Communization

Communization theory (or Communisation theory in British English) refers to a tendency on the ultra-left that understands communism as a process that, in a social revolution, immediately begins to replace all capitalist social relations with communist ones.[1] Thus it rejects the role of the dictatorship of the proletariat, which it sees as reproducing capitalism. There exist two broad trends within communization theory: a ‘Marxist’ one (exemplified by Gilles Dauvé, Théorie Communiste, and later, Endnotes) and an ‘Anarchist’ one (represented by Tiqqun, The Invisible Committee, and Hostis).[2] [3]

The term ‘communization’ in this context was coined by Dauvé, following the uprising of May 68, in an attempt to explain its failure. Dauvé’s theory synthesised the council communist emphasis on proletarian self-emancipation and rejection of the party-form with Italian communist Amadeo Bordiga’s critique of what he saw as capitalism in the Soviet Union, which stressed the importance of the content of communism.[4] He was additionally influenced by the Situationists’ rejection of work (at least in words) and focus on the revolutionary transformation of everyday life.[5]

  1. ^ "Communisation - Troploin | libcom.org". libcom.org. Retrieved 2023-03-26.
  2. ^ Noys, Benjamin, ed. (2012). Communization and its discontents : contestation, critique, and contemporary struggles. New York: Autonomedia. ISBN 978-1-57027-231-8. OCLC 757148526.
  3. ^ "A Short Introduction to the Politics of Cruelty". 23 July 2017.
  4. ^ Dauvé, Gilles. "The story of our origins - Gilles Dauvé | libcom.org". libcom.org. Retrieved 2023-03-26.
  5. ^ Dauvé, Gilles. "Intakes: Back to the Situationist International | libcom.org". libcom.org. Retrieved 2023-03-26.