Welcome to the return of AntiClockWise!
AntiClockWise was a pro-Situ anarchist zine that ran to 20 issues from c.1989 until c.1992. Produced before the advent of the ubiquitous internet, it was cobbled together using Letraset, images cut out from other publications and text typed on a manual typewriter. The literal cut and paste pages were photocopied on the sly in various locations and merrily stapled together, before being posted out to interested individuals and left wing bookshops. 25 years on, this all seems incredibly old fashioned, but it was a lot of fun and was a time when thousands of people were also producing zines.
AntiClockWise was produced as a part of The Museum of Modern Alienation and had the slogan of "Nihilists, one more effort if we are to be revolutionaries!" which is a slight re-write of a quote from Raoul Vaneigem's The Revolution of Everyday Life in which he says "Nihilists, as de Sade would have said, one more effort if you want to be revolutionaries!"
The foundation for AntiClockWise was basically an internationalist anarchist stance, acknowledging the works of the Situationist International. I still hold these beliefs and think that they are perhaps more relevant than ever. It is important that we are willing to take the best parts of class struggle and lifestyle anarchism, but be constantly critical of their ideologies too.
AntiClockWise believes that there is no role for the state and government. There IS a role for essential services to be run by workers collectives for the benefit of all (council communism), while seeking the abolition of so much unnecessary work so that everyone can enjoy the pleasures of free time. Debord's Spectacle has become more even more invasive through the use of technology, the triumph of international consumerism and the alienation of individuals. Most importantly, AntiClockWise champions the individual within its vision of an anarchist society.
Most people in the UK are happy with their lot. Whether this happiness is real or spectacular is open to interpretation. The outcome of the general election of 2015 was of no consequence to us. It showed that there are a silent majority of selfish and self-centred people who are comfortably well off - they are willing to generously donate to emergency appeals and volunteer in their communities, but begrudge welfare and immigration because the media have told them these things are bad. The silent majority confounded the polls because they have no need to make their opinions heard - the things they want are readily to hand. The Left are now in a panic about what to do next - move to the left to create some anti-austerity party or move to the right to be similar to the Conservative Party who won the election.
AntiClockWise has nothing to demand of the political establishment, except its destruction. It is time to return to the fray and contribute to the creation of an alternative to consumerist capitalism. AntiClockWise is not afraid to taste the unpalatable, reject what was thought to be permanent, erase the indelible, and develop an understanding of spectacular capitalism while cheering on anarchist praxis.
Laughter is our greatest weapon in fighting a ludicrous world. Time is the enemy, pleasure is the aim.
This blog will hopefully be a place to critique modern society and seek ways to escape it, even if it cannot be destroyed. It will be a place where a good old rant will be commonplace. Contributions are positively encouraged on any topic.
AntiClockWise - the zine that doesn't know where it's going ... and doesn't really care!
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