Whence Anarchism? The Historical Conjuncture of #Occupy

Panel held on March 31st, 2012 at the Fourth Annual Platypus International Convention, School of the Art Institute of Chicago.

#Occupy represents one of the most significant prospects and challenges for the Left in the past decade. Working through the politics of #Occupy is a delicate matter. In some ways, the increasing influence of anarchism upon the Left since the rise of the anti-globalization movement of the 1990's continues to be visible in #Occupy (horizontal organizational structures, repurposing of public property, an emphasis on alternative forms of community and production "autonomously" produced within capitalism). At the same time, #Occupy has shied from imitating past protests directly (e.g. the lesser adoption of black bloc tactics) largely in favour of ambiguous claims about the unity of the 99% for a fairer world.

We hope this panel can work through what anarchism means for occupy, and, more broadly, to what extent revolutionary perspectives can and should be integrated into Occupy. This means clarifying the conflicts that exist within anarchism as a politics, recognizing those aspects of anti-capitalist politics which seem to have by osmosis found themselves within #Occupy's organization, and to which strains of revolutionary thought it seems to be resistant.

Can #Occupy pave the way for insurrection and revolution?

Panelists

John Slavin (Industrial Workers of the World, 4 Star Anarchist Organization)
Daniel Dulce (Crimethinc)
Kelvin Ho (Occupy Chicago)
Sara Whitford (Formerly Occupy Chicago)