ct i ons of t he
capi t al i st syst ems.
We wi l l nowexami ne t he t hree se-
ri es of mat eri al t ransf ormat i ons whi ch con-
cernt he
qual i t y,
t he di mensi ons, andt he f orm
of
capi t al i st "produci ng",
and
by doi ng
so,
hi ghl i ght
t hose new
obj ect i ve st art i ng poi nt s
f romwhi ch
any
ef f ort t o
change soci et y
wi l l
have
t o
begi n.
The
qual i t y
of
produci ng.
The
st rug-
gl e
bet ween t he
worki ng
cl asses and t hose
of t he
capi t al i st
and/ or soci al i st bosses had
resul t ed i n a
syst em
of
product i on
t hat was
more concent rat ed and "massi f i ed. " The i m-
possi bi l i t y
of
rat i onal l y overcomi ng
cri ses,
whi ch reveal ed t he soci al
pol ari zat i on'
of
power,
l ed t o t he ef f ort s at
managi ng
t he
st rongl y
cent ral i zed,
pl anned
economi es, bot h
capi t al i st
and soci al i st . I n t hi s newenvi ron-
ment , t he cl assi cal l aw of val ue no
l onger
operat ed
as an
expressi on
of t he rel at i on be-
t ween concret e real l abor and amount s of
money
needed t o secure an exi st ence. The
newversi on of t he l awi nst ead rel at ed
huge
masses of
"abst ract "
or undi f f erent i at ed l a-
bor t o t he et hereal i nf ormat i on
machi nes
whi ch
suppl ant
i ndust ri al
product i on.
Labor
22FELI xGUATFARI &TomNEGRI
Co%,I rVI uMsTs
Ln Us 23
i s
"det erri t ori al i zed"
-
wi t hout f oundat i on
or
meani ng,
i t
neurot i cal l y
succumbs t oa
process
whi ch
depri ves worki ng peopl e
of
knowl edge
evenas i t i s
essent i al l y
knowl -
edgecreat i ng
act i vi t y
i n
t he f i rst
pl ace.
Mod-
emwork was
creat i ng
a
gl obal ,
i nf ernal di s-
ci pl i nary
apparat us,
i nwhi ch
t he const rai nt s
were i nvi si bl e: educat i onal
and
i nf ormat i on
const rai nt s whi ch
pl aced
t he worker at al l
t i mes under t he
sway
of
capi t al .
No
l onger
an
ei ght
hour
wage-sl ave,
t he worker now
produced
and consumed
cont i nuousl y
f or
capi t al . Capi t al
i nt he
process
became more
soci al i zed,
advanci ng
soci al
cooperat i on,
i n-
t egrat i ng
t he col l ect i ve f orces of l abor even
as
i t
t urned
soci et y
i nt oa
gi ant f act ory,
i n
whi ch
t he
paci f i ed consumi ng
cl asses were
organi zed
i nt o
uni ons.
Det erri t onal i zed
product i onsi gni f i es
t hat work and
l i f e are no
l onger separat e;
soci et y
i s
col l apsed
i nt ot he
l ogi c
and
proc-
esses of
capi t al i st
devel opment .
The conse-
quences
of t hi s assi mi l at i onof
soci et y
t owork
are
prof ound:
Al l t he
guarant ees
and re-
sources of t he wel f are st at e
-
(wage sys-
t ems,
unempl oyment
i nsurance,
f ami l y
assi s-
t ance,
pensi ons
et c.
-
were i nt ensi f i ed, but
now
t hey
became
part
of t he
product i onproc-
ess i t sel f ,
rat her
t hansoci al
def enses
agai nst
capi t al i st
di sl ocat i ons. Soci al wel f are i nf act
became a soci al dream: as t he
product i on
process
remade
soci et y
i ni t s own
i mage,
t hat
hi gh degree
of abst ract i onwast ransf erred t o
soci al l i f e. Product i onnowconf erred
mem-
bershi p
i n
soci et y.
As t he
i ndependent
vari -
abl e,
product i onst ampssoci et y
wi t hi t s char-
act eri st i c,
l eavi ng
no
regi on
unt ouched. An
equat i on
i s est abl i shed, i nwhi ch
capi t al i st
advancement and
expl oi t at i on
are seenases-
sent i al f eat ures
of
soci al
machi nery
-
t hat
t hi si s
t he
meani ng
of
soci et y,
and of course
i t hasbecome t rue. . .
The
pol i t i cal consequences
of t hi s
t ransf ormat i onare
equal l y prof ound.
A
hi gh
degree
of
pol i t i cal
mobi l i zat i on, evi dent i n
t he demand f or
pol i t i cal part i ci pat i ongrow-
i ng
out of a
cent ury
of revol ut i onand cl ass
consci ousness, has
expanded
but t hendi ssi -
pat ed
i nt oa soci al consci ousness. Al l
t he ef -
f ort s of t he bosses, whoare consci ousof t hi s
newsoci al i zat i on, consi st
of
mai nt ai ni ng
i t
-
ei t her
t hrough
democrat i c or
t ot al i t ari an
means
-
wi t hi nt he f ramework of i nst i t u-
t i onsand of rul esf or
di vi di ng
t he soci al
prod-
24 FELI X
GUATTARI &ToNI NEGRI

uct , whi ch
permi t
t hemt o
reproduce
andt hus
t orei nf orce t hei r
commandi ngposi t i ons,
i n
a
manner t hat t ransf orms
economi c
i nt o
po-
l i t i cal
power.
Bef ore
exami ni ng
t he
consequences
of
t hi s t ransf ormat i onof
command,
i t i s i m-
port ant
t o
recogni ze
anot her essent i al
aspect
of t he
changi ng
charact er of
product i on.
The
emergence
of
soci al i zat i onas acruci al com-
ponent
of
product i on
has
nat ural l y
af f ect ed
t he
product i on process
i t sel f . Soci al i zat i on,
t ypi cal l y
vi ewed
as
af ormal
qual i t y,
mut at es
i nt oasubst ant i ve
one: One
may
observe, f or
exampl e,
howt he soci al i zat i onof
rural
peas-
ant s
accompani es
t hei r l oss of
i ndependence,
or how
servi ce sect or workers
l ose soci al
cohesi on as
t hey
are
f unct i onal l y
absorbed
i nt o
ri gi d,
mechani zed
product i onprocesses.
Up
t ot hi s
poi nt ,
however, t he i ndus-
t ri al modes of
product i on
associ at ed wi t h
capi t al i sm
and
soci al i smhad
onl y
t aken
pos-
sessi on of soci al
i nequal i t i es
f romt he out -
si de, sot o
speak.
The
great conf l agrat i on
of
1968 demonst rat ed t hat t he
neweconomi c
t echni ques
now
i mpl i cat ed
t he domai n of
soci al
reproduct i on.
Bef ore t hen, t he worl d
of
product i on
was
basedon
exchange
val ues
COMMUNI STS Ln Us
25

(commodi t y product i on)

and t he
reproduc-
t i on of useval ue
(ut i l i t y) .
Al l t hat i s over.
I n
t hi s
regard,
one coul d consi der t he move-
ment s of t hat
peri od
as
necessary prel i mi nar-
i es. . .
Nowt he
remai ni ngpri vat e sphere
-
f ami l y, personal
l i f e, f ree t i me, and
perhaps
even
f ant asy
anddreams
-
everyt hi ng
f rom
t hat
poi nt
onbecame
subj ect ed
t ot he semi ot -
i cs of
capi t al .
Thi s t ransf ormat i ont ook
pl ace
regardl ess
of
pol i t i cal
cl i mat e: democrat i c,
f asci st , soci al i st . Soci al i zed
product i on
suc-
ceeded
i n
i mposi ng
i t s l aw, i t s
l ogi c,
onev-
ery
f acet of soci al l i f e on eart h,
vampi ri st i -
cal l y appropri at i ng
f ree t i me,
t he l i f e bl ood
of
humani t y.
The
event s
of
1968
posed
t hemsel ves
as an
ant agoni st i c recogni t i on
of t hi s t rans-
f ormat i onof t he soci al
qual i t y
of
product i on
andwork
procedures.
I nachaot i c but none-
t hel ess
convi nci ng way, t hey
reveal ed t he
f undament al cont radi ct i onat t he baseof t hese
t ransf ormat i ons, t hat of
conf erri ng
an i m-
mense
product i ve
capabi l i t y
t o
humani t y
whi l e at t he same t i me
i mposi ng
anew
pro-
l et ari an
dest i ny.
Thi s
dest i ny ori gi nat ed
i n
permanent expropri at i on,
i n
t he det erri t ori -
26 FELI X GUAUARJ &TONI NEGRI
Cow. , i umsTs LI KE Us
27
al i zat i on t hat
al l ows no homebase, nosol i -
dar i t y,
no
r ecour se, no
guar ant ees,
and ex-
t ends not
onl y
t hr oughout
soci al l i f ebut i nt o
t heunconsci ous.
Gener al i zed
expl oi t at i on,
at al l l evel s
of
soci et y,
had t heef f ect of
r edef i ni ng pr o-
duct i on as t he sour ceof new,
"suppl emen-
t al " sour ces of
unhappi ness,
and
cor r espond-
i ngl y
newf or ms of
pol i t i cal ,
even
mi cr o- po-
l i t i cal conf l i ct . Thenewmodes of
pr oduc-
t i on
-
i nt egr at i ve,
t ot al i zi ng,
subt l y
t ot al i -
t ar i an
-
ef f ect i vel y
t r ansf or med t he ol d
modes of economi c
sl aver y
i nt o
t hi nl y
di s-
gui sed
cul t ur al and
pol i t i cal
subj ect i on.
A
st r uggl e
ensued, whi ch
at t empt ed
t o r educe
al l r esi st ance
agai nst
t he
supposed
economi c
necessi t y
t o
power l essness.
But i t i s
pr eci sel y
t hi s t r ansf er of "t ot al i t ar i st "
obj ect i ves
t o t he
mi nut e,
mol ecul ar l evel s of
ever yday
exi s-
t encewhi ch
gi ves
r i sei n t ur n t o newf or ms
of r esi st ance on
t hesemost i mmedi at el ev-
el s,
t hr owi ng
i nt o r el i ef
t heent i r e
pr obl em
of i ndi vi dual and col l ect i ve
i sol at i on.
I n 1968, t hi s new
"r eact i vi t y"
ex-
pr essed
i t sel f
i n t he f or m
of a t r emendous
shor t ci r cui t . I t
woul d be usel ess t o
t r y
t o
myst i f y
t heseevent s, as
t he sof t heads of r e-
cover y
havet r i ed. I t woul d be
usel ess
at
t hi s
poi nt
t o
st i gmat i ze
t he r et ur n of t he
gr eat
monsoons of
i r r at i onal i t y.
And what woul d
suchr ef er ences t o
r at i onal i t y si gni f y anyway,
i n a wor l d i n whi ch f unct i onal i smi s
st r i ct l y
gear ed
t owar d
Capi t al ,
whi ch i n i t sel f con-
st i t ut es a maxi mi zat i on of
i r r at i onal i t y?
The
quest i on
whi ch r emai ns
posed
si nce 1968 i s
r at her t hat of
knowi ng
howt o est abl i sh a
cr eat i veand
l i ber at i ng
r el at i on bet ween
hap-
pi ness
and
i nst r ument al r eason.
Fr om' 68 on, wehaveal sowi t nessed
an
i nver si on
of t he
cycl e
of
st r uggl es agai nst
col oni al i smand
under devel opment ,
and some
at t empt s
at i nt er nal moder ni zat i on have
ap-
pear ed,
on t he
par t
of t hemor e
dynami c
sec-
t or s of t he
capi t al i st
and soci al i st
bour geoi -
si es. But t her e i s a
bi g
di f f er ence bet ween
t hese
i deol ogi cal
ef f or t s
-
l i p
ser vi ce, basi -
cal l y
-
and t her eal i t i es of
expl oi t at i on
and
new
f or ms of concr et er esi st ance.
1968
expr esses
t he act ual
r eopeni ng
of a cr i t i cal consci ousness, i t sel f t he
cr yst al i -
zat i on of
obj ect i ve
changes
wi t hi n t hewor k
f or ce and
pr oduct i on gener al l y.
Thi s
r ecog-
ni t i on
appear ed
at f i r st as r ebel l i on, and as a
new
openi ng
i t sel f made
possi bl e by
eco-
28 FELI X GUATTARI
&TONI NEGRI
nomi c
growth,
i ts
i mpas s e,
cri s i s , and
the
cons equent
ref l exes of
rej ecti on.
The es s en-
ti al f orce of 1968 res i des i n the
f act that f or
the
f i rs t ti me
i n
the
hi s tory
of humanrevol ts
agai ns t expl oi tati on,
the
obj ecti ve
was not
s i mpl e
emanci pati on,
but a true l i berati on,
extendi ng beyond
the
removal of obvi ous ,
i ndi vi dual chai ns . The
movements attai ned a
gl obal
l evel ref l ected i n
a
hei ghtened
con-
s ci ous nes s of the hi s tori cal
l i nkage
of
s i ngu-
l ar
s truggl es .
For the f i rs t
ti me at that l evel
of
i ntens i ty,
the mol ar
macrocos ms and the
mol ecul ar
mi crocos ms
-
the
gl obal
andthe
l ocal
-
began
to combi ne i nthe s ame s ub-
vers i ve whi rl wi nd.
The
events of 1968 thus markthereo-
peni ng
of a
revol uti onary cycl e.
Not
by
the
repeti ti on
of ol d
s l ogans ,
but
through
the i n-
terventi onof new
pers pecti ves
onacti on, and
by
a redef i ni ti on of
communi s mas enri ch-
ment,
di vers i f i cati onof
communi ty
andcon-
s ci ous nes s .
Certai nl y
the
movement remai ned
i ns eparabl e
f romthe
devel opment
of
previ -
ous s oci al
s truggl es ,
and the
redepl oyment
of the
empl oyers '
capaci ty
f or res i s tance and
attack, but an
i mportant
hi s tori cal
qual i tati ve
l eap
neverthel es s occurred. At that
poi nt
of
CoruNTs mLUKE Us 29
i ndi vi dual radi cal f ul f i l l ment, what was re-
qui red
to
general i ze
revol uti on
among
a
s i g-
ni f i cant
porti on
of the
popul ati on?
Nothi ng
s hort of as oci al
cycl otron:
the
generati on
of
ani mmens e col l ecti ve
energy,
the accel era-
ti on of i deas andemoti ons . I n 1968, a revo-
l uti on
worthy
of the mos t authenti c
as pi ra-
ti ons of
humani ty
was born.
I I . BEYONDPOLI TI CS
At the ti me of thes e
movements , the
ref us al
by l i vi ng
s oci al l abor of the
organi -
zati on of
prof i t - bas ed
capi tal i s m
and/ or s o-
ci al i s m
began
to
s pread
i nto the
pol i ti cal
arena. Froma
mul ti pl i ci ty
of
s i ngul ar
con-
f l i cts a
grand
oppos i ti on
aros e,
di rectl y
con-
f ronti ng
the
pol i ti cal power res pons i bl e
f or
admi ni s teri ng
s oci al
producti on.
Tradi ti onal
pol i ti cs
f oundi ts el f
compl etel y
cut of f f rom
thi s mas s movement of col l ecti ve cons ci ous -
nes s ; i t s haredno
ground
wi th the trans f or-
mati on of
s ubj ecti vi ty.
Tradi ti onal
pol i ti cs
s ucceededi n
gras pi ng
i t
onl y
f romthe out-
s i de,
by attempti ng
to s tal l ,
repres s ,
andf i -
nal l y
to res tructure andrecover oni ts own.
But
by
thi s
very mi s apprehens i on
and de-
30 FELI x
GuA1- rARI &TOMNEGRI
t hai , i t
merel y
demonst rat ed i t s own
power-
l essness.
Pol i t i cs
t oday
i s
not hi ng
more t han
t he
expressi on
of
t he domi nat i on of dead
st ruct ures over t heent i re
range
of
l i vi ng pro-
duct i on. Ashort t i me
ago,
at
t he end
of
t he
great
revol ut i onary
peri ods,
hi st ory
wi t nessed
si mi l ar
pol i t i cal
rest orat i ons, whi ch had no
ot her
goal
t han t o "cover" t he fundament al
absenceof
l egi t i macy
ont he
part
of t heel i t es
who
regai ned power.
The
pri nces
who
gov-
ern us seemt o have ret urned, i n t he most
absurd of
ways,
on t he same
perverse
and
empt y st ages,
i n t he same vi ci ous
cycl es
whi ch
appeared
i n t heaft ermat h of t he Great
Revol ut i on and t he
Napol eoni c epoch. ( I t
i s
suffi ci ent here t o ci t e The Chart erhouse
of
Parma. )
And
Hegel ' s
remark comes t o mi nd:
"Thi s
t empl e
deci dedl y
l acks
rel i gi on,
Ger-
many
l acks
met aphysi cs, Europe humani t y,
reformi sm
i magi nat i on. . . "
On t he ot her hand, t he
col l ect i ve
i magi nat i on
remai ns
al i ve, but i t can no
l onger
concei ve of
pol i t i cs
out si de of
t he
paradi gms
andavenues of
change
whi ch
be-
gan
t o
appear
i n
1968.
CouNI sm
Lm Us

31
Thi s i s t rue fi rst of al l for t he t radi -
t i onal l eft . Thehi st ori cal communi st
part i es,
pri soners
of
ant i quat edparadi gms
of
produc-
t i on, di d not even succeed i n
i magi ni ng
t he
revol ut i onary
forceof t he soci al modeof
pro-
duct i on whi ch was i nt he
process
of
emerg-
i ng. I ncapabl e
of
separat i ng
t hemsel ves from
cent ral i st
organi zat i onal
model s
deri vi ng
from
a
paradi gmat i c spl i t
bet ween t he
avant - garde
and t he masses,
t hey
found t hemsel ves di s-
ori ent ed and
fri ght ened
i n t he face of t he
unexpect ed sel f- organi zat i on
of a soci al
movement .
Loyal
t o t heone di mensi onal
dest i ny
of t he
reformi st movement ,
t heyexperi enced
t he
expl osi on
of newdemands i n t he
workpl ace,
and of newdesi res i n t he soci o-
cul t ural worl d, as a
cat ast rophe
whi ch l i t er-
al l y
l eft t hemi n a
paranoi d
st at e. Thesame
appl i es
t o a l esser
degree
t o soci al demo-
crat i c forces.
I n t he
"act ual l y exi st i ng
soci al i st "
count ri es, t he react i on was
ext remel y
brut al ,
whi l e i n t he West , i t was more i nsi di ous,
maneuverabl e,
wi l l i ng
t o
compromi se.
I n al l
of t hese i nst ances, one fi nds
t he same
i nvari ant s:
-
soci al conservat i sm,
32 FELI XGUATrARI &ToMNEGR1
combi ned wi th a
systemati c corporati st
ef -
f ort tochannel and
co- opt struggl es;
-
po-
l i ti cal reacti on,
combi ni ng
a recoursetoState
power
wi th
an
appeal
totradi ti onal structures,
i n
an
attempt
toreestabl i shthe
l egi ti macy
of
the ol d" el i tes" ;
-
the
squanderi ng
of col -
l ecti ve
subj ecti vi ty,
i n
parti cul ar through
i n-
tense use of the
mass medi a,
governmental
agenci es,
andtheWel f are State as a whol e.
I nf act, thel ef t
parti es
havebeendev-
astated
by
the ef f ects of the movement of
' 68 and, even more so,
by
the
col l ecti ve-
si ngul ar
movements whi ch have
emerged
si nce thenas the bearers of soci al transf or-
mati on. Thel ef t has attachedi tsel f evenmore
tothe
tradi ti onal stati st structures; and i n
doi ng
soi t has
j etti soned
i ts ownrel ati on-
shi p
of conf l i ct and
compromi se,
andthus i ts
ownbasi s of
l egi ti macy.
But these
structures
were
i rrevocabl y
al tered
by
the counter- at-
tacks of
' 68;
f romthen on, the ol d
pol i ti cs
coul dno
l onger
hi de i ts cadaverous f ace. The
consti tuti onal and i nsti tuti onal structures of
devel oped
countri es east andwest f i ndthem-
sel ves tobe
doubl y
undermi ned: f romthe
i nsi de,
by
thei r
severe
i nabi l i ty
to
adapt;
and
f romoutsi de,
by
thenew
f orms of l abor
pro-
COMvI uNI STh Ln Us 33
test,
ref l ected
i n
thei ncreaseof
margi nal
and
part- ti me
" non- guaranteed"
workers, ' as wel l
as other numerous
mi nori ti es
who
rej ect
the
status
quo.
Thi s
i mpasse
has
precl uded any
possi bi l i ty
of renewal .
Al l
" progressi ve" capi tal i st perspec-
ti ves, whi ch woul dhave i nvol ved i ncreased
popul ar parti ci pati on,
were
systemati cal l y
bl ocked. Consti tuti onal structures, whether
they
be
capi tal i st
or soci al i st, democrati c or
total i tari an, have
certai nl y
experi enced
change,
but
typi cal l y
i n
negati ve
terms, al -
ways
cut of f f rom
soci al movements whose
ef f ects
they
endure, and
al ways by mysti f y-
i ng
the actual
operati on
of the
system
of
po-
l i ti cal
representati on.
Attempti ng
to
respond
tothi s decl i ne
i n the i nsti tuti ons of
popul ar pol i ti cal repre-
sentati on,
power
has resorted
to
techni ques
of
anti ci pati on
and substi tuti on,
opti ng
f or
symbol i c
si mul ati on,
adaptati on
and
control .
At the moment whenthe whol e of
soci ety
was
f i nal l y
absorbedi nto
producti on,
andthe
enti rety
of
worki ng
and
everyday
l i f e was
exposed
as
f undamental l y pol i ti cal ,
that
po-
l i ti cal character was
repressed,
deni ed and
mani pul ated.
What a
gothi c
sort of
soci ety
34
FEuxGUATrARI &TomNEGRI
C0MMuT%nsTs Li i o Us 35
whi chcan
mai ntai nasi ts
onl y
i deal avi si on
of
castl es and courts
compl etel y
removed
f romal l real l i f e, these smal l
ari stocrati c urn-
verses whi chare bl i nd tothe
new
aspi rati ons
f or f reedom,
new
terri tori al i ti es
stri vi ng
f or
autonomy!
But
howel se canone descri be
these
pol i ti cal
ari stocraci es
when, f romthei r
f ortresses,
they attempt
to
i mpose
a strati f i -
cati onof
soci ety,
devoi d of
consi stency,
sub-
sti tuti ng
i nstead a
general arrogance,
ani n-
di f f erent
cruel ty?
Di sease,
corrupti on,
pl ague
and mad-
ness
spread
wi thi nthese cl osed uni verses
j ust
as
they
di d i nthe
rul i ng
housesof the anci en
rgi me.
But thei r ti me i s
runni ng
out:
we are
at the
threshol d
between
suf f eri ng
and the
moment when
hi story' spotenti al
wi l l real i z e
i tsel f .
The
paral ysi s
of
pol i ti cal
structuresand
al l the current
governmental
"di f f i cul ti es" are
both
symptoms
and
speci f i c
trai ts of mori -
bund
power
f ormati ons;
they
are
i ncapabl e
of
adj usti ng
tothe movementsof
soci ety.
There i snodoubt that these
probl ems
were i ni ti ated
by
the movementsof the ' 60' s.
Inf act, that wasthe moment
whenthe
surg-
i ng
ti de of soci al
struggl es
arri ved
at hi s-
tory' s
center
stage.
Si nce that ti me,
as we
shal l see, the
attempts
to
regai n
control of
the si tuati onhave beennumerous. But
they
were al l
short- l i ved because the
pol i ti cal
cri -
si swas
not, asthe
reacti onaryri ght
assumed,
the resul t of
si mpl e
economi c i mbal ances,
havi ng nothi ng
todowi th
pol i ti cs,
but rather
due tothe
i nabi l i ty
of i nsti tuti ons totrans-
f orm
themsel ves. The roots of the cri si s of
pol i ti cs
were
soci al . The current si l ence of
the
pol i ti cal
f ormsof
opposi ti on
ref l ect acu-
ri ous
neutral i z ati on: a
cancel i ng- out
ef f ected
by
the mutual
i nterf erence of di f f erent com-
ponents
of soci al
producti on,
eachof whi ch
i s i tsel f
thoroughl y
di sturbed and
undergo-
i ng
transf ormati on.
The so- cal l ed "deathof
pol i ti cs, "
of whi ch
one
hearsso
much, i s
onl y
the
expressi on
of a new
worl d whi ch i s
emergi ng
and whi ch
empl oys
newand di f -
f erent modesof materi al and cul tural sel f -
val ori z ati on
-
ei ther
throughenti rel y
exter-
nal
means or
peri pheral l y
tothe
domi nant
power
f ormati on, but whi ch, i n
any
event,
are
antagoni sti c
toi t. It i s thus aworl d i nthe
process
of
change
whi ch
began
i ts
expansi on
i n' 68 and whi ch,
si nce then,
through
a
proc-
essof
conti nuous mutati on,
i ncl udi ng
al l sorts
of
f ai l ures and successes, has
struggl ed
to
36 FELI x
GUATrARI &TomNEGm
weaveanew
networkof al l i ances at theheart
of
the
mul ti pl i ci ty
of i sol ated
si ngul ar
com-
ponents
compri si ng
i t.
Thi s i s
the new
pol i ti cs:
the need to
recharacteri ze the f undamental
struggl es
i n
terms of aconti nuous
conquest
of
(new)
are-
nas of f reedom,
democracy,
and of creati v-
i ty.
And, whatever the mi l i tants and the i n-
tel l ectual s whohave
"gi ven up
onal l that"
may say,
there i s
nothi ng
anachroni sti c or
retrograde
or anarchi st i n thi s
way
of con-
cei vi ng thi ngs;
i ndeed, i t
attempts
tounder-
stand
contemporary
soci al transf ormati ons
-
i ncl udi ng
thei r contradi cti ons
-
onthebasi s
of the
producti ve
acti vi ti es, the desi res, and
the real
needs whi ch
regul ate
them. What i s
onthe other
hand
enti rel y
i rrati onal and mad
i s the
power
of the State, as i t
has evol ved
si nce the 60s, i ntoa sort of l unar Stal i ni sm
whi ch
onl y
mul ti pl i es
ad nauseam
i ts
ri gi d-
i ty
and
i ts i nsti tuti onal
paral ysi s.
The f ero-
ci ous wi l l
toa"death of
pol i ti cs"
i s nowhere
more
domi nant than i n the Gl aci al Pal aces
of
power.
Al though
much of i t i s
empty
and
mysti f i ed,
thi s
type
of
power
i s nonethel ess
terri bl y
ef f ecti ve. Moreover,
oneshoul d
not
COMMUNTSTS Luc. s Us 37
underesti mate or overl ook the
great
mass of
pai n
and
angui sh
that l i es conceal ed behi nd
i ts
cyni ci sm
and i ts technocrati c i ndi f f erence:
the
i nsecuri ty
of
everyday
l i f e, the
precari -
ousness of
empl oyment,
the
f ragi l i ty
of ci vi l
ri ghts,
and,
perhaps
most of al l , the
i mpossi -
bi l i ty
of
l ocati ng meani ng
i n
i ndi vi dual
and
col l ecti ve l i f e, the def acto
banni ng
of com-
muni tari an
proj ects,
of al l "creati ve becom-
i ngs"
f rom
establ i shi ng
themsel ves
onthei r
ownterms. Thi s
pai n,
whi ch
accompani es
the l ack of
humani ty
i n the
capi tal i st
brand
of
subj ecti vi ty,
canbe converted i ntoani nf i -
ni te
array
of reacti on f ormati ons and
para-
doxi cal
symptoms:
i nhi bi ti ons,
evasi ons of
al l
sorts, but
sabotage
as wel l , the transf or-
mati onof ref usal i ntohatred. Thi s to-and-f ro
movement reaches
i ts l i mi t whenthe f ear of
destructi on
arti cul ates
a
consci ousness of the
madness of
power;
then the
pai n
i tsel f be-
comes the
verti go
of
anni hi l ati on. Thi s mon-
strous wi l l todeath i nal l
i ts di f f erent f orms
today
consti tutes the true character of
pol i -
ti cs and thetrue causeof human
mi sery.
38 FELI x GUATrARI &ToNI NEGRI
I I I . THENEWSUBJ ECTI VI TI ES
Si nce t he ' 60s, newcol l ect i ve sub-
j ect i vi t i es
have been
af f i rmed
i n
t he dramas
of soci al
t ransf ormat i on. Wehavenot edwhat
t hey
owe t o modi f i cat i ons i n t he
organi za-
t i onof workandt o
devel opment s
i n soci al i -
zat i on; we have t ri ed t oest abl i sh t hat t he an-
t agoni sms
whi ch
t hey
cont ai n are no
l onger
recuperabl e
wi t hi nt he t radi t i onal hori zonof
t he
pol i t i cal .
But i t remai ns t o be demon-
st rat ed t hat t he i nnovat i ons of t he ' 60s shoul d
above al l be underst ood wi t hi n t he uni verse
of consci ousnesses, of desi res, and of modes
of behavi or. I t i s ont hi s l evel t hat t he
changes
became
def i ni t i vel y
i rreversi bl e. These new
modes of
consci ousness have
l i t eral l y
di sl o-
cat ed t he ol d scenari os
of cl ass
st ruggl e by
i nvadi ng
t he
i magi nary
and
cogni t i ve
root s
of
product i ve act i vi t y,
t ransf ormi ng
t he con-
sci ousness t hat
corresponds
t o t hat
act i vi t y
i nt oan
act of t ransf ormat i ve i ndi vi dual wi l l .
Al ong
t he
way
t hi s i ndi vi duat i on of desi re
has t hus
spread
t o t he real mof col l ect i ve
pract i ces,
whi ch
nowconst i t ut e t he new
po-
l i t i cal t erri t ori es. The
dramat i c
and
t umul t u-
CoI rvI uNI sTs Ln Us 39
ous af f i rmat i on
of
desi re
put s
our
soci al "l i v-
i ng"
i nt o
quest i on
andmakes i t t he basi s of a
hi gher subj ect i ve expressi on
of t he ensembl e
of mat eri al and semi ot i c
syst ems
of
produc-
t i on. I t s
opposi t i on
t o
pri vat e propert y
i s a
radi cal
negat i on
of al l f orms of bl i nd col l ec-
t i vi sm
i n
capi t al i st
and/ or soci al i st undert ak-
i ngs,
and
i t s ref usal of work on
command
act ual l y expresses
t he wi l l of a
hi gher
l evel
of soci al
product i on.
Al l
seemi ng
connect i ons
bet weent hi s
ref usal and t he massi f i cat i on of soci al sub-
j ect i vi t y
must be broken; t he
rel at i on must
be reduced t oa
paradox, by
vi rt ue of whi ch
t he
povert y
of t hi s massi f i cat i oni s conf ront ed
wi t h t he most
si ngul ar processes
of
subj ec-
t i ve wi l l .
Communi smhas
not hi ng
t odowi t h
t he
col l ect i vi st barbari smt hat has come i nt o
exi st ence. Communi smi s
t he
most i nt ense
experi ence
of
subj ect i vi t y,
t he maxi mi zat i on
of t he
processes
of
si ngul ari zat i on
-
i ndi -
vi duat i on whi ch
represent
t he
capabi l i t y
po-
t ent i al of our col l ect i ve st ock. Nouni versal -
i t y
of mancan be ext ract ed f romt he naked
abst ract i onof soci al val ue.
Communi smno
l onger
has
anyt hi ng
40 FELI xGUATFARI &ToruNEGRI
t o dowi t h
any
of t hi s. I t i s amat t er rat her of
mani fest i ng
t he
si ngul ar
as
mul t i pl i ci t y,
mo-
bi l i t y, spat i o-t emporal vari abi l i t y
and crea-
t i vi t y.
That
t oday
i s t he
onl y
val ue on t he
basi s
of whi ch one canreconst ruct work. A
work whi ch
no
l onger
i s
cryst al l i zed
i n
t he
formof
pri vat e
propert y,
whi chdoes not con-
si der t he
i nst rument s
of
product i on
as ends
i nt hemsel ves, but as means for
at t ai ni ng
t he
happi ness
of
si ngul ari t y
andi t s
expansi on
i n
machi ni c rhi zomes
-
abst ract and/ or con-
cret e. Aworkwhi chrefuses hi erarchi cal com-
mandandwhi chi n
doi ng
so
poses
t he
prob-
l emof
power,
cl ari fi es t he funct i ons of de-
cept i on
and
expl oi t at i on
i n
soci et y,
and re-
fuses al l
compromi se,
al l medi at i onbet ween
i t s own exi st ence and
product i vi t y.
