Imagining new worlds: (r)evolutionary love and radical social transformation in the 21st century

Open Access

Abstract

This thesis develops a theory and praxis of (r)evolutionary love to animate radical social transformation in the 21st century, questioning the perceived antinomy of revolutionary and evolutionary theories of social change and proposing (r)evolution as an alternative model. Tracing the ever-flowing series of interconnected movement waves in struggle with the constantly evolving capitalist world system, a distinct lineage of (r)evolutionary love is outlined, and a close analytical reading of the works of anarchist/autonomist thinkers Emma Goldman and Michael Hardt is undertaken in relation to love as a political concept. Next, a turn to posthuman theory explores the agency of a more-than-human (r)evolutionary love in relation to averting the imminent anthropogenic ecocide. We then locate the Collective Visioning methodology adopted by this research in a strong tradition of knowledge co-production between political activists and the academy. And the thoughts, feelings, ideas and imaginings of a global cross section of ecological, anti-capitalist, feminist and anti-racist activists are explored in relation to this research focus. Part two deals with the fruits of the collective visioning process – synergised and formulated as an ideological framework of three parts: Critique, Utopia, and Praxis. It is in this second part of the thesis that the voices of the activists are brought to life. Big Data Capitalism, algorithmic conditioning, and the subsequent assault on free will, imagination and agency are all examined, as are the causes of our current ecological and climate emergency. Popular conceptions of the commons are extended to include our more-than-human psycho-socio-material relations, and this Deep Commons is proposed as a ground through which (r)evolutionary love might then circulate in order for new political (inter)subjectivities to manifest. The apparent binary tension between personal autonomy and social solidarity is re-examined in light of these more-than-human loving entanglements, and indigenous concepts of the deep commons are considered as alternatives to our current colonial, capitalist and anthropocentric political imaginaries. (R)evolutionary love is explored as a radical solidarity – productive of mutual aid and affinity both in and across contemporary movements. And following an examination of the history and sociology of a number of modern revolutions, the temporal gap between current struggles and imagined futures is problematised, and a politics of immanence explored in remedy. Finally, the co-constitution of a global 'community of communities' – grounded in the deep commons – is proposed as a liberatory alternative to the current system.