P2P Radical Subjectivity as the new historical actor?

Referring to Macchiavelli’s The Prince and to the thought of Gramsci, Orsan Senalp interprets the new p2p-driven social movements as the key emerging historical actor to achieve fundamental change. The first half of the article, not reproduced here, is a summary of the organisational evolution of the Occupy/Indignado movements.

Excerpted from Orsan Senalp:

“‘‘the Newest Prince’: the collective subjectivity that would write the history and shape the form and content of the much needed Global Revolution.

I believe that in the process took us to Global Spring, we have seen the rise of the Newest Prince: the new forms of grassroots alliances that are being formed among old, new, newer and the newest social movements, in order to lead the transnational struggles forward. The answer to the big question of ‘where are we going’ will be given by these alliances horizontally. #15M, #OWS, and #Blockuppy have been key actions that were put forward by coordinated and organised networks. In a sense these movements have become a collective ‘spaces’ in which members of more horizontal organisations, parties, NGOs, CSOs have come together and formed a collective subjectivity.

We had on the one hand progressive organisations getting increasingly networked, horizontalised, and on the other hand loose networks of individuals or groups -of the post Seattle era- becoming more and more organised. This process of convergence is making of a synthesis between the vertical organisation and horizontal network into hyperempowered ‘moving spaces’ or organised networks (orgnets) which might have potential to replace the traditional form of ‘alliances’, ‘platforms’ or ‘ blocs’ (as in Gramsi’s Historic Bloc). As these networgs and orgnets are adopting distributed, p2p relational dynamics, as well as principle of equipotentiality -that underlines an equal potential of the each participating nodes to the orgnet- the real sense of ‘one big union’ (in diversity) is being reinvented on strongly egalitarian terms.

At the end of a historical momentum now the rising ‘transnational historic orgnets’ are in search for the answers to the obvious questions of the radical change, societal transition towards the better world. The evaluation of the Global Spring/Global May actions confirms the need for a commons narrative, or kind of a revolutionary program to be rise from bottom up. We can think of this narrative or program, again with references to Gramsci’s ‘counter hegemony’. It is for now clear that the global movement’s moral leadership is tied to the principles like: “commitment to connectivity, horizontality, commitment to nonviolence and self-organising.” There are already good narratives and projects on which we can build a counter hegemony against still dominant but rapidly declining capitalist economics and politics.

These mentioned alternative is in our opinion characterises the emergent P2P (peer to peer) mode of production that have been underlying the structural changes we have been experiencing at the socio-economic base of the societies globally, since the late 60s. P2P relationships have been increasingly reflected also in cultural sphere, arts, politics. Since 2010, P2P relational dynamics and relationships are getting adopted in the core of this rising revolutionary agency, as well. The economic, cultural and political spheres are dialectically shaping each other. Against this backdrop, the precariat, peer labour and immaterial labour [including social justice activists working for the NGO sector] are forming a constellation of alter-forces. The underlying shift in the nature of the productive forces and productive relations -the shift in telecommunication and transportation infrastructure and the rise of the internet- might not only be triggering the global organic crisis but also providing us a possibility to overcome not only the new contradiction between the substructure and superstructure within capitalism and inter capitalist-state politics, but also the organisational and leadership problems.

Creation of a such truly democratic and egalitarian revolutionary P2P subjectivity with a clear revolutionary program based on a clear vision towards transition to P2P-advanced communist egalitarian civilisation, would indeed be the only way left before the humanity. To lead ourselves to dignity, to a better world, a commons based society in safe the road we have been walking since Wisconsin, Tunisia, Tahrir, via 15M, 17 September Occupations of Wall Street, #15.O, #M1GS, #12M, #15M and #Blocky, #anti-NATO and G8… We have been walking and making the road and this road to dinity is our chance to build a such revolutionary p2p collectivity altogether. We all need to contribute to this process with our entire existence.”

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