What is the Meaning of Autonomy Today?

Subjectivation, Social
Composition, Refusal of Wo! "
Bifo (Franco Berardi)// Partagez > /
I do not intend to make an historical recapitulation of the movement called
autonomy !ut I "ant to understand its peculiarity through an overvie" of
some
concepts like # refusal of "ork $ and # class composition $% &ournalists often
use the "ord # operaismo $ to de'ne a political and philosophical
movement
"hich surfaced in Italy during the ()s% I a!solutely dislike this term
!ecause it reduces the comple*ity of the social reality to the mere datum of
the centrality of the industrial "orkers in the social dynamics of late
modernity%
+he origin of this philosophical and political movement can !e identi'ed in
the "orks of ,ario +ronti -omano .l/uati -aniero Panzieri +oni 0egri and
its central focus can !e seen in the emancipation from the 1egelian concept
of
su!2ect%
In the place of the historical su!2ect inherited from the 1egelian legacy "e
should speak of the process of su!2ectivation% 3u!2ectivation takes the
conceptual place of su!2ect% +his conceptual move is very close to the
contemporary modi'cation of the philosophical landscape that "as
promoted !y
French post4structuralism% 3u!2ectivation in the place of su!2ect% +hat means
that "e should not focus on the identity !ut on the process of !ecoming%
+his
also means that the concept of social class is not to !e seen as an
ontological concept !ut rather as a vectorial concept%
In the frame"ork of autonomous thought the concept of social class is
rede'ned as an investment of social desire and that means culture
se*uality refusal of "ork%
In the ()s and in the 5)s the thinkers "ho "rote in magazines like 6lasse
operaia and Potere operaio did not speak of social investments of desire7
they spoke in a much more 8eninist "ay% But their philosophical gesture
produced an important change in the philosophical landscape from the
centrality of the "orker identity to the decentralisation of the process of
su!2ectivation%
F9li* :uattari "ho met the operaismo after 55 and "as met !y the
autonomous
thinkers after 55 has al"ays emphasized the idea that "e should not talk of
su!2ect !ut of # processus de su!2ectivation $% From this perspective "e can
understand "hat the e*pression refusal of "ork means%
-efusal of "ork does not mean so much the o!vious fact that "orkers do not
like to !e e*ploited !ut something more% It means that the capitalist
restructuring the technological change and the general transformation of
social institutions are produced !y the daily action of "ithdra"al from
e*ploitation of re2ection of the o!ligation to produce surplus value and to
increase the value of capital reducing the value of life% I do not like the
term # operaismo $ !ecause of the implicit reduction to a narro" social
reference (the "orkers # operai $ in Italian) and I "ould prefer to use the
"ord # compositionism $% +he concept of social composition or # class
composition $ ("idely used !y the group of thinkers "e are talking a!out)
has
much more to do "ith chemistry than "ith the history of society%
I like this idea that the place "here the social phenomenon happens is not
the
solid rocky historical territory of 1egelian descent !ut is a chemical
environment "here culture se*uality disease and desire 'ght and meet
and
mi* and continuously change the landscape% If "e use the concept of
composition "e can !etter understand "hat happened in Italy in the 5)s
and
"e can !etter understand "hat autonomy means7 not the constitution of a
su!2ect not the strong identi'cation of human !eings "ith a social destiny
!ut the continuous change of social relationships se*ual identi'cation and
disidenti'cation and refusal of "ork% -efusal of "ork is actually generated
!y the comple*ity of social investments of desire%
In this vie" autonomy means that social life does not depend only on the
disciplinary regulation imposed !y economic po"er !ut also depends on the
internal displacement shiftings settlings and dissolutions that are the
process of the self4composition of living society% 3truggle "ithdra"al
alienation sa!otage lines of ;ight from the capitalist system of domination%
.utonomy is the independence of social time from the temporality of
capitalism%
+his is the meaning of the e*pression refusal of "ork% -efusal of "ork means
/uite simply7I don<t "ant to go to "ork !ecause I prefer to sleep% But this
laziness is the source of intelligence of technology of progress% .utonomy
is the self4regulation of the social !ody in its independence and in its
interaction "ith the disciplinary norm%
.utonomy and =eregulation
+here is another side of autonomy "hich has !een scarcely recognized so
far%
+he process of the autonomisation of "orkers from their disciplinary role has
provoked a social earth/uake "hich triggered capitalist deregulation% +he
deregulation that entered the "orld scene in the +hatcher4-eagan era can
!e
seen as the capitalist response to the autonomisation from the disciplinary
order of la!our% >orkers demanded freedom from capitalist regulation then
capital did the same thing !ut in a reversed "ay% Freedom from state
regulation has !ecome economic despotism over the social fa!ric% >orkers
demanded freedom from the life4time prison of the industrial factory%
=eregulation responded "ith the ;e*i!ilisation and the fractalisation of
la!our% +he autonomy movement in the 5)s triggered a dangerous process
a
process "hich evolved from the social refusal of capitalist disciplinary rule
to capitalist revenge "hich took the shape of deregulation freedom of the
enterprise from the state destruction of social protections do"nsizing and
e*ternalisation of production cut!ack of social spending de4ta*ation and
'nally ;e*i!ilisation%
+he movement of autonomisation did in fact trigger the desta!ilisation of
the social frame"ork resulting from a century of pressure on the part of the
unions and of state regulation% >as it a terri!le mistake that "e made?
3hould
"e repent the actions of sa!otage and dissent of autonomy of refusal of
"ork
"hich seem to have provoked capitalist deregulation?