( Al l
of
whi ch
i mpl i es
redefi ni ng
t he
concept
of work
as t he t ransformat i ons and
arrangement s
of
product i on
wi t hi n t he frame of i mmedi at e
l i berat i on
effort s. )
New
modal i t i es of col l ec-
t i ve
subj ect i vi t y
t hemsel ves
bri ng t oget her
t hese
qual i t i es
andt hese
desi res whi ch
change
rel at i ve t o
product i vi t y.
Thenew
product i on
of
subj ect i vi t y
concei ves of
power
fromt hi s
poi nt
on
sol el y
as anhori zon of t he col l ec-
t i ve l i berat i on
of
si ngul ari t i es
and as work
Covu1uNI sTs
Li x
Us
41
ori ent ed t owardt hat end
-
i n ot her words,
as sel f-val ori zat i on and
sel f-product i on
of
si ngul ari t i es .
The soci al
st ruggl es
whi ch
expl oded
i n ' 68 andi n t he
years fol l owi ng
conferred
a
t remendous
power
on
t he
comi ng-t o-aware-
ness of st udent s and
young
peopl e,
t he
women' s movement , t he envi ronment al and
nat ure fi rst movement s, t he demandfor cul -
t ural , raci al and sexual
pl ural i sm,
and al so
t he
at t empt s
t orenovat e t he t radi t i onal con-
cept i ons
of soci al
st ruggl e,
begi nni ng
wi t h
t hat of workers. Al l t oo oft en t hese
experi -
ences have been descri bed i n t erms of mar-
gi nal i t y. Margi nal i t y
was
qui ckl y
drawn t o-
ward t he
cent er, and
t he
mi nori t ari an de-
mands succeeded
-
wi t h
di ffi cul t y
-
i n
de-
t achi ng
t hemsel ves fromt hose of t he l i fel ess
mi ddl e
ground.
And
yet
each of t hem,
by
fol l owi ng
i t s owncourse and
byart i cul at i ng
i t s owndi scourse,
pot ent i al l y represent s
t he
needs of t he
l arge
maj ori t y.
Pot ent i al l y,
but i n a
way
t hat i s not
any
t he l ess effi caci ous :
By t aki ng
hol dof
soci et y
as a whol e,
product i ve
soci al i zat i on
want ed t o
confer oni ndi vi dual s, communi -
t i es, and t hei r
reci procal
rel at i ons t he char-
42 FELI XGUATFAm
&ToMNEGRI
act er
of
uni ver sal i t y.
But t he
uni ver sal i t y
wi t h
whi ch
t hey
wer e deckedout di dn' t sui t t hem
i n t he l east ! I nst eadof a
wel l - f i t t i ng
hat , i t i s
a mask, a cowl whi ch
onl y di sf i gur es
t he
expr essi on
of t hei r needs, t hei r i nt er est s, and
t hei r desi r es.
I t i s not a
par adox
t o
say
t hat
onl y
t he
mar gi nal i t i es
ar e
capabl e
of
uni ver -
sal i t y,
or , i f
you pr ef er ,
of movement s whi ch
cr eat e
uni ver sal i t y.
"Uni ver sal "
pol i t i cs
ar e
not
capabl e
of
any
t r anscendent t r ut h;
t hey
ar e not
i ndependent
of t he
games
of eco-
nomi c val or i zat i on;
t hey
ar e
i nsepar abl e
f r om
speci f i c
t er r i t or i es
of
power
and of human
desi r e. Pol i t i cal
uni ver sal i t y
cannot t her ef or e
be
devel oped
t hr ough
a di al ect i c of
al l y/ en-
emy
as t he
r eact i onar y
J acobi n t r adi t i on com-
pet i t i vel y pr escr i bes.
Tr ut h "wi t h a uni ver sal
meani ng"
i s const i t ut ed
by
t he
di scover y
of
t he f r i endi n i t s
si ngul ar i t y,
of t he ot her
i n
i t s
i r r educi bl e
het er ogenei t y,
of t he
i nt er depend-
ent
communi t y
i n t he
r espect
f or i t s
appr o-
pr i at e
val ues and
ends.
Thi s i s t he "met hod"
and t he
"l ogi c"
of t he
mar gi nal i t i es
whi ch
ar e t hus t he
exempl ar y si gn
of a
pol i t i cal
i nnovat i on
cor r espondi ng
t ot he r evol ut i on-
ar y
t r ansf or mat i ons cal l ed f or t h
by
t he cur -
r ent
pr oduct i ve ar r angement s.
CouNi sm
Li n Us

43
Evei y mar gi nal i t y, by pl aci ng
i t s
st akes on
i t sel f , i s t her ef or e t he
pot ent i al
bear er of t he
needs and desi r es of t he
l ar ge
maj or i t y.
Bef or e
' 68,
t he
pr obl em
of
r epr o-
duct i on r emai ned
mar gi nal
i n
r el at i on t o
pr o-
duct i on. The
women' s movement has made
i t cent r al .
Al t hough
t he
quest i ons r el at i ng
t o
t he
pr epar at i on
of t he abst r act andnon- mat e-
r i al
l abor f or ce r emai ned l at er al i n r el at i on
t o
t he
f act or y
l abor f or ce, t he st udent move-
ment s
made t hemcent r al i n t he same
way
as
t he new
needs whi ch t he t heor et i cal andaes-
t het i c
i magi nat i on pr oposed.
The
emer gi ng
col l ect i ve consci ousness
came
t her eby
t osee
i t sel f
as t he nodal ar t i cul at i on of a mul t i t ude
of
mar gi nal i t i es
and
si ngul ar i t i es;
i t
began
t o
conf i r mi t s
power
on
t he scal e of a
si gni f i -
cant soci al
exper i ence,
whi ch di d
not cl ose
back on i t sel f or "concl ude, "
but whi ch
opened
out ont of ur t her
st r uggl es,
t he
pr ol i f -
er at i on of
pr ocesses
of col l ect i ve
si ngul ar i -
zat i on and t he
i nf i ni t el y
di f f er ent i at ed
phy-
l umof t hei r
ongoi ng
t r ansf or mat i on.
Thi s
i magi nat i on
of l i ber at i on t hus
under t ook,
wi t h mor e or l ess success, t osu-
per i mpose
-
and
t o
i mpose
i t sel f
-
on t he
f i ct i on of t he domi nant
r eal i t i es. I t s l i nes of
44 FED(
GUATrARI &TOMNEGRI
col l ect i ve
f eel i ng,
i t s "news of t nes s , " i t s ca-
paci t y
t o
bri ng t oget her
t he mos t i mmedi at e
preocupat i ons
wi t h t he
broades t
s oci al
di -
mens i ons
demons t rat ed t hat t he
emergi ng
f orms of
product i on
were not t he
enemy
of
des i re, l i berat i on, and
creat i vi t y,
but
onl y
of
t he
capi t al i s t
and/ or
s oci al i s t
organi zat i on
of
workf or
prof i t .
Human
goal s
andt he val ues
of des i re mus t f romt hi s
poi nt
on
ori ent and
charact eri ze
product i on.
Not t he
revers e.
Duri ng
t hi s
peri od,
t he
product i on
of l i bera-
t i on
became t he f oremos t
goal .
I t wi l l
proba-
bl y
t ake
s ome t i me bef ore one can
gras p
t he
f ul l
s i gni f i cance
of what was t hen at s t ake.
To
repeat ,
i t had
not hi ng
at al l t o do wi t h
ut opi ani s m,
but wi t h t he i nt ri ns i c
real i t y
of
t hat
hi s t ori cal
peri od' s
s oci al movement . I t
was
probabl y
t he
women' s movement , wi t h
i t s
ext raordi nary power
of
devel opment ,
whi ch, af t er ' 68, mos t
advancedt he new
s yn-
t hes i s of t he
concept
of
product i on
and of
s oci al l i berat i on. For t he f i rs t
t i me, wi t h t hat
degree
of
l uci di t y, product i on
f or
prof i t
and
workf or t he
reproduct i on
of t he
s peci es
were
overt urned,
revol ut i oni zed on t he bas i s of t he
mos t ext reme
s i ngul ari t y,
t hat of t he t ot al
"concept i on"
of t he
chi l d andof
generat i ng
Commums Ts LI KEUs
45
a news of t nes s t o l i f e.
But t hi s i ncredi bl e
experi ence
was
al s o a
s ymbol :
t he revol ut i on was unders t ood
as an
opt i mi zat i on
of
s i ngul ari t i es ,
as t he
begi nni ng
of a mobi l i zat i on
agai ns t
t he di s -
as t er of t he current s i t uat i on andi t s f orms of
command. The
corporeal i t y
of l i berat i on
be-
came
pri mary:
I ns urrect i on of bodi es as an
expres s i on
of
s ubj ect i vi t y,
as
i ncarnat i ng
t he
mat eri al i t y
of des i res andof needs , as
prom-
i s i ng
i n t he f ut ure t he
i mpos s i bi l i t y
of
s epa-
rat i ng
t he col l ect i ve charact er of economi c
devel opment
f romt he
s i ngul ari t y
of i t s ends .
I ns urrect i on of bodi es ,
meani ng
t he s ucces s -
f ul l i berat i on of t hos e i mmens e
product i ve
f orces whi ch
humani t y,
up
t o t hi s
poi nt ,
onl y
t urned
agai ns t
i t s el f . 1968
repres ent s
t he s ub-
j ect i ve
s i de of
product i on;
t hi s i s an "i nt er-
pret at i on, "
on a
l arge
s cal e, of i t s s oci al t ex-
t ure, whi ch
di s pl aces
t he
previ ous pol i t i cal
probl emat i cs
ont o t he t errai n
of
repres ent a-
t i on cons i dered as a
s i ngul ar proj ect
of l i b-
erat i on.
1968 i s al s o a
magni f i cent
reaf f i rma-
t i on of
democracy.
The f act t hat i t was
cros s ed
by
a cert ai n nai ve "Rous s eaui s m, "
t hat
t hrough
i t a f ewl as t
champi ons
of J acob-
46
FELI X
GUATrARI &
TONI NEGRI
I
CommumsTs LI KE Us
47
i ni smand of a
di sfi gured
Leni ni smcame t o
shi ne fort h for a fewmoment s, doesn' t i n
any
way
det ract fromt he
power
of democ-
racy
i nt he movement consi deredi n i t sel f . I t
showed t hat t he
prol et ari at ,
fromt hi s
poi nt
on, soci al i zed and
si ngul ari zed,
woul d not
be abl e t o
"comprehend"
a
pol i t i cal
move-
ment
except
on t he condi t i on
t hat i t i s
founded
on
democrat i c
arrangement s
i n ac-
l i on. Thi s was not
onl y
a t heoret i cal t rut h
but al so a concret e hi st ori cal affi rmat i on:
t here i s no
speci fi c
formof
freedom
whi chi s
not
at t ached
t ot he
groupgoal s
of t he move-
ment
and
l i ved,
"experi enced, " by
i t s mem-
bers. Thi snew
"gi ven"
was underscoredi na
cert ai n
way,
ont ol ogi cal l y,
i n t he
generat i on
whi ch came aft er ' 68. And whi ch want s t o-
day
t osend us backt ot he school of
Angl o-
Ameri canl i beral i smandi t s i deas of t he mar-
ket pl ace! Ant i -capi t al i sm
andant i -soci al i sm
have become t he
onl y
forms whi ch
permi t
a
renai ssance of
democracy.
3
THEREACTI ONOFTHE' 70S:
"NO
FUTURE"
I . I NTEGRATEDWORLDCAPI TALI SM
A
rest ruct uri ng
of
power hel ped
t o
rest ore t he commandmechani smsi nt he 70s,
and t o rest art t he
process
of
capi t al i st
and
soci al i st
product i ve
accumul at i on. Pol i t i cs
and economi cs,
capi t al
and t he St at e, were
now
compl et el y i nt egrat ed.
The
process
de-
vel oped
i nt wodi rect i ons.
I n
t he fi rst
pl ace,
as t he i nt ernat i onal
i nt egrat i on
of nat i onal economi es on an i n-
creasi ngl y
worl d
scal e, andt hei r subordi na-
t i on wi t hi n a
pol ycent ri c
and
ri gorousl y
pl anned
proj ect
of
cont rol . We cal l
t hi s
fi g-
ure of commandwhi chcoordi nat es
yet
exas-
perat es
t he
uni t y
of t he worl d market , sub-
mi t t i ng
i t t o i nst rument s of
product i ve pl an-
ni ng,
monet ary
cont rol ,
pol i t i cal
i nfl uence,
wi t h
quasi -st at i st
charact eri st i cs,
I nt egrat ed
Worl d
Capi t al i sm( I . W. C. ) .
I n t hi s
process,
Worl d
Capi t al i nt egrat es,
besi des t he devel -
48 FEUD, , GUATrARI &TONI NEGRI
oped
count ri es and
di rect l y dependent
on
t hem,
t he ensembl e
of real soci al i st
coun-
t ri es, andcont rol s, i n addi t i on, t hemeans
by
whi ch t he economi es of numerous Thi rd
Worl dcount ri es areabsorbed,
put t i ng
i n
ques-
t i on t hei r
previ ous posi t i on
of
"peri pheral
dependence. "
I ndeed, st at i st command and
t he nat i onal St at es t hus
undergo
averi t abl e
det erri t ori al i zat i on.
I nt egrat ed
Worl d
Capi -
t al i smi s not l i mi t ed t o
recomposi ng, usi ng
newforms of uni fi cat i on, t he fl ux and hi er-
archi es of st at i st
powers
i n
t hei r t radi t i onal
sense. I t
generat es suppl ement ary
st at i st func-
t i ons whi chare
expressed
t hrough
anet work
of i nt ernat i onal
organi zat i ons,
a
pl anet ary
st rat egy
of t he mass-medi a,
ri gorous t aki ng
cont rol of t hemarket , of
t echnol ogi es,
et c.
I t i s
cert ai nl y i mport ant
t o avoi d an
i ngenuous
or
ant hropomorphi c concept i on
of
I . W. C. whi ch woul d ent ai l
descri bi ng
i t as
t he work of aLevi at han
or as aone-di men-
si onal macro-st ruct ure of t he
Marcusean
va-
ri et y.
I t s
pl anet ary expansi on,
as wel l as i t s
mol ecul ar i nfi l t rat i on, occur
t hrough
mecha-
ni sms whi ch can be
exi remel y
fl exi bl e and
whi chcan even t akecont ract ual forms. Each
one
engages l egal
forms t hat
rel y
on con-
CoMI VI t J NTSTS Li Us
49
t i nuous
procedures
rat her t han
const rai ni ng
subst ant i ve l aw. But i t i s nol ess t rue t hat i t
i s t hi s
very procedural
and
regul at ory
con-
t i nuumof rel at i ons whi ch
consol i dat es t he
cent ri pet al t endency
of t he
syst em, by
di l ut -
i ng
and
"negot i at i ng"
t he effect
of cri ses
i n
t i meand
space
and
by rel at i vi st i cal l y
ret erri -
t onal i zi ng
each
si ngul ar process.
I n
t he
second
pl ace,
and
condi t i oni ng
t he const i t ut i on of t hi s
gl obal
i nt egrat i on,
t he
rest ruct uri ng
ai ms at t hemodeof
product i on
and t he ensembl e
maki ng up
t he col l ect i ve
l abor forcewhi chrel at es t oi t . Thi s det erri t o-
nal i zat i onandt hi s
i nt egrat i on
was faci l i t at ed
by renderi ng
t he soci al i nt o dat a form, i . e.
on t he basi s of t he fundament al
comput eri -
zat i on
[ i nformat i sat i on]
of
soci et y. Expl oi t a-
t i on coul d
t hus be art i cul at ed
sci ent i fi cal l y
over t he ent i re arenaof t hesoci al ,
ext endi ng
t he
cont rol of
profi t
creat i on mechani sms.
Under t hesecondi t i ons, t he
assembl y
l i neof
commerci al andi ndust ri al
product i on spreads
i t s fabri c over t he soci al , not i n i t s
symbol i c
sense but
mat eri al l y. Soci et y
i s no
l onger
merel y
subsumed
by capi t al i st
command;
i t
i s absorbed
ent i rel y by
t he
i nt egrat ed
mode
of
product i on.
Di fferences
i n
product i vi t y
and
50 FELI x GUATrARI &TONI NEGRI
i n l evel s of
expl oi t at i on
can t hen be art i cu-
l at ed i n a smoot her, more di ffuse
way
wi t hi n
each
geo- pol i t i cal
segment accordi ng
t o re-
gi on,
count ry,
or cont i nent .
Compet i t i on,
t he
key
l i nki n t he
bourgeoi s
market , i s no
l onger
very
i mport ant
for t hi s
process
of
capi t al i st
ret rai ni ng.
The t ransnat i onal
comput eri zat i on
of
t he soci al i s concerned
wi t h
onl y
one form
of
compet i t i on:
t hat whi ch i t can
provoke
bet ween
workers
and bet ween
t he di fferent
st rat a
of
t he
worki ng
cl ass and of t he
prol e-
t ari at . I t t hus
becomes
possi bl e
for
I nt egrat ed
Worl d
Capi t al i sm
t o act i vat e
speci fi c
t ech-
ni ques
of
anal ysi s
and cont rol of soci al
cl asses
-
' whi ch nowmake
st ruggl es
erupt ,
now
pul veri ze
t hei r
power
at t hose
poi nt s
where t hei r l evel of
pol i t i ci zat i on
i s
si gni fi -
cant , or, on t he
cont rary,
unl eash t hemi n a
cont rol l ed
way
at t hose
poi nt s
wheret he
prob-
l ems of economi c "t ake- off" and of
pol i t i cal
reformare
posed
most
urgent l y.
As i t has
al ways
been i n t he
hi st ory
of
capi t al ,
t hi s renovat i on of t he forms of
command
by I nt egrat ed
Worl d
Capi t al i sm
goes
hand i n hand wi t h a redefi ni t i on of t he
ways surpl us- val ue
i s ext ract ed
(comput en-
COI VI MUNI STS LI KE Us 51
zat i on of t he work
process, spread
of soci al
cont rol
t hrough
mass
medi a,
subj ect i ve
i nt e-
grat i on bygovernment al apparat uses,
et c
. . . . ) .
And as i t has
al ways
been i n t he hi s-
t ory
of t he
expl oi t at i on
of workers'
st ruggl es,
t hi s
l eap
forward of t he
organi zat i on
of work
and
of t he St at e was
"ant i ci pat ed" by
t he
movement s
of t he
cl ass
st ruggl e.
The
forms
of soci al
subj ect i vi t y
whi ch
emerged
i n
1968
gave
ri se t o a
"weavi ng"
of mol ecul ar
st ruggl es
for l i berat i on whi ch are
concerned
wi t h
obj ect i ves
t hat
are
at once
i mmedi at e
and
l ong- t erm,
l oal ,
everyday,
t ri vi al ,
yet
engaged
nevert hel ess
wi t h
t he fut ure
of hu-
mani t y
on a
gl obal
scal e. Thi s
operat i on
was
of course
very
compl ex
and, i n
many
re-
spect s, i mpossi bl e
t o "sum
up"
wi t hi n t he
frameworkof a
si ngl e
hi st ori cal
sequence.
I t i s nol ess t rue t hat t he
pseudo- pro-
gressi ve
di al ect i c of
capi t al i sm
whi ch t ri -
umphed
aft er t he second worl d war was t hus
compl et el y
bl ocked. Aft er ' 68, t he
dynami c
bet ween t he di fferent funct i ons of
capi t al
(const ant
and
vari abl e) and t he i nt eract i on
bet ween t he cl ass of
capi t al i st s
and t he so-
ci al work force has
radi cal l y changed
con-
t ext ; t hi s i s a resul t of t he
emergence
of i n-
52 FELI X GUATFARI
&TornNEGR1
creasi ngl y i mport ant ,
het erogeneous arrange-
ment s of
subj ect i vi t y
and
sensi bi l i t y.
The l aw
of val ue has ceasedt o f unct i on
-
i f i t ever
worked i n t he manner i nwhi ch
i t was de-
scri bed
-
al ong
wi t h norms of economi c
proport i onal i t y
and even t he
ordi nary
mo-
dal i t i es
of
si mpl e
cl ass
expl oi t at i on.
The so-
ci al
hegemony
of t he new
prol et ari an
sub-
j ect i vi t i es,
once i t was af f i rmed, had
t o ac-
qui re
t he
qual i t y
of
i rreversi bi l i t y:
no
l onger
woul d
anyt hi ng
be abl e t o
prevent
i t f rom
reveal i ng
i t sel f ,
regardl ess
of t he
prevai l i ng
rel at i ons of f orce,
"t he
hi ghs
andt he l ows; "
i ndeed,
part i cul arl y
ont he "f ront " of t hei r
af f i rmat i on
i nt he mass- medi a, no
l onger
can
anyt hi ng prevent
t hese
subj ect i vi t i es
f rom
bei ng
basi c ref erence
poi nt s
f or f ut ure
st ruggl es.
Capi t al i st
and/ or soci al i st rest ruc-
t urat i ondoes not
aut omat i cal l y
ref er
t o rel a-
t i vel y
rat i onal l aws. I t i s not "sci ent i f i c"
-
no mat t er how
sophi st i cat ed
t he
t heoret i cal
devi ces
and t he i nst rument s of
predi ct i on
whi chi t
empl oys:
i t i s
essent i al l y repressi ve.
The
comput eri zat i on
[ i nf ori nat i sat i on]
of t he
soci al i s
i nseparabl e
f romi t s mechani zat i on
andi t s mi l i t ari zat i on, i nsuch a
way
t hat
t he
syst emat i c product i on
of i nf ormat i on
t ends
CoMMuNI sTs LI KE Us 53
t o be subst i t ut ed f or t he search f or i t . Such
are t he zones of
st rat egi c i mport ance
t hat
t he
ci rcui t s of
reproduct i on
whi ch
support
l i f e
and t he
st ruggl e
are more and more con-
t rol l ed, ordered, and,
ul t i mat el y, repressed
i n
a
prevent i ve
f ashi on. Li f e t i me t hus f i nds i t -
sel f
t i ght l y
f ast enedont ot he
mi l i t ary
t i me of
capi t al .
The t i me of
capi t al ,
or t he
capaci t y
t o
t ransl at e
every sequence
of l i f e i nt o t erms of
exchange,
andof overdet ermi nat i on wi t ht he
urgency
and t he
necessi t y
of t he
operat i ons
of economi c
quaf l t i f i cat i on
and of
pol i t i cal
command; t error, or t he
capaci t y
t o anni hi -
l at e
al l
t hose whoref use t o submi t t o i t : t hi s
i s
what t he
reshuf f l i ng
of t he t radi t i onal f unc-
t i ons of
t he
st at e, and t hei r
unl i mi t ed
pene-
t rat i on of
peopl e' s
at t i t udes,
sensi bi l i t y
and
mi nds, amount s t o.
By t hreat eni ng
t he
very
f oundat i ons of
bei ng,
t he st at e
manages
t o
cont rol t he
si ngul ar
f l owof our l i ves, sub-
j ect i ng
i t t o t he
rhyt hm
of
capi t al i st i c
t i me.
Once i t became cl ear t hat no l aw, nor ot her
norm, coul dever medi at e bet weent he
capi -
t al andt he
prol i f erat i on
of col l ect i ve
subj ec-
t i vi t i es, t error
became t he
onl y way
t osecure
t he
resumpt i on
t o
capi t al i st i c
and soci al i st i c
54
FELI xGUATFART&TONI NEGRI
accumul ati on i n the 70' s. I t i s under the i m-
petus
of thi s terror that the nucl ear state be-
came the central
fi gure
of
I ntegrated
Worl d
Capi tal i sm.
At
present
the cl ubof nucl ear
powers
subj ects
on a
l arge
scal e al l nati ons and
peopl es
to i ts mul ti centered networks; but
i t
al so di ctates i n detai l s the countl ess
confl i cts
and l ocal stri fes whi ch
poi son
l i fe
on thi s
earth,
repressi ng
or
fuel i ng
themat wi l l . I n
the
Thi rd Worl d, si nce the so-cal l ed
peri od
of "decol oni zati on, " al l these confl i cts make
up
some ki ndof
worl dwar that doesn' t dare
cal l i tsel f
by
that name. Nucl ear terror i s at
the root of
every
ki ndof
oppressi on
andover-
determi nes the
rel ati onshi ps
of
expl oi tati on
between soci al
groups
at both
pol i ti cal
and
mi cro-pol i ti cal
l evel s. Thus threat andi nti mi -
dati on
seep through
al l the
pores
of
the thi n
ski nof
nucl ear deterrence,
whi ch
doesn' t ex-
cl ude more di rect forms of
i nterventi on.
The
ul ti mate
goal ,
as
al ways,
i s
to force
peopl e
to condone thei r
mi sery
and
pol i ti cal i mpo-
tence.
Capi tal i sm
answers: "Nofuture" to the
ri se of newforms of
prol etari an subj ecti vi ty,
counteri ng
thei r offensi ve wi th state terror.
At thi s
j uncture
the
word
"democ-
COMMUNI STSLamUs 55
racy" begs
redefi ni ti on. The word "commu-
ni sm"
has
cl earl y
beendefaced, but the word
democracy
i tsel f has been trashed and
muti -
l ated.
Fromthe
Greek
pol i s
to
the
popul ar
upri si ngs
of the Renai ssance and Reforma-
ti on, from
the
prol etari an
rebel l i ons that
co-
exi sted wi th the
great
l i beral revol uti ons,
democracy
has
al ways
been
synonymous
wi th
the
l egi ti mati on
of
power through
the
peopl e.
Thi s
l egi ti mati on, al ways
concrete,
punctual ,
materi al , took
speci fi c
forms,
breaki ng away
froma
di vi ne or absol ute tradi ti on.
Wi th
democracy, l egi ti macy
i s
pri -
mari l y
human,
spati al l y
and
temporal l y
de-
fi ned.
We' re al l
subj ected
to
I ntegrated
Worl d
Capi tal i sm
because i t
i s
i mpossi bl e
to
l ocate the source of i ts
power.
I f we
try
to
go
back to i ts source, al l
we fi ndi s
subj ecti on
to the second, thi rd, nth
degree.
The
ori gi n
of
power
recedes
hi gher
and
hi gher up
andcanbe si zed
up
i n rel ati on
to the
depth
of our own
i mpotence.
Pol i ti cal
rel ati onshi ps
-
cal l ed "democrati c"
-
as
we
experi ence
themon a
dai l y
basi s, are at
best
trompes-l ' oei l
when
they
don' t throwus
56 FELI X GUATFARI &TONI NEGI U
st r ai ght
i nt o
pai n
and
despai r .
Thi s i s t he
common f eat ur e, t he unavoi dabl e axi omof
t he
capi t al i st
or soci al i st r est r uct ur at i on of
t he
pol i t i cal power s.
I I . NORTH
/
SOUTH:
TERRORANDHUNGER
As we
have
begun
t o see, t he
capi t al -
i st and/ or soci al i st r eact i on of t he 70s i nt e-
gr at es
t he wor l d mar ket
accor di ng
t o a de-
si gn
f or t he
expl oi t at i on
of wor k andf or
po-
l i t i cal cont r ol whi ch evol ves i n a
homogene-
ous manner . The f undament al t r ansi t i on, i n
t hi s sense,
begi ns
wi t h t he
phase
of ni xoni an
i ni t i at i ve i n t he
monet ar y
and i nt er nat i onal
pol i t i cal
ar enas. Bet ween 1971 and 1973, a
ser i es
of
oper at i ons
l ent a
pol i t i cal
char act er
t o
t he
mul t i - nat i onal net wor kof
expl oi t at i on
whi ch was
al r eady i mpl ant ed
i n
t he wor l d
mar ket . The t ake- of f of t he
dol l ar r el at i ve t o
t he
gol d
st andar d and t he
pet r ol eum
cr i si s
ar t i cul at ed, under t he same
monet ar y
com-
mand,
( subt r act ed
f r om
al l
quest i ons
of val ue)
t he
r ul es f or t he
or gani zat i on
of wor k and
t hose of t he
pr oduct i ve hi er ar chy
on an i nt er -
Co1uvI uN1sTs LI KE Us 57
nat i onal l evel . The
pet r ol eum
cr i si s
empt i ed
t he t r easur i es of count r i es and
pushed
f i nan-
ci al cent r al i zat i on and uni f i cat i on t o t he
poi nt
of
par oxysm. I ni t i al l y,
t hi s
oper at i on ap-
pear ed, dur i ng
t he
Ki ssi nger
er a, as a
gr eat
shock. The
di vi si ons
wi t hi n t he
capi t al i st
and!
or soci al i st
pol i t i cal per sonnel
r ever ber at ed
successi vel y
i n t he Tr i l at er al Commi ssi on,
t hen
t hr ough
t he
agr eement s
andt he
coopt a-
t i ons wi t hi n
I nt egr at ed
Wor l d
Capi t al i sm,
t hat
i s, i n t he new
ar r angement s
of t he
pol i t i cal
wi l l of domi nat i on. I t i s on t hi s f oundat i on
t hat t he ef f ect i ve
pol i t i cal car t ogr aphy
of
expl oi t at i on
on
a
wor l d scal e i s sket chedout .
Capi t al i st i nt egr at i on
det er mi nes cer t ai n f un-
dament al
pol ar i t i es
ar ound whi ch move de-
pendent sub- syst ems,
i n
par t i al r upt ur e
wi t h
t he hi er ar chi es of
power
whi ch over code t he
st r uggl es
f or l i ber at i on andt he cl ass
st r uggl es,
-
t hat
per mi t capi t al i st
i nt egr at i on
t o al l ow
i t sel f t he
l uxur y,
on t he l evel of t hese sub-
syst ems,
of
l ar ge
scal e
modi f i cat i ons. At t he
hear t of t hi s
compl ex
pl ay
of mul t i cent er ed
syst ems,
whi ch
di sj oi n
t he f l ows of
st r uggl e
and
car r y
out dest abi l i zat i ons and/ or st r at e-
gi c
st abi l i zat i ons,
a t r ansnat i onal mode
of
pr o-
duct i on i s consol i dat ed.
Thr oughout
t hese
58 FELI x GUATFARI &TONI NEGR
systemi c
ensembl es, one f i nds the i mmense
enter pr i se
of the
pr oducti on
of
cyber neti c
subj ecti vi ty
[ subj ecti vi t i nf or mati see]
whi ch
r egul ates
the networ ks of
dependence
and the
pr ocesses
of
mar gi nal i zati on.
The
wor ki ng
cl ass and the
soci al l y pr oducti ve
pr ol etar i at
of the centr al
metr opol i tan
countr i es ar e
by
vi r tue of thi s f act
subj ect
to the
exponenti al
competi ti on
of the
pr ol etar i at
of the
l ar ge
metr opol i ses
of
under - devel opment .
The
pr o-
l etar i ats of the most
devel oped
countr i es
thus
ar e
l i ter al l y
ter r or i zed
by
the
spectacl e
of the
exter mi nati on
by hunger
whi ch
I ntegr ated
Wor l d
Capi tal i smi mposes
on the
mar gi nal -
i zed
(and
of ten
l i motr opi c)
countr i es. The
i ndustr i al r eser ve
ar my,
domi nated
by
a new
l awof absol ute
pauper i sm,
i s
cur r entl y
con-
sti tuted ona conti nental basi s.
Capi tal i st
and!
or soci al i st command,
mul ti pl i ed
i nto
pol y-
centr i c
subal ter n
sub- systems, br i ngs together
the
hi ghest
r ates of
expl oi tati on
wi th ar eas
of
pover ty
and death. For al l that, the
str uggl es
f or l i ber ati on have not been mi l i -
tar i l y
or
pol i ti cal l y str angl ed.
But, wi thi nthe
f r ame of these di f f er ent
sub- systems,
I nte-
gr ated
Wor l d
Capi tal i sm
has not ceased to
sti mul ate f r atr i ci dal war s f or the
conquest
of
COMMUNI STSLi i Us 59
i nter medi ar y degr ees
of
par ti ci pati on
i n i nte-
gr ati on.
