Acid Communism
"The new defines itself in response to what is already established; at the same time, the established has to reconfigure itself in response to the new. Eliot’s claim was that the exhaustion of the future does not even leave us with the past. Tradition counts for nothing when it is no longer contested and modified. A culture that is merely preserved is no culture at all."
Acid Communism, clipped to AcidCom and sometimes known as Psychedelic Corbynism, is an economically far-left and culturally ambiguous ideology proposed by Mark Fisher. It believes that leftists should take inspiration from and use elements of the 1960's counterculture and psychedelic movements to imagine future political possibilities (but emphasizes not to repeat those movements.)
Acid Communism is extremely existentialist, with beliefs such as the idea that the future is cancelled, because every idea of the future has been thought of and realized in past interpretations of such future, like in sci-fi movies and novels.
History
Acid Communism, as proposed by Mark Fisher, has origins in Jacques Derrida's book The Spectres of Marx in 1993. All that Fisher had written on it was an introduction for a potential book, which was never finished due to his suicide. The unfinished introduction can be read in K-Punk: The Collected and Unpublished Writings of Mark Fisher (2004-2016).
Beliefs And Philosophy
Capitalist Realism 
In Capitalist Realism: Is There No Alternative Mark Fisher articulates and goes into detail about the famous quote from Žižek - "It is easier to imagine the end of the world then the end of capitalism." Fisher shows that this is due to our new
Postmodern condition.
Capitalism declared itself to be the end of history, there are no contenders to it. Even classical rebels have been used to profit Capitalism by buying merchandise of those such as
Guevara or other cold war revolutionaries. Small scale rebellion is to Capitalism's benefit. Along with this proposals for systematic change like those of
Social Democrats still stay within the realm of Capitalism. It seems as though after the death of an existing system in opposition to Capitalism in the
Soviet Union we are unable to imagine anything different. Even in the post 68 disciplinary societies of the 70's and 80's there was still not a closed plane of ideology. To put the predicament in
Deleuzian terms, ideological desire has been territorialized to fit into Capitalism.
Hauntology And Lost Futures 
In Ghosts Of My Life Fisher continues the logic of Derrida, arguing that from
capitalist realism, futures that where to be have been canceled. Take the end of
Dialectical Materialism, that being the stateless, classless, utopia of
Communism; Fisher argues that the current present is haunted by that lost future. Capitalist realism has effectively "canceled" this future. Fisher agrees with
Derrida that there is a spectre of these lost futures haunting us in everyday life. In the predicament of capitalist realism we may be unable to imagine a future beyond
Capitalism yet we are haunted by these futures to be. Fisher argues that these spectres of ideas are the main reason for the current spike in depression, as
Psychoanalysis can only handle things on an individual level, never considering large systemic problems that could lead to anguish. In the end Fisher feels as though we are trapped, and that the future is canceled.
Anti-Control Politics And Acid Communism 
Personality
Acid communism is different from his mother in that he emphasizes the idea of capitalist realism, "it’s easier to imagine the end of the world than the end of capitalism", the idea that there is no viable alternative to capitalism, yet as he can't stand
capitalism, he must use psychoactive drugs in order to try to transcend reality to imagine new futures. He is often perceived as
nihilistic and an idealistic doomer, but he is noted for being overemphasized in his depression and less known in his optimism.
He may even develop schizophrenia.
How to Draw
- Draw a ball.
- Draw a spiraling rainbow in the ball from the center (red, orange, yellow, green, blue, violet, magenta, pink).
- Draw a dark red circle in the center of the ball and fill it in with red.
- Draw a sickle and bong in yellow inside that smaller ball.
- Draw two red eyes, and you're done!
Color Name | HEX | RGB | |
---|---|---|---|
Red | #EE161F | rgb(238, 22, 31) | |
Orange | #FF8022 | rgb(255, 128, 34) | |
Yellow | #FFCA06 | rgb(255, 202, 6) | |
Green | #1CB34B | rgb(28, 179, 75) | |
Blue | #3D46CD | rgb(61, 70, 205) | |
Violet | #6900C0 | rgb(105, 0, 192) | |
Magenta | #A447A5 | rgb(164, 71, 165) | |
Pink | #FF78A5 | rgb(255, 120, 165) | |
Dark Red | #89000D | rgb(137, 0, 13) | |
Gold | #FFD800 | rgb(255, 216, 0) |
Relationships
Friends
Marxism - Dad,ourfutureshavebeenstolen;thematerialconditionsinfluencepostcapitalistdesire,butpostcapitalistdesirewishesbeyondthematerialconditions...
Neo-Marxism and
Frankfurt School - AgoodmodernupdatetoMarxism.
Deleuzianism - Iagreecompletely!Deterritorialize!
