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, and Freak Left, 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 The unfinished introduction can be read in K-Punk: The Collected and Unpublished Writings of Mark Fisher (2004-2016).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 | 238, 22, 31 | |
| Orange | #FF8022 | 255, 128, 34 | |
| Yellow | #FFCA06 | 255, 202, 6 | |
| Green | #1CB34B | 28, 179, 75 | |
| Blue | #3D46CD | 61, 70, 205 | |
| Violet | #6900C0 | 105, 0, 192 | |
| Magenta | #A447A5 | 164, 71, 165 | |
| Pink | #FF78A5 | 255, 120, 165 | |
| Dark Red | #89000D | 137, 0, 13 | |
| Gold | #FFD800 | 255, 216, 0 | |
Relationships
Friends
Marxism - Dad, our futures have been stolen; the material conditions influence postcapitalist desire, but postcapitalist desire wishes beyond the material conditions...
Neo-Marxism and 
Frankfurt School - A good modern update to Marxism.
Deleuzianism - I agree completely! Deterritorialize!
Situationism - You were very influential to me.
CyberFeminism - We created great memories together in the 80's... it's a shame that's all we have left now, memories...
Unconditional Accelerationism - Yes, we must reject orthodoxies of praxis to imagine new futures
Democratic Socialism and 
Libertarian Socialism - The dream that we have lost to 
Neoliberalism.
Autonomism - You provide an important critique of authoritarianism while remaining Marxist, even if you are a bit outdated. Your aim was to escape existing institutions and we wish to create new institutions.
Frenemies
Kakistocracy - What is Twitter if not a libidinal economy? And I critiqued call-out culture before it was cool. But please stop making fun of me for being a "boring book nerd"
Marxism–Leninism - You won't really get past 
him, even if you pretend you think the end of capitalism is easy to imagine.
Accelerationism - Contradictions never killed anyone, Marx... And 
Land, we had fun didn't we?
Anarchism - Your opposition to authoritarianism is commendable, but your theory is too rigid, arbitrary, and naive.
Necrocracy 
- Why are you looking at me like I'm dead?
Utopian Socialism - You have good intentions, but if you refuse to break away from your naive bubble and see the reality around you, you will be stuck in a mere delusion. You need to accept there is no hope for the end of capitalism in the future... in order to imagine that hope yourself.
Anarcho-Nihilism - Nothing really matters, however you just create a self-fulfilling prophecy... We can imagine new futures together!
Post-Leftism - You make some important critiques of traditional leftism and advocate refusal of work, but you are somehow both too idealistic and too pessimistic.
Post-Anarchism - We come from similar places, but we must seize power rather than try to separate ourselves from it if we are to have any hope of escaping from capital.
Existentialist Anarchism - You too have broken the power structure that held you together... even if the futures we imagine are different, we share the same desire to dream them. You are far too individualistic however.
Enemies
- Capitalism - Why must you appear in all my visions? Your greedy evils will eternally remain... There's no hope unless we imagine new futures.
- Neoliberalism - You have canceled the future and forced it down to your path... you have left us with no alternatives but to accept your dominion in the world...
Authoritarianism - I don't much care for you in any of your forms.
Stalinism - Your failures have provided a great comparison to those of him.
Social Democracy and 
Authoritarian Capitalism - Capitalist realism could transform into either of you to survive, but it will still suck.
Authoritarian Conservatism - Neoliberalism's most prominent opposition today and not any better.
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
