The steps listed below are a direct result of my desire to eliminate the Human constructs of Possession, Ownership and Control. These constructs have, in the past, underpinned and fostered emotions of Fear, Greed, Jealousy, Selfishness and Egoism in me, characteristics that I find destructive. I am far from achieving what I want to achieve and I have no doubt that it will be a Lifelong Journey. I still have many Personal Hypocrisies to face. In a World dominated by widely accepted Human Tenets, some of these may be impossible to overcome, nonetheless, I am enjoying the challenge immensely!
I understand that the steps listed below may not be to everyone's taste, and as such, I respect fully the right of others to live them differently. I ask nothing more than the same. You can find further exploratory perspectives on my Blog: Bios-Anarkhos, 'Life Without Rulers'. Respecting other's rights to live life as they wish, does not mean that we or they should give up our rights in relation to Freedom of Speech. The ludicrous nature of 'Political Correctness' and all the other 'Nanny State' controls are obvious, they have simply reinforced the mistaken co-dependent belief that 'someone else' is responsible for 'my' thoughts, feelings, actions. We are all only responsible for our own and, as such, you will be reading many provocative and challenging thoughts on the Mechanarchy and Bios-anarkhos sites.
Voting - I do not Vote. My name does not appear on the Australian Electoral Role. This is a complex and emotional topic for many people. It would require many pages to outline why it is that I do not vote. Please keep checking the Bios-Anarkhos site, I'll be delving into this a lot more.
War Tax Resistance - I am a War Tax Resister, I purposefully keep my yearly earnings to below that of the Tax Free Threshold, and as such, I pay no Tax (Outside of the occasional GST paid on purchases). I do submit 'Tax Returns' to the ATO, but I do not claim deductions or expenses. Mechanarchy is treated as a 'Hobby' by the Australian Taxation Office. The Australain Government spends AUS$26 Billion per year on 'Defense', the largest item of expenditure in the Budget. It has been steadily growing at 3% per annum for many years. I do not wish to subsidize the killing of innocent people in the name of Imperialist Resource Domination.
Identity - I do not have sufficient 'ID Point Documentation' to prove that I exist. I do not own 'Property', my Bank Account is moribund, and I do not desire 'A Fixed Abode'. I tried not renewing my 'Medicare' Card, but found that I couldn't get Healthcare. This is one of the biggest areas of Hypocrisy in my Life. I have a Chronic Bone Marrow Disorder that will remain until I die. It requires Daily Oral Chemotherapy, also ongoing, and regular visits to an Oncology Specialist, without which, would result in my death in less than 6 months. People often say to me, 'But Andy, you don't believe in Government, or in paying Taxes, why should you avail yourself of Free Healthcare?' As I said, one of the biggest areas of hypocrisy in my Life....... Because I do not have sufficient ID, I am (as planned) excluded from receiving Social Welfare, a Healthcare Card, or any other 'Benefits'. I am currently working on shifting my Healthcare away from the Outpatients Oncology Clinic that I visit, to my Local GP where I can pay for the Healthcare I receive. Ultimately, without Private Health Insurance and or the ability to pay the ever increasing Non-Bulk-Billed 'Bill' of my Local GP, I will face the same realities as the 70 Million Americans who currently live below the 'so called poverty line.' I accept fully the consequences of my decisions, this is not a complaint and I do not see myself as a 'victim' or a 'martyr', I am living Life as I believe.
Ethical Non-Monogamy - Practicing Ethical Non-Monogamy is a far greater challenge than most would imagine, indeed, it is something that I have not yet done and may not do before I depart this World. It is considerably removed from the 'Free For All' that was widely promoted and largely misunderstood in the 1960's and 70's. The Writers of that era and those of the mid to late 1800's, provide us with some wonderful insights into the potential of Ethical Non-Monogamy, based largely on their investigations of Anthropology (the physical, social, and cultural development of humans). On both occasions however, these fascinating insights were simply turned into wildly hedonistic pursuits which seem to have led Society into ever increasing levels of Conservatism.
The structure of Human Society has changed many times throughout our existence on Earth and these changes have largely been a result of the various Environmental Factors we have had to face at any given time. Non-Monogamy was once widespread and, depending on how the current Environmental issues unfold, Humans may once again, through necessity of survival, have to structure their Society along Non-Monogamous lines.
These however are not the reasons why I began looking into Ethical Non-Monogamy as a way of living my Life, even though Anthropology interests me greatly. The potentials I talked of earlier are those related to the breaking down of Fear, Greed, Property, Ownership and Possession. The development of Monogamy in Human Society has been closely tied to the growth of these factors which have also coincided with the move from 'Mother Right' (matriarchy) to 'Father Right' (Patriarchy), inheritance of Property and the subjugation of Women (yes it still exists) in the current Patriarchal Society.
