I’ve always been told to avoid crossing paths with a black cat, seven years bad luck and all that, but this one crossed mine. It’s not on me.  A local anarchist writer that goes by the pseudonym “Black Cat” recently wrote a piece attacking indigenous elders, the Pacific Northwest Youth Liberation Front (PNWYLF), and “the…

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   Sometimes things need fixing; The cogs are all mucked up, Founded on an outdated design, Money thrown to keep ’em spinning.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…

Gavin Mueller’s recent article for the boundary 2 online journal, “Digital Proudhonism” is a Marxist critique of what Mueller describes as “Digital Proudhonism,” a catchall term for those who believe that technology is lowering class barriers. Digital Proudhonism is not a formal ideology but rather an undercurrent expressed by a variety of individuals from all…

In Part I of this article, I responded to William Gillis’ review of Worshiping Power: An Anarchist Vision of Early State Formation. I wanted to give special attention to what I found to be his most interesting critique. Gillis takes me to task for focusing too much on the anthropological definition of the state, analyzing…

There is a common joke in computing circles to announce at the beginning of a course that “The last person in the room must close the door.” Though at first blush the request seems reasonable, this is an example of an uncomputable function. The last person to enter the room has no way of knowing…

Human liberty has been won in hard fights against powerful interests and systems, but the progress of liberty can be set back. The rise of authoritarian nationalism is a serious threat to the liberty of people around the world. It is a threat that must be defeated. In authoritarian nationalism, a select group will rule…

A thirteen-year old student recently told me that his parents weren’t speaking with his uncle because the uncle had voted for Trump. It’s not an unusual scenario. The choice of presidential candidate may just be the most culturally contentious decision that Americans make. It causes fights, break ups, public scenes, and (of course) Facebook blocks….

The following article was written by Max More and published with The Freeman, February 1, 1999. Max More is president of Extropy Institute in Marina Del Rey, California. Large Corporations Will Not Come to Dominate the Economy Giant corporations controlling national governments. Corporate behemoths regimenting their workers, controlling their customers, and obliterating their smaller competitors. The rich get richer…

These are funny times. If some old, obviously doddering anarchist (if they weren’t doddering, they’d never do this!) dares to use the word “libertarian” the way it was used for well over a century, the way it’s still used in many parts of the world, the hip, young anarchists will look at her aghast, all because about…

When I say I am an anarchist, I simply mean that, to the extent that I have the power, I refuse to let anyone or anything dominate me. In other words, I refuse to accept the power of any authority, any institution, any existing or would-be ruler, any ruler, etc., over me. This is why I…

Military Artifacts All over the world, landscapes both urban and rural are littered with military artifacts from bygone times. These artifacts have completed their lifecycle as objects of power, force and control, and have either been repurposed or forgotten. Repurposed artifacts gain new meaning in the world, as they take on new roles. The former military…