THE UTOPIA OF RULES by David Graeber
At this session of our counter-narratives circle we will discuss "The Utopia of Rules: On technology, stupidity and the secret joys of bureaucracy" by David Graeber. Everyone attending needs to do the reading beforehand, but it's OK if you don't manage to finish in time!
The language of antibureaucratic individualism was originally adopted by right-wingers and neoliberals in order to assert the superiority of market forces over government policymaking, and to reduce government interference in the economy. History, however, reveals that political policies that favour the market have always involved even more bureaucracy. Furthermore they have involved an increase in the range and density of social relations ultimately regulated by the threat of force – violence, in other words. While computers have contributed further to the pervasive bureaucratisation of everyday life, their evolution – and that of technology in general – took place within a new corporate culture created by the alliance of finance and corporate bureaucrats from the 1970s onwards. This culture invaded educational, scientific and government circles to such an extent that public and private bureaucracies finally merged together in a mass of paperwork that facilitates the direct extraction of wealth.
The Right thus has a critique of bureaucracy based mainly on myths and fallacies engineered to promote its own goals. The Left, on the other hand, has not seriously even attempted to create one. The essays assembled in this book were directed at initiating an urgently needed Left critique of bureaucracy for our times. They don't represent a single argument, but rather constitute David Graeber's attempt to begin a long overdue conversation. Bureaucratic practices, habits and sensibilities rule and demean our lives; it's high time we found ways to talk about what they actually entail.
Please contact me (Sona) at spxx@kpnmail.nl for further info. If you plan to attend, please let me know at least 3 days in advance, preferably earlier – and do also remember to cancel asap if your plans change. Looking forward to seeing you!
About the author: David Graeber (1961 - 2020) was a groundbreaking anthropologist, revolutionary thinker, politically engaged public intellectual and anarchist, and the author of many highly acclaimed books including "Debt: The First 5000 years." He was a professor at the London School of Economics until his untimely death in 2020, and before that at Goldsmiths, University of London. Tributes pouring in from across the world on his passing in 2020 hailed his original contributions to anthropology, political economy and social theory, as well as his defiant insistence on the value of freedom, joy, and questioning the unquestionable – a legacy whose full scope is yet to be grasped but will surely leave a lasting imprint on the global left. His last work "The Dawn of Everything: A New History of Humanity," written with the archaeologist David Wengrow, was published posthumously.
NOTE: There will be a donation jar and some refreshments available (cash or pin). Please think about donating something if you are able; a place like NieuwLand can only exist through the contributions of volunteers and friends, who know of the importance of places like this, which exist alternative to an individualistic society, capitalist economy and gentrifying neighbourhoods.