The continued widespread acceptance of the Patriarchal structure of contemporary Society (even amongst the majority of Women), provides an interesting dilemma for anyone wishing to practice Ethical Non-Monogamy. The desire to 'possess' and / or be 'possessed' is widespread amongst Women and Men, this is underpinned by the Fear, Greed and self centeredness that stems from 'Ownership' and 'Property', all of which are facillitated through Jobs, Mortgages, Children and the mistaken belief that 'one' needs to 'Plan for the Future'. These in turn require the support / advice / purchased security of a Legal System and Government Hell bent on exploitation, division and Financial gain.
For the Ethical Non-Monogamist, discernment, contemplation, knowledge, experience and understanding are all required when setting out on the path of finding other Human Beings who have been able to both physically and mentally get beyond the beliefs embraced by the majority of Society.
Private Property - This is the other area of great Personal Hypocrisy that exists in my Life. As an Anarchist, I do not believe in 'Real Estate' or 'Private Property' and as such, I gave away my 'ownership' of the share of accumulated assets (close to $350,000) of my previous relationship, walking away with an agreed $15,000 as well as the clothes on my back and a car load of Personal possessions. I now live on the 'Property' of my very good friend and companion, which does not solve my hypocrisy. The dilemma here is clear, for the majority of people, the ability to live on 'Common Ground' no longer exists, and for those that don't have the good fortune that I do, they can take their chances wandering, sleeping rough, dumpster diving or stealing from the Privates, or they can pay $200 per week to work 35 Hours per week on someone else's 'Green' Property, this is the true reality of the 'Contemporary Commons'. The 'myth' of the Commons will remain just that, until Private Property no longer exists. In recent times it has been interesting to note the increase in the numbers of 'Community Gardens', promoted widely as being the 'New Commons'. These however are not 'Commons' (try regularly sleeping on one in a tent), they are simply a derivation of Capitalist Co-Option, provided by Capitalist Councils that require Public Liability Insurance (amongst other things) to ensure that the Capitalist subversion of the Environmentalists is profitable. As Michael Goldmann writes:
'If we are to learn anything from the 1992 Earth Summit in Rio, it is that the objective of the Summit's major power brokers was not to constrain or restructure capitalist economies and practices to help save the rapidly deteriorating ecological commons, but rather to restructure the commons (e.g. privatize, "develop," "make more efficient," valorize, "get the price right") to accommodate crisis-ridden capitalisms. The effect has not been to stop destructive practices but to normalize and further institutionalize them.'
And, as Timothy Doyle has observed:
'As the 1980s wore on, environmental antagonists looked to other less conflictual means of securing their future power. No longer did many business interests across the globe deny the existence of environmental damage caused, in part, to their own malpractices. Their ploy changed: to beat the environmentalists at their own game (but on newly defined terms and agendas); to subvert them, to divide them, to supplant them, to appear to be greener than the green.'
The 'Environmental Movement' has had little choice (Hmmm, they really have) but to sidle up to this new Capitalist approach, power after all is infectious.
For those of us still grappling with our Personal Hypocrisies, and trying to work out just where we go next, these machinations present as nothing more than Egotistical Power Games, complete with imagery, heroes and villains. I am still working on this hypocrisy of mine, and, I have no doubt that I will find a way through it, with time........
Those Special Days - Seven years ago I decided to stop 'celebrating' all the 'special' days we are encouraged to believe in. Christmas, Easter, Mothers Day, Fathers Day, Birthdays, Anniversary's and all the other 'days' became non-entities as did the difference between Saturday / Sunday and Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday and Friday. Everyday I wake up is incredibly special, there is simply no need for me to 'celebrate' one over another. In addition, when I began to understand the impacts of these habitualized 'Traditions' on the Human Mind, the Community and the Environment, it was clear that they had to go. One single day (Christmas Day) generates approximately 30% of all Total Retail Sales in Australia each year, which is 30% of all the Excessive Consumption that takes place in Australia each year............
Warning! If you do this, it will be extremely challenging for Friends, Family and anyone else you come into contact with. These 'Special Days' are deeply rooted in the maniacal Human desire to 'belong', and as such, you may be disowned, shunned and ignored. (Personally, I found it wonderfully freeing, when I was!)
The Energy Chewers - No Car, no Big Fridge, a Solar Cooker, and a Tonne of Firewood / 17 Kg's of LPG per Year, between two people. (The LPG has to go, but is inanely 'required for occupancy', hell it will be great when Private Property and Governments are abolished!)