The
enemy
has become the
poor ,
those
poor er
than onesel f . I f
theor y
has ever
had the need to eval uate the
basi s of
power
and of command over humanl i f e, i t f i nds i n
thi s a
convi nci ng exampl e,
i n
that the es-
sence of the
pr obl em
tur ns out tobei n
pr o-
ducti on and i n the
or gani zati on
of wor k,
i n
the
f r i ghteni ngcapi tal i st
vor aci ousness whi ch
str uctur es themon a wor l d scal e and whi ch
subj ugates
themwi thi nthe f r ameof the
gen-
er al i zed mass- medi ated,
cyber neti c [ i nf or ma-
ti que] i ntegr ati on
of
pol es
of domi nati on.
To a cer tai n extent, the
poor
f i nd
themsel ves
pr oduced
twi ce
by
thi s
system:
by expl oi tati on
and
by mar gi nal i zati on
and
death. Ter r or , whi chi nthe
metr opol i tan
coun-
tr i es
i s
i ncar nated as the
potenti al
f or nucl ear
exter mi nati on, i s actual i zed, i nthe
mar gi nal -
i zed countr i es, as exter mi nati on
by
f ami ne.
Let i t be cl ear ,
never thel ess, that ther e i s noth-
i ng "per i pher al "
i n
thi s l ast
desi gn:
i n f act,
ther e ar e
onl y
di f f er ences of
degr ee
between
expl oi tati on,
destr ucti on
by
i ndustr i al and
ur ban
pol l uti on,
wel f ar e concei ved as a
sepa-
r ati ng
out of zones of
pover ty,
and the exter -
mi nati on of
enti r e
peopl es,
such as those
60 FELI x GUAI TARI
&ToMNEGRI
whi ch occur i n t he
cont i nent s of Asi a, Af-
ri ca, and Lat i n
Ameri ca.
I t i s
wort h
t aki ng proper
not e
t he
newness of t he forms of
cont rol
i mpl ement ed
by
I . W. C.
[ I nt egrat ed
Worl d
Capi t al i sm] .
The
st rat egi es
of t enor
andof
repressi on
t end t o
be more andmore t ransversal ,
punct ual ,
and
sudden.
Each
pi ece
of
eart h, each
geo-pol i t i -
cal
segment ,
has become a
pot ent i al
enemy
front i er. The worl dhas been
t ransformedi nt o
a
l abyri nt h
wi t hi n
whi chone can fal l at
any
moment , at t he wi l l of t he dest ruct i ve
op-
t i ons of t he
mul t i nat i onal
powers.
A
pract i ce
of
pi racy,
correspondi ng
t o t he current
phase
of over-mat urat i on of
capi t al ,
has been
subst i t ut ed for t he
pol i t i cs
of
power
of t he
peri od
of
mat uri t y
of
i mperi -
al i st
capi t al i sm.
Fl ot i l l as of
hyper-power
[ sur-
pui ssances] pl ow
t he oceans
andt he seas t he
same as
Morgan
andt he Dut ch.
We shoul d
prepare
for t he
set t l i ng
of
account s bet ween
t he submari nes of t he
capi -
t al i st and/ or soci al i st
nucl ear buccaneers. But
i t i s not
j ust
i n t he
expl i ci t l y mi l i t ary eart hl y,
mari t i me, and aeri al arenas t hat t he
perma-
nent war of I . W. C.
agai nst
worl d
soci et y
t akes
Coi vI uNI sTs Lam
Us
61
pl ace.
I t i s al soi n t he ensembl e of ci vi l , so-
ci al , economi c, andi ndust ri al domai ns. And,
t here as wel l ,
accordi ng
t o
i nfi ni t el y
di ffer-
ent i at ed, t ransversal
fi l i at i ons
of
operat ors
of
power,
who
are
beyond
t he
cont rol
of
com-
mon
humans,
beyond
uni on or
pol i t i cal
con-
t rol
-
at l east i n t he t radi t i onal sense
-
and
i n t he mi ddl e of whi chcan be foundmi xed
up:
mul t i nat i onal s, t he Mafi as, t he
mi l i t ary
i ndust ri al
compl exes,
t he secret servi ces, even
t he Vat i can. On al l l evel s, on al l scal es, eve-
ryt hi ng
i s
permi t t ed: specul at i on,
ext ort i on,
provocat i ons,
dest abi l i zat i ons, bl ackmai l ,
massi ve
deport at i ons, genoci de. . .
I nt hi s vi ru-
l ent
phase
of decadence, t he
capi t al i st
mode
of
product i on
seems t oredi scover, i nt act , t he
feroci ousness
of
i t s
ori gi ns.
Al l t hese modal i t i es are
i nscri bed
wi t hi n t he same cont i nuumof
i nt egrat i on:
of
i nformat i on, command, and
profi t .
I f
i t i s t rue
t hat for a
l ong
t i me, t he
gl obal st ruggl es
of
"communi st l i berat i on" wi l l
devel op
-
at
l east i n t he
i magi nat i on
of revol ut i onari es
-
al ong
t he East -West axi s, one must al soac-
knowl edge
t hat t he fundament al cont radi c-
t i on whi ch
runs
t hrough
t he
I nt egrat edCapi -
t al i st mode of
product i on t oday
on
a
worl d
62 FELI x GUATrARI &
Tor. a NEGi fi
scal e i s di st ri but ed
embl emat i cal l y
bet ween
t he Nort h and t he Sout h.
I f Red
Square
ever
represent ed
a
l i ght
of
hope,
t he soci al i st
sys-
t emhas
current l y
become t he
supreme st age
of t he
degenerat i on
of
capi t al i sm
ari d
i s an
i nt egral part
of t he mul t i val ent axi s of Nort h-
Sout h
expl oi t at i on. Capi t al i st
and/ or soci al -
i st
rest ruct uri ng
i n t he ' 70s has st i t ched
t o-
get her
t he ol d modes of
product i on,
redi s-
t ri but i ng
t he f unct i ons of
t he
pl ayers,
andre-
organi zi ng
ona worl d scal e t he di vi si on
of
expl oi t at i on.
I t i s
respect abl e
t o
say, among
t he
west ern
i nt el l i gent si a,
t hat , f or
st rat egi c
rea-
sons or f or
ol d
maoi st
memori es, t he coun-
t ri es of
real l y exi st i ng
soci al i smand, i n
par-
t i cul ar t he Sovi et Uni on, const i t ut e a
great er
t hreat t o
Europe
and t he count ri es of t he Thi rd
Worl d t hant he U. S.
Thi s i s not at al l our
poi nt
of
vi ew;
we do not
bel i eve
t hat t he
West canbe
pre-
f erred
t o
t he East . I n t he sense t hat we con-
si der
oursel ves
"ci t i zens of t he worl d, " we
are not concerned wi t h t he
exi st i ng ant ago-
ni smbet ween t he t wo
super- powers.
Peri l -
ous,
debi l i t at i ng,
dramat i c
-
t hi s
ant agoni sm
i s no l ess i n cert ai n
regards
f act i t i ous and
Corvm' I ur' 4i i smLri s Us 63
myst i f i cat ory,
i n
t he sense t hat i t i s overde-
t ermi ned
by
a
f undament al f unct i onal
agree-
ment
rel at i ve t o t he
subj ugat i on
of
t he
pro-
duct i ve f orce of t he
europeanprol et ari at s
and
t o
t he
appropri at i on
of a
quasi - grat ui t ous
area
of
expansi on
and
provi si oni ng
i n raw
mat e-
ri al s and i n l abor f orce on t he
ot her cont i -
nent s.
Wi t hout
cal l i ng
on, i n t he "l ast i n-
st ance, " a
f i nal marxi st ref erent , but
si mpl y
i n t he
l i ght
of
good
sense and of a
percep-
t i on of
everyday
i nt ernat i onal rel at i ons, i t
seems t o us t hat
t he current ri se i nEast - West
t enSi onhas above al l as
an
obj ect
t he mask-
i ng
of t he dest ruct i on
by hunger
of ent i re
peopl es,
i n an
equal
f ever
of
reproduct i on
t hroughprof i t ,
whi ch
t orment s
t he
domi nant
cast es, as much i n t he
U. S. A. as i n t he
U. S. S. R. . I n t he
l ong
t erm,
t heref ore: corn-
pl ement ari t y
and
compl i ci t y
i n order t o as-
sure a
commondomi nat i ononaworl d
scal e
over t he
di vi si on of l abor and i t s
expl oi t a-
t i on.
And i t i s
preci sel y
on t hi s scal e t hat
t he
"ci vi l i zi ng
mi ssi on" of
capi t al
has dem-
onst rat ed t he
ext ent of i t s f eroci ousness and
i t s
absurdi t y.
Ont hat scal e,
povert y, margi -
64
FEUXGUATI ' ARI &
TOMNEGRI
nal i zat i on, ext ermi nat i on,
and
genoci de
are
reveal ed t o be t he ul t i mat e
consequences
of
a modeof
product i on
whi ch set i t sel f
up
i n a
t i l l - now
peacef ul symbi osi s
wi t h t he
st ruggl es
of t he
worki ng
cl ass of t he
met ropol i t an
coun-
t ri es. But , f aced
wi t h t he cri si s of i t s own
syst em
of
prof i t
and wi t h t he
degradat i on
of
i t s own
pri nci pl es
of
l egi t i mat i on, capi t al
i s
nowconst rai ned
t o have recourse
(and
t o
t heori ze t hat recourse) t o t he
most ext reme
measures.
The era of t he
over- mat uri t y
of
capi t al i sm
reveal s t he vi ol ence
of i t s
ori gi ns
i n a cl i mat e of
pani c
due t o t he
weakeni ng
of i t s mot i vat i ons. The
capi t al i st
rest ruct ur-
i ng
of t he worl d
market , undert aken si nce
t he
70s, has ent ai l ed an
ext raordi nary
accel -
erat i on of t he
process
of
i nt egrat i on,
whi l e
separat i ng
out i t s ef f ect s under
t he f ormof
paradoxi cal
cri ses. The
capi t al i st
i nt egrat i on
of t he worl d market ,
i f i t has not crowned
t he dreams of t he
promot i on
of a more hu-
mane ci vi l i zat i on, has
shown, on t he con-
t rary,
t o what l evel t he
cruel t y
and
cyni ci sm
of
t he
capi t al i st
mode of
product i on
can be
rai sed. The
at t empt s
t o overcome
t he i nt er-
nal cont radi ct i ons i ni t i at ed
by
t he
emergence
of newcol l ect i ve
subj ect i vi t i es
f ounded on
COMMI JNI SI SLI KE
Us
65
t he
wi deni ng
of
t he market ,
despi t e
t he cau-
t i on of
pol i t i cal
personnel
of
t he
Ki ssi nger
or Cart er
t ype,
have not
onl y put
an endt o
t he i nt ernal cri si s
of t he cent ral
met ropol i t an
count ri es, but have
pushed
i t t o t he
poi nt
of
paroxysm
and have
spread
i t s
devast at i ng
ef -
f ect s
over t he ent i re
gl obe.
The
space
domi nat ed
by capi t al ,
whi ch i s subdi vi ded,
f ragment ed, segment ed,
and f unct i onal i zed
accordi ng
t o t he ends of
capi t al ' s
command,
i s
openi ng
as a newt er-
rai n of resi st ance and of
conquest .
The ex-
t reme
weapons
of ext ermi nat i on and
margi -
nal i zat i on wi l l not succeed f orever i n
bl ock-
i ng
t he
process
of
recomposi t i on,
whose vi -
t al i t y
one can
al ready
det ect . I t i s
i mport ant
t o
underscore t he correl at i on
bet ween t he
l evel
at t ai ned
by capi t al i st
rest ruct uri ng
and
t he
unprecedent ed
di mensi ons of t he cri si s
of t he
past
decade.
Onecan t hus not e, on t he
one hand, t hat even i n
t he most t erri bl e of
t est s, t he new
soci al di ssi dence has not
st opped
wei ghi ng
on
t he si t uat i on andaccel -
erat i ng
t he cri si s, andon
t he ot her hand, t hat
t he
capi t al i st
i nst rument s of cont rol are
prov-
i ng
t o
be l ess andl ess
adapt ed
t o t hei r
end,
moreand
morei nef f ect i ve.
66 FEuxGUATFARI &TONI NEGRI
I t was no doubt
begi nni ng
i n 1982
t hat t he
cycl e
of r est r uct ur at i on, whi ch be-
gan
bet ween 1971and1973, l aunchedaf i r st
deci si ve
bar r age,
when t he most i ndebt ed
count r i es of t he
Thi r d
Wor l d t hr eat ened
t he
consor t i umof banks wi t h t he
possi bi l i t y
of
decl ar i ng bankr upt cy,
i n
r esponse
t o t he un-
pr ecedent ed pol i t i cs
of
def l at i onar y st r angu-
l at i on
whi ch
t hey
wer e
under goi ng.
I t seems
t hat i n an
i r r ever si bl e
f ashi on, anew
t ype
of
pr ocess
of l i ber at i on andof
l ar gescal e
sel f -
or gani zat i on
came i nt o
bei ng.
Wewi l l r et ur n
t o t hi s
poi nt .
I I I . THERI GHTI NPOWER
The
t empor al
and
spat i al
mechani sm
f or
cont r ol l i ng st r uggl es, put
i n
pl ace dur i ng
t he
capi t al i st
and/ or soci al i st r est r uct ur at i on
of
t he wor l dof
pr oduci ng,
i nvest ed
new
f i g-
ur es of cl ass
st r uggl e.
I n t hose
pl aces
wher e
t he
Ri ght t r i umphed, I nt egr at ed
Wor l d
Capi -
t al i smsucceeded
i n
i nst i t ut i onal i zi ng
t hese
new
f i gur es
and
i n
maki ng
t hemact as a
mo-
t or of r est r uct ur at i on.
As
t he
r eact i onar y cycl e
of t he 70s
put s
t hemon
di spl ay
f or us, t he
i nst r ument s set i nmot i on
by I nt egr at ed
Wor l d
Cov1uNI sTs Ln Us 67
Capi t al i sm
i n or der t ochannel andeven
pr o-
duce cl ass
st r uggl e
wi t hi nt he f r ameof i nst i -
t ut i onal
i nt egr at i on
r esi de:
1)
i n i t s
abi l i t y
t o
put
i n
pl ace syst ems
of t r ansnat i onal
compe-
t i t i on
bet weencl ass sect or s;
2)
i n t he ut i l i za-
t i on of
def l at i onar y monet ar y
pol i t i cs
whi ch
i ncr ease
unempl oyment ; 3)
i n t he r econver -
si on whi ch i t
ef f ect uat es i n t he
pol i t i cs
of
wel f ar e, t owar d a "cont r ol l ed"
i ncr ease of
pover t y.
Thi s
pol i t i cs
i s
accompani ed by
a
pul ver i zi ng,
mol ecul ar
r epr essi on
of al l at -
t empt s
at r esi st ance and at t he
f r ee
expr es-
si on of needs. I t i s essent i al t hat t he cont r ol
t hat i t
pr omot es
succeeds i n
becomi ng
ef f ec-
t i ve i nt he col l ect i ve
i magi nar y, '
t hus i ni t i at -
i ng
asi t uat i on of di f f use cr i si s wi t hi nwhi ch
i t wi l l
at t empt
t o
separ at e: 1)
t hat
par t
of t he
pr ol et ar i at
wi t h
whi ch i ncumbent
power
r e-
l i es on
negot i at i ng
a
guar ant ee
of
r epr oduc-
t i on and
2)
t he i mmense mass of t hose ex-
cl uded or
"non- guar ant eed. "
Thi s
di vi si on i s
mul t i pl i ed i nf i ni t el y
and
hi er ar chi zedi nt he l abor mar ket , i n
whi ch
t he
compet i t i on
bet ween
wor ker s makes i t -
sel f f el t , and
beyond,
ont he "soci al and i n-
st i t ut i onal mar ket " i nwhi ch al l t he ot her sec-
t or s
of t he
popul at i on
ar e const r ai ned t o
68
FELI x GUArrARI &ToNI
NEGRI
"make
themsel ves val uabl e. "
The
revol uti onary
events
of ' 68, as
wel l as the materi al transf ormati ons
of the
mode
of
producti on,
have
shown the deter-
mi ni ng
wei ght
whi ch
the
worki ng
cl ass con-
ti nued
to
possess
on the soci al
stage.
The
spi ri t
of
competi ti on
between workers
was
thus
weakenedi n f avor
of a
recogni ti on
of
revol uti onary obj ecti ves
concerni ng
a
grow-
i ng
number of
categori es
of
oppressedpeopl e.
But wi th the
return of the
Ri ght
to
power
duri ng
the' 70s, a
resegregati on
of thework-
i ng
cl ass,
whi ch f al l s back
on
"al ready
at-
tai ned
advantages, "
i ts
guarantees,
and i ts
corporate
pri vi l eges,
has taken
pl ace.
We
have
seen the
paradox
of an
i nsti tuti onal i za-
ti on whi ch
pref orms
the
worki ng
cl ass i nto
i ts own
enemy
( thi s
ti me, onecan
real l y speak
of a"new
worki ng
cl ass") . I n thi s context,
the
struggl es
werecondemnedto remai n
i n-
sti tuti onal i zed,
to be
pi l oted by I ntegrated
Worl d
Capi tal i sm; f requentl y they
even re-
veal edthemsel ves to be
the best
supports
f or
pol i ti cal
andsoci al
conservati sm.
( I n parti cu-
l ar, on themol ecul ar
terrai n of
capi tal ' s
sub-
sumpti on
of soci al workand
agai nst
theso-
ci al di f f usi on
of
revol uti onary
needs and
COMMUNI STSLI KE Us 69
transf ormati onal
desi res. )
I t seems
to us es-
senti al
to i nsi st onthi s
poi nt:
today,
Stakha-
nov,
the
superi or di gni ty
of the worker
wi th
cal l oused
hands,
( f or
whom
Reagan
has a
certai n
nostal gi a)
a certai n
concepti on
of
worker
central i ty,
andthe enti re ol d
i magi -
nary mani pul ated
by
the
uni ons andthel ef t,
i n a
systemati c
mi sapprehensi on
of the
great
maj ori ty
of the
"non- guaranteed" prol etari at,
has
i rredeemabl y
goneby
the
waysi de.
"Real l y exi sti ng
soci al i sm" has be-
comea
pri vi l eged
i nstrument of thedi vi si on
of the
metropol i tan prol etari at,
a
weapon
di -
rectl y mani pul ated
by capi tal i st
conservati sm.
Whi chdoes not mean,
neverthel ess, that the
worki ng
cl asses, i n themsel ves, can
no
l onger
i n the
f uture
devel op
deci si ve
struggl es
wi thi n
the
dynami c
of
soci al
transf ormati ons. But
onl y
on the
condi ti on that
they
are
radi cal l y
reshaped
by
the
mol ecul ar revol uti ons
whi ch
run
through
them.
I n f act,
capi tal i st
and/ or
soci al i st
structurati on i n
the ' 70s
di rectl y
conf ronted
the new
revol uti onary subj ecti vi ti es,
con-
strai ni ng
themto
i nteri ori ze thei r
potenti al
consci ousness and
obl i gi ng
themto beunder
thethumb
of
systems
of
technol ogi cal
con-
70
FELI x GUATFARI &ToMNEGRI
t r ol and
a
bat t er y
of
gover nment appar at uses
whi char e
mor e andmor e
sophi st i cat ed.
The
fundament al
obj ect i ve
of
I nt egr at ed
Wor l d
Capi t al i sm
was t oat t ai n a
maxi mal
expan-
si on of t he
i nt egr at ed pr oduct i ve
di mensi on
ont he soci al l evel and
ont he
geo-pol i t i cal
l evel ,
segr egat ed
fr omt he r ei nt r oduct i on
of
pover t y,
of
hunger ,
andof t er r or as an
i n-
st r ument of di vi si on.
The
vi ct or y
of t he
r i ght
was basedoni t s
abi l i t y
t oneut r al i ze t he r e-
composi t i on
of
t hat
r evol ut i onar y subj ect i v-
i t y
whi ch found
i t sel f
exposed
t o
t he
gr eat
di ffi cul t y
of
r econst i t ut i ng uni t ar y
l i nes
of
at t ack
agai nst
expl oi t at i on.
Thi s
r eact i onar y
t ur n-ar ound
succeeded i n
assumi ng,
i n r e-
ver si ng,
andi n
expl odi ngever yt hi ng
whi ch,
si nce 68, was r eveal ed
as a
new
power
of t he
pr ol et ar i at
-
t hat i s,
t he ensembl e of soci al
component s
and
of col l ect i ve
capaci t i es
for
ar t i cul at i ng
t he
mol ecul ar
mul t i pl i ci t y
of i t s
needs and
i t s desi r es. The di vi si on
i mposed
t hr ough
i nst r ument s of economi c andi nst i -
t ut i onal
vi ol ence was consol i dat ed
t hr ough
t he
pr omot i on
of a
symbol i sm
of dest r uct i on
pushed
t oanext r eme. "Ext er mi ni sm"
became
t he r efer ent val ue
par
excel l ence. Ext er mi na-
t i on
by
submi ssi on
or deat h, as t he ul t i mat e
CoMvi ur 'ns1s Ln Us 71
hor i zonof
capi t al i st devel opment .
The
onl y
l awof val ue whi ch
capi t al i sm
and/ or soci al -
i sm
r ecogni zes t oday:
i t i s t he bl ackmai l of
deat h. We wi l l not l et our sel ves be t akeni n
by
t hi s
deat hl y
r eal i sm. "I t i s
r i ght
t or evol t . "
The
r esponsi bi l i t y
of t he t r adi t i onal
or gani zat i ons
of
t he wor ker s' movement ,
whi ch r emai ned
pr i soner
t o t he
i l l usor y
choi ce bet ween
capi t al i sm
and
soci al i sm, was
t hus deci si ve. I t i s
necessar y
t o
r ecogni ze
t hat t he fact t hat t he
devel opment
of t he mode
of
pr oduct i on
andt he mat ur at i onof col l ec-
t i ve consci ousness
compl et el y passed
t hem
by
does not i n
any way
el i mi nat e t he conse-
quences
of t hei r dr i ft ,
myst i fi cat i on,
and
pa-
r al ysi s
of al l i ni t i at i ve i nt he wor ker s'move-
ment . The i ner t i a of t he soci al movement s,
whi ch
r eveal edi t sel f i nnumer ous si t uat i ons,
t he
i nabi l i t y
of t he
r evol ut i onar y
movement
t or econst i t ut e
i t sel f on
pol i t i cal l y
newfoun-
dat i ons, t he
i ncapabi l i t y
of
t he
t r ansfor ma-
t i on
pr ocess
t o
i mpose
i t sel f i n
i t s
ent i r et y
-
al l ar e
essent i al l y
condi t i oned
by
t he
monop-
ol y
of
pol i t i cal r epr esent at i on
and of t he
i magi nar y,
whi cht he
al l i ance bet ween
capi -
t al i st and
soci al i st
per sonnel
has seal ed for
decades. Thi s al l i ance i s
basedonest abl i sh-
72
FEuxGUATFARI
&TONI NEGRI
i ng
t he
model of t he
doubl e l abor
market :
t hat
of
guarant eed
workers andt hat of
t he
non- guarant eed
-
wi t h soci al i sm
l egi t i mi z-
i ng
onl y
t he f i rst .
Fromt hi s has
resul t ed a
f rozen
soci et y,
comparabl e
t ot hat
of t he An-
ci en
Rgi me,
but ,
i nt he end, a
soci et y
equal l y
unt enabl e because
i t i s undermi ned
by
i nnu-
merabl e mol ecul ar
f orces
expressi ng
i t s
pro-
duct i ve essence.
Thi s i s t he
source of i t s
nag-
gi ng
t hemat i cs
of
securi t y,
of order,
andof
repressi on
andof i t s
i magi nary
of
urgency,
i t s
obsessi on
wi t h cri si s, t he
i mpressi on
i t
gi ves
of
bei ng
abl e
t o act
onl y
a
st ep
at a
t i me, wi t hout ret reat
andwi t hout
a coherent
proj ect .
Caught
i n t he same dri f t ,
capi t al i sm
andsoci al i sm
nowconst i t ut e t he
t wo
pi l l ars
of conservat i smand
i ncert ai ncases
of
quasi -
f asci st
[ f asci sant e]
react i on.
I t i s no l ess t rue
t hat a newrevol u-
t i on t ook
of f i n ' 68. I t i s
not t he f ant asms
of
t he "deat h of t he
pol i t i cal "
or of t he
"i mpl o-
si on
of t he soci al "
whi ch wi l l
change
any-
t hi ng. Begi nni ng
i n t he ' 70s,
capi t al i sm
and!
or soci al i sm
was const rai ned
t o make a
pa-
rade of
i t s f ai l ure on
quest i ons
of soci al
prog-
ress, of
t he coherent
management
of eco-
nomi c
andsoci al rel at i ons
onani nt ernat i onal
CoMMUMSTSLn
Us 73
scal e, of
i mpul si on
i n t he vi t al
domai ns of
t echni co- sci ent i f i c creat i on. I t
was reveal ed
f or
what i t i s, t hat
i s, a f eroci ous
and i rra-
t i onal
syst em
of
repressi on,
whi ch i s an
ob-
st acl e t o
t he
devel opment
of col l ect i ve
pro-
duct i on
arrangement s
andwhi ch i nhi bi t s
t he
movement s
of t he
val ori zat i on and
capi t al i -
zat i on of
weal t h whi ch i t
engenders.
The
worl dmarket , f ar
f rom
respondi ng
t ot he
pri n-
ci pl es
whi ch
l i beral i sm
at t empt s
t o rees-
t abl i sh, i s
onl y
an i nst rument
"bl ocki ng"
f or
povert y
anddeat h,
"chai ni ng- up"
f or
margi -
nal i zat i on and
pl anet ary di sci pl i ne,
support ed
by
nucl ear t error. We
i nevi t abl y
ret urn
t ot he
poi nt :
t he
ul t i mat e
"reason" of
capi t al i sm
and!
or soci al i sm
i s i t s
i mpossi bl e
t endency
t o-
warda
sol e
paradi gm:
t hat of a
passi on
t o
abol i sh
everyt hi ng
whi ch i s
not i n accordwi t h
mai nt ai ni ng
i t s
power.
But
t hi s
passi on
al so
t hreat ens i nst ru-
ment al reason i t sel f ,
f romi nsi de. I n
ef f ect ,
t he
wi l l t owards
excl usi on and
segregat i on
i n
I nt egrat ed
Worl d
Capi t al i sm
t ends t o
t urn
agai nst
i t sel f ,
by
t hreat eni ng
t he
consi st ency
of i t s own
syst ems
of
pol i t i cal communi ca-
t i on and
reduci ng
t o near zero
i t s
abi l i t y
t o
obj ect i vel y gauge
rel at i ons of
f orce. Thus one
74
FELI X GUArrARI
&TONI
NEGRI
can beware
t hat bef ore us
opens
an era
of
t he
great paranoi acs
of
power.
I f t hi s
i s so, t het ask
of
reconqueri ng
t he
meani ng
of work,
begun
i n 68,
i s i dent i -
cal t o t he
l i berat i on
of l i f e and t he
reconst i -
t ut i on of
reason. For
everyone
and
every-
where:
promot e
t he
pot ent i al
carri ed
by
t he
new
si ngul ari t i es!
COMMUNI SmLI KE Us 75
4
THEREVOLUTI ONCONTI NUES
I . RECOMPOSI TI ONOF
THEMOVEMENT
I nt hecont ext of
I nt egral
Worl d
Capi -
t al i sm' s
rest ruct uri ng
of
product i on,
under-
t aken si nce ' 68, t he new
revol ut i onary
sub-
j ect i vi t i es
are
l earni ng
t o
recogni ze
t he
rup-
t ures
i mposedby
t he
enemy,
t o measuret hei r
consi st ency
and t hei r ef f ect s. The f i rst f un-
dament al
det ermi nat i on of
I nt egrat ed
Worl d
Capi t al i sm
i s t hat ,
i ndependent l y
of soci o-
l ogi cal segment at i ons,
i t
produces
a model
of
subj ect i vi t y
t hat i s
at l east
t ri pol ar, syn-
chroni cal l y
cut t i ng
across al l sort s
of uncon-
sci ous col l ect i ve l evel s,
personal
consci ous-
nesses, and
group subj ect i vi t i es ( f ami l i al ,
et hni c, nat i onal , raci al , et c) .
Theset hree
pol es
are: an el i t i st
pol e,
whi ch
compri ses
bot h t he
manageri al
and
t echnocrat i c st rat a of t he East and of t he
West , as wel l as t hose of t he Thi rd Worl d; a
guarant eed pol e, cut t i ng
across t he di f f erent
76
FELI X GUATFAPJ &ToM
NEGRI
speci f i cat i ons
of cl ass; and
a
non- guarant eed
pol e,
whi chruns
t hrough
eachsoci al
st rat um
equal l y.
Under t hese condi t i ons,
t he newrevo-
l ut i onary
subj ect i vi t i es procl ai m,
f romt hei r
poi nt
of
ori gi n,
a desi re f or
peace,
col l ect i ve
securi t y,
and
mi ni mal
saf eguards agai nst
un-
empl oyment
and
povert y.
One f i nds a
f ear of
t he hel l of
t he absence of
guarant ees
at t he
heart of t he t hree
pol es
of
subj ect i vi t y: among
ent i rel y depri ved groups,
amongprol et ari an
groups
al ready
somewhat
guarant eed
by wage
l abor and wel f are,
as wel l as
among
cert ai n
sect ors of t he el i t e whose st at us
i s made
sys-
t emat i cal l y
precari ous.
Thus t he
essent i al
basi s of
cont emporary product i on
i s const i -
t ut ed
by
t hi s
f l uct uat i ng
mass
and cont i nu-
ous mi xt ure of
"guarant i sm"
and
"non- guar-
ant i sm. "
The
non- guarant eed
const i t ut e
a f un-
dament al
poi nt
of
support
f or t he const i t ut i on
of
capi t al i st
power:
i t i s i n t erms of
t hem
t hat t he
i nst i t ut i ons of
repressi on
and
margi -
nal i zat i on
f i nd t hei r
consi st ency.
But i n
count erpoi nt , t hey
assume a soci al
rol e wi t hi n
t he
newf ramework of
power
and
expl oi t a-
t i on, because of t he val ues
and
product i ve
pot ent i al
of whi ch
t hey
are
t he bearers.
They
CoruvruNI s1s Ln Us 77
are al so f ocal
poi nt s
of
i magi nat i on
and
st ruggl e
whi chare
capabl e
of
cat al yzi ng
si n-
gul ar becomi ngs,
of
bri ngi ng
t o
l i ght
ot her
ref erences, ot her
praxes, appropri at e
f or
breaki ng
t he i mmense machi ne of
di sci pl i ne
andcont rol of
t he col l ect i ve f orce of
produc-
t i on.
The
hi st ory
of t he
st ruggl es
of t he
' 70s has
al ready
sket chedt he
process
of re-
composi t i on
andof soci al
l i berat i on. Anum-
ber of mat ri ces of
rupt ure
were
opened
t hen
by
t he new
prol et ari an
movement s. What -
ever t hei r
di versi t y, t hey
al l
ori gi nat ed
i n t he
t remendous
mut at i ons of an
i ncreasi ngl y
compl ex,
over- poweri ng,
and det erri t ori al -
i zi ng
soci al
product i ve
f orce,
and
t hey
al l
af f i rm t hemsel ves wi t h
rei nf orced
cl ari t y
agai nst
t he
repressi ve
normal i zae1on and
rest ruct urat i on
brought
about
by
soci al
seg-
ment at i on
andst rat i f i cat i on. These
phases
of
st ruggl e
were most
si gni f i cant
f or workers
as an
experi ence
of
di scovery
and
compre-
hensi on of
t he cesuras and
corporat i st
over-
codi ngs i mposed
on t he
prol et ari an
soci us,
and as an
experi ence
of i nt ernal
st ruggl e
agai nst
t he
vi ol ence
by
whi ch
I nt egrat ed
Worl d
Capi t al i sm
has
const ant l y
t ri ed t o
78 FEux
GUATrARI &
Torsn NEGRI
i nt erdi ct
processes
of
i nnovat i on
wherever
t hey
are
i nvol ved.
