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Russell Brand on Revolution

FNG said:

makes some good points, and i prefer his analysis to the tubthumping of Desmonds jingoistic cheering on of every dronestrike and military reprisal.

but why's he doing that Lady Di thing of half covering his hair?

Edit removed some stuff about imran khan not pertinent to issue
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How can you take somebody sitting on a bed with a towel draped over his head seriously?
Just a re hash of many views floating around anyway.
 
Who gives a fuck how he's dressed? FFS.

Anyway, it's interesting that he claims ignorance of a political situation that he's surely very familiar with, as his recently ex-Mrs is the ex of the opposition leader he speaks of so approvingly. Considering one of the things he bangs on about is the hidden (and not so hidden) links between the powerful, you'd have thought he'd declare his interest rather than playing dumb. :hmm:
 
killer b said:
Who gives a fuck how he's dressed? FFS.

Anyway, it's interesting that he claims ignorance of a political situation that he's surely very familiar with, as his recently ex-Mrs is the ex of the opposition leader he speaks of so approvingly. Considering one of the things he bangs on about is the hidden (and not so hidden) links between the powerful, you'd have thought he'd declare his interest rather than playing dumb. :hmm:
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i'm not sure he's playing
 
Jean-Luc said:
That should be easy ! But you are wrong. Brand's concept of a post-revolution society is rather more radical than that. This from Chapter 29 of his book:
Ok, maybe he hasn't thought through all the implications of what he's advocating but the "radical change" he envisages is a lot more than a "less boring Switzerland".

You can't have it both ways. Either he's advocating the same sort of change as you and his unsavoury past antics are discrediting that or he is only advocating some reform to the structures of capitalism and the state; in which case that's what his past would be discrediting.
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If we unpack what Mr. Brand is saying when he writes, we get:
... the answer to the question 'What would this Revolution look like?' begins to emerge. It is defined and achieved by a sustained, mass-supported attack on the hegemony of corporations and the regulations that allow them to dominate us. It is the radical decentralisation of power, whether private or state. It is the return of power to us the people at the level of the community (....)
Economics is at the heart of our nation-state philosophy. The nation state may have served its purpose and have to be dissolved (...)
State power to dissolve wherever possible to empower autonomous, democratic communities (...)[/quote]

"The people should rebel against big business because of their power over us, and take power for themselves as communities".
No definition of community. The single biggest foundation of Brand's supposedly-anarchist revolutionary ideas, and he doesn't define it, except as "not the nation-state".

... the structures that elevate, rarefy or in any way concentrate power have to themselves be eradicated. There is no heroic revolutionary figure in whom we can invest hope, except for ourselves as individuals, together.(...)
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"Dismantle the current system".
Something that not only anarchists are interested in. Aren't most revolutionary communists also interested in this?

Capitalism isn't irreducible and absolute; depletion of earth's resources due to the free market is. Do we ditch capitalism or the planet? We can't have both. Obviously we know capitalism has to go, everyone does, especially the elites that benefit from it most. They know that the majority of people could benefit from radical change and the implementation of the type of systems we have been discussing. This means they do two things.: they disparage our viable alternatives to prevent us pursuing them actively and collectively; and, in the event that their propaganda and distractions don't work, they are prepared for confrontation. They are prepared for activism, protest and moaning. They aren't prepared for Revolution.
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"Capitalism is antithetical to continued life on Earth, but the beneficiaries of capitalism don't want us to notice, so they distract us, but they're not prepared for revolutionary action".
What sort of revolution? Isn't he aware that revolutionary action can be built from actual grassroots activism of the "protest" kind?

I/m sorry, Jean-Luc, but if you believe the above encapsulates much of anarchist ideology, then you're way too indoctrinated by your own sect's beliefs.
 
The Revolution that most decent folk are into, including George Orwell, who join in with it and Noam Chomsky, is the Spanish Revolution of 1936. In this recent uprising there is much that will be of use to us, and although it eventually ended up being crushed by the fascists, let's optimistically assume that there is no modern-day equivalent of the Nazis who lent Franco's triumphant army military hardware that ensured his victory. (...)
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Special Branch at Croydon monitored all international flights. They may have known that this was no joy ride. Major Pollard was an experienced MI6 officer, Spanish-speaking and with firearms expertise. He had worked under journalistic cover in Ireland, Mexico and Morocco. His superiors in the intelligence services probably had a fair idea of his object in flying to the Canary Islands. The commander of the Spanish garrison there was one General Francisco Franco, whom the Spanish Republic had sent there some months before to keep him out of the way. Franco already had a reputation for his part in suppressing the Asturian miners, and his hostility to the Republic. Had a Spanish plane landed in the Canaries the authorities might have been alerted, but the British flight didn't arouse suspicion.
The plane flew Franco and right-wing conspirator Emilio Mola to Tetuan in Spanish Morocco. On July 18, 1936, some Spanish generals announced a coup against the elected Socialist government. Franco arrived in Morocco the following day to raise support from Spain's African army.

http://randompottins.blogspot.co.uk/2006/09/british-friends-of-franco.html
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or an imperial power, the British, using Falange sympathisers, flew Franco to Tetuan in Spanish Morocco to begin the civil war

and the policy of 'non-intervention'
 
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elbows said:
Is there much in there about how the destruction of capitalism comes about? Because just going by the bits you quoted, there is a bit of a leap. He starts off with stuff about destroying corporations and regulations, which is potentially a wet dream for little capitalists and libertarians if it's not done in concert with a lot of other things. Obviously by later going on about free market vs planet, and communities, the libertarian erection would quickly go limp when exposed to his words. But even so it is hard for me to judge from the bits you posted as to whether he has considered what other forces need to be dealt with during a period where new ways can be built in the face of the collapse or destruction of old structures and concentrations of power.
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This is my problem with both the book and Mr. Brand's pronouncements - there's no meat to the bones, just waftiness around "revolution". He elucidates the problems well enough, but offers no solutions bar vague utterances about "community".
 
Pickman's model said:
if russell brand so keen on revolution you'd think he would make his book freely available on the internet.
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I thought he did for a limited period before the official launch, and that you can still find it tucked away in a few corners of tinternet.

Using the profits for helping out grassroots causes seems reasonable in any case.
 
8ball said:
I thought he did for a limited period before the official launch, and that you can still find it tucked away in a few corners of tinternet.

Using the profits for helping out grassroots causes seems reasonable in any case.
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i am disappointed to hear the law tennis association to benefit from the book.
 
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