Updated: May 31, 2008 by Ben Seattle
the media weapon community
Isolated from one another we are easily defeated.
Connected to one another no force on earth can stop us.

The most powerful truth of our time is that
a world without bourgeois rule
is both possible and necessary

The Media Weapon community is determined to help
bring this truth to the working class and to the world.

Projects   •   People   •   Wiki   •   POF-200 email list   •   Feedback
 
-- Contents --
Our mission and program
The structure of our community
Our communication system
We need your help
Recommended reading
The pof-200 email list
Our projects
What do you think?
Comments from readers

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Our mission and program

The Media Weapon community is
a community of activists
focused on a mission.


Our proposed mission statement:

To help develop the theory
and practice of information war
to mobilize the working class
for the overthrow of bourgeois rule


Our proposed program of action:

(i) The 21st century is destined to be a century of information war (understood as a struggle for ideas organized on a mass scale) in which all digital (and other) means of communication become essential components of anti-imperialist struggle and the class struggle.

(ii) Our mission requires that we ride the wave of the emerging revolution in communications in order to bring to political activists everywhere--and to the working class as a whole--the news that a world without bourgeois rule is both possible and necessary.

(iii) Towards this end we will learn to make skilled use of email lists, web-based forums, blogs, RSS and wikis (as well as more traditional printed and verbal agitation) to help:

1. Build channels to the masses

We will build interactive and democratically-run channels of communication which will feature news and discussion (as well as comprehensive coverage of revolutionary, or would-be revolutionary, organizations, projects and forums) that connect activists to the masses -- and bring political transparency to the revolutionary movement.

These channels will make use of the energy of readers to rate and filter articles and comments so that our audience will be able to easily find the most valuable and interesting content.

These channels will both (a) mobilize popular support for the current struggles of the working class and oppressed and (b) provide a comprehensive understanding of modern society including politics, economics, culture and technology.

2. Puncture the suffocating influence of reformism

We will help puncture the suffocating influence of reformism that sucks the life and militancy out of the antiwar movement (and all other mass protest movements) and channels the energy of activists into useless, dead-end schemes -- such as becoming election fodder for the Democratic Party.
3. Resolve the crisis of theory

We will help resolve the crisis of theory that has made it impossible to think in a realistic way about an alternative to bourgeois rule -- and has led to the rampant saturation of the progressive movement with the sectarian and reformist diseases -- and paralyzed the revolutionary movement.
4. Lay the foundations for
    a revolutionary mass movement
    that is politically transparent

We will help unite revolutionary, progressive and working class activists into a revolutionary mass movement that is politically transparent (ie: where the important political principles, disagreements, projects and organizations are known to everyone and charlatanism, sectarianism and reformism have no place to hide) and deserving of the respect and attention of the working class -- and which has the ability to mobilize tens of millions for victory against the bourgeoisie.

Projects   •   People   •   Wiki   •   POF-200 email list   •   Feedback
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The structure of our community

The media weapon community will consist of:

1. a core of activists who understand and agree with our mission statement and program of action and who work in a principled and consistent manner to carry it out, and

2. a periphery of activists or interested people who find the work of our community to be interesting (or to have potential to oppose reaction or contribute to a progressive agenda) and want to learn about our principles and methods and help us with our work. Activists become part of the periphery of our community by joining one of our email lists and participating in the life of the list.

Core activists will have the right to vote on the most important matters related to the development of the community. Activists on the periphery will have "voice but no vote" and will help guide decisions of the core activists thru public feedback, questions and criticism.

At present the mission statement has not yet been discussed, debated or adopted and the "core" group of activists is non-existent. Nor has the community yet proven itself to be anything more than an email discussion list. However, if a mission statement and program of action can eventually be adopted by a group of activists--and a core of activists emerges which is determined to carry it out--this would represent a significant step forward for the development of a healthy revolutionary mass movement. It is my hope to see such a core of activists emerge--whether this emergence takes place this year or sometime later in this decade.