I nt ernal
st ruggl es
t hus re-
cuperat e
t he
t ri pol ar
segment at i on
of
I nt e-
grat ed
Worl d
Capi t al i sm
wi t hi nt he
st ruggl es
of each
subj ect i ve component .
Si nce
t hi s
al ways
occurs
at each
phase
i n t he
emer-
gence
of a
newsoci al
subj ect i vi t y,
t hei r
qual -
i t y,
f orce,
and cohesi on
i s
sel f - composed
[ aut o- agence] ,
t he
resul t of a col l ect i ve
sel f -
maki ng.
Need,
consci ousness,
and
produc-
t i on are f used
at t he heart
of sucha
process.
The ' 70s
were t hus
marked
by
t he cont i nu-
ous
emergence
of moment s
of
rupt ure
punc-
t uat i ng
t he
capi t al i st
and/ or
soci al i st
at t empt s
at rest ruct urat i on,
al l
of whi chare
charact er-
i zed
by
new
subj ect i ve probl emat i cs
and
by
a
speci al
col l ect i ve
ef f ort
t o redef i ne
t hei r
perspect i ve.
From
1977
i n
I t al y
t o t he
"Great
Break" i n
Cent ral
Europe
(Germany,
Swi t -
zerl and,
Hol l and) , f rom
t he I rani an
revol u-
t i on t o t he
peri od
of
Sol i dari t y,
t o t he re-
newal
of
revol ut i onary st ruggl es
i n Cent ral
Ameri ca,
t o t he
enormousl y
i mport ant
l i b-
erat i on
movement s
t hat are
begi nni ng
t o
erupt
i n t he
Sout hern
Cone. . .
wherever we t urn,
we f i nd t hese
pri nci pl e
charact eri st i cs
of t he
Covi u1' asTs Lua
Us
79
proj ect .
The
st ruggl es
t hat are i nt ernal and
ant agoni st i c
t o t he
pol i t i cs
of
react i onary
rest ruct urat i on are
mobi l i zi ng,
ei t her
agai nst
t hei r
repressi ve
t ext ure, or i nsi de t hese
proc-
esses of
subj ect i ve devel opment
as a
uni f y-
i ng
t ensi on and as a
sel f - l i berat i ng perspec-
t i ve.
Revol ut i onary st ruggl es
have never "t ar-
get ed"
t o t hi s
ext ent t he t heoret i cal def i ni -
t i on and t he
pract i cal
real i zat i on
of an ori en-
t at i on
rest i ng
i nt ri nsi cal l y
oncol l ect i ve
sub-
j ect i vat i on
and
i mpl yi ng,
i n
consequence,
t he
dest ruct i on
of al l
i deol ogi es
of an ext ernal
vanguard. Aut onomy
has never
appeared
wi t h
more f orce as
a
pri mary obj ect i ve.
We re-
peat :
t here i s
not hi ng
anarchi c about t hi s,
si nce i t
essent i al l y
has t o do wi t ha
qual i t a-
t i ve
aut onomy, capabl e
of
apprehendi ng
t he
soci al
compl exi t y
of
movement s, and of
graspi ng
i t as a
process
of
subj ect i ve
conver-
gence,
cent ered ont he
qual i t y
of l i f e and on
t he
communi t ari an
rest ruct uri ng
of
produc-
t i on
goal s,
and si nce i t i s
equal l y
amat t er,
by
vi rt ue of t hi s
reconst ruct i on, of
assumi ng
peace agai nst
al l
f orms of t errori smand
of
i mposi ng
mass
negot i at i on
as abasi s of mo-
bi l i zat i on and of
organi zat i on.
I t i s
obvi ousl y necessary
t o be
very
80 FEux
GUATFARI &ToM
NEGR1
car ef ul
whenwe br oacht he
quest i on
of t he
exper i ences
and t he
i ni t i at i ves of t he new
subj ect s. Fr equent l y, dur i ng
t he cour se
of t he
event s we have
j ust
evoked
(f r om
1977 i n
I t al y
f or war d) , t he
act i onof t hese
newsub-
j ect s
has been
pr esent ed,
f r oma t heor et i cal
poi nt
of vi ew, as
a
hypost asi s
and,
f r oma
pr act i cal
poi nt
of
vi ew, as a l i near f unct i on.
Once
agai n,
one r i sked
f al l i ng
i nt ot he ol d
myt hol ogy
of
"mass act i on. " Thi s
has t odo
wi t hi l l usi ons
t hat
pr obabl y i nevi t abl y
r esul t
f r om
decept i on
and
r egr essi on.
But i t woul d
be di f f i cul t
t odet er mi ne t he
st akes of t he
t heor et i cal
el uci dat i onof
t hi s
quest i on.
The
t heor et i cal
st r uggl e agai nst
suchi l l usi ons
l eads t o
pat i ent accept ance,
wi t hout
r eser va-
t i on, of t he r eal si t uat i on,
t hat i s, of t he
f act
t hat t he
uni ver sal i t y
of t he
pr oposi t i on
of
t r ansf or mat i on
must
necessar i l y
be
di l ut edi n
t he
mul t i pl i ci t y
of movement s,
t he cont r a-
di ct or y
moment s whi ch
char act er i ze t hemand
i nt he
"l ong
t er m" of t he
movement of col -
l ect i ve
i magi nat i on.
Bef or e
devel opi ng
t hi s
poi nt ,
wemust
f i r st i nsi st
ont he const r uct i ve ef f or t
t hat t he
newmodes of
subj ect i vat i on
have
al r eady
accompl i shed
ona
st age pr of oundl y
changed
Covr r vI uNi r sTs LI KEUs 81
i n
r el at i ont ot he
hi st or y
andt he t r adi t i ons of
t he
r evol ut i onar y
and wor ker s' movement s,
because of
expanded compet ency
and
per -
f or mance i nt he
ar r angement s
of
subj ect i vi t y
at wor k ont hat
st age.
Conf r ont ed
by
t he
ampl i t ude
of t he
pr oduct i on
of t ot al i t ar i an
subj ect i vi t y by
t he
capi t al i st
St at es,
t he r evo-
l ut i onar y ar r angement s pose
t he
pr obl em
of
t he
qual i t y
of l i f e, of
r eappr opr i at i on,
andof
sel f -pr oduct i on
i nan
equal l y
si zabl e di men-
si on.
Thr ough
a
movement
wi t h
mul t i pl e
heads anda
pr ol i f er at i ng or gani zat i on,
t hei r
epi sodes
of l i ber at i onwi l l be
capabl e
of i n-
vest i ng
t he ent i r e
spect r um
of
pr oduct i on
and
r epr oduct i on.
Eachmol ecul ar movement , eachau-
t onomy,
eachmi nor i t ar i anmovement
wi l l
coal esce wi t han
aspect
of t he r eal i nor der
t oexal t i t s
par t i cul ar l i ber at or y
di mensi ons.
I t
wi l l
t hus br eak wi t ht he schema of
expl oi -
t at i ont hat
capi t al i mposes
as t he domi nant
r eal i t y.
I t
i s t hi s new
consci ousness of t he
modem
pr ol et ar i at
-
det er r i t or i al i zed and
f l uct uat i ng
-
whi chwi l l
per mi t envi sagi ng
t he
r upt ur e
of
capi t al i st segment at i on
andt he
r ef oni ul at i on not of "commands, " not
of
pr ogr ams,
but of
"di agr ammat i c pr oposi t i ons"
82 FEUxGUATI ' ARI &ToMNEGRI
of communi smand of l i ber at i on And i t i s
capi t al i st
r est r uct ur at i on' s
hyper - r eact i onar y
char act er t hat
expl ai ns
t he
posi t i vel y
cat a-
st r ophi c
accel er at i onwhi cht he
movement
has
exper i enced
si nce t he
begi nni ng
of t he 80s.
Nonet hel esst hi s r est r uct ur at i onhasnot dam-
aged
t he
emer gi ngpoi nt s
of new
pr ol et ar i an
subj ect i vi t i es;
i t has
si mpl y
r educedt hei r el as-
t i ci t y.
Numer ous
si gns
i ndi cat e t oust hat once
agai n
t he movement i s ont he
ver ge
of
st ep-
pi ng
f or war dt oundot he
r epr essi ve
obst r uc-
t i ons whi ch have
successf ul l y
bl ocked i t s
f or ce
dur i ng
t hi s l ast
per i od.
I f we r et ur n t ot he
t r i par t i t i on pr o-
posed
ear l i er andi f we exami ne howt he
pr oc-
ess of
r ecomposi t i on
r uns
t hr ough
t he el i t i st
pol e,
t he
guar ant eedpol e,
andt he
non- guar -
ant eed
pol e,
we can di scover t he f or cef ul -
ness wi t h whi ch t he movement of newal l i -
ances has
posed
i t s
pr emi ses.
Thi s i s i mme-
di at el y
evi dent once one t akes i nt oaccount
t he
f l ui di t y
of r el at i ons t hat t he cr i si s has
i nt r oduced and cont i nues t oaccent uat e be-
t ween t he
guar ant eed
and t he
non- guar an-
t eedsect or s. But t hi s i s nol ess evi dent when
one consi der st he ar t i cul at i ons whi cht he el i t -
i st
pol e
has wi t ht he t woot her s.
Many
mdi -
Covf uN1smLwuUs
83
vi dual s whoevol ve i n
management
and at
t he
hi ghest
l evel s of t he i nst i t ut i ons of knowl -
edge
wer e,
dur i ng
t he
past
t en
year s,
not
onl y
i mpl i cat ed
i nt he
pr ocess
of
"pr ecar i zat i on"
t hat i s cot er mi nal wi t h t hei r r ol e and f unc-
t i on, but al soi nt r oducedt oanel abor at edcr i t i -
cal consci ousness
r egar di ng
t he
l egi t i macy
of t hei r st at us. The
i r r at i onal i t y
andt he mad-
nessof t he ext ended
r epr oduct i on
choi ces of
I . W. C. ,
t he obsessi onof t he ar ms r ace andof
nucl ear war , t he
ver t i go
of f ami ne and
geno-
ci de whi ch
deepen
t he di f f er ences and en-
gender cl eavages,
t ot he
poi nt
of
pushi ng
cer -
t ai n
manager i al
el i t es t ot he
poi nt
of r ef usal
anddi ssi dence. Thi s
pr ocess,
whi chi s al l t oo
f r equent l y di sf i gur ed
and made r i di cul ous
wheni t i s
r epor t ed
i na
pr opagandi st i c way,
nonet hel ess
demonst r at es t he
expansi on
of
r esi st ance i n t he new
f or ms of
subj ect i vi t y.
Pr evi ousl y,
one of t he
sl ogans
of
t he
com-
muni st swast he
pr oposedi mpor t at i on
of t he
cl ass
st r uggl e
i nt ot he i nst i t ut i ons:
t oday
we
not e mor e
modest l y
t hat t he new
subj ect s
ar e
capabl e
of
expor t i ng
t hei r val uesandt hei r
ant agoni st i c
r ecommendat i ons t ot he
hi ghest
l evel s of
management
andof t he i nst i t ut i ons
of
knowl edge.
The t r ue
pr ocesses
of di ssi -
84 FEUxGUATrARI &TONI NEGR1
dence are not
recuperabl e;
i t i s not a com-
modi ty
that can be sent to the
enemy
as a
gi f t.
I n
poi nt
of f act, the revol uti on con-
ti nues. Thei rreversi bl e character of thehi th-
erto
compl eted processes
af f i rms i tsel f . The
new
subj ecti vi ti es rearrange
thei r
pol i ti cal
i denti tyby"assi mi l ati ng" ( that
i s,
semi oti zi ng
and
smotheri ng)
the obstacl es
posed by
the
adversary
-
i ncl udi ng
those
that the adver-
sary
has made them
i ntroj ect.
The
changi ng
characteri sti cs of the col l ecti ve f orce of l a-
bor, the
l i vi ng
f orces of the
non-guaranteed
urban
prol etari at,
the transf i ni te network of
di ssi dent di scursi ve
arrangements
set them-
sel ves
up
as so
manyprotagoni sts
of thenew
cycl e
of
struggl e.
I I . THETERRORI STI NTERLUDE
The
devel opment
of new
subj ecti vi -
ti es has
undergone deep
i nternal breaks dur-
mg
the course of thi s
process
whi ch resul t
pri mari l y
f romthe
capi tal i st
mode of
pro-
ducti onthat
wehave
j ust
descri bedandf rom
the i nternal
convul si ons of
the
movements.
Co1' 1rvI uNI sTs
Ll l ' E Us
85
Each hi stori cal
peri od
can be
af f ected
by
the
bi rth of el i ti st
pol es
and
by
extremi st
surges
of sel f -exal tati on
whi ch
devel op
to the detri -
ment of thei nterests of the
movements whose
i nterests
they pretend
to
represent.
That was
parti cul arl y
evi dent
duri ng
thi s
peri od
when
I ntegrated
Worl d
Capi tal i sm
worked to
de-
f end
andreconsti tutethemodel of
a
system-
ati c
segmentati on
of both soci al
movements
and
i deol ogi es.
Terrori smwas
perhaps
the
deepest
andmaddest cesura that
revol uti onari es ex-
peri encedduri ng
theenti re course
of the ' 70s.
I nthe f ace of
reacti onary pressure
exerci sed
by
the State and
by
I . W. C.
to bl ock the l i b-
erati on movement,
f aced
by
attempts
to di -
vi de and f orce
competi ti on
betweendi f f er-
ent
expl oi ted groups
i n order to f reeze con-
sti tuti onal
and soci al rel ati ons at
regressi ve
l evel s,
andf acedwi th the
deathl y ri gi di ty
of
thedomi nant
power' s
f ormati ons,
whol esec-
tors of the movement were
sei zed
by
rage
andf rustrati on. I nthecontext
of themol ecu-
l ar ef f ervescenceandmaturati on
of newrevo-
l uti onary subj ecti vi ti es,
theStatehas an
i nter-
est
i n
i mposi ng
a mol ar order of return
to a
rei nf orced soci al
di chotomy;
i t thus
under-
86
FELI x
GUATTAi U
&
TONI
NEG1U
t akes t o makea
parade
of i t s
power
by
adopt -
i ng
drast i c measures andi n
depl oyi nghi ghl y
sophi st i cat ed
mechani sms of cont rol and re-
pressi on.
For t he same occasi on, St at e t er-
rori smundert akes t o
dest roy
wi t hout di st i nc-
t i on al l
pol i t i cal
andexi st ent i al di ssi dence.
Ont hi s t errai n, I . W. C. has carri ed out
a veri t abl e mobi l i zat i on of St at e funct i ons
and set
goi ng
a new
t ype
of ci vi l war: not
onl y by mi l i t ary
and
pol i ce
means
and
by
st at es
of
emergency,
but al so
by
means of a
psychol ogi cal
and i nformat i onal war and
by
correspondi ng
cul t ural and
pol i t i cal st rat egi es.
Duri ng
t he ' 70s, t hi s sort of ci vi l war
creat ed afavorabl e basi s for t he
devel opment
of t he most ext reme react i on. I norder t o un-
derst and what
happened
t hen, i t i s
necessary
t o bear
i n mi nd
t he si zabl e st akes of t he
con-
t est of force bet ween, on
t he one hand, t he
newdesi res andneeds of t he col l ect i ve sub-
j ect i vi t y,
andont he ot her hand, t he di fferent
component s
worki ng
for t he rest orat i on and
rest ruct urat i on of
product i on
and command.
I t i s t rue t hat t he ci vi l war
frequent l y
gave
t he St at e t he chance
t o
gi ve
i t sel f
powers
and t he
i nst i gat i on
t o "react "
agai nst
asi t u-
at i on t hat i t no
l onger
cont rol l ed. The new
CokwumsTs LI KE Us
87
revol ut i onary
movement s
al so have
every-
t hi ng
t o
gai n
from
cl earl y recogni zi ng
t he
real i t i es wi t hi n whi ch
t hey operat e.
Al l t he
moreso
because cert ai n
groups
canhave t he
i l l usi on of
havi ng
some measure of cont rol
by
t hei r own means over t hi s sort of si t u-
at i on,
by t aki ng
t he ri sk of
pl aci ng
t hem-
sel ves on t he mol ar t errai n of confront at i on
hoped
for
by
t he
enemy, by i dent i fyi ng
i n
some sense wi t h hi m,
byent eri ng ful l y
i nt o
t he
i magi nary t raps
of
pol i t i cal
domi nat i on
whi chare
dangl ed
i n front of t he movement .
The ' 70s were t hus
years
of a ci vi l
war whose di rect i on,
i mposedby
I . W. C. ,
l ed
t o
pure
and
si mpl e
ext ermi nat i ons, l i ke t hose
of t he Pal est i ni ans. One cannot
deny
t hat
wi t hi nt hi s cont ext , a t errori smof worker and
prol et ari an ori gi ns
somet i mes
managed
t o
t ake t he i ni t i at i ve, but nevert hel ess wi t hout
ever
st eppi ng
out of t hat vi ci ous ci rcl e of
capi t al i st
over- det ermi nat i on. Rat her t han
reduci ng
t hat over- det ermi nat i on, such t er-
rori sm
onl y
rei nforced t he wi l l of t he domi -
nant
powers
t o
i sol at e,
t o
make
exampl es
of,
andt o neut ral i zet he
confl i ct s.
The
perspect i ve
of t he
revol ut i onary
movement , i n
correspondence
wi t hreal hi s-
88
FELI x GUATFARI &ToMNEGRI
t or i cal t r ansf or mat i ons, mani f est s i t sel f al t o-
get her di f f er ent l y.
Howwi l l t he new
subj ec-
t i ve
component s
be abl e t o
conquer suppl e-
ment ar y spaces
of l i f e and
l i ber t y?
How,
by
i l l umi nat i ng
ot her
t ypes
of f or ce,
i nt el l i gence,
and
sensi bi l i t y,
can t he
power
of t he
enemy
be
depr i ved
of
i t s
subst ance?
These, mor e
appr opr i at el y,
ar e t he
quest i ons
of t he r evo-
l ut i onar y
movement .
Fr omal l
poi nt s
of vi ew, r ed t er r or -
i smwas a di sast r ous i nt er l ude f or t he move-
ment . But
especi al l y
f or t he
way
i t r el aunched
i deol ogi cal
and abst r act cent r al i st
concept i ons
of
or gani zat i on.
I t s
cr azy
sear ch
f or cent r al
poi nt s
of conf r ont at i on
became r edundant
wi t h an ossi f i ed
l eni ni sm, whi ch i s di scon-
nect ed
f r omal l hi st or i cal
mat er i al i t y,
r educed
ent i r el y
t oa st at i st
i nt er pr et at i on,
a sor t of
par anoi d poi nt
of r ef er ence whi ch i t
sought
t o
i mpose
ont he
r ecomposi t i on
of t he move-
ment .
Not hi ng
i s mor e
ur gent
t han t ohave
done wi t h t hi s f al se al t er nat i ve. Access t o
t he movement must be deni ed t ot hese ab-
sur d
messenger s
of t he
past .
Red t er r or i sm
has
onl y
one end: t hat of f ai l ur e and
despai r .
I t has
onl y
one f unct i on: t o st emt he i m-
mense
l i ber at or y pot ent i al
whi chhas r eveal ed
CoMvI uNI sTs Li n Us 89
i t sel f at t he hear t of t hi s
heavy per i od
of r e-
act i on
t hr ough
whi ch
we ar e
goi ng.
I n as
muchas i t
compl i ed
wi t h t he
r hyt hms
of hi s-
t or y
and wi t h t he
pr ogr amr ni ngs
of t he
op-
ponent ,
r ed t er r or i smhas r eveal ed i t sel f f or
what i t i s: a
par adoxi cal
f or mof conser va-
t i sm.
But haven' t t he
capi t al i st
f or mat i ons
of
power
on t he same occasi on t aken t he
measur e of t he aut onomous movement s and
secr et ed "ant i bodi es"
capabl e
of
r obbi ng
t hem
of
power ?
I t i s
pr eci sel y
t hi s
quest i on
whi ch
conf r ont s t he mi l i t ant s of
pr i or gener at i ons
who
"r e- emer ge, "
as f r oma
f og,
f r omt he
gr eat r eact i onar y
di sast er .
The t er r or i st i nt er l ude of
pr ol et ar i an
or i gi n
i n t he ' 70s has become
exceedi ngl y,
mor t al l y danger ous
f or t he
pr ogr ess
of t hose
r evol ut i onar y pr ocesses
whi ch had
begun
t o
det ot al i ze, t odet er r i t or i al i ze t he
st r at i f i cat i ons
of
power ,
at al l l evel s.
Cl ear l y,
t he
i deol o-
gi es
t hat nur t ur ed i t shoul d
be
f or cef ul l y
avoi ded as so
many
bi ases whi ch
can
onl y
adul t er at e
t he
st r uggl es
of t he r eal movement
and l ead t hem
t odef eat . Gi vent hi s, i t i s nec-
essar y
t o
r ecogni ze
t hat t hi s t er r or i st wave
posed
a r eal
pr obl emt hr ough r adi cal l y
f al se
90
FEuxGUAI TARI &Tor . j i NEGR1
pr emi ses
and
r esponses:
howcan
t he r esi s-
t ance t o r eact i on be
l i nked t o a new
t ype
of
or gani zat i on?
The cor r ect
r esponse
t o t hi s
quest i on,
and
t he
st r at egi c
l i ne whi chf ol -
l ows f r om
i t , ar e
al r eady
i nt hemovement , at
t hose
poi nt s
wher ei t const i t ut es
i t sel f
t hr ough
an i nst i t ut i onal mode wi t hout
goi ng ast r ay
ont he
pat hs
of st at i st
l egi t i mat i on.
I t
has t o
do wi t h
const r uct i ng
a new
soci et y,
a new
pol i t i cs,
anewwomens' movement ,
anot her
wor ker s'
movement , ot her
yout h
movement s.
"Ot her , " "di f f er ent , " "new"
-
al ways
t he
same f eebl e wor ds t o
i ndex t he vect or s of
happi ness
and
i magi nat i on
whi char e
capabl e
of
over t hr owi ng
t he scl er ot i c wor l d wher e
pol i t i cs
i s
not hi ng
but f r ust r at i on and
par a-
noi a, wher e
soci et y
i s
not hi ng
but t he
t r i umph
of conf or mi sm, wher e
t he
wor ker s'
move-
ment
get s bogged
down
i n
cor por at i sm,
t he
womens' movement i n
t he
i nt r oj ect i on
of
subor di nat i on,
t he
yout h
movement i n al l
sor t s of
dr ugs,
and
wher e,
f i nal l y,
t he l i mi t
bet ween
t he demandf or
power
andt er r or i sm
cont i nues t o
be
conf i ni ng.
I t i s
equal l y possi bl e
t hat t he ext er nal
cesur a was t he
sympt om
of an
i nt er nal i l l -
ness. I t woul d be absur d t o
deny
t hat t he
Coi vnt uj i Lm Us 91
pr ocesses
of
r ecomposi t i on
al so
car r y dog-
mat i c and sect ar i an el ement s, "vi r uses"
f r om
ol d st r at i f i cat i ons whi cht hr eat en t hemf r om
i nsi de. I t
i s t hus t he ar t i cul at i on bet ween
i mmedi acy
andmedi at i on, t act i cs andst r at -
egy
-
whi chcan
onl y
beest abl i shed
byway
of
mul t i l at er al and
pr act i cal
r el at i ons
-
whi chr i sks
r unni ng
headl ong
i nt o chaos,
mani acal
agi t at i on,
and
pr ovocat i on.
And i f
i t has beenso, t hent he
onl y possi bl e way
t o
heal t hi s ki nd of
par anoi a
i s t o
be
f ound
by
t he r evel at i onand exal t at i onof i t s
sympt oms,
t he
expl or at i on
of i t s
et i ol ogy,
t he
di sengag-
i ng
of t he desi r es of whi chi t i s t he
expr es-
si onandt hei r r adi cal
l i ber at i onf r omal l over -
codi ngs by
t he
capi t al i st
deat hdr i ves.
The
pr obl em
of t he
r ecour se t o f or ce
has not f or al l t hi s
di sappear ed
f r omour ho-
r i zon. But
we consi der i t t o be al l t he mor e
pol i t i cal l y
ef f i caci ous i f t he f or ces i n
ques-
t i onar e
di ver si f i ed,
mul t i pl i edby
at housand
l i nks t o
t hought
andt he
i magi nat i on.
For ce
i s t he
body
-
and
we want t o r econst r uct
t he movement
out si de t he dead
body
whi ch
t r adi t i on has l ef t
us; we want t o r ei nvent a
l i vi ng,
r eal
body,
t o l i ve
and t o
exper i ence
a
physi ol ogy
of
col l ect i ve l i ber at i on. I t i s on
92
FELI x GUATFARI &
Tor . n NEGRI
t he basi s of t hi s
hypot hesi s
of
an ot her
t ype
of
expr essi on
of
power [ pui ssance]
t hat t he
movement s of t he ' 70s r eaffi r medt he
ur gency
of l i ber at i on. Ther e i s no anar chi smi n t hi s.
Becauset he movement r emai ns none t he l ess
col l ect i veand
chal l enges
i ndi vi dual i st
i mpl o-
si on. Wedi st r ust
spont anei st myt hs
for such
as
t hey
deval ue t he di mensi ons of
evei yday-
ness and of
pat i ent
r efor mul at i on of t he
pr ob-
l ems wi t h whi ch we ar e confr ont ed. Nei t her
i s i t
i deal i sm. Because her e t he
body
i s,
al l
at once, mat er i al
expr essi on
of t he
subj ect
and cont ent , end and
goal .
Pr omot i ng
i t has
t he
consequence
of
r el at i vi zi ng
t he for mal -
i smof t he
r epr esent at i on
of cont r act and of
l aw, t o t he benefi t of t he al l i ance and of t he
common
pr oj ect
of t he
pr oduct i ve
for ces. The
el i mi nat i on of t he
concept
of t he
pr act i ce
of
t er r or i smi s t hus cor r el at i ve at once t o t he
negat i on
of out -dat ed
pol i t i cal poi nt s
of r ef-
er ence
-
even
i f
spont anei st
-
and t he af-
fi r mat i on of a r adi cal
mat er i al i sm. Thi s as
wel l we have l ear ned
dur i ng
t he ' 70s, wi t h
t hei r awful t er r or i st i nt er l ude.
CovI Mur ' nsTs
Lu Us 93
I I I . ANEW
REVOLUTI ONARYPOLI TI CS
The
r ecomposi t i on
of t he movement
i s
under goi ng
a
r eor gani zat i on
of i t s
fr ont s
of
st r uggl e
as a
pr ocess
of sel f-val or i zat i on
and
aut o-pr oduct i on
at
t he
hi ghest
l evel of
subj ect i vat i on.
The
r edi scover y
of
pol i t i cs,
t hat i s,
t he foundat i on of
an ot her
pol i t i cs,
cal l s for
t he
depl oyment
of soci al for ces on fi el ds of
appl i cat i on
whi ch ar e
i ndefi ni t el y open.
These
for ces
depend,
of cour se, on t he
i nt ensi t y
of
t he needs r eveal ed
by
t hei mmedi at e
st r uggl es
and t hus on t he
st r uggl e agai nst
t he obst acl e,
but al so on t he
posi t i vi t y
of t he wor l dwhi ch
we wi sh t o const r uct , on t he val ues whi ch
we wi sh t o
pr omot e.
Thi s i s not a di al ect i c.
I n
any
event , not a di al ect i c l i ke t hat
gl or i -
ous and
pai nful
one whi ch
pr esi des
over t he
soci ol ogi cal
cl ass
st r uggl e
-
a r het or i c ar i s-
i ng
mor e
out of confusi on t han of sci ence. I n
fact , t he
negat i ve
and t he
posi t i ve
ar e an-
chor ed her e i n t he
mat er i al i t y
of
possi bl e
op-
t i ons. Andone coul d
concei ve
nei t her at r an-
si t i on nor a
"qual i t at i ve l eap"
whi ch woul d
per mi t
a
passage
fr omwar t o
peace,
fr om
94
FEuxGUATrAI U&
Torsj i
NEGRI
deathto l i f e, f romthe destructi on
of
bei ng
to
the constructi on of the worl d. At thi s
phase
of the movement and of hi stori cal
devel op-
ment, i t seems to us that
onl y
a conti nuous
and mul ti di mensi onal revol uti on can consti -
tute an al ternati ve to the f ai l ed
proj ects
of
archeo- soci al i sm. Thi s
obvi ousl y
does not
entai l
hol di ng
to
general
consi derati ons. Each
si ngul ar
component
of the movement devel -
ops systems
of val ue whi ch shoul d be con-
si dered i n themsel ves, wi thout
requi ri ng
ei -
ther "transl ati on" or
"i nterpretati on.
116
These
systems
are
permi tted
to evol ve i n thei r own
appropri ate
di recti ons and to exi st at ti mes
i n
contradi ctory rel ati onshi ps
wi theachother.
They
don' t
parti ci pate any
the l ess i n the
same
proj ect
of
constructi ng
a new
type
of
soci al
real i ty.
I n the ' 70s, af i rst
experi ment
at
bri ng-
i ng together
the
revol uti onary
processes
be-
gan
on
a
posi ti ve
terrai n: that of the anti -
nucl ear and
ecol ogy
movements.
They
were
i mmedi atel y
l i nked
and
i mpl i cated
i n
al ter-
nati ve
programs
f or the
recovery
of
produc-
ti ve
energy.
Thus,
ecol ogy
was not
trapped
by nostal gi a
or
by protest ;
i t demonstrated
that a new
styl e
of acti on was
possi bl e.
More-
Coi ' i MuMsTs
LI KE Us
95
over,
the anti - nucl ear
struggl es
opened spe-
ci f i c hori zons i n terms of
the
expl oi tati on
andaccumul ati on
of the sci enti f i c
l abor f orce.
The
struggl es
of
techni cal and sci enti f i c
workers,
whi ch wi l l be reveal ed as
essenti al
to the
devel opment
of the communi st
pro-
gram,
are
begi nni ng
to i l l umi nate
the com-
pl ex
di mensi ons of an al ternati ve
useof sci -
ence.
Moreover, i t i s at
the
poi nt
of arti cul a-
ti on
between thi s useand
the col l ecti ve f orce
of
producti on
that the
deci si ve mutati on of
the communi st
proj ect
wi l l occur. I t
i s onthe
same
conti nuumof
struggl es
agai nst expl oi -
tati onandf or
posi ti ve
al ternati ves that,
more
and more,
the
capi tal i st
and/ or
soci al i st ex-
pl oi tati on
of
ti mewi l l be
put
i n
questi on
and
that a
new
type
of commumtari an
organi za-
ti on
of
the
producti ve
f orces wi l l
begi n.
Struggl es
agai nst
the l abor
process
and i ts
overcodi ng
of ti me;
struggl es
f or al ternati ve
housi ng
arrangements
and f or another
way
of
conceptual i zi ng
domesti c
soci al i ty,
nei gh-
borl i ness, and
cooperati on
between
segments
of the soci us.
Thi s has to do wi th
posi ti vel y conj u-
gati ng
the
cri ti que
of sci ence and
the
struggl e
agai nst
expl oi tati on,
f or
exampl e,
to
conj u-
96 FELDGUATFARI &TONI NEGRI
gat e
research on al t ernat i ve
energy
sources
and t he
pract i cal
reconst ruct i on
of t he
pro-
duct i ve
communi t y.
I t i s
onl y
at t hi s
pri ce
t hat we
wi l l succeed i n
graspi ng
t he coher-
ence
of t he current
prol et ari an
proj ect s
t hrough
t he
mul t i pl i ci t y
and
di versi t y
of t he
i ni t i at i ves whi ch act ual i ze t hose
proj ect s
and
t he weal t h of t hei r
product i ve
end. We
t ake
f or
grant ed
t he f act t hat t he dest ruct i on of
propert y,
as t he f undament al
j uri di cal
f orm
of
capi t al i st
accumul at i on, and t he dest ruc-
t i on of bureaucrat i c cont rol , as t he
f unda-
ment al
j uri di cal
f ormof soci al i st
accumul a-
t i on, i n one i ndi ssoci abl e
i nt ert wi ni ng
i n
whi ch
t hey present
t hemsel ves
t oday
f or
anal ysi s,
const i t ut e t he essent i al condi t i ons
f or t he l i berat i onof sci ence and t he el abora-
t i on of an
open
and communi t ari an soci al
l i f e and f or t he
devel opment
of di f f use and
creat i ve f orms of
organi zat i on
of soci al
work
whi ch
correspond
t ot he new
prol et ari an
sub-
j ect i vi t i es.
