Thursday, July 22, 2010

'Libertarian' Used Correctly

"Less World! More Bank!"

I have been reading Phil Edwards' 'More Work! Less Pay!' Rebellion and Repression in Italy, 1972-7 (Manchester University Press, 2009). He occasionally uses the word 'libertarian', for example:
"the group re-emerged within the 'area' as the Collettivi Politici Operai (CPO; 'Workers' Political Collectives'), opening itself to left-libertarian as well as Leninist influences." -- Phil Edwards (p. 69)
and in translating:
"The first, numerically in the majority, is the 'creative' wing, libertarians with radical leanings ... These are the 'small-a' autonomists, who at one time or another fight for a 'better quality of life' ... The second large strand is that of the professors, the intellectuals, the theorists of the message ... The third strand, finally, is that of the 'capital-A' autonomists, or Autonomia operaia organizzata ['Organised Workers' Autonomy']" -- M. Monicelli, L'ultrasinistra in Italia 1968-1978 (1978, Phil Edwards' translation)

Apparently, the custom of street performances at protests emerged from the area of autonomia. Antonio Negri was a member of the CPO. Perhaps activists in Detroit might consider the establishment of social centers (centri sociali) by squatting in abandoned buildings.

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