INDIVIDUALISM AND COMMUNISM

                      THE AIMS OF ANARCHIST REVOLUTION
                      The anarchist insurrectional project is a revolutionary project ,
                      that is to say a project that aims at the destruction of the
                      present society and the creation of new ways of living. The aim
                      of this revolution is the removal of every social limit that
                      prevents individuals from creating their own lives in terms of
                      their own desires and dreams and determining what relations
                      they want to create in order to accomplish this. But such an aim
                      implies other aims as well.
                      The social system of capital separates most people from the
                      conditions of existence. This compels the vast majority to
                      accept the mediations of work and commodity consumption in
                      order to maintain a minimal existence at the expense of their
                      lives, desires and dreams, of their individuality. The artificial
                      economic scarcity imposed by capital leads to a competition
                      that is often promoted in the United States as the basis of
                      "individualism" in spite of the fact that it creates nearly
                      identical mediocre existences in which life is subsumed in
                      survival.
                      It is possible even within this social context to take back one's
                      life, the conditions of one's existence, to a limited extent, by
                      choosing to live on the margins as an outlaw. But such a
                      decision can only be a first step if one does not want to isolate
                      oneself. It puts one in the position of being at war with society
                      as it exists. And one's enemies-the masters of this order-have
                      far greater access to the means of existence than the
                      marginalized outlaw. So if this individual revolt is not to fall
                      into the realm of futile gestures, it must move toward a
                      revolutionary perspective.
                      This perspective develops when one recognizes the necessity of
                      destroying the social order, of utterly demolishing the state and
                      capital. If all individuals are indeed to be free to create their
                      lives and relations as they desire, it is necessary to create a
                      world in which equality of access to the means and conditions
                      of existence is reality. This requires the total destruction of
                      economy-the end of property, commodity exchange and work.
                      Thus we see that the generalized realization of individual
                      freedom goes hand-in-hands with the best aspects of the
                      anarcho-communist ideal and can only be achieved through a
                      revolutionary transformation.
                      But such a revolution is not a gift granted by abstract History.
                      Here the full significance of individual rebellion shows itself.
                      When we reject every deterministic view of revolution, it
                      becomes clear that the actions of individuals in conscious revolt
                      against the social order are essential for building a revolution.
                      Those individuals who reject all exploitation, who refuse to put
                      up with a world that demands that one buy survival at the
                      expense of one's dreams and desires, at the expense of life lived
                      to the full, seek out the tools and methods to destroy this social
                      order. From this the analyses, projects and actions that are the
                      basis of an insurrectional anarchist projectuality can develop.

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