<nettime> ACT4MASCHINENDIGEST [Foti, Marcelo]

[nettime's_kranky_kong <nettime@bbs.thing.net>]

"Alex Foti" <alex.foti@gmail.com>
  Re: <nettime> ACT 4 PULAFASHION RADICAL EUROPE DDD = DEATH>DESTRUKTION>DEMOCRACY
marcelo@brumaria.net
  RE: <nettime> ACT 4 PULAFASHION RADICAL EUROPE DDD = 

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Date: Tue, 16 Jan 2007 13:21:11 +0100
From: "Alex Foti" <alex.foti@gmail.com>
Subject: Re: <nettime> ACT 4 PULAFASHION RADICAL EUROPE DDD = DEATH>DESTRUKTION>DEMOCRACY

thanks for your net-art refutation of a4re. can't say i share its
intellectual premises, but hell it's nifty and covers a lot of ground
with aesthetic concision.

We are not occidentalists, though. That charge can be leveled at
Buruma, Garton Ash, Ferguson, Hitchens, but not at us. Why? because we
don't think euramerica is the way for the future and in fact would
like to wean Europe off Atlanticism (a major component of
Occidentalism, don't you think?). We are rather for secularism
wherever we can find it. I think it'd be hard to dispute the fact that
europe is a more secular region of the world than any other. We are
for social equality. Again, egalitarianism is stronger here than
elsewhere, with the possible exception of korea and japan (more
authoritarian societies than euroland, though) and latin america
(which started from the most strident levels of inequality worldwide,
though).

I think the planned rationalism charge carries more weight. Some could
find the possible jacobinism of the document offputting. And certainly
we are a motley buch of activists who should know better than trying
to put too much order on present historical chaos. But see, we
consider the eu an elitist rather than a colonialist project. And we'd
really hate to leave it in the hands of financial establishments and
government technocracies, after the neoliberal and monetarist version
of europe was decisively defeated twice by the popular vote.

We don't really see why we should leave merkel and barroso free to
decide over our heads and our lives what direction europe should take,
like at the Berlin summit in couple of months, which also celebrates
the 50th anniversary of the european community. I mean, the g8 sucks
and has been reviled for years, and this year too huge protests are
announced (the washington consensus of the late 90s is no longer
there, however). But are we not also gonna build meaningful social
opposition to european governance/government, the one that actually
locks up immigrants and dictates flexibility or poverty? Come on, if
we don't do it now that the eu is in disarray and the elites have the
least legitimacy they have had in decades, when are we gonna do it?
Unless you want europe to go to pieces and revert to national
rivalries. Last time it happened, fascism ended up ruling the
continent almost unchallenged (if we omit Durruti, CNT, and the
international brigades).

Or maybe what really bothers you is our reference to the European
enlightenment. I don't know, we were struck by Jonathan Israel's
RADICAL ENLIGHTENMENT book, which (i overoversimplify) contrasts
Spinoza Malebranche and the French with moderates such as Locke and
the Federalists. The philosophers in a4re have a better grasp of this,
but it seems that after the necessary demolition brought by
postmodernism and postcolonialism, some rebuilding needs to take
place. Dystopia (or ecocide, or new orleans, or extreme social
darwinism, you name it) can be deconstructed, but it needs to be
halted, too.

nematodic ciaos,

lx
ps My friend from Epidemic thinks it's stupid not to have the
convenience of gmail at your disposal, considering that millions of
people (all suckers who should know better?) around the world use it,
and that google has equalized access to information and knowledge for
a larger number of people than ever before. Good? Evil? Liberal
probably describes it best, but I'm no prostitute of liberalism;)


On 1/16/07, 0f0003 | maschinenkunst <n2o@ggttctttat.com> wrote:

> >Subject:       <nettime> ACT 4 RADICAL EUROPE
> >From:          "Alex Foti" <alex.foti@gmail.com>
>
> >ACT 4 RADICAL EUROPE (A4RE, "ayforee")
> >manifesto for a transnational political association acting for social
> >and ecological justice
>
> Alex - FUKC ur OCCIDENT neo-kolonialist OCCIDENT nematode radikal=3D0+0 root=
> z
 <...>

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Date: Tue, 16 Jan 2007 19:26:42 +0100 (CET)
Subject: RE: <nettime> ACT 4 PULAFASHION RADICAL EUROPE DDD = 
From: marcelo@brumaria.net

> Alex - FUKC ur OCCIDENT neo-kolonialist OCCIDENT nematode radikal=3D0+0
> root=
> z
> 0+0 kulture radical=3Dorganized planned rational delusional OCCIDENT
> refusz+=

nice,

sure you can be a bit more ellaborated
and polite
next time -

give yourself another try, my sweet machopunk!

xxx marcelo -

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