What we are
evoki ng
here i s not
a
ut opi a.
I t
i s
t he
expl i cat i on
of a real move-
ment , whi ch i nnumerabl e t races and i ndi ces
desi gnat e
as a
power
i nact i on.
The el aborat i onof t he
pol i t i cal
econ-
omy
of t hi s t ransi t i onhas become an
urgent
CoNmwms-rs LI KEUs
97
probl em;
t he communi st
program
wi l l broach
a newl evel of consci ousness
onl y
t o t he ex-
t ent t hat i t makes advances
regardi ng
t hese
quest i ons.
I n
t erms of t hi s, i t
goes
wi t hout
sayi ng
t hat t he
speci f i c programs
of t he di f -
f erent movement s cannot
hel p
but become
i nt ert wi ned. I t i s t he same
regardi ng
t hei r
passage
t o
organi zat i onal
f orm,
by way
of
di verse
at t empt s
of a
hi ghl y spont aneous
charact er . A
pri ori t y
i n t hi s domai n i s t he
posi t i vi t y
of
perspect i ves
whi ch f orbi d
l aps-
i ng
i nt o
j acobi ni sm
or l eni ni sm. We must
i nsi st
agai n
ont he
mat eri al i t y
of t hese
pas-
sages,
ont he manner
i n
whi ch
t hey
succeed
i n
demonst rat i ng
t hei r f orce, eveni nt he worst
sect ors of
capi t al i st
react i on,
and
how
t hey
succeed i n
pl ant i ng
i n t he
very
marrowof
t he bosses and t he bureaucrat s t he t horn of
t hei r
changi ngperspect i ve.
We have
al ready
i nvokeda
maj or
i l -
l ust rat i on of t hi s
conj unct i on
of
radi cal l y
het erogeneous
vect ors f or
overcomi ng
t he
worst
pl ans
of t he
react i onaryempl oyers:
t hat
of t he i nt ernat i onal
monet ary syst em.
I n t he
summer
of
1982, t he decl arat i on
of
non-pay-
ment of debt s and t he t hreat of
bankrupt cy
among
t he
l arge
Lat i n Ameri can count ri es
98
FELI x GUATFAI U&TONI NEGRI
struck
a
perhaps
f atal bl ow
agai nst
Re-
aganomi cs
The i nternal resi stance
of the
worki ng
cl asses i n the
devel oped
countri es
to
unempl oyment
and i nf l ati on thus f ound
i t-
sel f
obj ecti vel y
associ ated
wi th the
suppres-
si on of the
prol etari ats
of the Thi rd Worl d,
themsel ves
undermi ned
by
poverty
andf am-
i ne. The
obj ecti ve
character of thi s newde
f actoal l i ance, i ts consi derabl e
pol i ti cal
i nci -
dences,
does not i ndi cate tous the hi stori cal
l i mi ts of reacti on:
they
conf i rmthe
potenti al
f or i nterventi on i n col l ecti ve
arrangements
of
subj ecti vi ty,
when
they
succeed
i n
j oi ni ng
thei r i nterventi ons
al ong
the f aul t l i neof the
cri si s. For twel ve
years
af ter 1971,
f rom
Ni xon to
Reagan, bi g
mul ti nati onal
capi tal
succeeded
i n
i nsti tuti ng
a
perf i di ous
mecha-
ni smf or
augmenti ngproducti vi ty
wi thi n the
f ramework of a
general
i mmobi l i zati on
of
the rel ati ons of f orce and of the di stri buti on
of
i ncomes
-
i n
1982,
i t
was the
very
bases
of
capi tal i st power
whi chwere
put
i n
ques-
ti on, as aresul t of
the
conj oi ned
resi stance
of the di verse sectors of the i nternati onal
pro-
l etari at. Onemust admi t that
duri ng
thi s
l ong
peri od
of "hi stori cal
l atency, "
the col l ecti ve
subj ecti vi ty
hadtoconti nue to
metabol i zei ts
Couvi uNI sTsLn Us
99
needs and
i ts
desi res. I f not, howcoul d such
acri si s have been
possi bl e
-
thef i rst i n the
present
hi stori cal
cycl e
of reacti on, but of a
stri ki ng conspi cuousness.
Thi s i s acl ear ex-
ampl e
of what we meanwhen we
speak
of
the
"materi al i ty
of the
passageways
of the
recomposi ti on
of
subj ecti vi ty. "
Paral l el to a
growi ng
consci ousness
of
the i rreversi bl e character
of the cri si s of
the
capi tal i st
mode of
producti on
ari ses a
f undamental
probl em: capi tal i sm
and/ or so-
ci al i sm
control
the
means of
destroyi ng
the
worl d; wi l l
they
use these means to def end
thei r domi nati on? Andto what
poi nt?
Now,
i t i s
preci sel y
around thi s threat that the re-
composi ti on
of
revol uti onary subj ecti vi ti es
andthe
devel opment
of movements has
par-
ti al l y
reconstructedi ts
hi ghest prof i l e.
I t i s i n
the
struggl es
f or
peace
that the movement
attai ns i ts ri chest and most
compl ex expres-
si on. I n a
si nuous and conti nuous f ashi on,
the
struggl es
are carri ed out across the en-
emyterri tory,
preventi ng
hi mf rom
attai ni ng
the maxi mumconcentrati on of
the destruc-
ti ve f orce that def i nes hi s
proj ect
and, i n a
conti nuous
way,
f rom
attai ni ng
hi s f orce of
persuasi on
and concentrati on. One coul d
100 FEuxGUATFARI
&
TOMNEGRI
al most
say
that thi s
"guer r i l l a
of
peace, "
whi ch i s
taki ng
r oot i n the
spaces
between
i ndi vi dual consci ousnesses, constr ucted ona
communi tar i anbasi s,
col l ecti vel y synchr oni z-
i ng
the
di sposi ti ons
and
sequences
of the
domi nati on whi ch consti tutes themi n ter ms
of r esi stance and
str uggl e,
al l of thi s
i s al -
r eady
a for ce, a
pr oj ect,
whi ch makes us r e-
l i nqui sh
the defensi ve, whi ch
sur passes
the
war of
posi ti on
andwhi ch can
i nspi r e
us
toa
war of movement. What other methodi s ther e
for
str uggl i ng
for
peace
than to enci r cl e, to
empty
the
enemystr ategi es
of thei r substance,
to destr uctur e themfr omi nsi de? I n thi s r e-
gar d,
i s i t
necessar y
to
di sti ngui sh
the ad-
vancement of the
paci fi st str uggl e
fr omthat
of
r ecomposi ng
the
pr oj ects
of
r evol uti onar y
acti on? Not at al l , because, we
r epeat,
the
str uggl e
for
peace
car r i es wi thi n i t
the
hi gh-
est
possi bl e
al ter nati ve
potenti al i ti es.
We
hope
noone wi l l thi nk us sonai ve
as to
i magi ne
that
ther e
ar e not
as
many
scoundr el s as honest
peopl e
under the mantl e
of
paci fi sm.
I n cer tai n countr i es, the
peace
movement i s i nstr umental i zed and
per ver ted
by
methods whi ch r ecal l to us those
abj ect
ti mes of the "stal i ni st
peace. "
Nei ther ar e we
COMMUNI STSLI K- E
Us
101
taken
by
a
"peace"
of soci al neutr al i zati on
whi ch woul d
accommodate, for
exampl e,
the
muzzl i ng
of the Pol i sh
peopl e.
On the con-
tr ar y,
we concei ve
the
str uggl e
for
peace
as
a
l oomon whi ch the col l ecti ve
str uggl es
for
l i ber ati on can be woven. That
i s, for us, the
str uggl e
i s
not
synonymous
wi th the status
quo.
I t
has to do
fundamental l y,
ther efor e,
wi th
l i fti ng
that
hypothesi s
of the over deter -
mi nati on of
death whi ch
wei ghs
down al l
the
capi tal i st
and/ or soci al i st r el ati ons of
pr o-
ducti on. The
str uggl e
for
peace
i s a
str uggl e
for a
democr acy
i n
whi ch the
l i ber ty
of i ndi -
vi dual s woul d be
guar anteed
and i n whi ch
the
questi on
of the r es
publ i ca
and of the
goal s
of
economi c
devel opment
woul d fi nd
thei r
l egi ti mati on
i n
the
communi ty.
Gr een
i s bor n nei ther fr om
the r ed of the soci al i st
r egi mes
nor fr omthe bl ack
of the
capi tal i st
r egi mes.
I t i s bor n fr om
r efusi ngpover ty
and
of
oppr essi on
wher ever i t
pr ol i fer ates
and
fr om
the
ur gent
desi r e
to be fr eed
fr omthe
fear of
capi tal i st
contr ol wher ever i t i s i m-
posed.
Ever yone
tel l s us:
"Youshoul dchoose
si des. " Some tel l the
Afghans
that
they
woul d
be
occupi ed
by
the
Amer i cans i f the Rus-
si ans l eft. But woul d that
be wor se? "I f the
102 FELI X
GUATrARI &Toi nNEGRI
Ameri cans
occupy
us, " t hose i nvol ved re-
spond,
"wewi l l al l become
Scyt hi ans. "
Ot h-
ers t el l us wewoul dbe
occupi edby
t he Rus-
si ans i f we ref use t he
Ameri canumbrel l a.
But woul d t hat be worse? I f t he
Russi ans
occupy
our
count ry
wewi l l
al l becomePol es.
Wehavehad
enough
of al l of t hi s
bl ackmai l .
We
si mi l arl yrej ect
t hebl ackmai l of t he
bomb
as wel l as t he
supposed
val ues of
capi t al i sm
or
soci al i sm.
Peace i s a
pre- condi t i on
of revol u-
t i on.
Wi t hi n t he
t ragedy
whi ch
Capi t al
i mposes
on l i f e, a
col l ect i ve
response
i s
sket ched: i n t he shadowof
dest ruct i on, an
et hi cal
exi gency
of
happi ness
and
of
l i f e i s
af f i rmed. The mobi l i zat i onf or
peace opens
up
i nf mi t erout es f or l i berat i on; t he
const ruc-
t i ve f orms i n
whi ch
l i bert y
i s
t oday draped
canal one
di ssol ve t he
power
of deat h be-
hi ndwhi cht he
capi t al i st
cl asses areret rench-
i ng.
Yes, t he
revol ut i oncont i nues: t he reac-
t i onary
wave of t he ' 70s has
not
dest royed
i t .
I t has enri ched i t sel f
by
a sort of
i rrevers-
i bl e
st rat egi c
i nt eri ori zat i onwhi ch
permi t s
i t
t o
be
i nt ri nsi cal l y
art i cul at ed wi t h t he i m-
menseet hi cal
proj ect
f or
peace.
COMMUNI STS Ln Us 103
S
THENEWALLI ANCE
I .
A
MOLECULAR
METHOD
OFAGGREGATI ON
The t ransf ormat i ons whi ch t roubl e a
soci et y
requi re
a new
t ype
of
organi zat i on.
Leni ni smor anarchi smare no
l onger any-
t hi ng t oday
but f ant asms of def eat , vol un-
t ari sm, and di senchant ment , af orcedf ai t h or
sol i t ary
rebel l i on, anant i t het i cal f ormof
re-
pressi on
ora
si mpl e
abst ract assert i onof
si n-
gul ari t y.
The
organi zat i onal
choi ces
of t he
f ut ure movement shoul d be
ret hought
i nde-
pendent l y
of t he
i deol ogi cal
and
pol i t i cal
ref -
erences t ot he t radi t i onal workers' movement
whi chl ed t hat movement t odef eat . Thecol -
l apse
of t het woext rememodel s
-
l eni ni sm
and anarchi sm
-
l eave
al t oget her open
t he
quest i on
of t he machi nes of
st ruggl e
whi ch
t he movement must makeuse of i norder t o
be
capabl e
of
wi nni ng.
Thei r mul t i - f unct i onal
and
uni quel y
charact eri zed art i cul at i onof t he
si ngul ari t i es
whi chconst i t ut e t hem
i mpl y
t hat
104 FEUXGUATFABI &TOMNEGRI
t he formof t hese machi nes no
l onger repeat s
t he cent ral i st
proj ect
and no
l onger
ret ai ns
t he i l l usi on of
fi l t eri ng democracy t hrough
cent ral i st st ruct ures. One
al ways
fi nds i n
pseudo- democrat i c
cent ral i smat raced
copy
of st at i st model s. I n i t , t he
repressi ve
and
bureaucrat i c charact eri st i cs of t he St at e of
Ri chel i eu,
Robespi erre,
and Rot hschi l d are
repl ayed
and
i l l usori l y
reversed. For t oo
l ong,
t he
revol ut i onary
movement has,
t hrough
passi vi t y
or
refusal ,
been
subj ect
t o t hi s
ho-
mol ogy.
Howcant he St at e be
dest royed by
an
organi sm
whi ch
put s up
wi t h
hegemony,
even
ona
formal l evel ?
But
how
can
such
a
t ask be madea
pri mary
concernof an"ot her"
movement , adi fferent one whi ch i s founded
ont he sel f- val ori zat i onandt he
sel f- produc-
t i onof
si ngul ari t i es?
Obvi ousl y,
we have nomodel of or-
gani zat i onal repl acement ,
but at l east we
knowwhat we no
l onger
want .
We
refuse
everyt hi ng
whi ch
repeat s
t he
const i t ut i ve
model s of
represent at i ve
al i enat i on
and t he
rupt ure
bet weent hel evel s where
pol i t i cal
wi l l
i s formedandt he l evel s of i t s execut i onand
admi ni st rat i on. As
al ways happens,
i nt hereal
course of a
revol ut i onary process,
t he new
Covi t mnsi sLu Us 105
organi zat i onal "proposal s" correspond
t o t he
newessence of t he soci al
product i ve
force.
And
t hey
are i t s
fl ui di t y,
t he mul t i val ence of
i t s
concept ual
references, i t s
permanent
ca-
paci t y
of abst ract i on, i t s
pragmat i c effi ci ency,
and i t s
power
t o det erri t ori al i ze
undermi ni ng
everyat t empt
t odi vi de and
st rat i fy
t he forces
i nsi de t he
organi zat i onal process.
The for-
mat i on,
execut i on
andadmi ni st rat i on
of
po-
l i t i cal di rect i on
shoul d no
l onger
be
sepa-
rat ed, because t hat
const i t ut es a
repressi on
of t he col l ect i ve l abor force' s newcharact er-
i st i cs. The
t i me of
Mont esqui eu
andt he
sepa-
rat i on of
powers
i s over. The al i enat ed rel a-
t i onshi ps devel oped by pseudo- democrat i c
cent ral i smont he execut i ve and admi ni st ra-
t i ve l evel s,
regardl ess
of howi t
present s
i t -
sel f, are i n t he
process
of
di sappeari ng
from
t he
pol i t i cal
hori zonof t he revol ut i on
(from
whi ch Rousseau
and t he not i on of t he al -
i enat i on of i ndi vi dual
wi l l s shal l al so be re-
moved).
But ,
up
t o
t hi s
poi nt ,
our
at t empt
at
redefi ni t i on has
onl y progressed negat i vel y:
more
posi t i vel y,
what
si gni fi es
t he
organi za-
t i onof
revol ut i onarysubj ect i vi t y?
Let ' s advance a
st ep
at at i me and
t ry
106 FELI x
GUATrARI &Tor. n NEGRI
t o bet t er
answer t he
quest i on.
The
supposedl y
"def i ni t i ve"
argument
of t hose
who
uphol d
t he
t radi t i onal model s
of
organi zat i on
consi st s i n
af f i rmi ng
t hat
onl y
one cent ral i zed
f ormcan
prove
suf f i ci ent l y
ef f i caci ous i n
const i t ut i ng general
f ront s of
st ruggl e;
t hat i s
al l t he more t rue i n
capi t al -
i sm' s current
phase
of
devel opment ,
andt hi s
woul d
i mpl y
as
wel l an excess
of cent ral i z-
i ng
f orce i n t he
organi zat i on
of t he
oppressed.
Al l of
t hi s i s rat her
st upi d.
I t woul d
onl y
be t rue i f
soci et y' s
current
submi ssi on
t o
capi t al
was
dependent
on a rul e
rel at i ng
accumul at ed val ue t o t he
quant i t y
of
expl oi -
t at i on
and i f a
speci f i c
f ormof
command
were
necessari l y
associ at ed wi t h
a
part i cul ar
ki nd of soci al
product i on.
But
i sn' t t hi s
pre-
ci sel y
t he sort of
measure andt he
t ype
of re-
l at i onshi p
t hat we
have l ef t behi nd? The
gen-
eral i zat i on of
capi t al i st
expl oi t at i on
i s vi si -
bl y accompani ed
by
a
change
i n t he
nat ure
of t he
repressi ve
f unct i ons, such t hat
every
st ruct ural
regul at i on
t ends t o
be
el i mi nat ed.
Properl y
speaki ng,
t here i s
no
l onger
val ue
t o be
reappropnat ed.
I f t he l awof
val ue con-
t i nued
t o f unct i on, at
al evel of
abst ract
gen-
eral i t y,
one coul d
perhaps
once
agai n
con-
CorvrrvruMsTs LI KE Us
107
cei ve of l eni ni st
t ype
organi zat i onal
proj ect s.
But t here i s no such
t hi ng. Capi t al i st
com-
mand
i s
present l y devel opi ng
i n di rect and
ant agoni st i c engagement
wi t h t he f ree and
prol i f erat i ngsi ngul ari t i es.
What ever
ri gi d
and
repressi ve
net s i t t hrows af t er t hi s wi l d f aun,
i t wi l l not succeed i n
reachi ng
or
cat chi ng
ei t her i t s mode
of
t emporal i zat i on
or i t s es-
sent i al ri ches and
goal s.
Gi ven t hese condi t i ons, t he t ask of
organi zi ng
new
prol et ari an
f orms must be
concernedwi t h a
pl ural i t y
of rel at i ons wi t hi n
a
mul t i pl i ci t y
of
si ngul ari t i es
-
a
pl ural i t y
f ocused on col l ect i ve f unct i ons and
obj ec-
t i ves t hat
escape
bureaucrat i c cont rol and
overcodi ng,
i n t he sense t hat t he
pl ural i t y
devel ops
t owards
opt i mi zi ng
t he
processes
of
i nvol ved
si ngul ari t i es.
What i s at st ake
here t hen i s a
f unct i onal mul t i cent ri smca-
pabl e,
on
t he
one
hand, of
art i cul at i ng
t he
di f f erent di mensi ons of soci al i nt el l ect i on,
and on t he ot her hand of
act i vel y
neut ral i z-
i ng
t he dest ruct i ve
power
of
capi t al i st
ar-
rangement s.
Thi s i s t he f i rst
posi t i ve
charac-
t eri st i c of t he new
revol ut i onary subj ect i vi t y.
I t s
cooperat i ve, pl ural ,
ant i - cent ral i st , ant i -
corporat i st ,
ant i - raci st ,
ant i - sexi st di mensi ons
108 FEUx
GUATrARI &Tom
NEGRI
COMMUNI SM
LWEUS 109
f urt her t he
product i ve capaci t i es
of t he si n-
ment , et c?
I deol ogy
shat t ers;
i t
onl y
urn-
gul ant i es. Onl yqual i f i ed
i n t hi s
way
wi l l
pro-
f i es on t he l evel of
appearance.
On t he con-
l et ari an
st ruggl es
be abl e t o
reconst i t ut e co- t rary,
what i s essent i al i s t hat each move-
herent and
ef f ect i ve f ront s of
st ruggl e.
These
ment shows i t sel f t obe
capabl e
of
unl eash-
organi zat i onal
processes
shoul d
be concei ved ng
i rreversi bl e mol ecul ar revol ut i ons
andof
as
bei ngessent i al l y
dynami c:
each
si ngul ar-
l i nki ng
i t sel f t oei t her l i mi t ed or unl i mi t ed
i t y
i s
gi ven i mpet us
byobj ect i ves
whi ch are
mol ar
st ruggl es
(andonl y
col l ect i ve
anal ysi s
not
onl y
l ocal but whi ch
t hemsel ves
expand
and
cri t i que
can deci de whi ch) on t he
pol i t i -
more and
more unt i l
t hey begi n
t odef i ne
cal and
syndi cal
t errai n of
def endi ng
t he
gen-
poi nt s
of
t ranssect oral cont act
nat i onal l y
and
eral
ri ght s
of t he nat i onal and/ or
i nt ernat i onal
i nt ernat i onal l y,
communi t y
Gl obal
proj ect s
of
soci et y,
based i n
The i nvent i on and const ruct i on
of
cl osed
i deol ogi es,
t hus
l ose al l rel evance, al l
t hese new
organi zat i onal
schemas
i mpl y
t he
operat i ve abi l i t y.
I t i s
no
l onger
a mat t er of
creat i on of
permanent
mechani sms f or ana-
bei ng
f ounded i n abst ract
synt heses,
but i n l yzi ng
t he i nt ernal
goal s
of t he soci al
subj ec-
open
processes
of
anal ysi s, cri t i que,
veri f i - t i vi t y' s
own
processes
of
sel f - product i on.
cat i on,
and concret e,
si ngul ar
real i zat i on.
Thi s i s t he si ne
qua
non f or
guarant eei ng
a
Froma
mol ecul ar
poi nt
of vi ew,
each at -
real
quest i oni ng
of t he modes of col l ect i ve
t empt
at
i deol ogi cal
uni f i cat i on
i s an absurd f unct i oni ng
andf or
prevent i ng
t he
emergence
andi ndeed
react i onary operat i on.
Desi re, on
of sect ari an t endenci es.
a soci al t errai n,
ref uses t oal l owi t sel f
t obe
Thi s seems t ous t obe t he
posi t i ve
conf i nedt ozones of
consensus, i n t he
arenas
st art i ng- poi nt
of a
revol ut i onary
met hod
of
of
i deol ogi cal l egi t i mat i on.
Why
ask a f emi - organi zat i on adequat e
t ot he col l ect i ve sub-
ni st
movement t ocome
t oa doct ri nal or
pro-
j ect i vi t y beari ng
i t : a sci ent i f i c met hodi n i t s
grammat i c
accordwi t h
ecol ogi cal
movement
mode of
anal ysi s, yet open
t ohi st ori cal
proc-
groups
or
wi t h a
communi t ari an
experi ment
esses and
capabl e
of
i magi nat i on.
"Work
i n
by peopl e
of
col or or wi t h a workers'
move-
progress"
i n t he chai n l i nks of
si ngul ari t i es,
110 FEUxGUAT1' ARI
&TornNEGRI
al l
ori ent ed t oward t hei r
sel f - product i on
and
mul t i pl i cat i on.
Amet hod, t heref ore, whi ch
i s const i t ut i ve of an
organi zat i on
whi ch con-
t i nual l y
remakes i t sel f , a met hod
t hereby
conj oi ned
t ot he
product i ve
f orces whi ch have
made t he
si ngul ari t i es
and
t hei r
devel opment
t he basi s of mat eri al and
spi ri t ual
weal t h.
I I . MACHI NESOFSTRUGGLE
The
anal ysi s
has
progressed;
experi -
ence has
accumul at ed. The met hod has al -
ready
been
gi ven
some veri f i cat i on. I s i t
pos-
si bl e t oret hi nk and
begi n
t o real i ze t he or-
gani zat i onal
f orms of t hi s new
revol ut i onary
subj ect i vi t y?
To
pose
t hi s
quest i on al ready
i mpl i es
a conf ront at i onwi t h
t he di f f i cul t i es,
t he mat eri al modal i t i es, t he obst acl es, t he
enemi es of
t he col l ect i ve l i berat i on
proj ect .
Howt o
concei ve t he
composi t i on
and recon-
st ruct i onof
t he movement s? Howt o
rebegi n
devel opi ng
each
of t hemi n t hei r ext ensi ve
art i cul at i ons?
We f i nd oursel ves f aced wi t h
numerous,
het erogeneous t opi cs
and wi t h
f l uct uat i ng opt i ons
-
t he
di f f erent
organ-
i zed st ruct ures of t he
movement are not
onl y
j eal ous
of t hei r
si ngul ari t y,
but
t hey
seem
COMMUNI STSLI KEUs
111
somet i mes t o
open
t hemsel ves
onl y
f or de-
f ensi ve
st ruggl es,
f or t he rei nf orcement
and
t he
permanent
af f i rmat i on of t hat
si ngul ar-
i t y.
I n addi t i on,
t hei r
l ogi cs
are
present ed
accordi ng
t o
changi ng
and
mul t i pl e
mat ri -
ces;
t hey' re
al ways reart i cul at i ng
t he rhi zome
of t hei r di f f erent aut onomous
component s
i n
a di f f erent
way.
I t
goes
wi t hout
sayi ng
t hat
t he
probl em
of
i deol ogi cal agreement
or di s-
agreement
i s no
l onger posed
here i nt erms
of t he usual
pol i t i cal l ogi c
-
nei t her onebe-
l ongs
t o t he same
i deol ogi cal
uni verse.
On
t he
cont rary,
t he f i rst
probl em
t obe resol ved
i s
arrangi ng
f or
t he coexi st ence of
mul t i pl e
i deol ogi cal
di mensi ons
and
devel opi ng
an
anal ysi s
and a conf ront at i on whi ch,
wi t hout
t ryi ng
t o overcome
speci f i c
di f f erences,
nev-
ert hel ess t ri es l o
prevent
t hem
f rom
degener-
at i ng
i nt o
passi ve
and
mut e di vi si ons. We
t heref ore
i magi ne
a
process
of
recomposi -
t i onwhi ch
t akes f or
grant ed
conf l i ct ual vari -
at i ons wi t hi n t he
dynami cs
of
si ri gul ari za-
l i on,
respect i ng
each' s
weal t h and
responsi -
bi l i t y
f or
carryi ng
human
product i vi t y.
That sai d, i t i s nonet hel ess
necessary
t o const ruct machi nes of
st ruggl e, organi za-
t i onal devi ces whi ch are
open
t o t hese
dy-
112
FELI x GUATrARI &
TOMNEGRI
nami cs andt o t hi s
f unct i onal mul t i cent ri sm.
These machi nes of
st ruggl e
wi l l be al l t he
more ef f ect i ve i n t hat
t hei r f i el d of
act i on
wi l l be l i mi t ed
andi nt hat
t hey
wi l l
est abl i sh
f or t hemsel ves t he
f undament al
goal
of
per-
f ect i ng
t he
si ngul ari zat i on
processes.
Such
modes of
organi zat i onal crys-
t al i zat i on
appeared
i n Nort h Ameri ca
i n t he
' 60s, at t he t i me of t he
di f f erent
"campai gns"
of t he movement . The same
t hi ng
i n Ger-
many
i n t he ' 70s, where
t he
devel opment
of
t he al t ernat i ve
movement reveal edt he exi s-
t ence of l i nes of
di f f erent i at i on
goi ng
i n
t he
di rect i onof bot h
maxi mi zi ng si ngul ari zat i on
andi n
mat eri al l y
recomposi ng
t he
possi bi l i -
t i es of
st ruggl e.
An
open
met hod,
t heref ore,
t hat t akes subst ance
f romi t s
openness
t o en-
gender
an
openorgani zat i on.
I t
f requent l y happens
-
as much i n
Arab, Sl avi c, Lat i n
Ameri can as i n
Angl o-
Saxoncount ri es
-
t hat t hi s
experi ment at i on
wi t h new f orms of
organi zat i on
devel ops
f romwi t hi na
rel i gi ous i magi nary.
Undoubt -
edl y,
one
must
di st i ngui sh
bet ween
rel i gi ous
mot i vat i ons
whi ch at t ach t o anact of l i bera-
t i on and t hose
whi ch are ret erri t ori al i zed
around
t heol ogi cal
al i enat i on.
CoMvEuMsTs Lna Us

113
I t i s af act t hat i n aworl dwhose sol e
"burrs" can
onl y
be
non- si gni f i cant rupt ures,
t he
reconquest
of t he val ue of
wi t ness,
of
personal engagement ,
of
si ngul ar
resi st ance,
andof basi c
sol i dari t y
has become anessen-
t i al mot or of t ransf ormat i on. I norder t o con-
st i t ut e amachi ne of
st ruggl e,
t he movement s
are
obl i ged
t o assume, as
compl et el y
as
pos-
si bl e, a
cont radi ct ory
rel at i on bet ween si n-
gul ari t y
and
capi t al i st soci et y,
bet ween et h-
i cs and
pol i t i cs.
Andt hi s i s
scarcel y
con-
cei vabl e
except
on t he condi t i on t hat t he
f orms of
mi l i t ancy
are
t ot al l y
rei nvent ed. We
shoul dl eadt he
anal ysi s
and
cri t i que
of mi l i -
t ancy
andof
previ ous experi ences,
when
t hey
makeus sad,
when
t hey
become
hi st ori cal l y
t arni shed, because
t hey
const i t ut e obst acl es
t o a
l i berat i ng praxi s.
But i t st ri kes us as
i mpossi bl e
t hat anew
open
met hod of or-
gani zat i on
coul d be f ounded wi t hout con-
cret el y redef i ni ng
anew
mi l i t ancy
-
what -
ever
t he breadt h
of i t s
mot i vat i ons.
That i s,
a
cert ai n soci al
cryst al i zat i on
of desi re andof
generosi t y
runs
t hrough
al l
si ngul ari t i es.
One can
expect
f romt hi s
way
of con-
cei vi ng t hi ngs
not
onl y
t he bi rt h of newor-
gani zat i ons, changed
machi nes of
st ruggl e,
114 FELI x GUATrARI &TOMNEGRI
but
equal l y
a
prof ound
modi f i cati on of thei r
"proposi ti onal
context, " i n
parti cul ar
a re-
def i ni ti onof the
"Ri ghts
of Man"
guarantee-
i ng
and
encouragi ng
communi tari anconstruc-
ti ons.
General l y
speaki ng,
thi s entai l s a re-
newal of consti tuti onal mechani sms and of
thei r
capaci ty
to
regi ster
the conf l i cts and
soci al
changes
whi ch wi l l be
posed.
Onl y
that
subj ecti vi ty engaged
i nthe
si ngul ar processes
of
producti on
can break
the codes and norms of the
producti on
of
subj ecti vi ty
of I . W. C. I t i s
onl y
onthi s
path
that
democracy
can be reestabl i shed. J uri di -
cal i nnovati on
necessari l y
takes
pl ace
vi a the
i nsti tuti onal i zati onof thereal movement . The
onl y acceptabl ej uri di cal
norm
-
correspond-
i ng
i n
other words to the "i nstances of
j us-
ti ce"
i nscri bed
i n
groups
of
peopl e
themsel ves
-
i s the
i mage- movement
of the real . I n-
versel y,
I . W. C.
presents
us
wi th soci eti es
i n
whi ch
ri ghts
are overthrown and i n whi ch
the
l egal
codes and consti tuti ons are ei ther
put
asi de, or f uncti on as
si mpl e
umbrel l as
f or
i l l egal practi ces
onthe
part
of castes act-
i ng
i nthei r
owni nterest.
Taki ng charge
of these consti tuti onal
probl emati cs
shoul d no
l onger
be overl ooked
COMMUNI STS
LI KE
Us
115
andabandoned, as was the case i n the move-
ment f or a
l ong
ti me, but
bel ongs properl y
to
the
revol uti onary
orchestrati ons of
pol i ti cal
wi l l .
I t
i s the rel ati on between
pol i ti cal
wi l l
andthe consti tuti on
of
the
State whi ch i s
i n-
verted here. I t wi l l be f or the f i rst to condi -
ti onthe second, not the reverse, as conserva-
ti ve
i deol ogues suggest
and as
reacti onary
practi ces i mpose.
Thi s reversal does not i m-
pl y renounci ng
the exi stence of a coherent
j uri di cal
tradi ti on. Onthe
contrary,
i t deri ves
f romthe
wi l l
to
promote
i n
that tradi ti on a
hi gher rati onal i ty,
a
greater
care f or truth
and
j usti ce, by i ntegrati ng
wi thi ni ts mechani sms
a
capaci ty
f or
readi ng
the essenti al mutati onal
processes. '
I n sum,
the
"spi ri t
of
the
l aws"
must
acqui re
a
sharp sensi bi l i ty
andi ntel l i -
gence
regardi ng
the
prof ound progressi ve
transf ormati ons of the soci al "market. "
I t i s
i nteresti ng
tonote that the recent
apol ogi sts
of the
market andi ts mi racl e- work-
i ng
power
are
outragedopponents
of
any pro-
moti onof thi s ki ndof market.