In Winter the Wood Fired Combustion Heater / Oven is lit only around 4.30 - 5.00 PM to take the chill off the air and cook our food. We stop putting Wood on it at about 6.00 - 6.30 PM and it is allowed to 'go out' overnight. This is how we use so little Wood, and on this basis, the 'Woodlot' on the Land can go way beyond 'Sustainable'. For the Winter mornings and the rest of the day, we rug up with extra clothes. Because the fire is not running during the day, the LPG is used for cooking instead. I am in the process of finding other options to this, including a Methane Digester and a Peltier Device.
Hot water is produced in a Mechanarchy made Solar Hot Water System. The 'Professionally installed, Fully Approved, Plumber Certified' unit originally installed on the house, only produces Hot Water during Summer and does not work at all for 5 months of the Year (Hmmm, see 'Greenwash' below).
Electricity is provided by a Solar System. The 240 Volt AC (Alternating Current) Inverter and the large Battery Bank that supplies it, will gradually be phased out as we learn how to live more and more on 12 / 24 Volt DC (Direct Current). We are making this decision for two reasons, one, because we will simply not be able to afford to replace either the Battery Bank or the Inverter when they need renewing in 5 - 10 years, secondly, because it makes damn good Energy sense. I will be talking more about this on the Mechanarchy Website soon, including the 'Greenwash' that's currently occuring over Solar Systems.
In Summer, we use a Solar Cooker if we wish to Cook. Fans are occasionally used for cooling along with walking around either naked or skimpily dressed.
When you only have a tiny (less than esky sized) Peltier Device Fridge that runs off 12 Volt, it means eating much, much more of what you produce as well as storing some of it, along with Bulk Purchased Dry Goods, in a safe manner, without the excessive use of Energy. The small Fridge is used for Cheese / Leftovers / very occasional meat (for me) and cold water during Summer. Some of my meat is provided in Barter form. We are not happy about the fact that we need to buy our Cheese and the majority of my Meat intake from a supermarket. The Low Cost Butchers that existed in our Local Town for 40 Odd Years have been squeezed out by a 'Trendy' Inner City Melbourne style Providore's / Organic Delicatessan that is frequented by most of the 'Greenwash' participants that have relocated from Inner City Melbourne. The prices are ridiculously high, as they are at the trendy Bakery and the trendy Greengrocer. As a consequence, I am eating less and less meat and we are looking at ways to produce our own Cheese. We do not buy bread or Pasta, we make our own Flatbread (not baked) and Homemade Pasta.
The Car and Motorcycles were replaced with Bicycles and Electric Assist Solar Trailers about 4 Years ago and you can read more about that process on other pages in this Website.
Greenwash - I have become increasingly aware that the 'Green' movement that has made up such a big part of my Life for the past 6 Years, has rapidly been morphing into yet another 'Ideological Fix All', with a myriad of 'certainties', 'solutions' and 'control mechanisms' from Primitivism to Permaculture and everything between and beyond. Not surprisingly, these have all been snapped up by the Capitalist System, helping to create more and more Ideological Markets in which to sell the 'Fix All' Products and Services. As I wrote recently,
'Greenwash is the ability to earn at least $30,000 per year, whilst pretending you could live in a World where you didn't'.
It's obvious, when we look around, that the majority of people incessantly hyping up 'Ideological Green Fixes'; still have Mortgages, have or are having children, still drive cars, still buy much of their food from expensive speciality Organic Outlets, Butchers and Bakers, still have investments, still pay Rates and have Gas / Electricity and Water Bills. It is also evident that many of them could not live with the personal and financial obscurity that true Community brings. As a consequence, they still need to earn a living from selling everyone else on the romantic idea that you can survive by practicing the 'simple life' they preach but do not practice. And most of them are traveling all over the surface of the Earth to do it!
We see large numbers of individuals, working for ever increasing numbers of supposedly 'Non Government Organizations' (whose funding comes primarily from Govt), getting paid to run all over the place handing out money to 'communities' and trying to convince people of the Environmental benefits of planting a veggie patch or changing their light globes. What they are really doing, is promoting more consumption on behalf of the Government.
I recently asked a person engaged in this activity, if he could provide me with some facts. 'Precisely how much CO2 does your organization generate through its daily activities and precisely how much CO2 output is your organization reducing through its daily activities?'
He looked at me blankly, like a dog being shown a card trick.
This awareness has led me to one very simple understanding, that all that matters is what I personally do, every single day, no matter what the actions of others, no matter what the outcome. It is highly likely that just about every single 'Left Greenie' in Australia would not be prepared to do many if any of the things listed above. Therefore, the 'Economic Growth Train' that they are all still addicted to, will not come crashing down and as a consequence, neither will the the output of CO2........... All I can do, is plant the seeds..................
