This project feels so small compared to the scale of destruction we are witnessing on the world stage. But I am a an Ecologist, and I understand the power of emergence in natural systems.

A complex system made of relatively simple parts, with relatively simple rules of engagement, can become a self-sustaining force with an effect on the world greater than the sum of its parts. My goal with this project, and with this newsletter, is to identify some of the simple rules of engagement that we can include in our organizing, which might allow for a cohesive, mass movement to emerge.

But this is an essay I have yet to write. I already wrote my first essay for the site, and I'd love for you to read it...

Introducing my blog, Cutting Through Political Materialism

My blog is about radical politics, contemplative practice, organizing strategy, the missing revolution, and what it means to let politics change you. Here's an excerpt from my introductory blog post...

"I’m of the opinion that building an alternative culture to the capitalist culture is more important than building a political party. I believe this because almost every successful political movement has been accompanied or preceded by a cultural movement. And we as a nation, as a hemisphere, have become culturally famished. What is the loneliness epidemic if not clear evidence of people’s burning desire for community, connection, and a culture they can participate in?

I am a big fan of Kim Stanley Robinson’s novels, especially the Mars trilogy. The series follows the first 100 people to build a scientific colony on Mars, as they go from doing basic research on the red planet to organizing a political revolution. One of my favorite parts of this meticulously researched work of political, economic, and scientific fiction is a scene where a group of revolutionaries are having dinner together, and they are pouring each other’s water.

I like this scene because it’s so small compared to the story it lives in, but it demonstrates something incredibly important: how simple acts can signal our commitment to building an alternative to oppressive systems, and how revolution starts with radically changing how we relate to each other."

Read the full post

What I'm Reading This Week

I recently watched an interview of Saikat Chakrabarti. He's a former tech-bro turned political operative, and he's currently running to fill Nancy Pelosi's seat in California's 11th congressional district.

Despite his liberal aesthetic, when asked about his top 5 issues to tackle in congress, one of his answers was "I think we need to start making serious plans for a publicly owned economy." This from a man who refuses to call himself a Socialist (a choice that is probably strategic and rational given our countries recent courtship with a second round of McCarthyism).

In the interview, he mentioned a think tank he runs called New Consensus. This think tank has been developing policy papers that describe exactly how we should reform the American political and economic system, in a style very reminiscent of the new deal.

It has been incredibly interesting to read, and I highly recommend taking a look at it if you are struggling to imagine how we get out of our current predicament:

New Consensus - Mission for America