Ben Seattle
----//-// 29.may.2004

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Our communication system

The media weapon community carries out discussion and debate using email lists and a wiki (ie: a collaboration tool that makes it easy for a group of people to jointly create, edit and link a system of web pages) which, respectively, comprise the "push" and "pull" components of our communications system.

Currently, our main email list is pof-200. Our wiki can be seen here. (Our wiki is in the middle of being redesigned -- but it is currently functioning.)


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We need your help

Obviously any small community such as ours can only play a limited role in the overthrow of bourgeois rule, a task that will require the coordinated actions of many millions.

We will do the best we can with the resources that we have. And we need your help.
Link to us from your website or blog!
Join our pof-200 discussion list !
Check out (or contribute to) our wiki !


What do you think?

The Media Weapon community would like to hear your thoughts. Fill out the form below and let us know what you think of our proposed mission, program of action and structure.

Projects   •   People   •   Wiki   •   POF-200 email list   •   Feedback
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Recommended reading

Here are some articles that can give perspective to the tasks of progressive activists and the central organizing goal of the progressive movement. ( Ben )

Proletarism is anti-revisionist Marxism
for the 21st century

From the Russian workers' movement (with experience in underground organizing under the rule of Brezhnev's "communists" and militant strikes under the rule of Yeltsin's "democrats") has come a proposal to recognize, with a new name, a decisive break with the treachery of the "communist" leadership -- which enslaved the working class and betrayed the revolutionary movement in a way comparable to the great betrayal of 1914. • (1600 words plus chart w/ historical timeline)

Politics, Economics and the Mass Media
when the working class runs the show

• competition between multiple political parties
• Will there be elections?
• Contradictions in society:
      • consumption vs. investment
      • local vs. international
      • ecosystems vs. development
      • gift economy vs. other sectors
• The three economic sectors in the transition period:
      • private capitalist • state capitalist • gift economy
• The evolution of the mass media
      • commercial media   •   state media   •   free media
      • the interaction between the different media sectors
          (3500 words plus timeline with guesswork about future)

 
A scenario for
the overthrow
of bourgeois rule
in the U.S.
in the middle
of the 21st century

1. The digital fire • The first third of the 21st century
      -- the left learns how to use the digital fire
      to build channels to the masses and overcome
      the diseases of sectarianism and reformism

2. Electoral victory •
Sometime in the middle
      of the 21st century -- electoral victory

3. Economic retaliation •
Bourgeois reaction (part 1)
      -- Capital flight and economic retaliation

4. Workers stand firm •
Workers refuse to capitulate
5. Attempted decapitation •
Bourgeois reaction (part 2)
      -- Bourgeois legality tossed aside
      -- Attempt to decapitate workers' movement

6. Workers' movement resilient •
Workers' movement
      is initially suppressed but, because it was prepared,
      over time proves itself resilient in the face of repression.

7. Bourgeoisie paralyzed •
In the face of the militant
      mass resistance by many millions the military government
      eventually proves to be unstable and disintegrates.
      The bourgeoisie itself becomes split and paralyzed.

8. Workers' victorious •
Bourgeoisie defeated,
      workers' movement victorious

9. Stable workers' state •
Workers state brings
      the stability needed for economic experimentation and the
      development of self-organizing moneyless gift economy                                                                                 (3100 words)

17 Theses
8 Theses on the Destiny of
  the Concept of Workers' Rule                                             (800 words)

9 Theses on the Emerging
  Revolution in Communications
  and its Significance for
  the Awakening of Proletarian
  Political life and Consciousness                                         (2000 words)

The Laws of Commodity Production
for Dummies
A concise description of the laws of economic development that have created civilization as we know it.
(A thousand times less comprehensive and reliable than Marx's Capital -- but also a thousand times quicker and easier to read.)
   The world in which we live is a world of imperialist wars, racism, unemployment, poverty, repression, ecosystem destruction on a vast scale and a culture of escapism, ignorance and spam. This world has been created and shaped by the laws of commodity production.
   Millions of people want to see the emergence of a "better world" of peace and abundance for all. In order to create such a "better world" we must understand the economic laws of our existing world -- which we will need to overcome in order to create an economy which is not based on commodity production -- and in which, instead, all goods and services are given away for free.                     (3500 words)

Want a little lighter reading?

