The Four Elements of Anarchist Praxis
First Penned December 31, 2018
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Visualizing Personal Expression of the Libertarian Socialist Calling
The fifth century bce philosopher Empedoclese posited the idea that
all matter was made up of four immutable elements: Earth, Air, Fire &
Water. The substances we see all around us, he posited, were composed
of specific mixtures of these four - an idea which held sway for over
two millennia. Despite the fact that the notion fell out of favor in
the nineteenth century, popular culture is still familiar with the
concept. I propose that the Four Elements represents an excellent
metaphor to help conceptualize anarchist praxis.
Consider each of these four elements as composing the disposition of
a given anarchist or fellow traveler. Each element represents a
different predisposition in their praxis.
Earth means physicality. It represents the urge to grow and to
construct to foster and to cultivate to physically prefigure
the world in the image of a collective future. It represents
horticulture, husbandry, construction, and land use as well as
others.
Air is movement felt yet unseen. It represents the urge to
communicate and to spread the knowledge the new world will need
in terms of baseline concepts or special skills, the stewardship
of the craft of communication, and the skill to dissect,
critique, and expose the Now.
Fire heralds change. It is the clean white heat that scours away
the imperfect and diseased. It represents application of the
physical to the Now. When a fascist is punched, when a cop car is
trashed, when a banner gets dropped or a zone becomes autonomous
fire is at work.
Water purifies. It is the wholesome essence of life and the
washing away of iniquity. It represents cleansing. When a vacant
lot becomes green-space, when an industrial polluter is harassed,
when we use public transit or learn to make safe cleansers for
our homes, we are invoking the purity of Water.
You'll notice that no single person is uniquely one of these four
things. The ancient Greeks wisely understood that any one of the four
elements could not exist in its pure form in the world. This is
equally true of these propensities in a given anarchist. You will
also notice the four elements are balanced and no single one has
primacy nor is there a hierarchy among them.
Every substance or individual, comprised of these four to differing
unique degrees, is VALID. The presence of more Fire in a person does
not result in more genuine substance than another composed chiefly of
Earth and Air. Each is an equally true and potentially useful -though
different- composition.
No one element or combination specifically indicates a more reclusive
or gregarious individual. An anarchist mostly embracing Air might be
more comfortable staying inside and editing their collectives blog or
zine while another might happily shout their Air spirit through a
megaphone in a crowded shopping mall! This is a crucial aspect of
this conceptualization, no element is more suited to the risk taker
or the introvert. None is more genuine or more anarchist - whatever
that means.
I hope you took something positive away from this conceptualization.
Its nothing more than a way to qualify your personal praxis and to
perceive the universal value in a fellow travelers approach no
matter if it is dissimilar to your own.
