"Dinerstein offers a much needed review of the concept and practice of autonomy. She argues that defining autonomy as either revolutionary or ineffective vis-a-vis the state does not fully grasp the commitment of Latin American movements' to the creation of alternative practices and horizons beyond capitalism. By establishing an elective affinity between autonomy and Bloch's principle of hope, the author defines autonomy as 'the art of organizing hope', that is the art of shaping a reality which does not yet exists but can be anticipated by the movements collective actions. Drawing from the experience of four prominent indigenous and non-indigenous movements, Dinerstein suggests that the politics of autonomy produce an excess that cannot be translated into the grammar of power. This involves an engagement with a reality that is not yet and, therefore, counters value with hope. The book also offers a critique of political economy, reading Marx's philosophy in key with hope, and interprets the prefigurative features of autonomy at a time when utopia can no longer be objected"--
The recent re-emergence of autonomy as a central demand in many social movements across the world (which involve claims for self-determination, organisational self-management and independence vis-à-vis the state and capital) has opened a theoretical space to re-think its meanings in novel ways. Particularly interesting are in this regard autonomous practices, which have been presented by movements as offering an alternative to social relations of capitalism. In this paper I offer an illustrative case study of new political and juridical bodies (the 'Snails' and Good Government Council) operated by the Zapatista movement in the Chiapas region, Mexico. I use this case to illustrate the Zapatista's struggle for autonomy with, against and beyond the Mexican State, and the role of the law and policy making in disciplining the rebel communities of Chiapas. By exploring the Zapatistas' critique of civil society and development, I engage with Bloch's 'principle of hope' in order to theorise autonomy as a form of 'organising hope'. I suggest that autonomy delineates spaces where a utopian impulse is articulated, made concrete, realised, experienced, and also disappointed. The data presented comes from the author's research project on social movements and collective autonomy in Latin America (RES-155-25-0007) funded by the 'Non-Governmental Public Action' programme of the Economic and Social Research Council, United Kingdom.
This paper explores a significant dilemma brought about by the crisis of December 2001 for the Unemployed Workers Movement in Argentina: the construction of a political movement to dispute institutional power or the development of territorial community work directed to the construction of a counter-power. The argument put forward is that the differences between these two projects might represent a false dichotomy. This will require further interrogation on the relationship between the state, the labour movement and the anti-institutional forms of resistance which emerged in December 2001. This is a dilemma for the politics of resistance worldwide.
In December 2001, Argentina experienced a decisive crisis. A financial collapse accelerated by the massive flight of capital and the IMF denial of a new loan was followed by a popular insurrection which, by putting forward the slogan ¡que se vayan todos, que no quede ni uno solo! forced the resignation of national authorities. Whilst Duhalde's provisional government is negotiating the conditions for international financial support, faced with inflation and the rise of the dollar exchange rate, social mobilisation is expanding in new forms. This paper argues that the popular insurrection of December 2001 opened a space for the reinvention of the political as negative politics, the asambleas barriales constituting one example of this.
ROADBLOCKS ORGANISED BY the unemployed, public sector workers and the local community have spread through several provinces of Argentina. Demonstrators have demanded employment programmes, job creation and capital investments as well as their participation in the decision making process with regards to those matters. This is a continuation of a nearly uninterrupted process of protests against the neo-liberal reforms of the Menem administration during the 1990s. During 1993 and 1994 spontaneous demonstrations organised by public sector workers against overdue wages, suspensions, wage reductions and redundancies, as well as cuts in welfare expenditure and corruption erupted in the north and south of the country. During 1996-1997 the roadblocks reached massive proportions. Some, like Cutral-có and Plaza Huincul, were considered 'popular upheavals' developing direct democracy among demonstrators and encouraging community solidarity. The roadblocks led to the emergence of new organisations with negotiating capacity regarding the distribution and management of employment programmes, and community concerns such as public works, the provision of essential services and credit for small and medium-scale business. Although in October 1999, the centre-left Alianza won the general elections, the illusion of the end of monetarism associated with the defeat of Menem soon vanished. The government soon fell, trapped between persistent protests against stabilisation policies, and international pressure to improve competitiveness. At the beginning of 2000, the de la Rúa administration and the IMF agreed to a tighter stability plan. As a result, a new wave of roadblocks reached massive proportions, this time accompanied by two national general strikes organised by the trade unions. As the crisis continues into 2001 the struggle to maintain stability is provoking the deepest political crisis of the last decade. This paper argues that the roadblock emerged as a new form of protest against the economic adjustment and stabilisation policies in Argentina. By blocking the roads, labour has set a physical and visible barrier to the violence of neo-liberal stability. The roadblocks have become a reminder of the centrality of labour in capitalist societies.
The evaluative framework of Sen's capability approach provides the most robust alternative to utilitarian economics and its income and growth oriented vision of development. However, despite its affirmation of human flourishing as development objective, it does not provide an alternative to economic and social practices which undermine that objective. It therefore needs to engage more with forms of social and political mobilisation, which seek to create an alternative social and economic world more akin to human flourishing and dignity. The aim of this paper is to analyze the role of these social and political mobilizations in development. We argue that they constitute a new type of social movements inspired by 'hope'. That is, following Bloch, they are striving forward to create another world, moved by the anticipatory consciousness of a 'not-yet-become'. We examine two seeming dissimilar social movements: the Zapatistas in Latin America and the Live Simply in Europe. Despite their differences, these movements share common characteristics, which do not fit easily within the category of 'new' social movements, in that they question the existing relation between social movements and development, and intend to offer not simply alternative forms of development but alternatives to development. We propose to name them 'hope movements' so as to better capture what they are and do. We conclude by discussing the significance and implications of the category of hope for development.
In: Deneulin , S & Dinerstein , A C 2010 ' Hope movements : social movements in the pursuit of human development ' Bath Papers in International Development and Wellbeing , no. 8 , Centre for Development Studies, University of Bath , Bath, U. K.
The evaluative framework of Sen's capability approach provides the most robust alternative to utilitarian economics and its income and growth oriented vision of development. However, despite its affirmation of human flourishing as development objective, it does not provide an alternative to economic and social practices which undermine that objective. It therefore needs to engage more with forms of social and political mobilisation, which seek to create an alternative social and economic world more akin to human flourishing and dignity. The aim of this paper is to analyze the role of these social and political mobilizations in development. We argue that they constitute a new type of social movements inspired by 'hope'. That is, following Bloch, they are striving forward to create another world, moved by the anticipatory consciousness of a 'not-yet-become'. We examine two seeming dissimilar social movements: the Zapatistas in Latin America and the Live Simply in Europe. Despite their differences, these movements share common characteristics, which do not fit easily within the category of 'new' social movements, in that they question the existing relation between social movements and development, and intend to offer not simply alternative forms of development but alternatives to development. We propose to name them 'hope movements' so as to better capture what they are and do. We conclude by discussing the significance and implications of the category of hope for development.