The f act i s that at the
current l evel of
the
capi tal i st
cri si s and the
rel ati ons of f orce
betweenthe cl asses, such
pol i ti cal
andi nsti -
tuti onal f ree market devi ces,
by f aci l i tati ng
116
FELI X
GUATrAPJ &
TONI NEGi fi
and
i nci t i ng
col l ect i ve
l i bert y' s pot ent i al ,
woul d
dest roy,
evenannul t he condi t i ons of
t he
l i beral - bourgeoi s
market of
expl oi t at i on.
I t i s t hus cl ear t hat , whi l e
we
cont est
t he St at e' s
pret ensi ons
t o l ord over soci al
confl i ct i n a cont ract ual manner
( a
pract i ce
whi ch i s
i nvari abl y
a source
of t ot al i t ari an-
i sm) , we do not for al l t hat
speak
for t hose
fal sel y
nai ve
at t empt s
t o sei ze t he
processes
of soci al
si ngul ari zat i on, onl y pret endi ng
t o
acknowl edge
t hemunder t he
aegi s
of a cor-
porat e
proj ect
( whi ch t hey t ry
t hen t o i nt e-
grat e
i nt o what i s
pompousl y
cal l edt he "so-
ci al
economy. "
The
pseudo- Proudhoni an
i de-
ol ogy cl oaki ng
cert ai n of t hese
at t empt s
has
no ot her
goal
t han t o render
t hem
capt i ve
t o
an
expandedcapi t al i st market . ) Corporat i sm,
however i t
present s
i t sel f, shoul d be over-
t urned; i t can
onl y generat e
ersat z, fal se so-
l ut i ons t o t he
probl emat i cs
of new
subj ec-
t i vi t i es. Al l st at i st
mani pul at i ons,
t he
i ngrat i -
at i ng
as wel l as t he
di sgraceful ,
must be re-
l ent l essl y
combat t ed. St at i smand
corpora-
t i smare t wo faces of t he same obst acl e t o
t he
devel opment
of aut onomi es and of si n-
gul ari t i es.
We
repeat :
t he machi nes of
st rug-
gl e,
carri ed
by
new
prol et ari an subj ect i vi t i es,
COMMUNI STS LI KE
Us 117
t end t o
essent i al l y
deepen
t he
si ngul ari t y
of
t he
col l ect i ve si t uat i on from
whi ch
t hey
ema-
nat e, wi t hout i n
any way damagi ng
t hei r
op-
posi t i onal ,
revol ut i onary
rel at i on
wi t h t he
St at e.
118 FEuxGUATrARI &ToMNEGRI
Thi s
i s
onl y
a
paradox
i f one
mi sap-
prehends
t he movement ' s
l i berat i ng goal s
and,
especi al l y,
t he i nt erest of each of i t s
component s
i n t he
di sappearance
of t ech-
ni ques
of
power
and
group
mani pul at i ons
i nherent i n t radi t i onal
syst ems
of
represent a-
t i on "i n t he name of , "
supposedl y,
t he
gen-
eral wi l l . Wehave had our account of Me-
neni us
Agri ppa
andhi s
apol ogi st s!
Thus t he
machi nes of
st ruggl e
wi l l
devel op
t hei r
pro-
duct i ve act i vi t i es
and
pol i t i cal
act i on i n di -
rect cont act wi t h, andt he samet ext ure
as t he
di st i nct cont ext s wi t hi n whi ch
t hey
are
f ormed.
They
wi l l
engage
i n
product i on
and
reproduct i on si mul t aneousl y.
Wi t hi n
produc-
t i on, i n order t o
prepare soci et y' s capaci t y
f or aut onomous andcommuni st
management
of humanact i vi t i es, andi n order t o
const ruct
a
new
t ype
of
economy
f ounded on
col l ec-
t i ve
arrangement s
whi ch connect di f f erent
modal i t i es of semi ot i c and machi ni c
prac-
t i ce. And, wi t hi n t he whol e of
soci et y,
i n
order t oset
up
t he
reproduct i on
and
organi -
zat i on of t he di st ri but i on and f unct i ons of
workt i me,
sel f -managed
and
as-f ree-as-pos-
si bl e.
Thus, a
promot i on
of t hecol l ect i ve as
muchas of i ni t i at i ve, of creat i on andof mdi -
Co1MuN1srsLI KEUs
119
vi dual
responsi bi l i t y.
As we
know, t he neo-
l i beral
sycophant s
l ove t oret urn t ot he
my-
t hol ogi es
of t he boss, as t he sol e
guarant or
of t he i J onal
orderi ng
of
compl ex produc-
t i ve
procce' ,
as t he
onl y possi bl e agent
of
t he
"dynami zat i on"
of t he f orce of l abor,
et c. . . . At t he same t i me,
t hey t ry
t odi scredi t
sel f -management
as
bei ng
synonymous
wi t h
"medi ocracy, " ( i mpossi bl e
t o
appl y
ona
l arge
scal e,
et c. ) .
Al l t hei r
reasoni ngproceeds
f rom
a t ot al
mi sapprehensi on
of t hemeans of
col -
l ect i ve semi ot i zat i on
whi ch arenowat work
i n al l t he
si gni f i cant
arenas of
sci ence and
t echnol ogy.
A
cert ai n
concept i on
of t ree-l i ke
hi erarchi es and
oppressi ve di sci pl i nes
has
undoubt edl y
become
pass.
I t no
l onger
has
t odo
wi t h a
si mpl e
quest i on
of
t ast e
or of
democrat i c
"prej udi ce. "
The ext ensi ve ar-
rangement ,
i n rhi zome, of machi ni c
compo-
nent s, of i nf ormat i onal
component s,
and of
deci si on-maki ng component s
has becomean
absol ut e
necessi t y,
i f
product i on
i s t o
keep
up,
t of urt her
soci et y,
sci ence, . i n sum,
human
l i f e
on
t hi s
pl anet .
Af t er a f t ' cent u-
ri es of soci al i st and/ or
capi t al i st
domi i at i on,
product i on
and
soci et y
havebecome one and
t he same
t hi ng.
Therei s no
t urni ng-back
f rom
120 FELi x
GUATI ' ARI &TOMNEGRI
t hi s
f act . Machi nes of
r evol ut i onar y
st r uggl e
ar e t hemsel ves
obl i ged
t o
become
di sposed
f or
pr oduci ng
newsoci al
r eal i t i es and
new
subj ect i vi t i es.
We
emphasi ze agai n
t hat t he
def i ni -
t i on, t he
gener al pr ogr am
of t hi s mul t i di men-
si onal l i ber at i on
does not
bel ong
t o
t hese
machi nes of
st r uggl e;
i t
bel ongs
t o t he
r hi zomat i c
mul t i pl i ci t y
of
si ngul ar i t y
pr oc-
esses,
wi t hi n each of t hei r
pr oduct i on
si t es,
whi ch
t hey
t r ansf or m,
r emaki ng
and, shoul d
t hecasear i se,
mul t i pl yi ng
t he
power
t hat t hi s
l i ber at i on
aut hor i zes.
Fr omnowon,
or gani zi ng si gni f i es
f i r st :
wor k ononesel f , i nas
much as onei s a
col l ect i ve
si ngul ar i t y;
const r uct andi n a
per -
manent
way
r e- const r uct t hi s
col l ect i vi t y
i n
a mul t i val ent l i ber at i on
pr oj ect .
Not
i nr ef er -
ence t o a
di r ect i ng i deol ogy,
but
wi t hi n t he
ar t i cul at i ons
of t he r eal .
Per pet ual l y
r ecom-
posi ng
subj ect i vi t y
and
pr axi s
i s
onl y
con-
cei vabl ei nt he
t ot al l y
f r eemovement
of each
of i t s
component s,
andi n absol ut e
r espect
of
t hei r ownt i mes
-
t i me f or
compr ehendi ng
or
r ef usi ng
t o
compr ehend,
t i met o be uni -
f i ed or t obe
aut onomous, t i me of i dent i f i ca-
t i on or
of t he most exacer bat ed di f f er ences.
Cot musi ' s LI KE Us 121
Li ber at i on,
pr oduct i on,
t he const i t ut i on of
newsoci al
ar r angement s,
al l ar i se f r omdi s-
t i nct l evel s
-
equal l y i mpor t ant
-
ont he
basi s of
whi ch
t he machi nes of
st r uggl e
de-
vel op.
The
exper i ences
of
communi t y
and
sol i dar i t y
seen
by
t hesecondhal f of t hi s cen-
t ur y
i l l umi nat e t he
or i gi nal
par adi gms
of
t hose new
or gani zat i ons
whi ch wecal l ma-
chi nes of
st r uggl e.
I t ' s
necessar y
nowt o de-
pl oy
t hei r f r ee
pl ay
and t hei r
power .
I t i s
cl ear t hat
Tnl y
t he di r ect
exper i ence
of
st r uggl e
wi l l det er mi ne t hei r cont our
-
t o
t r y
t odescr i bei nadvancewhat t hemachi nes
of
st r uggl e
of new
pr ol et ar i an subj ect i vi t i es
wi l l be ona
pr act i cal
l evel
( of
desi r e and
cogni t i on)
woul d
r un
cont r ar y
t ot hei r
essen-
t i al mode, whi ch
depends
on what one no
l onger
dar es t ocal l "t hemasses. "
I I I . TODAY, NEW
LI NES
OF
ALLI ANCE
At t he end of a
per i od
of def ensi ve
r et r enchment
-
t her esul t of t he cur r ent r e-
pr essi ve
wave under t he
aegi s
of
capi t al i st
and/ or soci al i st
or gani zat i on
-
,
a
speci al
122
FELI XGUATrARI &ToM
NEGRI
form
of al l i ance can and must be
real i zed
between the consti tuti ve
categori es
of
the new
prol etari at
and
the most
dynami c
sectors
of
producti ve soci ety.
Di sti ngui shi ng
thi s al l i -
ance
i s, fi rst, that i t can break
the
corporati st
obstacl es
to
restructuri ng,
whi ch have shown
themsel ves tobe
parti cul arl y
effecti ve
amongst
the i ndustri al
worki ng
cl asses as wel l
as i n the
terti ary
servi ce and sci enti fi c sec-
tors of soci al
producti on.
The basi c revol u-
ti onary
sequence presentl y
confronti ng
us
concerns the
possi bi l i ti es
of
maki ng
the work-
i ng
cl asses, the
terti ary producti on
sectors,
and those i nnumerabl e
components
of
the
uni verse of the
"non- guaranteed"
connect and
i nteract. The
movement wi l l have totake
up
thi s
probl emati c
of
conj uncti on
wi th al l
of
thei r
i ntel l i gence
and
energy.
Not
because
the
worki ng
cl ass woul d remai n
the deter-
mi ni ng
el ement of the
revol uti onary
process.
Nei ther that the
terti ary,
i ntel l ectual ,
margi nal ,
etc. sectors woul dbe
the bearers of essenti al
economi c
changes.
There' s
nothi ng
to
gai n
from
entertai ni ng
such hi stori c mi sunder-
standi ngs.
I t i s cl ear that the di scourses
on
workers'
cent
al i ty
and
hegemony
are thor-
oughl y
defunct andthat
they
cannot
serve as
COMMUNI STS LI KE Us 12
a basi s for the
organi zati on
of new
pol i ti cal
and
producti ve
al l i ances, or
even
si mpl y
as a
poi nt
of
reference.
Breaki ng
wi th thi s
sort of
trap,
the
true
questi on
concerns the i nven-
ti on of a
system,
not of uni fi cati on, but
of
mul ti val ent
engagement
of al l soci al forces
whi ch are not
onl y
i n
the
process
of arti cu-
l ati ng
new
subj ecti ve
forces, but al soof
breaki ng
the bl ocks of
capi tal i st power
-
i n
parti cul ar
thei r
powers
of mass- medi a
sug-
gesti on
on a
consi derabl e
porti on
of the
op-
pressed.
I t woul d be
fi cti ve and arti fi ci al to
expect
tofi nd these newaffi l i ati ons
onl y
at
ruptures
i n the structure, i n
areas of fri cti on
i n
the l abor market and the
corporati st
reor-
gani zati on
of di fferent
segments
of the work-
i ng
cl ass.
Such an atti tude woul dsti l l be
part
of the
spi ri t
of
I . W. C. ,
whi ch i s
al ways
more
ready
to
appl y repressi on
than to
consi der
attempts
to
l i berate
producti on.
Now, we have
seen that the
questi on
of
recomposi ng
the
movement' s
conj uncti ve uni ty goes
handi n
handwi th that of the
sel f- producti on
of eman-
ci pati on
-
at once
i ntri nsi cal l y si ngul ar
and
external l y
offensi ve i n thei r
tendency
-
by
each of i ts
components.
Now
sel f- producti on
124 FEuxGUATFARI
&ToMNEG1u
i mpl i es
ef f ect i ve andunreserved
recogni t i on
of
everyt hi ng
t hat
real l y part i ci pat es
i n new
t ypes
of
cooperat i on
and
subj ect i vi t y,
unal -
l oyed
wi t h t he domi nant
power
f ormat i ons.
Thenew
ant i - capi t al i st
al l i ance wi l l
dest roy
t he
corporat i st
chai ns
of
repressi on
and
hel p
repl ace
t hei r
vi ewpoi nt
wi t h t hose of a
col -
l ect i ve sel f - t ransf ormat i on.
I nst ead of new
pol i t i cal
al l i ances,
we
coul d
sayj ust
as wel l : new
product i ve
coop-
erat i on.
One
al ways
ret urns t o
t he same
poi nt ,
t hat of
product i on
-
product i on
of usef ul
goods,
product i on
of communi cat i on
andof
soci al
sol i dari t y, product i on
of aest het i c uni -
verses,
product i on
of f reedom. . .
The f act i s t hat t he
cent er of
gravi t y
of t hese
product i ve
processes
has been
di s-
pl aced
t oward
t he mol ecul ar webof
margi nal
and
mi nori t y
concerns. Nevert hel ess, i t ' s
not
amat t er of
f oundi ng
anew
rel i gi on
andcre-
at i ng
poi nt bypoi nt opposi t i ons
bet weent he
whol e
group
of
guarant eed
workers and t he
non- guarant eed
workers. On
t he
cont rary,
i t
has t odowi t h
f i ni shi ng
wi t ht he l at t er
repre-
sent i ng
t hemsel ves
as a
het erogeneous
en-
sembl e, excl uded
i n essence f romt he
" t rue
Cof uNI sTs
LI KEUs 125
real i t i es" of
product i on,
as al l t he
represen-
t at i onal
coordi nat es of
capi t al i sm
and/ or so-
ci al i sm
begui l e
t hemi nt o
t hi nki ng. . .
Yet such
a
t ransf ormat i on
i mpl i es
as wel l t hat
numer-
ous sect ors
of t he
worki ng
cl ass andt he
pri vi -
l eged cat egori es
of t he
product i ve prol et ari -
at s
gi ve
t hemsel ves ot her
" represent at i ons"
t han t hose whi ch
t hey possess t oday
and
whi ch, f or t he most
part ,
are
part
of t he cor-
porat i st regi me.
The mol ecul ar revol ut i ons,
t he new
subj ect i ve
arrangement s,
aut onomi es
and
processes
of
si ngul anzat i on
are
capabl e
of
rest ori ng
a
revol ut i onary meani ng
t ot he
st ruggl es
of t he
worki ng
cl ass and i ndeed
many
sect ors of t he
col l ect i ve f orce of l abor,
whi ch are nowreduced
t o
veget at i ng
i n
t hei r
soci ol ogi cal
st rat i f i cat i ons. We
bel i eve t hat
t he
" prol et ari an recomposi t i on"
can
head
of f
t he I . W. C.
st rat egy
of
" precari zat i on"
of t he
l abor market , andof
pi t t i ng agai nst
eachot her
t hose soci al
segment s
whi ch f i ndt hemsel ves
conf ront i ng
t he
same market . Onasmal l or
a
l arge
scal e, t he
pot ent i al s
f or mol ecul ar
revol ut i on
appear
every
t i me t hat
processes
of
det ot al i zat i onandof
det erri t ori al i zat i onen-
croachont he st rat i f i cat i on of
corporat i sm.
Now, i f
i t ' s t rue t hat t he f undament al
126
FEuxGUATFARI &
ToMNEGRI
questi on
i s the i nversi on of the
corporati st
tendency,
i t seems
equal l y
true that
the mo-
tor of that di mi nuti onof "soci al
entropy"
re-
si des
i n
consi stentl y maki ng
a
decompart-
mental i zati on of
producti ve
soci ety
the revo-
l uti onary
proj ect .
And
not
onl y
as an i deal
hori zon, as a communi st
ethi cs, but above
al l as a
strategi c struggl e
capabl e
of
taki ng
the movement out
of i ts current "fai l ure
neurosi s. " The most
demoral i zi ng
si tuati ons
andthe most
negati ve compari sons
of
appar-
ent
strength
can
rapi dl y change
as soon
as
the
precari ousness
of the current
forms of
I . W. C.
domi nati on
appears
i n an
even more
pronounced
way.
Even the
most "conserva-
ti ve"
segments
of the
worki ng
cl ass
are be-
gi nni ng
tomani fest thei r unrest, thei r
i mpa-
ti ence, and thei r
di sgust
i n
regard
to those
whoare
supposed
to
represent
them. The
i dea, for
so
l ong
accepted
i n
good
fai th,
by
vi rtue of whi ch there exi sted
onl y
one
pol i ti -
cal
economy
as a reference
poi nt
-
that
of
I . W. C.
-
has had i ts
day.
The
di smantl i ng
of
compani es,
of branches of
i ndustri es, of
enti re
regi ons,
the soci al and
ecol ogi cal
costs
of the cri si s canno
l onger
bewri tten off as a
necessary
reconversi on of the
system.
I nfact,
COMMUNI STSLI KEUs
127
i t has been cl ear for
some ti me that thi s
i s
not an
ordi nary
cri si s, but a radi cal
attempt
to
destroy
more than hal f a
century' s
worth
of
"acqui red
advantages"
and soci al vi cto-
ri es of the reformi smwhi ch
corresponded
to
the
previ ous
forms of
capi tal i sm.
Obvi ousl y
thi s does not mean that
capi tal i sm
i s i n the
process
of
col l apsi ng
on
i ts own and that we
have come, al most de-
spi te
oursel ves, to the eve
of
the "Great
Ni ght. "
What i s certai ni s
that
capi tal i sm
and!
or soci al i smi ntendtoi nstal l a
regi me
of fren-
zi ed
"di sci pl i nari zati on"
over
the
enti re
pl anet,
i n whi ch each
segment
of the col l ec-
ti ve l abor force, each
peopl e,
each
ethni c
group
wi l l be forced tosubmi t to
permanent
control . I nthi s
regard,
the
guaranteed
work-
ers wi l l be
pl aced
under the same
regi me
as
the
non-guaranteed,
and
everythi ng
wi l l be
nuances, mi nute
non-empi ri cal
transi ti ons. No
l onger
wi l l
anyone
be abl e toassume a true
statutory guarantee.
Thetradi ti onal
worki ng
cl asses shoul d
resi gn
themsel ves tothi s. But what coul dthe
meani ng
of thei r revol t bei f
they
donot un-
derstand that
they
no
l onger
represent
a so-
ci al
maj ori ty
-
nei ther
numeri cal l y,
nor as
128
FEuxGUATFARI &TOMNEGRI
ani deal val ue, not evenas a
produced
eco-
nomi c val ue?
They
are
obl i ged,
i f
they
want
to
l egi ti mate
thei r rebel l i on, to
soci al l y
re-
compose
themsel ves, i n al l i ance wi th the
i mmense mass of
expl oi ted peopl e,
of
margi -
nal i zed
peopl e,
whi chi ncl udes the
l arge
ma-
j ori ty
of
young,
women,
i mmi grants,
the sub-
prol etari ats
of the Thi rd Worl d and mi nori -
ti es of
every
ki nd. The
pri nci pl e
task has be-
comethereuni f i cati onof the tradi ti onal com-
ponents
of the cl ass
struggl e agai nst expl oi -
tati onwi ththe newl i berati onmovements
and
communi st
proj ects.
I t i s onthi s terrai n
that the newl i nes
of al l i ance
wi l l be drawn. We drawa l i ne
through
the tradi ti on of the Thi rd I nterna-
ti onal , abl ack l i ne over i ts total i tari anand/ or
corporati s
resul ts. Anew
revol uti onary
movement i s i n search of i tsel f . I t
i s born
bothi nsi de and outsi de the tradi ti onal
work
ers' movement ; i t
prol i f erates
and
potenti al l y
converges al ong
a f ront
i ntri nsi cal l y
uni f i ed
by
expl oi tati on.
I t wi l l
destroy
the
repressi ve
norms of the
work-day
and of the
capi tal i st
appropri ati on
of the
total i ty
of l i f e-ti me. New
domai ns of
struggl e
become
possi bl e every-
where.
But the
pri vi l eged poi nt,
the hot
poi nt
CoI uNI smLI KEUs 129
i n the
producti on
of newmachi nes of revo-
l uti onary struggl e
resi des wi thi nthe zones of
margi nal i zed
subj ecti vi ty.
And
there
as
wel l ,
i t
goes
wi thout
sayi ng,
not i n and of them-
sel ves
-
but because
they
are i nscri bed i n
the
meani ng
of creati ve
producti on
processes
consi dered i nthei r
evol uti onaryposi ti on,
that
i s, not
arbi trari l y
i sol ated wi thi n the
capi tal -
i st
economi c
sphere.
The
soci al
i magi nary
can
recompose
i tsel f
onl y through
radi cal
changes.
I n thi s
regard,
one shoul d
take
i nto
account that
margi nal phenomena
are
part
of a context
whi chdoes not def i ne themas
bei ng
at the
margi n,
but whi ch, onthe
contrary,
conf ers
onthem
acentral
pl ace
i nthe
capi tal i st
strat-
egy.
The
margi nal subj ecti vi ti es,
i n as much
as
they
are the
product
and the best
"anal y-
sers" of
command tendenci es, are al so those
whi chresi st i t the
best. The
physi cal ,
bodi l y,
pl asti c
and external
aspects
of the l i berati on
experi ences
of
margi nal subj ects
become
equal l y
the materi al of anewf orm
o1 ex-
pressi on
and creati on.
Language
and
i mage
here are
never
i deol ogi cal
but
al ways
i ncar-
nated. Here,
more than
anywhere
el se, one
canf i nd the
symptoms
of the
appearance
of
130 FEuxGUATI ' ARI &TOMNEGRI
a new
r i ght
t o t r ansf or mat i onand communi -
t ar i anl i f e, under t he
i mpet us
of
subj ect s
i n
r ev ol t .
Newal l i ances: as a
pr oj ect
of t he
pr o-
duct i onof
si ngul ar i t i es
andas t he
possi bi l i t y
of
conf er r i ng
on t hi s
pr oj ect
a subv er si v e
soci al
meani ng.
The
sel f - anal yt i cal
met hod
of t he f or ms of soci al
subj ect i v i t y
becomes
r ev ol ut i onar y
subst ancei nt he sense t hat i t
I .
per mi t s
t he semi ot i c
under st andi ng
and
po-
l i t i cal
ampl i f i cat i on
of t he
i mpl osi on
poi nt s
of
cor por at i sm
and t he
upheav al
of i t s own
l i nes of al l i ance. Thecommonconsci ousness
has
al r eady per cei v ed
t hi s
pr ocess
of con-
j unct i on;
t he
r ev ol ut i onar y i magi nat i on
has
begun
t o
appr ehend
i t ; what
r emai ns i s
t o
makei t t he basi s of t he const i t ut i onof t he
" f ut ur emov ement .
COMMUNI STSLI KEUsI i i
6
THI NKANDLLI VE
I N ANOTHER
WAY. ,
PROPOSI TI ONS
Resent ment ,
empt y r epet i t i on
andsec-
t ar i ani smar et hemodal i t i es
by
whi ch
wel i v e
t he
bet r ayed hopes
of t he
t r adi t i onal
wor k-
er s' mov ement . For
al l
t hat
wedo
not r e-
nouncet he
hi st or y
of
st r uggl es;
ont he con-
t r ar y,
wecel ebr at ei t becausei t i s an
i nt egr al
par t
of our ment al coor di nat es andsensi bi l -
i t y.
I f wear e dwar v es ont he shoul der s of
gi ant s,
weassume t he benef i t s as much as
t he
depl or abl e aspect s
of t hei r
her i t age.
At
any
r at e, wewant t o mov ef or war d. Reuni t -
i ng
wi t h t hehumanr oot s of communi sm, we
want t o r et ur nt o t hesour ces of
hope,
t hat i s,
t o a
"bei ng- f or , "
t o a
col l ect i v ei nt ent i onal -
i t y,
t ur nedt owar d
doi ng
r at her t hant owar d a
"bei ng agai nst , "
secur ed t o
i mpot ent
cat chphr ases
of
r esent ment . I t i s
i n
r eal
hi s-
t or y
t hat
we
i nt end t o
expl or e
and
exper i -
ence t he
many
r eal ms of
possi bi l i t y
whi ch
132
FEuxGUATrARI &
ToMNEGRI
wecal l f ort h f rom
everywhere.
Let
a t hou-
sand f l owers bl oomon t he t errai ns
whi ch
at t empt
t o
undermi ne
capi t al i st
dest ruct i on.
Let a t housandmachi nes of
l i f e, art , sol i dar-
i t y,
and act i on
sweep away
t he
st upi d
and
scl erot i c
arrogance
of t heol d
organi zat i ons!
What does i t mat t er
i f
t he
movement
t ri ps
over i t s own
i mmat uri t y,
over i t s
"spont a-
nei sm"
-
i t s
power
of
expressi on
wi l l ul t i -
mat el y onl y
be rei nf orced. Wi t hout even
bei ng
awareof i t ,
despi t e
t he
cacophony
of
t he mol ecul ar movement s whi ch sust ai n
i t ,
an
organi zat i onal
cryst al i zat i on
i s
openi ng,
ori ent ed i n t he di rect i on of newcol l ect i ve
subj ect i vi t i es.
"Let a t housand f l owers
bl os-
som, a t housandmachi nes of
st ruggl e
andof
l i f e, " i s not an
organi zat i onal sl ogan
andeven
l ess an
enl i ght ened predi ct i on,
but an ana-
l yt i c key
t ot henew
revol ut i onary
subj ect i v-
i t y,
a
gi ven
on t he basi s of whi ch can be
grasped
t hesoci al charact eri st i cs and di men-
si ons of t he
si ngul ari t i es
of
product i ve
l abor.
I t i s
t hrough
an
anal ysi s
of t hereal t hat
t hey
wi l l be
recomposed
and
wi l l
mul t i pl y
as a
subversi veandi nnovat i ve
presence.
Theen-
emy
has been i ncarnat ed
i n
current
f orms
of
soci al command,
t hrough
t heel i mi nat i on of
COMMUNI STSLuu Us 133
di f f erences and
t he
i mposi t i on
of a reduct i ve
l ogi c
of
domi nat i on.
Bri ngi ng
t o
l i ght
t he
hegemony
of
si ngul ari zat i onprocesses
ont he
hori zon of soci al
product i on
const i t ut es t o-
day
t he
speci f i c
hal l mark of
communi st
po-
l i t i cal
st ruggl e.
The
devel opment ,
def enseand
expres-
si onof
changi ngproduct i vesubj ect i vi t i es,
of
di ssi dent
si ngul ari t i es,
and of new
prol et ar-
i an
t emperment s
has
become, i n somere-
spect s,
t he
pri mary
cont ent and t ask of t he
movement . That can
t ake t he f ormof t he
st ruggl e
ont he wel f are
f ront , f or t he est ab-
l i shment of a
guarant eed
egal i t ari an
i ncome,
agai nst
povert y
i n al l i t s f orms,
f or t hede-
f enseand
enl argement
of
al t ernat i ve
ri ght s,
and
agai nst
t he
mechani sms of
corporat i st
di vi si on. . . I f onewant s, onewi l l f i nd
t here
as wel l
t het radi t i on of
st ruggl es agai nst
rent ,
and t hi s such
t hat i t i s not
onl y
f undament al ,
real , and
f i nanci al , but t hat i t i s
essent i al l y
undergi rded by
t he
art i cul at i ons of
capi t al i st
command; i . e. a
pol i t i cal
rent , a rent ref l ect -
i ng posi t i on
i n t he
hi erarchy
of
corporat i st
st rat a.
New
subj ect i ve
component s
of
pro-
duct i on and revol ut i on wi l l f i nd t hei r
f i rst
i nt ervent i on
opport uni t y
at t hi s l evel , rede-
134 FELI x GUATTARI &TomNEGRI
f i ni ng
i t i n a
posi t i ve
mode as a l i ber at i on
st r uggl e
agai nst cor por at i st sl aver y
and
r eac-
t i onar y
st r uct ur es of
pr oduct i on
and
as af -
f i r mi ng
t he
pr ocesses
of
si ngul ar i t y
as an
es-
sent i al
spr i ng
of soci al
pr oduct i on.
Thi s
r ecomposi t i on
of t he r evol ut i on-
ar y
movement
i mpl i es,
of cour se, i mmense
ef f or t s of
cour age, pat i ence,
andabove
al l ,
i nt el l i gence.
But what
pr ogr ess
has
al r eady
beenmade
compar ed
t o
pr ecedi ng per i ods
of
st r uggl e
-
whi ch wer e
i ndef at i gabl e
andof -
t en
despai r i ng
-
by
t he f i r st
gr oups
con-
sci ous
of t hi s
pr obl emat i c,
who
onl y r ar el y
succeededi n
openi ng
br eaches i n t he uni on
ghet t o
or i n t he
pol i t i cal monopol y
of t he
supposed
l abor
par t i es!
Her e as wel l , l i f e t i me
must be
i mposed
on
pr oduct i on
t i me. At t hi s
cr ossr oads t he secondt ask of t he r evol ut i on-
ar y
communi st movement wi l l be
posed:
con-
sci ousl y or gani zi ng
t he col l ect i ve l abor f or ce
i ndependent l y
of t he
capi t al i st
and/ or soci al -
i st st r uct ur es, t hat i s, of
ever yt hi ng
whi ch
t ouches on t he
pr oduct i on
and
r epr oduct i on
of t he mode of l i f e. One
t hi ng,
an ef f ect , i s
t or eveal newsoci al
pr oduct i ve
f or ces and
anot her i s
t o
or gani ze
t hem
out si de and
agai nst capi t al i st
and/ or
soci al i st st r uct ur es.
COMMUNI STS
LI KE
Us
135
The
devel opment
of sci ence and
t echnol ogy
andt hei r massi ve
i ncor por at i on
i n t hi s t r ans-
f or mat i on
pr ogr am
ar e
necessar y,
but not suf -
f i ci ent , condi t i ons. Not r ansf or mat i on
i s con-
cei vabl e unl ess t he ent i r e f i el dof
pr oduct i ve
l abor i s conf r ont edwi t h
l ar ge
movement s of
col l ect i ve
exper i ment at i on
whi chbr eak t hose
concept i ons
whi ch r el at e t o
pr of i t - cent er ed
capi t al i st
accumul at i on.
I t i s i n t hi s di r ect i on t hat t he
expan-
si on
power
of
t he
col l ect i ve l abor f or ce
shoul dbe
gr asped.
Thus a doubl e
movement
wi l l be
est abl i shed, l i ke t hat of t he human
hear t , bet ween t he di ast ol e of t he
expansi ve
f or ce of soci al
pr oduct i on
andt he
syst ol e
of
r adi cal i nnovat i on and
r ear r angement
of t he
wor k
day.
The movement of t he soci al
pr o-
l et ar i at andnewcol l ect i ve
subj ect i vi t i es
must
l ay si ege
t ot he
cor por at i ons,
vi z. t he st akes
r egar di ng l egi sl at i on gover ni ng
t he t he
l engt h
of t he
wor k
day,
and
i mpose
i t s r edef i ni t i ons
and i t s
per manent exper i ment at i on. They
must
i mpose
not
onl y
a
pr oduct i ve
r enewal ,
but al sonew
ways
of
i magi ni ng
andof
st udy-
i ng pr oduct i on.
