Self Interest In every interaction and through every social structure, humans exercise an unavoidable psychological instinct known as self interest. It is a deep motivational factor that is inseparable from our subjectivity. Whether we are kind or cruel, it operates in the background of our decisions and persists despite our awareness of its presence. It…

This essay is a response to Jason Lee Byas’ series of essays: “Against Moral Cannibalism,” “Anarchy is Moral Order,” “The Authority of Yourself.” There is something else happening in Byas’ account of our own self-enslavement that I find interesting. It’s not just that Byas’ portrayal of anarchism is meant to be retroactively binding, emerging from…

This essay is a response to Jason Lee Byas’ series of essays: “Against Moral Cannibalism,” “Anarchy is Moral Order,” “The Authority of Yourself.” Many problems rear their heads when attempting to establish moral systems. Determining proper criteria, defining rights and wrongs, or establishing a certain degree of objectivity are just some of the rocky surfs…

Preface  This article was originally composed as a series of posts on Facebook; I prefaced my series with the warning: “I have no use for being in anyone’s fan club, whether the U.S. libertarian/classical liberal communities, the Democratic Party, or Democratic Socialists of America (DSA).” My critique extends as well to anarchism, offering a more…

The Floyd rebellion is changing the world before our very eyes. What type of change and to what degree it will shift the balance of forces between rulers and ruled, haves and the have-nots remains to be seen. What is clear is that there is an active and open political contest to shape the outcome….

Much is being made in England and throughout the English speaking or so-called anglophone world about the 200th anniversary of the abolition of the slave trade in the British empire and its breakaway colony, the United States of America. Hollywood and the monopoly sector of entertainment capital have marked this anniversary with a major feature…

Since the murder of George Floyd in Minneapolis, a number of protesters and rioters of the dumpster-fire and ski-mask variety have found themselves detained for noble acts that change the world– like toppling statues of racists or torching cop cars or inflicting necessary violence. No good deed, it seems, goes unpunished. But, many of these…

The fundamental tenet of anarchism is the resistance to an Archos, Greek for “master.” To advocate for anarchism is to position oneself in opposition to a master, i.e., to claim the fundamental right of self-determination, autonomy, and freedom from a centralized system of (especially coercive) control. To act anarchically simply means to act independently of…

Like every other intelligent person, I find violence repulsive. Violence is effectively the definition of “how to do something if you’ve not an ounce of cleverness.” In nature, the symbiotic relationship constitutes the ideal: it generates a sustainable and ecologically sound means of enjoying the little bit of time any one of us has here…

For better or worse, the coronavirus has brought the world together. People are scared and worried and many no longer feel confident navigating social spaces they previously took for granted. Questions regarding the hygiene of the Other are now at the forefront of everyone’s mind. Governments and other public institutions are advocating for “social distancing”…

The very existence of borders is one of the founding injustices of this world. Most of us recognize this implicitly, and I won’t spend too much time here trying to argue what’s been clearly argued by generations of anarchists: Borders and citizenship are constitutive elements of the nation-state, and as such must be overturned and…

 Thanks to everyone who participated in our May Poetry Feature. We’ll be moving away from poems for a bit, but look out for future special features and poetry projects!    The breadth of corruption has eclipsed the surreal arms of enforcement and tendons of steel    Enforcers are charged with societies care and they stomp…

The following is part of the 2019 May Poetry Feature at C4SS.   locking talk on haute cuisine means of squeeze sequester session in lessons descended from heaven epiphany sitting in the plastic order territory through ‘tis trough business degree sipping tea content so forgetting hints at difference in clinch hitters mystic sits hocking sunflower language pangs in…

The following is part of the 2019 May Poetry Feature at C4SS. I could make a color chart For the melodies we sing But I’m sure there’s no piece of art For the comfort which you bring Harmony and passion could kill a king Tearing down these walls they built And arriving as this being…

The following is part of the 2019 May Poetry Feature at C4SS.   pick ply plumb lungs from empty attic static attack addicts on half racked grief from thief in their solace state has haphazard lack luster map maker she hits finished slits across concrete constables and rips a thick lap victory vein in her golden hair stains…

The following is part of the 2019 May Poetry Feature at C4SS.  I feel the grasp of your hand as it releases me. I fall & fall for what feels like forever. Landing in my own reality. We’ve got mind, body, and soul; seven billion people trapped in a claustrophobic foxhole. Spinning & spinning &…

The following is part of the 2019 May Poetry Feature at C4SS.   Sometimes things need fixing; The cogs are all mucked up, Founded on an outdated design, Money thrown to keep ’em spinning. Flaws get lost in rhetoric, and — Distracted by chauvinist conflict — We don’t realize that it just keeps breaking, Gears ground…

The following poem was inspired by the children of Palestine. It is part of the 2019 May Poetry Feature at C4SS.  I am a clown dwelling beneath rockets Oh land, mourn, mourn this clown’s breath Red wine and tears will crawl along Let them impregnate the dirt New beautiful children will grow strong Becoming clowns,…

The following piece was originally published at the blackstarwritings blog and is the first part of a continuing series on war and anarchism. The subject of warfare has been one that I have held a great interest in for some time. With roots in early humanity about five thousand years ago, it is a factor…

Welcome to the second edition of the Against Utopia monthly newsletter, where I explore problems of social organization, philosophy, biology, politics, and more through an epistemological anarchist lens. Or in simpler (cruder) terms, analyzing the authorities’ basis of knowledge and mostly concluding that they should fuck off, so we can flex our autonomy. If you’re…