Desert Goddesses Saturate
Emergent Community with Eye-Candy

The cultural and political
significance of "Burning Man":
A community of artists opens a window into a human future based on a gift economy and the emergence of a deeper form of beauty   (7500 words)

Ready for a little heavier reading?

Imperialism, the Highest Stage of Capitalism

Lenin's outstanding analysis of modern capitalism. Lenin demonstrates that imperialism is a product of monopoly finance capitalism. At the close of 19th century, a small number of banks had become dominant in the advanced European countries. Controlling vast quantities of "surplus" capital, these banks sought superprofits on investments in colonies and semi-colonies, and this intensified the race for empire among the great powers. By 1914, the race led to war. World War I was therefore imperialist in its origins and aims and deserved the condemnation of genuine socialists. Those socialists who supported the war effort of their respective nations Lenin branded as "social chauvinists". Future wars were inevitable so long as imperialism existed; imperialism was inevitable so long as capitalism existed; therefore only the overthrow of capitalism can ensure world peace.
(written in 1916, summary adopted from Marxist Intenet Archive)

We need to know your thoughts
about the ideas on this page.
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The pof-200 email list

For discussion of the decisive tasks
of a revolutionary mass movement

Purpose of the pof-200 list

The POF-200 email discussion list has been created to develop focus and clarity on the tasks which are decisive for the development of a revolutionary mass movement with the ability to mobilize millions for the overthrow of the system of bourgeois rule.

The POF-200 list needs the active and thoughtful participation of media activists, cyber activists and revolutionary activists.

Qualifications for pof-200

If you are a progressive media activist -- or a progressive person with computer skills -- or a revolutionary activist (or are considering becoming a revolutionary activist) and:

  • Are determined to help create a mass revolutionary movement

  • Have the humility to appreciate that the revolutionary movement is in a period of crisis in which few clear answers exist and everyone has a lot to learn

  • Are militant and relentless in your desire for a clear focus on the development of a mass movement with the ability to mobilize millions to end the system of bourgeois rule
    (ie: the rule of society by the wealthy corporations and their political flunkies)

  • Have the maturity to remain cool and calm in the face of provocation by the aggressively clueless
... then the POF-200 list needs you!

The pof-200 list is designed to respect the severe time constraints of busy revolutionary activists such as yourself.

We limit each subscriber to one post per week (or twice a week if they go to antiwar marches) in order to encourage a calm and thoughtful pace of discussion.

If you believe that serious discussion of the decisive principles is necessary for the development of a revolutionary mass movement -- then we need you to join us on the pof-200 list.

The rules for pof-200

• Limit yourself to one post per week

• Treat other list participants with
  respect (and ignore anyone who
  fails to treat you with respect)

• Posts to the POF-200 list
  should be original posts
  written for the POF-200 audience.
This means that if you are forwarding a post from another list or "broadcasting" a post (ie: sending a copy of a post to many lists) -- then you should insert a brief introduction at the beginning of your post explaining why it is relevant to the list mission.

5 steps to get started
  1. Subscribe to the pof-200 list
    by sending a blank email here

  2. Review the public archives of the list to get a sense of the motion of the list

  3. When you are ready to make your first post: Introduce yourself and explain a little bit about yourself and your political experience and motivations

  4. Make an effort to listen and think about posts that others have made

  5. Respond to posters who are thoughtful (and ignore those who clueless or who act like jerks)

The pof-300 list

( A sister list of the pof-200 list )

The pof-300 list is a sister list of the pof-200 list. Activists who want to post more often than once a week -- or post on topics that are less relevant to the list mission -- or are less likely to be of interest to the pof-200 audience --
are welcome to post here.
To subscribe, send a blank email here.
Public archives of pof-300 can be seen here.