Thi nk, l i ve,
exper i ment ,
and
st r uggl e
i n anot her
way:
such wi l l be t he mot t oof a
136
FEUx
GUATrARI
&ToNI NEGRI
worki ng
cl ass whi ch
can
no
l onger percei ve
i t sel f as "sel f - suf f i ci ent " andwhi chhas eve-
ryt hi ng
t o
wi n
by
renounci ng
i t s
arrogant
myt hs
of soci al
cent ral i t y.
As soon as one
has f i ni shed wi t h t hi s sort of
myst i f i cat i on,
whi ch
ul t i mat el y
has
onl y prof i t ed
t he
capi -
t al i st and/ or soci al i st
power
f ormat i ons, one
wi l l di scover t he
great si gni f i cance
of t he
newl i nes of al l i ance whi cht i e
t oget her
t he
mul t i f ormand mul t i val ent soci al
st ages
at
t he heart of of our era' s
product i ve
f orces. I t
i s t i me t hat communi sm' s
i magi nat i on
rai se
i t sel f t o
t he
hei ght
of
t he
changi ng
waves
whi chare i n t he
process
of
submergi ng
t he
ol ddomi nant "real i t i es. "
Nowi t i s
necessary
t o i nt roduce cer-
t ai nconsi derat i ons
regardi ng
a f i rst
"di agram-
mat i c
proposi t i on" i nt egrat i ng
t he def i ni t i ons
of
t he
perspect i ves j ust
i nt roduced. I t ' s
onl y
t oo
evi dent
t hat
every
ef f ort at
t aki ng
cont rol
of t he
l engt h
of t he work
day, by
t he move-
ment of t he new
subj ect i vi t i es,
wi l l be
i l l u-
sory
i f i t does not at t ack
f ront al l y
t he net -
workof command
put
i n
pl ace
by
I . W. C. To
t ackl e t hi s net work means
put t i ng
i n
ques-
t i on
t he East - West
rel at i on, t o derai l t he
mechani sm
i nt egrat i ng
t he t wo
super- pow-
COMMUNI STSLI KEUs
13
ers, whi chhas overcoded, f romt he 70s unt i l
t oday,
al l i nt ernat i onal rel at i ons.
Breaki ng
t he
rel at i onof domi nat i on
l abori ousl y
est abl i shed
bet ween
capi t al i sm
andsoci al i sm, andradi -
cal l y
reversi ng
t he al l i ances
-
especi al l y
t he
european
ones
-
i n t he di rect i on of t he
Nort h- Sout haxi s,
agai nst
t he East - West
axi s,
const i t ut es anessent i al f oundat i on f or recom-
posi ng
t he i nt el l ect ual and
worki ng
cl ass
pro-
l et ari at i n t he advanced
capi t al i st
count ri es.
Abasi s of soci al
product i on
whi chwi l l wi n
i t s
i ndependence agai nst
hi erarchi cal
oppres-
si on
andt he commandof t he
great
powers;
a
basi s whi ch
onl y
has
meani ng
i f i t
begi ns
wi t h a col l ect i ve wi l l t o creat e al t ernat i ve
f l ows and st ruct ures t o t hose of t he East -
West rel at i on.
Weare not f al l backs t o "Thi rdWorl d-
i sm"; we donot
pret end
t o t ransf ormi t
by
way
of a t radi t i onal "i nsurrect i oni sm";
nei -
t her f or al l t hat dowe bel i eve i n i t s i nde-
pendent capaci t y
f or
devel opment
and
"re-
dempt i on"
-
at l east
i n
t he
current
capi t al i st
cont ext . None of t he successf ul
revol ut i ons
i n t he
devel oped
count ri es has succeededi n
t ransf ormi ng
i n a
l ast i ng way
t he st ruct ures
of t he St at e. I t i s not
l i kel y
t hat t hose of t he
138 FEUx
GUArFARI &ToMNEGR[
Thi rdWorl dwi l l do
any
bet t er. No, i t i s rat her
t oward
revol ut i onary cooperat i on
and
aggre-
gat i on
of f orces
among
t he i nt el l ect ual and
worki ngprol et ari at
of t he Nort hwi t ht he
great
mas s of t he
prol et ari at
of t he Sout ht hat i t i s
neces s ary
t ot urn t of ul f i l l t hi s hi s t ori c t as k.
Al l of t hi s
may
s eem
ut opi an,
evenext rava-
gant ,
becaus e
t oday
we, t he workers and i n-
t el l ect ual s of t he count ri es of t he Nort h, are
s l aves of
corporat i s t pol i t i cs ,
of
s egment ary
di vi s i ons , of t he
l ogi c
of
prof i t ,
of
bl ocki ng
and ext ermi nat i on
operat i ons ,
of
t he
f ear of
nucl ear war, as
t hey
are
i mpos ed
onus and
wi t hwhi ch
we make ours el ves
accompl i ces .
Our l i berat i on
requi res creat i ng
a
proj ect
and
a
pract i ce
whi ch uni f i es , i nt he s ame revol u-
t i onary
wi l l , t he i nt el l ect ual f orces and t he
prol et ari at s
of t he Nort handof t he Sout h.
As t he uni on of
proces s es
of
s i ngu-
l ari t y
advances t oward t he
proj ect
of rei n-
vent i ng
communi s m, t he
probl em
of
power
wi l l be
pos ed
wi t h
i ncreas i ng acui t y;
i t re-
mai ns at t he heart
of t he
ant agoni s m
bet ween
prol et ari an
component s
andt he
capi t al i s t
and!
or s oci al i s t St at e. The t radi t i onal workers '
movement want ed t o
res pond
t ot hi s
ques -
t i on
i n
a
s i mpl e
and radi cal
wayt hrough
t he
COMMUNISTSLIIEUs 139
conques t
of
St at e
power,
t hen
t hrough
t he
progres s i ve
di s appearance
of t he St at e. Eve-
ryt hi ng
was
s uppos ed
t of ol l ow f romi t s el f .
One
woul d
oppos e
des t ruct i on wi t h des t ruc-
t i on
and
t error
wi t h t error. It woul d be us e-
l es s
t oday
t o
provi de
an
epi l ogue regardi ng
t he f i ct i ve and
mys t i f yi ng
charact er of t hi s
di al ect i c or t o
underl i ne t he s candal ous ref -
erence
by
hol ders
of t hi s doct ri ne t ot he he-
roi c
experi ence
of t he Pari s Commune.
The f i rs t bas i c t as k of t he revol ut i on-
ary
communi s t
movement cons i s t s i n
havi ng
done
wi t h t hi s s ort of
concept i on
and i n af -
f i rmi ng
t he movement ' s radi cal
s eparat i on
not
onl y
f romt he St at e whi ch i t
di rect l y
con-
f ront s but al s o, more
f undament al l y,
f romt he
very
model of t he
capi t al i s t
St at e and al l i t s
s ucces s ors ,
repl acement s ,
deri vedf orms , and
as s ort ed f unct i ons i n al l t he wheel s of t he
s oci us , at al l l evel s of
s ubj ect i vi t y.
Thus , t o
t he
s t ruggl es
around wel f are,
agai ns t
t he or-
gani zat i on
of
product i ve
l abor and of l abor' s
s oci al t i me, and t ocommuni t ari ani ni t i at i ves
i nt hi s domai n, s houl d be added
ques t i oni ng
t he St at e as t he det ermi nant of di f f erent f orms
of
oppres s i on,
t he machi ne f or overdet ermi n-
i ng
s oci al rel at i ons , i norder t oreduce, bl ock,
140 FEUxGUATFART&Tom
NEGRI

and
r adi cal l y subj ugat e
t hem, under t he t hr eat
of i t s for ces of deat hand
dest r uct i on.
Thi s
quest i on
l eads us t o
for mul at e a
second
di agr ammat i c pr oposi t i on
of commu-
ni smand
l i ber at i on: i t concer ns t he
ur gency
of
r et er r i t or i al i zi ng pol i t i cal pr act i ce.
Con-
fr ont i ng
t he
St at e
t oday
means
fi ght i ng
agai nst
t hi s
par t i cul ar
for mat i onof t he St at e,
whi chi s
ent i r el y i nt egr at ed
i nt oI . W. C.
Aft er Yal t a,
pol i t i cal
r el at i ons wer e
fur t her
empt i ed
of t hei r
t er r i t or i al
l egi t i macy
and dr i ft ed t owar d l evel s
i mpossi bl e
t o at -
t ai n. Communi sm
r epr esent s
t endent i al de-
st r uct i on of t hose
mechani sms whi ch make
of
money
and ot her
abst r act
equi val ent s
t he
onl y
t er r i t or i es of man. Thi s does
not
i mpl y
nost al gi a
for "nat i ve l ands, "
t he dr eamof a
r et ur nt o
pr i mi t i ve
ci vi l i zat i ons or t ot he
sup-
posed
communi sm
of t he
"good
savage. "
I t
i s not a
quest i on
of
denyi ng
t he l evel s of
abst r act i on whi ch t he
det er r i t or i al i zed
pr oc-
esses of
pr oduct i on
mademan
conquer .
What i s cont est ed
by
communi sm
ar e
al l
t ypes
of
conser vat i ve,
degr adi ng, oppr es-
si ve r et er r i t or i al i zat i on
i mposedby
t he
capi -
t al i st
and/ or soci al i st St at e,
wi t h i t s admi ni s-
t r at i ve funct i ons, i nst i t ut i onal
or gans,
i t s col -
COMMUNI STS
LI KEUs 141

l ect i ve means
of
nor mal i zat i on
and bl ock-
age,
i t s medi a, et c. . . . The r et er r i t or i al i zat i on
i nduced
by
communi st
pr act i ce
i s of anen-
t i r el y
di ffer ent nat ur e; i t does not
pr et end
t o
r et ur n t oa nat ur al or uni ver sal
or i gi n;
i t i s
not a ci r cul ar r evol ut i on; r at her i t al l ows an
"ungl ui ng"
of t he domi nant r eal i t i es and
si g-
ni fi cat i ons,
by cr eat i ng
condi t i ons whi ch
per -
mi t
peopl e
t o"make t hei r
t er r i t or y, "
t ocon-
quer
t hei r i ndi vi dual and col l ect i ve
dest i ny
wi t hi nt he most det er r i t or i al i zedfl ows.
( I n
t hi s
r egar d,
one i s l ed t odi st i n-
gui sh
ver y concr et el y:
t he movement s of
na-
t i onal i st r et er r i t or i al i zat i on
-
Basque,
Pal -
est i ni an, Kur di sh. . .
-
whi ch assume,
t oa
cer t ai n ext ent , t he
gr eat
det er r i t or i al i zed
fl ows
of Thi r d Wor l d
st r uggl es
and
i mmi gr ant pr o-
l et ar i at s, and t he
movement s
of
r eact i onar y
nat i onal i st
r et er r i t or i al i zat i on. )
Our
pr obl em
i s t o
r econquer
t he
cor n-
muni t ar i an
spaces
of
l i ber t y, di al og
and de-
si r e.
A
cer t ai n number of t hemar e
st ar t i ng
t o
pr ol i fer at e
i n di ffer ent count r i es of Eu-
r ope.
But i t i s
necessar y
t oconst r uct ,
agai nst
t he
pseudo-r et er r i t or i al i zat i ons
of I . W. C.
( exampl e:
t he "decent r al i zat i on" of Fr ance,
or of t he CommonMar ket ) , a
gr eat
move-
142
FEUxGUATFARI &ToMNEGRI
ment of
r eter r i tor i al i zi ng
bodi es and mi nds:
Eur ope
must ber ei nventedas a r eter r i tor i al i -
zati onof
pol i ti cs
and as a f oundati onf or r e-
ver si ng
the
al l i ances of theNor th- South axi s.
The thi r d task of the
r evol uti onar y
communi st movement i s thus al soto"di sar -
ti cul ate" and di smantl e the
r epr essi ve
f unc-
ti ons of the State and i ts
speci al i zed appar a-
tuses. Thi s i s the sol e
ter r ai n
onwhi ch new
col l ecti ve
subj ects
conf r ont the i ni ti ati ves of
theState, and
onl y
i nthe sensethat thel atter
di spatches
i ts "teutoni c caval i er s" over those
ar eas l i ber ated
by
the
r evol uti onar y ar r ange-
ments. For ces of l oveand humor shoul d be
put
towor k her e sothat
they
ar e not abol -
i shed, as i s
usual l y
the case, i nthe
mor tal l y
abstr act and
symbol i c
l unar
i mage
of thei r
capi tal i st adver sar y! Repr essi on
i s f i r st and
f or emost
the
er adi cati on and
per ver si on
of
the
si ngul ar .
I t' s
necessar y
tocombat i t wi thi n
r eal l i f e r el ati ons of
f or ce; i t' s al so
necessar y
to
get
r i d of i t i nthe
r egi ster s
of
i ntel l i gence,
i magi nati on,
andof
col l ecti ve
sensi ti vi ty
and
happi ness.
Ever ywher e
i t' s
necessar y
toex-
tr act,
i ncl udi ng
f r omonesel f , the
power s
of
i mpl osi on
and
despai r
whi ch
empty r eal i ty
and
hi stor y
of thei r substance.
Co1uNTsTs LI KEUs

143
TheState, f or i ts
par t,
canl i ve out i ts
days
i n the i sol ati on and enci r cl ement r e-
ser ved f or i t
by
a r econstr ucted ci vi l
soci ety!
But i f i t
appear s
about tocomeout of i ts
"r etr eat"
and
to
r econquer
our
spaces
of f r ee-
dom, thenwewi l l
r espond by submer gi ng
i t
wi thi na newki nd of
gener al
mobi l i zati on,
of mul ti f or msubver si ve al l i ances. Unti l i t
di es smother edi ni ts own
f ur y.
Thef our th task: Her ewear e i nevi ta-
bl y
r etur ni ng
tothe anti - nucl ear
str uggl e
and
tothe
str uggl e
f or
peace. Onl y,
nowi t i s i n
r el ati ontoa
par adi gm
whi ch
br i ngs
to
l i ght
the
catastr ophi c i mpl i cati ons
of sci ence' s
po-
si ti oni nr el ati ontotheState, a
posi ti on
whi ch
pr esupposes
a
di ssoci ati on between the "l e-
gi ti macy"
of
power
and the
goal
of
peace.
I t
i s
tr ul y
a si ni ster
mocker y
that States accu-
mul atethousands of nucl ear war heads i nthe
name of thei r
r esponsi bi l i ty
to
guar antee
peace
and i nter nati onal or der
al though
i t i s
evi dent that such an accumul ati oncan
onl y
guar antee
destr ucti onanddeath. But thi s ul -
ti mate "ethi cal "
l egi ti mati on
of theState, to
whi ch
r eacti on attaches i tsel f as to a r am-
par t,
i s al soi nthe
pr ocess
of
col l apsi ng,
and
not
onl y
on a theor eti cal
l evel , but
al soi n
144
FEux
GUATFARI &TOMNEGRI
t he consci ousness of t hose who knowor sus-
pect
t hat col l ect i ve
product i on,
f reedom, and
peace
are i n
t hei r
proper pl ace
f undamen-
t al l y
i rreduci bl e t o
power.
Prevent t he
cat ast rophe
of whi ch t he
St at e i s t he bearer whi l e
reveal i ng
t he ext ent
t o whi ch t hat
cat ast rophe
i s essent i al t o
t he
St at e. I t remai ns t rue t hat
"capi t al i sm
carri es
war as cl ouds
carry
st orms. " But , i n a man-
ner di f f erent t han i n t he
past , t hrough
ot her
means and on a hori zon of horror whi ch at
t hi s
poi nt escapes
al l
possi bl e i magi nat i on,
t hi s
perspect i ve
of t he f i nal hol ocaust has, i n
ef f ect ,
beccme t he basi s
of
a veri t abl e worl d
ci vi l war
conduct ed
by capi t al i st power
and
const i t ut ed
by
a
t housand
permanent l y erupt -
i ng, pul veri zi ng
wars
agai nst
soci al emanci -
pat i on
st ruggl es
and
mol ecul ar revol ut i ons.
Nevert hel ess, i n t hi s domai n, as i n no ot her,
not hi ng
i s f at ed. Not al l t he vi ct ori es
and
def eat s of t he
movement ' s newl i nes of al l i -
ance
are i nscri bed i n a mechani st i c
causal i t y
or a
supposed
di al ect i c
of
hi st ory. Everyt hi ng
i s t o be redone,
everyt hi ng
i s
const ant l y
t o
be reconsi dered. And i t ' s
good
t hat
i t
i s so.
The St at e i s
onl y
a col d monst er, a
vampi re
i n
i nt ermi nabl e
agony
whi ch deri ves
vi t al i t y
Co1uNI s1s Lnu Us
14.
onl y
f romt hose who abandon t hemsel ves
t o
i t s si mul acra.
I n
' 68,
noone coul d
i magi ne
t hat war
woul d so
qui ckl y
become such
a cl ose and
encroachi ng
hori zon.
Today,
war i s no
l onger
a
prospect :
i t
has become t he
permanent
f rame of our l i ves.
The t hi rd
great i mperi al i st
war has
al ready begun.
A
war
no doubt
grows
ol d
af t er
t hi rt y years,
l i ke t he
Thi rt y
Years War,
and no one
recogni zes
i t
any l onger,
even
t hough
i t
has
become t he
dai l y
bread of "cer-
t ai n"
among
t he
press.
Yet such
has resul t ed
f rom
capi t al i sm' s reorgani zat i on
and i t s f uri -
ous assaul t s
agai nst
t he worl d
prol et ari at s.
The t hi rd
di agrammat i c
proposi t i on
of com-
muni smand
l i berat i on
consi st s i n
becomi ng
aware of t hi s si t uat i onand
assumi ng
t he
prob-
l emat i c of
peace
as f undament al t o t he
proc-
ess of
reversi ng
al l i ances
al ong
t he
Nort h-
Sout h axi s. Less
t han ever,
peace
i s not an
empt y sl ogan;
a f ormul a
of
"good
con-
sci ence"; a
vague aspi rat i on.
Peace i s
t he
al pha
and
omega
of t he
revol ut i onary program.
The
angui sh
of war
st i cks t o our ski n,
pol l ut es
our
days
and
ni ght s. Many peopl e
t ake
ref uge
i n a
neut ral -
146 FELI x GUArrA1U&ToMNEGRI
i s t
pol i t i cs .
But even t hi s uncons ci ous nes s
generat es angui s h.
Communi s mwi l l t ear men
and women
away
fromt he
s t upi di t y pro-
grammedby
I . W. C. andmaket hemface t he
real i t y
of t hi s vi ol ence and deat h, whi ch t he
human
s peci es
can
conquer
i f i t s ucceeds i n
conj ugat i ng
i t s
s i ngul ar pot ent i al s
of l oveand
of reas on.
And
fi nal l y,
t o
t hes eal l i ances of
pro-
duct i ve
organi zat i on
andl i berat ed col l ect i ve
s ubj ect i vi t i es
s houl dbe addeda fi ft h di men-
s i on
-
of whi ch we have
al ready
s poken
ampl y
-
t hat of
organi zat i on
i t s el f . Thet i me
has comet omovefrom
s pars e
res i s t ance t o
cons t i t ut i ng
det ermi nat efront s andmachi nes
of
s t ruggl e
whi ch, i n
order
t o
be effect i ve,
wi l l l os e
not hi ng
of t hei r ri chnes s , t hei r com-
pl exi t y,
of t he mul t i val ent des i res t hat
t hey
bear. I t
bel ongs
t ous t owork
for t hi s t rans i -
t i on.
Tos um
up:
fi vet as ks awai t t hemove-
ment s of t hefut ure: t heconcret e
redefi ni t i on
of t he workforce;
t aki ng
cont rol over and
l i berat i ng
t het i me of t he work
day;
a
perma-
nent
s t ruggl e agai ns t
t he
repres s i ve
funct i ons
of t heSt at e;
cons t ruct i ng peace
and
organi z-
i ng
machi nes of
s t ruggl e capabl e
of as s um-
COMMUNI STS Ln Us 14?
i ng
t hes et as ks .
Thes efi ve t as ks are made
"di agram-
mat i c"
by
t hree
propos i t i ons :
cont ri but e
t o
reori ent i ng
t he l i nes of
prol et ari an
al l i ance
al ong
a Nort h-Sout h axi s ;
conquer
and i n-
vent newt erri t ori es
of des i re andof
pol i t i cal
act i on,
radi cal l y s eparat ed
fromt he
St at eand
from
I . W. C. ;
fi ght agai ns t
war and workat
cons t ruct i ng.
t he
prol et ari at ' s revol ut i onary
movement for
peace.
Weare s t i l l far from
emergi ng
from
t he s t orm;
everyt hi ng s ugges t s
t hat t he end
of t he "l eaden
years "
wi l l s t i l l bemarked
by
di ffi cul t t es t s ; but i t i s wi t h
l uci di t y,
andwi t h-
out
any
mes s i ani s m, t hat we
envi s age
t here-
cons t ruct i onof amovement of revol ut i onand
l i berat i on, more effect i ve, more
i nt el l i gent ,
more human, more
happy
t han i t has ever
been. *
Rome, Rebi bbi a Pri s on
I
Pari s
1983-84
149
POSTSCRI PT, 1990
Toni
Negri
"Rome, Rebi bbi a
Pri son/ Pari s, 1983-
1984": t hi s
chronol ogi cal
not e whi ch con-
cl udes our French t ext ,
publ i shed
i n 1985,
has
not hi ng
cont ri ved about i t . The
di al ogue
bet ween t he t wo aut hors di d not come t o a
hal t
duri ng
t he
l ong years
i n whi ch one of
t hemwas
i mpri soned.
I nf act i nt hel ast
year
of
t hat
i mpri sonment
wehad deci ded t o col -
l aborat e ona workt hat woul d deal wi t h t he
cont i nui t y
of t he communi st
pol i t i cal pro-
gram, beyond
t he
repressi on
and
i n
spi t e
of
i t s ef f ect s. Whenone of us
l ef t ' pri son
and
went
i nt o exi l e, t he
possi bi l i t y
arose' i n 1984
t o
act ual l y
col l aborat eonsuch a
proj ect .
That i s how
t hi s t ext was born. The
cont i nui t y
of t he communi st
program,
t he
memory
of our
st ruggl es,
anda
pol i t i cal
and
et hi cal
f i del i t y
t ot he
revol ut i onary opt i on
al l
cont ri but ed t o renewour
f ri endshi p
and our
di scussi ons. I t i s
scarcel y necessary
t o
recal l
150
FEUX
GUAUAIU
&TOMNEGRI
how
dreary
t hat
peri od
was. In
It al y,
t he so-
cal l ed
"years
of l ead" never seemed t oend,
and wi t ht hemt here had
devel oped
a l eaden
pol i t i cal
and
soci al cl i mat e; i n France, t he
soci al democrat s,
havi ng
reached
power
wi t h
a
program
of
prof ound
soci al renewal , had
by
t hen t ransf ormed t hei r
pol i t i cs
and were
carryi ng
out t he si ni st er busi ness of rest ruc-
t uri ng
whi chhad been ent rust ed t ot hem
by
capi t al ;
wi t hi nt he At l ant i c al l i ance t he reac-
t i onary
advent ures of
Reagan
and That cher
hadreachedt hei r
apex;
andi n t he USSR
( as
we
onl y
nowcan
percei ve)
what were t obe
t he
very
l ast
-
t hough
st i l l f eroci ous
-
remnant s of St al i ni smst i l l hel d
power.
Not hi ng
seemedt o
t hreat en
t hi s hor-
ri bl e
i mmobi l i t y
-
except
f or a
bi t
of
back-
ground
noi se,
an occasi onal "l i mi t ed" or
"l ocal " war, suchas t he
"l i t t l e"
bl oodbat h
bet ween Iran
and
Iraq,
t he
re- emergence
of
col l ect i ve canni bal i sm
i n
Sout heast Asi a, and
t he f asci sm
and
"apart hei d"
of Lat i n Amer-
i ca and sout hAf ri ca. Wewere
l i vi ng
i n a
peri od
of
permanent
count er- revol ut i on. The
newmovement s t hat woul d become
i mpor-
t ant i nt he secondhal f of t he 1980s
-
move-
ment s based on
mobi l i t y
and
organi zat i on,
CoMMuNIsTsLIKEUs
151
ant i - raci st movement s,
movement s ri ch
i n
non- mat eri al
desi res
-
al l of t hese had not
yet
appeared
on
t he hori zon. Inst ead
t hose
movement s t hat
had
persi st ed t hrough
t he
1970s
l i ngered
on,
pat het i c,
enf eebl ed, and
desperat e.
Exact l y agai nst
t hi s
background
we
deci ded t o wri t e once
more of revol ut i on,
renewi ng
a di scourse
of
hope.
Ours was
a di scourse of
hope,
and a
breaki ng away
i n a
posi t i ve
sense. But
no
one, not
even f ri ends, seemed
t ounderst and
-
our
posi t i on
was
st range,
i mprovi sed,
out
of
f ashi on. Wewerenot
concernedwi t ht hese
obj ect i ons,
however, because
wewerei nt er-
est ed
i n
onl y
one
t hi ng:
reconst i t ut i ng
anu-
cl eus,
however smal l , of
mi l i t ancy
and of
subj ect i vi t y- i n- progress.
Thi s meant
resi st i ng
t he
pol i t i cal
def eat of t he
1970s,
especi al l y
wherei t hadbeen f ol l owed,
ont he
capi t al i st
si de, wi t ht he
product i on
of an
i deol ogy
of
repent ance,
bet rayal
and
sel f - pi t y,
seasoned
wi t ht he new,
"weak" val ues of et hi cal
cyni -
ci sm,
pol i t i cal
rel at i vi sm, and
monet ary
real -
i sm.
Pl ayi ng
t he card of
"nai vet , ' we
want ed
t oaf f i rmt hat i t was
st i l l
possi bl e
t o
152 FELI x GUATI ' ARI &ToMNEGRI
l i ve and t o
produce revol ut i onary subj ect i v-
i t y.
I f t hi s was our basi c
message,
i t was
nevert hel ess not i rrel evant how
we went
about
expressi ng
and
obj ect i f yi ng
our
desi re.
Re- readi ng
oursel ves
t oday
we can
recog-
ni ze t hat t he t hemes of t he
anal ysi s
andt he
program
of act i on
proposed
were and st i l l
remai n
essent i al l y
sound. I n ot her
words,
t he
way
we descri bed t he l i nes of
devel op-
ment of t he mode of
product i on,
t he
syst em
of domi nat i on, and t he cri si s i n bot h
-
and,
ont he ot her si de, t he
prospect s
we out l i ned
f or
t he
devel opment
of anal t ernat i ve
organi -
zat i on, as wel l as our
j udgment s
ont he
proc-
esses of
const i t ut i ng
a new
subj ect ,
on t hat
subj ect ' s product i ve qual i t i es,
andont he cul -
t ural
syst em
t hat woul d const i t ut e t he sub-
j ect
-
al l of t hese el ement s of our
anal ysi s
had been art i cul at ed i n a
way
t hat
capt ured
t he real t rends. I f we hadmade mi st akes,
t hey
were errors of
i ncompl et eness
-
we
hadn' t ri sked
pursui ng
t he t endenci es f ar
enough,
and we hadn' t ri sked
maki ng
our
i magi nat i on revol ut i onary enough.
I nbri ef : whi l e t he
great er part
of our
anal ysi s
has been conf i rmed
by subsequent
COMMUNI STS
LI KE Us 153
event s, cert ai n el ement s have been cont ra-
di ct ed, not
by
t he hi st ori cal
devel opment s,
but
by
t he
i nt ensi t y
-
f oreseen
-
whi ch
t hose
devel opment s
assumed.
Let
us
revi ew
some of t hese el ement s.
a. We
recogni zed very cl earl y
t hat
work, as i t became more and
more
abst ract ,
mobi l e,
and
soci al l y
di f f used,
requi red
new
f orms of
recomposi t i on.
We
began
t o f ol -
l owt he
processes
i nvol ved i n
produci ng
t he
subj ect i vi t y
whi ch t he new
organi zat i on
of
capi t al i st product i on
ent ai l ed. But we shoul d
have
gone
more
deepl y
andreal i zedt hat t hi s
newl y produced
subj ect i vi t y
was l ocked i n
an
i nsuperabl e
cont radi ct i on, f or soci al co-
operat i on
was more and more
vi ol ent l y
i n
opposi t i on
t ot he st ruct ures of
capi t al i st
con-
t rol . The cont radi ct i on was
especi al l y appar-
ent i nt he case of i nt el l ect ual work, whi ch i s
non- mat eri al and
whi ch,
as
i t became t he
cent er of
product i on,
mani f est ed
i t s i rrecon-
ci l abl e di f f erence
wi t h
t he
capi t al i st
norm.
We
ought
t o
have not ed more
cl earl y
t he
cent ral
i mport ance
of t he
st ruggl es
wi t hi nt he
school s,
t hroughout
t he educat i onal
syst em,
i n t he meanders of soci al
mobi l i t y,
i n t he
154
FEUxGUATI ' ARI
&TOMNEGRI
pl aces
where
t he l abor
f orce i s
f ormed; and
we al so
ought
t o have
devel oped
a
wi der
anal ysi s
of t he
processes
of
organi zat i on
and
revol t whi ch
were
j ust
begi nni ng
t o
surf ace
i n
t hose areas.
b.
There was
cert ai nl y
no
mi st aki ng
t he new
di mensi on
assumed
by
communi ca-
t i ons, whi ch
f unct i onedas an
i nst rument
and
promot er
of
det erri t ori al i zat i on, di rect ed
t o-
ward
i nt el l ect ual
usurpat i on
and
moral i m-
poveri shment .
And
i t was no
paradox
i f ex-
act l y
here, i nt hi s
area where
capi t al i st
domi -
nat i on
was so
st rong,
one coul d
det ect mecha-
ni sms f or
recomposi ng
t he
subj ect
and
gi v-
i ng
a
new
t erri t ori al i zat i on t o
desi re. But
whi l e
our work
st opped
at t he
poi nt
of i den-
t i f yi ng
t he
possi bi l i t y
of
sucha
rebel l i on, we
shoul d
have
persi st ed
i nour
anal ysi s,
t raci ng
out t he new
moment s of
reconst ruct i on, of
recomposi t i on
of
t he
subj ect .
Thi s l at t er
proc-
ess needs t o be
seen not i n
t he
cont ext of
some
home-made
operat i on,
or some
uni que
experi ment .
We
are not
t al ki ng
about
some
ut opi a
t o come,
but about a real
f ormat i ve
power,
a mat eri al
f orce f or
pol i t i cal
and so-
ci al
reconst ruct i on.
Couv1uNi sm
LI KEUs

155,
c. Weshoul dhave bet t er def i ned
t he
scope
of t he
ecol ogi cal st ruggl e,
amovement
whi ch
appeared
consi st ent wi t ht he
program
of
prol et ari an
l i berat i on.
We
ought
t o have
acknowl edged
not
onl y
t he
necessi t y
of de-
f endi ng
nat ure
agai nst
t he menace of
dest ruc-
t i onand
t he i mmi nent
apocal ypse
t hat
hangs
over i t , but al so t he
urgency
of
const ruct i ng
new
syst ems
and condi t i ons
f or
re-produc-
i ng
t he human
speci es,
as wel l
as
def i ni ng
t he modes and t i met abl es
f or
revol ut i onary
act i on
i nt hi s di rect i on. I t i s
easy
t o see t hat
our t ext was wri t t en bef ore
Chernobyl .
d. And
nowwemust t ake
up
t he
poi nt
most
deservi ng
of cri t i ci smand sel f -censure.
I n
def i ni ng
I nt egrat ed
Worl d
capi t al i sm,
we
di d not
suf f i ci ent l y
measure
t he
i nt ensi t y
of
t he
process
set i n mot i on
by
t he di rect
par-
t i ci pat i on
of t he Sovi et Uni on
i n
t hat
mecha-
ni sm.
Of course al l
t hrough
our
pamphl et
we
had i nsi st ed ont he
i dent i t y
of t he
expl oi t a-
t i on
t aki ng
pl ace
i n
capi t al i st
count ri es and
t hat
t aki ng pl ace
i n soci al i st count ri es. Now
t he worl d market ' s
def i ni t i ve
overcomi ng
of
t he St al i ni st
pressure onl y
conf i rms t hi s ob-
156
FEux
GUATI ' ARI &ToMNEGRI
ser vat i on. But t he accel er at i on of
t he
pr oc-
esses of
i nt egr at i on t aki ng pl ace
i n
t he l ast
fi ve
year s
and t he effect s t her eof cannot be
under est i mat ed.
