Nihilist communism - Monsieur Dupont

'Nihilist communism' argues against the conception of 'consciousness raising' and recruiting as practised by the far left, whereby it is implicitly assumed that the social revolution may be brought about by enough persons spreading communist ideas effectively enough. Monsieur Dupont also argues regularly against class consciousness and even consciousness as a factor in revolution. To this, they counterpose a model of revolution based on a crisis of capitalism which will necessitate the appropriation of entire key industries by the essential proletariat - a class which they believe should be defined solely by the economic position of its members. They write (in a manner somewhat typical of their style):

'We do not know what anyone means when they describe the proletariat as a social category. If they are implying that the working class as a social body have something between themselves other than their experience of work then we utterly reject this. MD [i.e. Monsieur Dupont] have a penchant for Champagne and Tarkovsky movies whereas our neighbours prefer White Lightening [sic.] and WWF wrestling, our economic position, however, is identical.'

'The Proletariat will not be motivated by political values in its resistance to work but by its selfish interest to assert its species being; its bodily desire to be human floods across the barriers of separation. There is nothing nice or noble or heroic about the working class, it is essential to the productive process which constitutes the structure of our reality and therefore essential to revolution and the abolition of reality based on production.'

In August 2008, Pygmalion Books published as a standalone work (in both digital and paperback form) a partial section of Nihilist Communism entitled "Cruelty or the Inclusion of the Distributive Sphere." Their edition represents the final 40 pages of the book, the remainder of the which can be found on the Internet. In the Summer of 2009, Ardent Press published their own self-edited and designed version of Nihilist Communism.

Contents

Preamble. This is the definition of class hatred
Introduction

Part One
Nihilist communism: some basic elaborations

• This is the fable of the thirsty crow
• Introducing Monsieur Dupont
• We start, as we end, in simplicity
• Basic statement
• On consciousness
• A qualification
• "Working class consciousness"?
• Further thoughts and explanations
• Summary and counter-interpretation
• The dictatorship of the proletariat
• Groups
• Is Lenin on sale again?
• Identity politics
• Militants and otherness
• Political priorities and consciousness
• On economic determinism and autonomism
• The revolutionary subject
• A recap of our perspective
• No way out

Appendices:

• The Optimism of Revolutionaries
• Language and consciousness

Recent Interventions:

• May Days, Palestine and the material base
• The Ticklish Matter
• Reply to "The Real Movement"
• To get over the wall we first have to get to the wall
• Some notes concerning future proletarian insurgency: The Dynamics of "Protest" Seen in the Recent Petrol Blockades in Britain
• Only we can prevent mythology
• Anarchists must say what only they can say
• Dear Freedom?
• More on anti-imperialism
• We 're all Claire Short now
• Political 'activism'

Glossary:

• Base
• Becoming human
• Communism
• Consciousness
• Culture
• Do
• Do nothing
• Events and effects
• Experience
• Freedom
• Ideas and the limit of ideas in numbers
• Imperialism
• Interest
• Movement and movements
• Nihilism
• Owners of consciousness
• Politics
• Pro-revolutionary
• Revolutionary
• The spectacle
• State Capitalism

Part Two Cruelty or The Inclusion of the Distributive Sphere

• Feint
• Thrust
• Parry
• The inescapable condition
• Cost effective individuality; Expressivity
• How many of you are there?
• Stop thinking Expressivity, start thinking Transcendence