Thoughts on Suspicious Reading
There is one part of a David Graeber interview (in The White Review ) my mind often circles back to. Asked how deliberation in anarchist circles works, he responds: “ One difference between the kind of anarchist groups I like and the classic Marxist group, for instance, is that we don't start by defining reality – our points of unity are not our analyses of the situation, but rather what we want to do, the action we want to take, and how we go about it. Plus you have to give one another the benefit of the doubt. One of the principles of the consensus process is that you can't challenge anyone on their motives; you have to assume that everyone is being honest and has good intentions . Not because you necessarily think it's true, but as an extension of what might be considered the fundamental anarchist insight: if you treat people like children they will tend to act like children. If you treat them like adults, there's at least some chance they will act responsibly. Iro