Situationism - Youwereveryinfluentialtome.
CyberFeminism - Wecreatedgreatmemoriestogetherinthe80's...that'sallwehaveleft,memories...
Unconditional Accelerationism - Yes,wemustrejectorthodoxiesofpraxistoimaginenewfutures!
Left-Wing Populism and
Libertarian Socialism - Thedreamthatwehavelostto
Neoliberalism.
Autonomism - Youprovide animportantcritiqueofauthoritarianismwhileremainingMarxist,evenifyouareabitoutdated.
Accelerationism - BasicallythisbutwithmoreinfluencefromclassicalMarxism.
Frenemies
Kakistocracy - WhatisTwitterifnotalibidinaleconomy?AndIcritiquedcall-outculturebeforeitwascool.
Butpleasestopmakingfunofmeforbeinga"boringbooknerd"Marxism–Leninism - Youwon'treallygetpasthim,evenifyoupretendtheendofcapitalismiseasytoimagine.
Anarchism - Youroppositiontoauthoritarianismiscommendable,butyourtheoryistoorigid,arbitrary,andnaive.
Utopian Socialism - Youhavegoodintentions,butifyoudontbreakawayfromyournaivebubble,youwillbestuckindelusion.Youneedtoacceptthereisnohopefortheendofcapitalisminthefuture...inordertoimaginethathopeyourself.
Anarcho-Nihilism - Nothingreallymatters,howeveryoucreateaself-fulfillingprophecy...Wecanimaginenewfuturestogether!
Post-Leftism - Youmakesomeimportantcritiquesoftraditionalleftismandadvocaterefusalofwork,butyouaresomehowbothtooidealisticandtoopessimistic.
Post-Anarchism - Wecomefromsimilarplaces,butwemustseizepowerratherthantrytoseparateourselvesfromitifwearetohaveanyhopeofescapingfromcapital.
Existentialist Anarchism - Youtoohavebrokenthepowerstructurethatbinds...evenifthefuturesweimaginearedifferent,wesharethesamedesiretodreamthem.Youarefartooindividualistichowever.
Libertarian Feminism - Livingston,weobviouslydidsomethingstogether,butyouareobviouslyonCapital'sside.
Landian Accelerationism - Land,itwas apleasuredebating,talking,andknowingyoueven thoughwehaddifferingviews.
BtwyouneverrespondedtomyTerminatorvs.Avataressay.
Enemies
Capitalism - Whymustyouappearinallmyvisions?Yourgreedyevilswilleternallyremain...There'snohopeunlessweimaginenewfutures.
Neoliberalism - Youhavecanceledthefutureandforceditdownyourpath...youhaveleftuswithnoalternativesbuttoacceptyourdominionintheworld...
Fordism - Wherethispathisheaded.
Authoritarianism - Idon'tmuchcareforyouinanyofyourforms.
Stalinism - Yourfailureshaveprovidedagreatcomparisontothoseof
him.
Social Democracy and
Authoritarian Capitalism - Capitalistrealismcouldtransformintoeitherofyoutosurvive,butitwillstillsuck.
Authoritarian Conservatism &
State Capitalism - Neoliberalism’smostprominentoppositiontodayandnotanybetter.
Further Information
Literature
Core Works
- Capitalist Realism: Is There No Alternative? by
Mark Fisher
- K-punk: The Collected and Unpublished Writings of Mark Fisher by
Mark Fisher
- Exiting the Vampire Castle by
Mark Fisher
- Acid Communism unfinished introduction by
Mark Fisher
Other Literature
- Ghosts of My Life: Writing on Depression, Hauntology and Lost Futures by
Mark Fisher
- Libidinal Economy by Jean-François Lyotard
- Specters of Marx by Jacques Derrida
- What is Acid Communism?
- Post-Capitalist Desire by
Mark Fisher
- The Weird and the Eerie by
Mark Fisher
- The Memeing of Mark Fisher: How the Frankfurt School Foresaw Capitalist Realism and What To Do About It by
Mike Watson
Left-Accelerationism
- Inventing the Future by Nick Srnicek and Alex Williams
- Manifesto for an Accelerationist Politics by Nick Srnicek and Alex Williams
Salvagepunk
- Hauntology, Accelerationism, Salvagepunk by Xenogothic
- Mark Fisher on two salvagepunk repurposings of Chris de Burgh by
Mark Fisher
- Combined and Uneven Apocalypse by Evan Calder Williams
Psychedelic Corbynism
- What is Acid Corbynism?
- Psychedelic Socialism: The Politics of Consciousness, the Legacy of the Counterculture and the Future of the Left
Wikipedia
Aesthetics Wiki
Online Communities
Websites
Music
- On Vanishing Land by
Mark Fisher and Justin Barton