The Method: Mimesis

The question of method is a difficult one for an autonomist politics tailored to the US. How do we promote autonomist activities and organizations and principles? How do we do this without fighting for power over governmental or corporate body? How do we build institutions, and how do we link those institutions together? We have some models for this from a variety of autonomist organizations and movements around the world, but the contemporary US requires its own sort of model for addressing its own already existing values and organizations.

For conceptual models, I personally use the rhizomatic metaphysics of Deleuze and Guattari, cleaned from a host of sources. I'll save lengthy discussion of the Daring Duo for other posts though, as full on metaphysical discussion is instructive but indirectly so, and for the moment I want to pretend to be practical. For the moment, I'll just describe the rough structure of the "rhizome" as Deleuze and Guattari use it:
A rhizome is a connection between dissimilar things for the production of a third thing "between" them. Rhizomatic connections are not formed by structural integration, but by flows of matter and energy between different things. This does not destroy the differences between the things, or create a uniformity. Rather, the differences between them allow the flow of matter and energy to happen at all. The things remain different, and the flow between them creates some other, third thing, an invention, a monstrous birth beyond both of them.

This is a rough explanation of a dense idea, but for a quick example of it (besides actual rhizomes, connections between soil bacteria, fungi, and plant roots that allows nitrogen fixation) think of a common social event, one easily as common in America as political organizations: a band. We can think of a rhizomtic experience as exactly what happens when a decent band can play well together, can achieve a certain flow, especially in a jam session or through improvisation. So jazz bands and jam bands give us a common example of a social rhizome.

So how do we spread values in such a way?

Mimesis.

We create examples, forge channels of communication, and allow others to replicate or experiment with our models. They will always develop some new mutation, some new twist, but by this very difference, by this experimentation, we form an open community expressing types of values.

So, how do we promote autonomist principles and organizations? We set up examples, share information about them, and collaborate on inventing other examples. We make them concrete, and focus on concrete collaborations. We let our examples maintain their autonomy, but offer them as gifts to model other experiments.

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A quick argument in favor of this model. When we look at the adoption of industrial farming techniques in America and throughout the world, we note something interesting. Many attempts were made to encourage farmers to use industrial techniques and inputs, arguments, subsidies, endorsements. Nothing worked though, until proponents of new techniques used models. They made demonstration fields, wowed local farmers with increased yields, and their methods quickly spread.

Though the content of this example is fairly odious, the point remains- people are more encouraged by a working model they can see and touch than by all the argument and bribery in the world.

Build examples, root them to communities so everyone can see their effects and dynamics, network the examples.

see also Gabriel Tarde.