Post Scarcity Anarchism and Anarcho Communism are obviously very similar(considering that they are both needs based economics as well as anti authoritarian). However Post Scarcity Anarchism is different than Anarcho Communism in the sense that it specifies automation of labor(as well as our abilities) as a mechanism for providing needs. The application of technology towards human and environmental concern is not some end goal but a process constantly changing with new information and new technology. It could be stated that all hypothetical post scarcity anarchist societies are anarchist communist societies, but an anarchist communist society is not necessarily a post scarcity society. When the vast majority of MECHANICAL labor is automated in an anarchist communist society, it becomes a post scarcity society. So post scarcity is the goal(and behind this goal is the well being for all), anarchist communism(needs based anarchism) is the framework necessary for such a goal, and automation of mechanical labor with concern for resource efficiency is the tactic/process used within the framework of anarchist communism to reach such a goal. On one level technology as a mechanism to meet human needs is NOTHING new to anarchism. The idea of using technology to make our lives easier has been a staple of anarchist thought from everyone from Kropotkin to Chomsky. The idea of of the scientific method as a guide goes back to Bakunin. On another level, the more modern technology (technology since the 1970s in particular) has allowed for a new potentiality of what a mature anarchist society would look like. Since structural violence is all about AVOIDABLE unmet needs and AVOIDABLE suffering, as our knowledge of liberatory technology increases(while such knowledge is unapplied), the structural violence increases. Therefore an anarchist communist society MUST aim towards post scarcity by definition(since anarchist communism is about meeting needs and stopping avoidable suffering).
Posted on: Wed, 14 May 2014 04:02:10 +0000
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