"A Person of Learning (Savant), Without Rulers (anarkhos)"

The Anarchist Savants is an itinerant space. It has never been, nor will ever be a 'Collective'. The satirical use of the Plural in the name is intentional. The Anarchist Savants aim is to continuously work to raise awareness of alternative societal, political, environmental and economic perspectives. Through constant challenge, of our own beliefs and those of others, through ongoing learning, The Anarchist Savants hope to encourage discussion and direct action on these topics, not only for those who have a deep interest, but also for those who may have never before considered such ideas.

The Anarchist Savants strive to the create a Society founded on Autonomy. Unfortunately, Autonomy is as frequently misrepresented as the word Anarchy. Autonomy is often quoted as meaning, "the ruling of a country by its own people", or "any type of independence or freedom".

Autonomy can go far deeper than this. It can sit at the very core of our very connectedness with all that surrounds us. Put simply, when true autonomy is attained, it can offer us the ability to see for the very first time, the critical importance of the whole.

Perhaps one of the most all encompassing descriptions of Autonomy ever penned was that of Eric Berne's in his 1964 classic, "The Games People Play". Here are some excerpts.

"The attainment of autonomy is manifested by the release or recovery of three capacities: awareness, spontaneity and intimacy.....................Awareness requires living in the here and now, and not in the elsewhere, the past or the future.......The aware person is alive because he / she knows how they feel and where they are and when it is. They know that after they die,the trees will still be there, but they will not be there to look at them again, so they want to see them with as much poignancy as possible.

Spontaneity means option, the freedom to choose and express one's feelings from the assortment available (parent feelings, adult feelings and child feelings). It means liberation, liberation from the compulsion to play games and have only the feelings one was taught (naturally) to have.

Intimacy means the spontaneous, game free candidness of an aware person, the liberation of the perceptive, uncorrupted child in all its naivete' living in the here and now. Because intimacy is essentially a function of the natural child, it tends to turn out well if not disturbed by the intervention of games. Usually the adaption to parental influences is what spoils it, and most unfortunately this is almost a universal occurrence. But before, unless and until they are corrupted, most infants seem to be loving, and this is the essential nature of intimacy.

The somber picture presented in (The Games People Play), in which Human life is mainly a process of filling in time until the arrival of death, or Santa Claus, with very little choice if any, of what kind of business one is going to transact during the long wait, is a commonplace but not the final answer. For certain fortunate people there is something which transcends all classifications of behaviour, and that is awareness; something which rises above the programming of the past, and that is spontaneity; and something that is more rewarding than games, and that is intimacy. But all three of these may be frightening and even perilous to the unprepared. Perhaps they are better off as they are, seeking their solutions in popular techniques of Social Action such as "togetherness". This may mean that there is no hope for the Human Race, but there is hope for individual members of it."

Our World is unfortunately, continually divided by a variety of like minded "homogenous" groups, ideologically driven "togetherness clans" that have little regard for true autonomy or diversity. Contemporary Worldwide Anarchist movements, regretfully, frequently find comfort, like most Humans, in this type of "togetherness".

After all, like minded groups bring safety, security, the potential for anonymity and a myriad of other comforting guarantees.

"Togetherness clans" are the antithesis of true Autonomy.

Capitalism, only marginally ahead of Religion, has been and continues to be one of the most successful "togetherness clans" ever created, capable of indoctrinating and channeling massive numbers of people, through Fear and Greed, into believing in its, "one right way". Despite Capitalism's hand on heart declaration of freedom for all and democratic rights, it has, in reality, no regard for true political or economic diversity, nor for the type of Autonomy described above.

Living as an Autonomous Anarchist in a Capitalist 'Democracy' is almost (but not quite), an impossibility.

However, as Anarchists, there is no need for us to "bring down" Capitalism or any other ideology that exists, or the people that wish to believe in it or their own particular clan. This is a fact that most Anarchist "togetherness clans" seem to miss. Doing so simply plays into the hands of those who pull the victim strings. It does mean accepting the right of existence of another and their beliefs, whilst agitating from a principled standpoint to educate those in the Capitalist, (or whichever clan) majority, who wish to deny our inaliable right, as Autonomous Anarchists, to exist.

This is leading by example.

It also means, despite the difficulties and potential consequences, "living out" our beliefs on a daily basis, through Direct Personal Action that is based on unwavering principles. This takes true courage, honesty and openness, in fact, not surprisingly, many of the characteristics described in Eric Berne's piece above.

By living our lives on this basis, we leave the tired, old, outdated, bleak and primarily victim centred Anarchist / Socialist / Communist togetherness 'scene' behind. You can read more about this here, in 'Manufacturing Victims.

Put simply, we regain our personal power.

Knowledge and creativity play a crucial role in the process of attaining both Personal and Societal Autonomy and diversity, and as such, The Anarchist Savants encourage people to seek further understanding in their own deliberations and discussions with others and to strive for consensus and acceptance through mutually respectful relationships. It is worthwhile keeping in mind, that mutually respectful relationships simply cannot grow from victimhood. It's why so many 'scene anarchists' come and go. On those occasions where differences of opinion are too great, it's important that we uphold and accept the right of each other to "live out" our own respective beliefs, even victimhood.

It goes without saying that this approach to life would find no ally in violence of any description. From an Anarchist perspective, The Anarchist Savants adhere firmly to the belief that the current structure of Society, as destructive as some elements of it currently are, cannot be changed overnight through uprising, revolution, rock throwing or any other overt / covert form of violence.

The process of Societal change will take time, and in order to attain a freer more equitable, autonomous and peaceful Society, many years and possibly generations will need to pass. Importantly however, this is not a deterrant to The Anarchist Savants efforts.

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