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Anarchist Cybernetics by Thomas Swann – The Institute for Anarchist Studies

anarchiststudies.org · 5,944 words · saved by 1 readers

What can anarchist engagements with the cybernetic science of self-organization, buried in an obscure anarchist journal from the 1960s and written by an elusive computer scientist, reveal about the effective functioning of anarchist organization? Anarchy, freedom, and self-organization In comparison to how overused it is, ‘cybernetics’ might be one of the least understood words in the English language. We’re all familiar with it, or at least with the prefix ‘cyber’ that is drawn from it. Cyborgs are now ubiquitous in pop culture. We used to talk about cyberspace and cyberpunk, and these held some kind of radical connotation, albeit a fairly vague one. Now we get patronizing campaigns from governments urging us to give up artistic pursuits for careers in ‘cyber.’ In our places of work, cybersecurity is the subject of one of the many mandatory trainings. Cyberpunk 2077 was one of the most hotly anticipated games of the last few years, and was widely criticized for its simplistic gender n

What can anarchist engagements with the cybernetic science of self-organization, buried in an obscure anarchist journal from the 1960s and written by an elusive computer scientist, reveal about the effective functioning of anarchist organization? Anarchy, freedom, and self-organization In comparison to how overused it is, ‘cybernetics’ might be one of the least understood words in the English language. We’re all familiar with it, or at least with the prefix ‘cyber’ that is drawn from it. Cyborgs are now ubiquitous in pop culture. We used to talk about cyberspace and cyberpunk, and these held s

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