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Media Weapon projects

The Media Weapon community is not yet a real community -- it is only a small group of activists who occasionally post to an email list. We may eventually emerge as a real community in the form of a group of activists who work in common on projects that advance our mission and program of action.

Different projects will compete with one another for mindshare and attention in a way that is somewhat darwinian.

The projects that advance our mission in a practical and realistic way will tend to generate the most enthusiasm and attract the attention of the most talented people -- and will be more likely to get done. The projects that are poorly thought-out or which do not correspond to the needs of our mission -- will tend to be ignored and abandoned.

Our evolving set of current and proposed projects are listed on our Projects page.

Projects   •   People   •   Wiki   •   POF-200 email list   •   Feedback

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What do you think?

-- post your comments --

-- all questions are optional --

Overall view?
What are your perceptions of
the Media Weapon community and
its mission and program of action?
Wow!   Cool   not sure
Don't like it   other

• To reduce abuse, posting is limited
to once every 5 minutes

• No threats   • No racist filth

600 characters max for each of the fields below

(TIP: write your comments in a text editor like Notepad, and save it as you go. Then when it's finished, copy and paste it into this box. Otherwise you risk
losing your comments if your computer or the network crashes)

What parts do you like?

What parts do you not like?

Your question:


Comment on proposed mission statement
To help develop the theory and practice of information war
to mobilize the working class for the overthrow of bourgeois rule


Comment on paragraph (i)
(i) The 21st century is destined to be a century of information war (understood as a struggle for ideas organized on a mass scale) in which all digital (and other) means of communication become essential components of anti-imperialist struggle and the class struggle.


Comment on paragraph (ii)
(ii) Our mission requires that we ride the wave of the emerging revolution in communications in order to bring to political activists everywhere--and to the working class as a whole--the news that a world without bourgeois rule is both possible and necessary. Towards this end we will learn to make skilled use of email lists, web-based forums, blogs, RSS and wikis (as well as more traditional printed and verbal agitation) to help:


Comment on 1. build channels
1. We will build interactive and democratically-run channels of communication which will feature news and discussion (as well as comprehensive coverage of revolutionary, or would-be revolutionary, organizations, projects and forums) that connect activists to the masses -- and bring political transparency to the revolutionary movement.

These channels will make use of the energy of readers to rate and filter articles and comments so that our audience will be able to easily find the most valuable and interesting content.

These channels will both (a) mobilize popular support for the current struggles of the working class and oppressed and (b) provide a comprehensive understanding of modern society including politics, economics, culture and technology.



Comment on 2. puncture reformism
2. We will help puncture the suffocating influence of reformism that sucks the life and militancy out of the antiwar movement (and all other mass protest movements) and channels the energy of activists into useless, dead-end schemes -- such as becoming election fodder for the Democratic Party.


Comment on 3. crisis of theory
3. We will help resolve the crisis of theory that has made it impossible to think in a realistic way about an alternative to bourgeois rule -- and has led to the rampant saturation of the progressive movement with the sectarian and reformist diseases -- and paralyzed the revolutionary movement.


Comment on
4. politically transparent revolutionary mass movement
4. We will help unite revolutionary, progressive and working class activists into a revolutionary mass movement that is politically transparent (ie: where the important political principles, disagreements, projects and organizations are known to everyone and charlatanism, sectarianism and reformism have no place to hide) and deserving of the respect and attention of the working class -- and which has the ability to mobilize tens of millions for victory against the bourgeoisie.


Comment on Structure of community
Core of activists who support the mission and the program of the community will make the fundamental decisions. Periphery of activists will guide the core thru public comments, questions and criticisms


Comment on communication system
Wiki is at the center and email lists will be at the surface


first name (or pseudonym)
Title for your comments: (120 characters max)

Your comments at greater length below:
(no html allowed except for <P> to separate paragraphs)

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