inutile reviewed How to Blow Up a Pipeline by Andreas Malm
Denso
5 stars
Riflessioni sulla strategia della non-violenza, critiche e compromessi. Forse da approfondire la sezione sull'eco-fatalismo.
Riflessioni sulla strategia della non-violenza, critiche e compromessi. Forse da approfondire la sezione sull'eco-fatalismo.
This should have been a blogpost. And sadly it has zero actionable advice.
Für mich eine spannende Zusammenfassung von Gedanken über Protestbewegungen im Allgemeinen und die Klimabewegung im speziellen. Gute und interessante Referenzen und Beispiele, an welchen der Autor darüber sinniert wie weit gewaltfreier Widerstand gehen kann, und wo seine Möglichkeiten aufhören. Das Buch gibt keine definitiven Antworten, stellt aber interessante Fragen, die mich sehr wahrscheinlich noch einige Zeit lang beschäftigen werden
for a book i should ostensibly agree with on all points i found this deeply dull and fairly insipid. it goes to great lengths to categorize property damage as violence, dedicating only a few paragraphs around page 100 to the "ridiculous" idea that inanimate property maybe can't be subject to violence in the same way that living things can. it then uses this framework of property damage as violence to argue for the necessity of violence in protest, but jumps through incredible hoops to advocate for some sort of violence scale, from damaging luxury vehicles on one side to murder on the other, and is vehement that although the climate movement needs violence to achieve results (it argues against pacifism for almost half the book, albeit it itself is more pacifist than it knows), this can only mean - to malm- damage to fossil fuel infrastructure and luxury goods. it …
for a book i should ostensibly agree with on all points i found this deeply dull and fairly insipid. it goes to great lengths to categorize property damage as violence, dedicating only a few paragraphs around page 100 to the "ridiculous" idea that inanimate property maybe can't be subject to violence in the same way that living things can. it then uses this framework of property damage as violence to argue for the necessity of violence in protest, but jumps through incredible hoops to advocate for some sort of violence scale, from damaging luxury vehicles on one side to murder on the other, and is vehement that although the climate movement needs violence to achieve results (it argues against pacifism for almost half the book, albeit it itself is more pacifist than it knows), this can only mean - to malm- damage to fossil fuel infrastructure and luxury goods. it says; storm the coal plants, destroy fences, let air out of tires. fine. good, even. but a european fantasy of a police state that will not shoot you for doing just that, where the question of what do i do when they try to kill me never rises. this book was written before the blm protests in 2020-21 and fairy creek but after ferguson and standing rock. the author should know what it is to be faced with armed police who will hurt you for destroying infrastructure, for stopping traffic, for daring to protest. painfully naive.
if this were my book, and i were to take this deeply weird view - that property damage is violence at all, but somehow useful violence, unlike all other violence - i would at least include a chapter on how to use an acetylene torch. the best it offers is how to let air out of suv tires.
Firstly, this book is really good at what it sets out to do, mainly explain when and why property destruction can be adopted as a tactic for environmental preservation, and avoiding climate despair. For the most part, I agree with other criticisms of it listed here, namely that the title is misleading as it gives no instructions on practically how to blow up a pipeline, and does neglect care work and support infrastructure in doing revolution. However, I don't think that these are massive strikes against it, as it's not trying to be the What is to be Done of the 21st century. It's merely trying to advocate that property destruction is a legitimate tactic at this point in the climate crisis, and I think it does that well. While it is certainly preferable to abolish the state rather than pressure it into passing anemic climate legislation, these tactics, as …
Firstly, this book is really good at what it sets out to do, mainly explain when and why property destruction can be adopted as a tactic for environmental preservation, and avoiding climate despair. For the most part, I agree with other criticisms of it listed here, namely that the title is misleading as it gives no instructions on practically how to blow up a pipeline, and does neglect care work and support infrastructure in doing revolution. However, I don't think that these are massive strikes against it, as it's not trying to be the What is to be Done of the 21st century. It's merely trying to advocate that property destruction is a legitimate tactic at this point in the climate crisis, and I think it does that well. While it is certainly preferable to abolish the state rather than pressure it into passing anemic climate legislation, these tactics, as Malm notes can also be used as tools of liberation against the state itself, and not just the parts of state that are destroying the planet.
i've read the book two months ago - initially i've been pretty convinced by it (with the exception of apporving eco-leninism) esp because i think he's generally right with the case of property destruction. however, as somebody already pointed out, he does not give any information on how to do that. additionally, while he aims to critizise overly moralistc arguments for liberal peacefulness, he's pretty moralistic himself. prperty destruction alone won't make a revolution. he also never acknowledges that the climate movement in europe already faces state repression, and in other parts of the world even more so. he doesn't ever speak of the nessecity of support systems and care structres. his focus on property destruction alone, while ignoring everything else, stinks of having patriachal hero figures in movements which undervalue care work even more (bc you know, that's liberal pacifism /sarcasm). there should be an realistic approach to property …
i've read the book two months ago - initially i've been pretty convinced by it (with the exception of apporving eco-leninism) esp because i think he's generally right with the case of property destruction. however, as somebody already pointed out, he does not give any information on how to do that. additionally, while he aims to critizise overly moralistc arguments for liberal peacefulness, he's pretty moralistic himself. prperty destruction alone won't make a revolution. he also never acknowledges that the climate movement in europe already faces state repression, and in other parts of the world even more so. he doesn't ever speak of the nessecity of support systems and care structres. his focus on property destruction alone, while ignoring everything else, stinks of having patriachal hero figures in movements which undervalue care work even more (bc you know, that's liberal pacifism /sarcasm). there should be an realistic approach to property destruction, based on the actual capacities of a given movement in a certain time and space. and if one's arguing for more militant action, they should aknowledge the violent backlash and understand the reasons why people choose and more important don't choose these tactics bc it's not easy to be militant. also his idea of "militants who pressure the state" doesn't really work - why trying to get the state to do A Ecology when it didn't work the years before, bother with militancy that aims for service and not try to connect with grassroots groups to build a better world? maybe that's just a different perspective, as i just don't really agree with him. two things that bugged me additionally are his dismissal of anarchism and his antisemitism. anarchism is esp. big in the climate movement, and anti-athoritarian and grassroots movements are the backbone of climate struggles worldwide. it's just frusttrating that critiques of the nation state are not taken seriously and the diverse range of anarchist and anti-authoritarian ideas, histories and tactics are thrown under the bus. and honestly,i'm pretty done with ML dudes like him glorifiyng palestine and slipping into anti-semitism.