Ver y
acut e cont r adi ct i ons ar e
bei ng
cr eat ed
wi t hi n each of t he t wobl ocs as
wel l as i n t he
r el at i onshi p
bet ween East and
West . The
pr obl em
of
peace
can be
put
i n
muchl ess
ut opi an
t er ms
t oday
t han when we
composed
our
pamphl et .
But
pr eci sel y
for
t hat r eason, t he
achi evement and t he mai nt e-
nance of
peace
become a
posi t i ve
for ce for
r eopeni ng
t he
pr ocesses
of l i ber at i on, r evol t ,
andr adi cal
t r ansfor mat i on.
e.
Cer t ai nl y
our book
di d not under -
est i mat e t he
quest i on
of
Nor t h-Sout h r el a-
t i ons. But
we wer e far t oo
opt i mi st i c.
We
bel i eved t hat i n
t he face of t he
di sast r ous
decl i ne i n t he
pr ospect s
of t he Sout her n na-
t i ons, some ki nd
of newal l i ance wi t h t he
Nor t h woul d
i nevi t abl y
be l ai d out .
Not hi ng
of t he sor t occur r ed, and
i ndeed t he si t uat i on
has
become much wor se.
Ent i r e cont i nent s
ar e
adr i ft wi t hout a
compass
andt her e has
not been a
si ngl e pol i t i cal
i ni t i at i ve
wor t hy
of t he name
whi ch has been offer edt o
com-
bat t he enor mous
pr obl ems posedby
t hi s di s-
CoMMUMSTS
Lua Us 157
ast er .
Benefi t concer t s andact s of
st at e-spon-
sor ed
char i t y
have
mul t i pl i ed
-
and at t he
same t i me t he i sol at i on andt he l ack of news
fr om
t hese
poor est
count r i es have become
mor e omi nous.
I t i s wi t h
desper at i on
and
angui shed
i mpot ence
t hat we l ook
upon
t hat massacr e
of i nnocent s, t hat
unendi ng genoci de. . .
I t i s
wi t h
anger
t hat we
cont empl at e
t hese
t hi ngs.
We coul d cont i nue
anal yzi ng
t he de-
fect s
of our di scour se, whi l e st i l l
affi r mi ng
i t s subst ant i al
val i di t y.
But
t owhat end? The
evi dence t hat al l ows us t o
st i l l
bel i eve
t oday
t hat communi smhas
never been near er t o
fr ui t i on der i ves not fr omour
ownwor ds but
fr om
t he
r adi cal
change
of
di r ect i on t aken
by hi st or y
i n t he l ast four or fi ve
year s.
What
we once
bel i eved i n as a
ut opi a
nowseems
common sense.
The
age
of t he
Reagan
count er -r evol ut i on
and t he
ver y gl oomy pe-
r i od of neo-l i ber al
power
nowseemdefi ni -
t i vel y super seded.
Weknewt hat
t hey
woul d
not l ast
l ong,
and we never ceased
l aughi ng
at t hei r "new
phi l osopher s"
and
bei ng
nause-
at ed
by
t hose whohad
"r epent ed. "
Never -
t hel ess, we ar e
sur pr i sed
t osee how
fr agi l e
158
FELI x
GUATrARI
&ToMNEGRI
such
arrogance real l y
was. The
grand
decl a-
rat i ons abOut neo- l i beral i sm,
about anewso-
ci al cont ract , about a
new
Enl i ght enment
are
t oday obvi ousl y
charades
-
as
t hey
were i n
t he
past .
I n t he
past ,
however, i t t ook cour-
age
t o
say
so;
nowadays
t hi s t rut h seems ba-
nal .
But
we are not
so
muchi nt erest edi n
t al ki ng
as i n
bei ng. Bei ng,
andt hus
organi z-
i ng. Organi zi ng,
and
hence
havi ng
t he
possi -
bi l i t y
of
overt hrowi ng
t he
sense of
produc-
t i on
whi ch
capi t al ,
for t he sake of
profi t ,
en-
forces
wi t hi n our i nformat i on- ori ent edsoci al
fabri c.
Overt hrowi ng
t hat sense,
subvert i ng
i t . . . For t hat we l ook t o
praxi s.
And
praxi s,
t oday,
i s foundi n t he East bl oc.
Before
speaki ng
of
praxi s,
a bri ef
cl ari fi cat i onof
t ermi nol ogy
i s
i n
order.
Peopl e
say
t hat communi smi s
dead. We t hi nk t hi s
affi rmat i on
i s
i nexact ,
andt hat i t i s soci al i sm
whi chi s mori bund. How
are t hese t wot erms
di st i ngui shed?
For t he ol d- l i ne mi l i t ant , t he
di st i nct i on
bet ween soci al i smand commu-
ni smwas obvi ous: soci al i smwas t hat
pol i t i -
cal - economi c order i n whi ch "t oeach was
gi venaccordi ng
t ohi s work"; whereas
corn-
COMMUNI STSLI KE Us 159
muni sm
was t hat
syst em
i n whi ch"t oeach
was
gi ven accordi ng
t ohi s
needs. " Soci al -
i smandcommuni sm
represent ed
t wo
di ffer-
ent
st ages
of t he
revol ut i onary process,
t he
fi rst
bei ng
charact eri zed
by
t he soci al i zat i on
of t he means of
product i on
and
by
t he
pol i t i -
cal admi ni st rat i on of t hi s t ransi t i on, t he sec-
ond
charact eri zed
by
t he ext i nct i on of t he
st at e and
by
t he
spont aneous management
of
bot ht he
economy
and
power.
I f
t hi s di st i nct i on was cl ear t ot he ol d-
l i ne communi st mi l i t ant s,
t oday,
i n t he era of
a
col l apse
of
"real soci al i sm, " i t has been
obl i t erat ed, and communi smand soci al i sm
are
easi l y
confused.
They
are confused vi a a
host i l e, whol esal e reduct i on
performed
by
t he
adversari es of soci al i sm, who
have
under-
t aken
a brut al
l i qui dat i on
of al l
t hi ngs
soci al -
i st t hat were
creat edi n t he worl daft er 1917,
whet her i n East ern
Europe
or i n t he Thi rd
Worl d. Of course
t hese al l t oo
easy l i qui da-
t i ons t ake
sust enance fromfavorabl e condi -
t i ons: i n t he
soci al i st st at es of East ern Eu-
rope
duri ng
t he l ast
fort y years
t he sol e met h-
ods
of
l egi t i mi zi ng power
havebeent he
mys-
t i fi cat i on of
i deol ogy,
frauds
perpet rat ed by
t he
bureaucracy,
and
cyni ci sm
i n
deal i ng
wi t h
160
FELI x GUATTARI
&ToNI
NEGRI
theory
-
al l of whi ch,
predi ctabl y
enough,
have
produced
symptoms
of radi cal ref usal
and
di sgust .
Howcoul d
the "radi ant
f uture"
promi sed
by
communi sm
have avoi ded
bei ng
di scredi ted
i n soci eti es
that were
soci al i st i n
name
onl y,
soci eti es
that were i n
f act bu-
reaucrati c
organi zati ons,
i n
whi ch
utopi a
was
achi eved
by hi di ng
real i ti es?
Havi ng
sai d thi s,
l et us return tothe
concepts
themsel ves
and thei r
hi story,
not-
i ng
that, i n al l
probabi l i ty,
they
are not re-
duci bl e
tothe
gui ses
i nwhi ch
they appear
i n
present-day
pol emi cs,
nor
subj ect
tothe cur-
rent whol esal e di smi ssal s.
I ndeed f or
about
a
century
and a hal f ,
that i s, f romthe
f oun-
dati onof
the
"League
of Communi sts"
whi ch
l ooked to
Marx f or
l eadershi p
i n the mi ddl e
of the
l ast
century,
communi sm
has beenthe
central
pol i ti cal i deol ogy
f or the modern
age.
I n
opposi ti on
to
the
ol d
utopi as,
i t i s
based
on a real ,
f orward-l ooki ng anal ysi s
of
the
mechani smof
devel opment
of
capi tal i sm
f romthe
worker' s
poi nt
of vi ew.
Taki ng
a
sci enti f i c l ook
at the soci al -economi c
dynam-
i cs of the
capi tal i st system
as i t l i ves and
grows sol el y
by expl oi ti ng
the l abor f orce,
the
party
of the
worki ng
cl ass candef i ne
the
COMMUNI STS
LI KE Us 161
strategi es
and tacti cs f or
the communi st f u-
ture,
setti ng
as i ts
obj ecti ves
the
destructi on
of the
mechani smof
capi tal i st
accumul ati on
and the
conquest
of
pol i ti cal power.
Marx
bri ngs
us
up
to thi s
poi nt,
of f eri ng
a f ormi -
dabl e sci enti f i c
apparatus
f or
deal i ng
wi th
thi s
proj ect .
The
subsequent
transf er of Marx' s
theoreti cal
anal ysi s
tothe
probl em
of revol u-
ti onary
mobi l i zati on wi thi n the
newcontext
of
Europeancapi tal i sm
at the
begi nni ng
of a
century
marked
by
a radi cal
i nstabi l i ty
i nthe
vari ous
pol i ti cal
and soci al
systems,
i s the
task whi ch Leni n
takes
up
and whi ch
l eads
hi mto
f ormul ate the
organi zati onal
pri nci pl es
of a newki nd
of
party,
the "Bol shevi kCom-
muni st
Party. "
Thi s
party
i s the
vanguard
of
the
worki ng
cl ass
whi ch,
havi ng
brokenwi th
the
mere economi c
demands of the uni ons,
the
mere
opportuni sti c
spontanei ty
of the an-
archi sts,
and the
l egal i sti c
versi on
of the cl ass
struggl e practi ced
by
the
parti es
of the Sec-
ond
I nternati onal , has
shaped
i tsel f i ntoa di s-
ci pl i ned,
f l exi bl e i nstrument
speci f i cal l y
adapted
f or
sei zi ng power
and
i nstal l i ng
the
di ctatorshi p
of the
prol etari at .
The
obj ecti ve
of
thi s
di ctatorshi p
i s
the i nsti tuti on of so-
162 FELI x GUATFARI &Tor . u NEGRJ
ci al i sm, or
the
nati onal i zati on of the
means
of
pr oducti on
and a centr al i zati on of
pl an-
ni ng.
But al l of thi s was
supposed
to take
pl ace
wi thi n a r adi cal
pr ocess
of democr ati c
par ti ci pati on,
wi thi n a tr ansi ti onal
per i od
that
woul dcr eate condi ti ons of economi c
gr owth
f or
ever yone
and at the
same
ti me woul d
di ssol ve the centr al
power
of the state and
the l aw,
bestowi ng
both weal th
and
f r eedom
on the ci ti zens. What an i l l usi on, and
what
di sappoi ntments!
TheLeni ni st
concepti ons
of
the
par ty
and the
r evol uti onar y
tr ansi ti on wer e
con-
tested wi thi n the l ef t
wi ng
of the wor ker s'
movement
by
Rosa
Luxembur g,
both at the
ti me of the 1905
upr i si ng
and af ter the 1917
r evol uti on. For her ,
or gani zati on
meant the
per manent
r ef usal ,
exactl y
i n the
wor kpl ace,
of
any
medi ati on of wor ker s'
sel f - expr essi on
or the cl ass
str uggl e thr ough
the
agency
of
the uni ons or the r ef or mi st
par ty;
her i dea of
or gani zati on
coi nci ded wi th the
r i si ng
l evel s
of wor ker
spontanei ty
and wi th the
speci f i c
pol i ti cal
i nsti tuti ons
gener ated
by
such
spon-
tanei ty, i ncl udi ng
the "sovi ets" i n Russi a i n
1905and 1917,
and
the "wor ker s' counci l s"
i n
Ger many
i n 1918- 1919. Leni n, onthe other
COMMUNI STSLI KEUs 163
hand, hel dthat the wor ker s' ownsel f - di r ected
or gani zati on
f or
str uggl e
coul dnot
pr ef i gur e
the
par ty,
si nce a
r evol uti onar y pol i ti cal
di -
r ector ate,
standi ng
outsi de the i ndi vi dual
str uggl es,
woul d have to
super vi se
al l the
var i ous
expr essi ons
of
spontanei ty
i n or der
to assur e the f undamental
goal
of a di ctator -
shi p
of the
pr ol etar i at .
I s i t thi s
contr adi cti on
between
Lux-
embur g
and Leni n
-
between an i dea of
communi smas a
democr acy
consti tuted
by
masses i n
str uggl e,
or , onthe
other
hand, as
a
di ctator shi p
of the
pr ol etar i at
-
that
gi ves
r i se to the cr i si s i n the
management
of so-
ci al i st
power
once the i nsur r ecti on has been
vi ctor i ous and
power
has been sei zed?
Many
communi sts
(and
ther e ar e sti l l
' many
of them
i n the wor l d) thi nk so, and i t i s
ver y pr ob-
abl e that as the subver si ve movement r evi ves
i n
the
comi ng
decades
(f or
i t i s evi dent that
i t wi l l r evi ve) I t wi l l
have to r econsi der these
i ssues.
But other
pr obl ems
can al so become
centr al i n the di scussi ons
moti vated
by
the
pr esent
cr i si s of communi smandthe
col l apse
of "r eal soci al i sm. " I n
par ti cul ar ,
i t i s i nter -
esti ng
to f ol l ow
devel opments
i n Russi a i n
164 FEUxGUATrARI
&TOMNEol u
t he wake of t he di l emma
t hat surfacedaft er
Leni n' s
deat h. At t hat
poi nt
t he Sovi et
pol i t i -
cal debat e
cent ered on t he t wo al t ernat i ves
of a
"permanent
revol ut i on, " or, on
t he ot her
hand, "soci al i sm
i n a
si ngl e count ry. "
These
al t ernat i ves
were di scussed
i n t erms of t hei r
rel at i onshi p
t oLeni ni smand
t ot he Oct ober
revol ut i on.
Leon
Trot sky,
anardent defender
of t he fi rst t hesi s
as ameans of
i nocul at i ng
t he revol ut i on
agai nst
t he bureaucrat i zat i on
of t he st at e and
t he
part y,
was defeat ed
by
t hose who,
embraci ng
t he secondal t ernat i ve,
bel i eved t hat
t he
unequal
devel opment
of
capi t al i st
count ri es
and t he
except i onal
na-
t ure of
a
prol et ari an
vi ct ory
at t he
weakl i nk
i n
t he
i mperi al i st
chai nhad
renderedt he con-
st ruct i on of soci al i sm
i n
a
si ngl e
count ry
an
obl i gat ory
course
of act i on.
Among
t he
ad-
vocat es
of t he second t hesi s St al i n
soon
emerged
as t he merci l ess execut or
of an ex-
t reme
cent ral i zat i on of t he
part y
and an
enormous
concent rat i on of
power
i n t he ad-
mi ni st rat i ve- repressi ve apparat us.
Thus t he
di st ance
bet ween Marx' s
t heory
of acl ass
st ruggl e agai nst
t he
capi t al i st syst em
andt he
act ual
pract i ce
i n t he
const ruct i on of soci al -
i smwi dencd
vert i gi nousl y.
Paradoxi cal l y,
Co11sruNI s1s LI KEUs 165
communi sm
-
defi ned
by
Marx
as "t he real
movement
whi ch abol i shes
t he
present
st at e
of affai rs"
-
became t he
product i ve
act i vi t y
whi ch
creat edat
what ever cost t he
mat eri al
bases of an
i ndust ri al
soci et y
t hat was
l ocked
i n a
compet i t i on
wi t h t he
rhyt hm
of i t s own
devel opment
and wi t h
t hat of t he
capi t al i st
count ri es.
Soci al i smdi d not
commi t i t sel f t o
overcomi ng
t he
capi t al i st
syst em
andt he
sys-
t emof
wage
l abor,
but i nst eadbecame
aso-
ci al - economi c
al t ernat i ve of
capi t al i sm.
Can we t hus cl ai m
t hat t he
present
cri si s of
"real soci al i sm"
amount s t o
not hi ng
more t han
t he cri si s i n t he
soci al i st
manage-
ment of
capi t al ?
That t he
present
si t uat i on
has
not hi ng
t odowi t h
any
ul t i mat e cri si s of
communi sm?
We can i ndeed
make such
cl ai ms i f,
havi ng accept ed
t he
l essons of a
cent ury
and a hal f
of
hi st ory,
we
re- assert
wi t h
t he
great est possi bl e
emphasi s
t he
di s-
t i nct i on
bet ween
soci al i smand
communi sm.
For t he
fi rst i s
not hi ng
more t han
one of t he
forms i n
whi ch
capi t al
can
be
organi zed
and
admi ni st ered
-
andt hat i s
why
most of t he
advanced
capi t al i st
count ri es
t oday
have eco-
nomi c
syst ems
i n
whi ch t he
soci al i st
compo-
166
FELI x GuArFARI &ToMNEGRI
nent i s
ext remel y s t rong.
But communi s mi s
t he formi n whi ch
s oci et y
can
be
organi zed
aft er t he
des t ruct i on
of bot h t he
capi t al i s t s ys -
t em, t hat i s , aft er
t he des t ruct i on of t he cl as s
s ys t em
andt he
s ys t em
of
expl oi t at i on,
when
t he
organi zi ng
rol e of t he s t at e, as
oppos ed
t o t hat of
s oci et y,
has been cancel l ed. We
mus t furt her i ns i s t t hat i t i s
abs ol ut el y
unt rue
t hat s oci al i s mi s a
phas e
of, or ani ns t rument
of t rans i t i on t oward, communi s m.
Hi s t ori cal l y
s peaki ng,
t he exact
cont rary
has been t rue,
for t he mos t feroci ous forms of
pol i t i cal
and
economi c
oppres s i on
have occurred
wi t hi n
"real s oci al i s m, " whos e s o- cal l ed "new
s o-
ci al i s t man" was
not hi ng
ot her t han
a
per-
fect ed formof t he beas t of
burden. As Marx
t eaches us , communi s mi s
born
di rect l y
from
cl as s
ant agoni s m,
fromt he refus al of bot h
work andt he
organi zat i on
of work, whet her
i n t he
bourgeoi s
formor t he s oci al i s t form.
The newmodes of t hi s
ant agoni s m
and t hi s
refus al can be s een i n Wes t ern
Europe,
but
are even more
apparent t oday
i n t he Eas t
bl oc' s cri s i s of "real s oci al i s m. " That i s
why
t he revol t i n t he eas t ern
European
nat i ons
cons t i t ut es a
s t rong
i ncent i ve
for a renewed
di s cus s i on and a renewed
mi l i t ancy
wi t hi n
COMMUNI STSLI KE Us 167
communi s m. The needt o
di s t i ngui s h
bet ween
"s oci al i s m"
and
"communi s m" has once
agai n
become
obvi ous : but t hi s t i me not
be-
caus e of t he
bl urred boundari es bet ween
t hem, but becaus e
t hey
are s o
oppos ed.
So-
ci al i s mi s
not hi ng
ot her
t han one of t he forms
t aken
by capi t al i s t
management
of t he econ-
omy
and of
power,
whereas communi s mi s
an
abs ol ut el y
radi cal
pol i t i cal
economi cde-
mocracy
andan
as pi rat i on
t ofreedom.
What dot he
event s
i n
Eas t ern Eu-
rope
reveal
t o
us ? Fi rs t of al l
-
andwe have
al ready recogni zed
t hi s
-
t hey
mark t he end
of t he i l l us i on
t hat t here
mi ght
be
s hort cut s
t o
communi s m.
What ever
mi ght
have been
t he
bel i efs of our
predeces s ors ,
whet her
work-
ers
by profes s i on
or
i nt el l ect ual s i n t he van-
guard,
we mus t
acknowl edge
t hat t here can
be no
progres s ,
no
t rans i t i on from
capi t al i s m
t o
communi s mvi a
s oci al i s m. Communi s m,
t hus , i s
t he mi ni mum
es s ent i al
program.
I t
can and
mus t be
cons t ruct ed
s t art i ng
from
t he
condi t i ons of s oci al i s t
and/ or
capi t al i s t
s oci et y
-
wi t hi n
t hes e condi t i ons .
There are
not
t woor t hree or
four or n
phas es
or
s t ages
of
devel opment :
t here
i s
onl y
one, and t hat
168 FEUxGUATFARI &TomNEGRI
i s the
r e- taki ng
of f r eedomi nto one' s own
hands and the cons tr ucti on of col l ecti ve
means f or
contr ol l i ng cooper ati on
i n
pr oduc-
ti on.
Thi s
s i ngl e s tage
of
devel opmental -
l ows us todi s cover towhat extent
capi tal i s m
and/ or s oci al i s mhave
r ender ed
pr oducti on
s oci al , abs tr act and
s har ed, and
i t
al s o
per -
mi ts us to
r eor gani ze
thi s
cooper ati on
out-
s i de and
agai ns t
the
capi tal i s t s ys tem
of com-
mand, outs i de and
agai ns t
the
dai l y
thef t of
power
and weal th whi ch i s
per petr ated by
the f ewat the
expens e
of the whol e
s oci ety.
Communi s mi s
al r eady
al i ve wi thi n
the
capi tal i s t
and/ or s oci al i s t s oci eti es of to-
day,
i n
the f or m
of
a s ecr et or der dedi cated
to
cooper ati on
i n
pr oducti on:
an or der cov-
er ed
up by
the
capi tal i s t s ys tem
of command
and/ or
bur eaucr acy,
cr us hed between the
oppos i ng
f or ces of thos e who
command
and
thos e whof ol l owcommands , a newor der
whi ch
s tr ai ns to become mani f es t but can-
not. I n the Eas t bl oc
we s awmas s
pr otes t
expl ode
i n the f or mof a
pur e negati on
of the
pas t.
But we al s os awthe
expr es s i on
of a
potenti al
that was unknown tous i n
the Wes t:
i n
the Eas ter n
Eur opean
nati ons we s awa
CowvI uus Ts LuEUs 169
f ul l y
al i ve
ci vi l
s oci ety
come tothe s ur f ace,
one
that
hadnot been
homogeni zed,
one ca-
pabl e
of
expr es s i ng
a col l ecti ve
pol i ti cal
wi l l
i n a
way
no
l onger
f oundi n the Wes t
-
a
dr i ve f or
power
f ounded on the s oci al bas e
r ather than on the f or ms of the s tate. I am
cer tai n that i n the Wes t as wel l al l of thi s
wi l l
take
pl ace,
and
qui te
s oon
-
f or what
has
happened
i n the Eas t was not bor n f r om
the
s peci al exper i ence
of thos e countr i es .
What took
pl ace
i n the Eas t
i s
the
begi nni ng
of a r evol t
agai ns t
a
capi tal i s m
whi ch had r eached the
apex
of i ts
tyr anny.
Ther e ar e
al ways
thos e i mbeci l es whoi den-
ti f y capi tal i s t devel opment
wi th the number
of
computer s
s ol d: of cour s e i n that cas e one
woul dhavetobel i eve that ther e was no
capi -
tal i s mi n
the Eas t andthat i ts r evol uti on wi l l
qui ckl y
be cal med
by s el l i ng computer s .
And
ther e ar e thos e
who
wi l l
attempt
thi s s tr at-
egy.
But that
i s not
r eal l y
how
thi ngs
s tand:
the
l evel of
capi tal i s t devel opment
i s def i ned
by
the
degr ee
of s oci al
cooper ati on
i n
pr o-
ducti on. Fr omthi s
poi nt
of vi ew, the Eas ter n
bl oc i s
i n
no
way
behi ndthe Wes t.
I t i s
agai ns t
thi s
backgr ound
that we
r eadthe
r evol uti on
whi ch
has
expl oded;
and
170
FEuxGUATrARI &ToM
NEGRI
wef urt her
suggest
t hat , as wi t h al l revol u-
t i ons t hat are
t rul y
such, t hi s onewi l l
spread
-
f rom
t he
East
t ot he
West , a new' 68,
movi ng
i nt he
opposi t e
di rect i on.
What el se dot he event s i n t he East
reveal ? Anot her el ement , l ess vi si bl et ot he
maj ori t y
of t he
publ i c,
but nonet hel ess ex-
t raodi nari l y i mport ant :
t he bi rt h of a new
model of
democracy.
In our ci vi l i zat i on we
areaccust omed t o
t hi nki ng
t hat t herei s
onl y
onemodel of
democracy,
t he West ern one,
andt hat i t need
onl y
be
appl i ed general l y.
Hi st ory
has comet oan end,
t herei s
not hi ng
moret oi nvent , andWest ern
democ-
racy
and t he "Ameri can
way
of l i f e"
repre-
sent t he
absol ut el y
f i nal
product
of t he hu-
man
spi ri t !
Al l of t hi s i s
Warrogant
i l l usi on.
What has
happened
i n t heEast demonst rat es
j ust
t he
opposi t e,
f or
( despi t e
what
Hegel
says)
not
onl y
has
t heworl d
Spi ri t
not f i n-
i shed i t s t ravel s, but i n f act i t
gi ves
si gns
of
havi ng
reversed i t s course,
ret urni ng
f rom
across t heAt l ant i c and
headi ng
east , t oward
t heRussi an
st eppes.
That i s wherei t has been
reborn, and t hat i s wheret he debat e about
democracy
i s
t aki ng pl ace. Democracy
can-
not be
si mpl y pol i t i cal emanci pat i on,
but
Coi wi Ni s1' s LIKEUs 17
must i ncl udesoci al and economi c l i berat i on.
No
democracy
i s
possi bl e
unl ess t he
prob-
l ems of work and of command are sol ved.
Every
f ormof democrat i c
government
must
al sobea
f ormof l i berat i on f romt he
sl avery
of work,
must
yi el d
a new,
f ree
organi zat i on
of
cooperat i on
i n
product i on.
It i s not a
ques-
t i on of
put t i ng
f act ori es and t he
organi zat i on
of soci al work i n t he hands of newbosses,
ent rust i ng
t hemt o t he
hypocri t i cal
f reedom
of t he
market pl ace,
handi ng
t hemback t o
t he
expl oi t at i ve
desi res of
capi t al i st s
and bu-
reaucrat s. Rat her, i t i s a
quest i on
of under-
st andi ng
what
mi ght
be t he rul es f or t he
democrat i c
management
of economi c en-
t repreneurshi p.
An
i mpossi bl eut opi a?
Fewer
and
f ewer
peopl e
t hi nk so. Not
onl y
i n t he
East but even i n t he West ,
more
and more
peopl e
are
aski ng
t hemsel ves how
t oachi eve
a
democracy
t hat i ncl udes - t he democrat i c
management
of
product i on.
Andt hei r
st upe-
f act i on i s di rect ed not at communi sm, but at
t he
present
f ormof
product i on
-
t hei r
amai ement
( and
t hei r
gri ef )
deri vef romt he
f act
t hat
every day
weare
compel l ed
t owi t -
ness t he
persi st ence
of
f i gures
as obsol et e
andusel ess as t he
capi t al i st
and bureaucrat i c
172
FELi xGUATFARI &To NEGRI
bosses. I n t he East , wi t hi n t he r evol ut i on,
peopl e
ar e
exper i enci ng
a newfor mof de-
mocr acy:
t he
democr acy
of wor k, a commu-
ni st
democr acy.
At hi r d l esson has r eached us fr om
t he East bl oc. Whohas r evol t ed? The wor k-
i ng
cl ass? I n
par t yes,
but oft en not . The
mi ddl e cl asses, t hen? Toa fai r
degr ee,
but
onl y
when
t hey
wer e not l i nked t o
t he bu-
r eaucr acy.
What about t he st udent s, sci en-
t i st s, wor ker s l i nked t o advanced t echnol o-
gi es,
i nt el l ect ual s,
andi n
shor t ,
al l t hose who
deal wi t h abst r act
andi nt el l ect ual wor k? Cer -
t ai nl y
t hi s
r epr esent s
t he nucl eus of t he r e-
bel l i on.
Those whor ebel l ed, i n br i ef, wer e
t he newki ndof
pr oducer s.
Asoci al
pr oducer ,
manager
of hi s ownmeans of
pr oduct i on
and
capabl e
of
suppl yi ng
bot h wor k and i nt el l ec-
t ual
pl anni ng,
bot h i nnovat i ve
act i vi t y
anda
cooper at i ve
soci al i zat i on. Fr omt hi s
poi nt
of
vi ewas
wel l , what has
happened
i n t he East
i s
not
for ei gn
t o us: i ndeed we
mi ght say,
"de t e fabul a nar r at ur . " For i n t he count r i es
wher e
capi t al i smr ei gns
i di ot i c and t r i um-
phant , cor r upt
and
i ncapabl e
of sel f- cr i t i ci sm,
ar r ogant
and confused, her e as wel l t he sub-
j ect
who
const ant l ypr oposes
t or evol t i s t he
CoMMuNI sTs
LI KEUs173
same: t he new
pr oduct i ve subj ect ,
i nt el l ec-
t ual and
abst r act , st udent s, sci ent i st s, wor k-
er s l i nked t o advanced
t echnol ogi es,
uni ver -
si t y
wor ker s, et c. I t i s because of t hi s
subj ect
wi t h whomwe
i dent i fy
t hat t he event s of t he
East
per t ai n
t o us. Whet her Gor bachev r e-
mai ns i n
power
or i s r emoved
by Li gachev,
whet her
per est r oi ka
succeeds i n t he
pr esent
for mor i n a secondwave t hat wi l l
i nevi t abl y
fol l ow, whet her t he Russi an
empi r e
endur es
or not
-
t hese ar e al l
pr obl ems
t hat concer n
onl y
t he Sovi et s.
We have our Cossacks t odefeat , and
t her e ar e
many
of t hem,
and wear e
ver y
l at e
i n
j oi ni ng
t he bat t l e.
Nonet hel ess we ar e
gr at eful
t o t he Sovi et s
for
havi ng
i ni t i at ed,
for t he second t i me i n t hi s
cent ur y,
a
pr o-
found
pr ocess
i n t he
r enewal
of
t he
spi r i t .
I t
i s a
pr ocess
t hat
we bel i eve t o be i r r ever s-
i bl e, not
onl y
i n Russi a, but al so i n t he
l i fe
of humanki nd.
Toni
Negr i ,
Pans
Chr i st mas 1989
Tr ansl at ed
by
J ar edBecker
Transl at or' s Not es
1. Si nce t he ' 60s i n French
phi l osophy,
t he
di al ect i c has comet o beassoci at ed wi t h
t he
i mposi t i on
of
power
and t heneut ral i -
zat i on
of
radi cal , al t ernat i ve
energi es.
The
medi at i on of
conf l i ct i ng opposi t es
and
t hei r resol ut i on i nt o a
hi gher
order of
uni t y
nowi s l i nked wi t h
a
pol i t i cs
t hat
neut ral i zes conf l i ct i n t he nameof
Part y
or St at e order.
2. Bot h Guat t ari and
Negri
havest udi ed
Spi -
noza, t hef i rst modernmat eri al i st
phi l oso-
pher.
The t erm
"pot ent i al "
ref ers t o t he
creat i ve
possi bi l i t y
i nherent i n mat eri al
real i t y.
3 . At erm
f romt he French Revol ut i on f or
"put schi st "
or l eni ni st
st yl e revol ut i onary
movement s whi ch
at t empt
t o sei ze
power
usi ng
a smal l
conspi rat ori al
band rat her
176
FELi X
GUA' rFARI &ToM
NEORI
than
rel yi ng
on sel f - i ni ti ated mass mobi -
l i zati on, democrati c
processes,
or
sel f -
government by
the
peopl e.
4.
Guaranteed
workers
are
subsi di zed wi th
unempl oyment
i nsurance
by
the state.
Non- guaranteed
workers are more mar-
gi nal
and
are
not
covered
by
i nsurance.
5. Atermf romFrench
psychoanal ysi s
whi ch
ref ers tothe
system
of sel f - del usi on that
i s i nherent i n the
ego.
I t has
come to
have thebroader more
soci ol ogi cal
mean-
i ng
of the shared del usi ons of soci al
groups.
6.
Thi s
ref ers tothe l eni ni st i dea that the
economi c
aspi rati ons
of the
prol etari at
need tobe "transl ated" i nto
pol i ti cal
f orm
by
a
vanguard party.