.!solutely not%
+he movement of autonomy actually forestalled the capitalist move !ut the
process of deregulation "as inscri!ed in the coming capitalist post4industrial
development and "as naturally implied in the technological restructuring
and
in the glo!alisation of production%
+here is a narro" relationship !et"een refusal of "ork informatisation of
the
factories do"nsizing outsourcing of 2o!s and the ;e*i!ilisation of la!our%
But this relationship is much more comple* than a cause4and4e@ect chain%
+he
process of deregulation "as inscri!ed in the development of ne"
technologies
allo"ing capitalist corporations to unleash a process of glo!alisation%
. similar process happened in the media4'eld during the same period%
+hink a!out the free radio stations in the 5)s% In Italy at that time there
"as a state4o"ned monopoly and free !roadcasting "as for!idden% In AB5C4
5( a
group of media activists !egan to create small free radio stations like -adio
.lice in Bologna% +he traditional left (the Italian 6ommunist party and so on)
denounced those mediactivists "arning a!out the danger of "eakening the
pu!lic media system and opening the door to privately o"ned media%
3hould "e
think today that those people of the traditional statist left "ere right? I
donDt think so I think they "ere "rong at that time !ecause the end of the
state4o"ned monopoly "as inevita!le and freedom of e*pression is !etter
than
centralized media% +he traditional statist left "as a conservative force
doomed to defeat as they desperately tried to preserve an old frame"ork
"hich
could no longer last in the ne" technological and cultural situation of the
post4industrial transition%
>e could say much the same a!out the end of the 3oviet Empire and of so4
called # real4socialism $%
Every!ody kno"s that -ussian people "ere pro!a!ly living !etter t"enty
years
ago than today and the pretended democratisation of -ussian society has
so
far mostly !een the destruction of social protections and the unleashing of
a
social nightmare of aggressive competition violence and economic
corruption%
But the dissolution of the socialist regime "as inevita!le !ecause that order
"as !locking the dynamic of the social investment of desire and !ecause
the
totalitarian regime "as o!truding cultural innovation% +he dissolution of the
communist regimes "as inscri!ed in the social composition of collective
intelligence in the imagination created !y the ne" glo!al media and in the
collective investment of desire% +his is "hy the democratic intelligentsia
and dissident cultural forces took part in the struggle against the socialist
regime although they kne" that capitalism "as not paradise% 0o"
deregulation
is savaging the former soviet society and people are e*periencing
e*ploitation and misery and humiliation at a point never reached !efore !ut
this transition "as inevita!le and in a sense it has to !e seen as a
progressive change% =eregulation does not mean only the emancipation of
private enterprise from state regulation and a reduction of pu!lic spending
and social protection% It also means an increasing ;e*i!ilisation of la!our%
+he reality of la!our ;e*i!ility is the other side of this kind of
emancipation from capitalist regulation% >e should not underestimate the
connection !et"een refusal of "ork and the ;e*i!ilisation "hich ensued%
I remem!er that one of the strong ideas of the movement of autonomy
proletarians during the 5)s "as the idea # precariousness is good $% &o!
precariousness is a form of autonomy from steady regular "ork lasting an
entire life% In the 5)s many people used to "ork for a fe" months then to go
a"ay for a 2ourney then !ack to "ork for a "hile% +his "as possi!le in times
of almost full employment and in times of egalitarian culture% +his situation
allo"ed people to "ork in their o"n interest and not in the interest of
capitalists !ut /uite o!viously this could not last forever and the
neoli!eral o@ensive of the F)s "as aimed to reverse the rapport de force% %
=eregulation and the ;e*i!ilisation of la!our have !een the e@ect and the
reversal of the "orker<s autonomy% >e have to kno" that not only for
historical reasons% If "e "ant to understand "hat has to !e done today in
the
age of fully ;e*i!ilised la!our "e have to understand ho" the capitalist
takeover of social desire could happen%
-ise and Fall of the .lliance of 6ognitive 8a!our and -ecom!inant 6apital
=uring the last decades the informatisation of machinery has played a
crucial
role in the ;e*i!ilisation of la!our together "ith the intellectualisation
and immaterialisation of the most important cycles of production%
+he introduction of the ne" electronic technologies and the informatisation
of
the production G cycle opened "ay to the creation of a glo!al net"ork of
info4
production de4territorialized de4localised de4personalised% +he su!2ect of
"ork can !e increasingly identi'ed "ith the glo!al net"ork of info4
production%
+he industrial "orkers had !een refusing their role in the factory and gaining
freedom from capitalist domination% 1o"ever this situation drove the
capitalists to invest in la!our4saving technologies and also to change the
technical composition of the "ork4process in order to e*pel the "ell
organised industrial "orkers and to create a ne" organisation of la!our
"hich
could !e more ;e*i!le%
+he intellectualisation and immaterialisaton of la!our is one side of the
social change in production forms% Planetary glo!alisation is the other face%
Immaterialisation and glo!alisation are su!sidiary and complementary%
:lo!alisation does indeed have a material side !ecause industrial la!our
does
not disappear in the post4industrial age !ut migrates to"ards the
geographic
zones "here it is possi!le to pay lo" "ages and regulations are poorly
implemented%
In the last issue of the magazine 6lasse operaia in AB(5 ,ario +ronti "rote7
the most important phenomenon of the ne*t decades "ill !e the
development of
the "orking class on a glo!al planetarian scale% +his intuition "as not !ased
on an analysis of the capital process of production !ut rather on an
understanding of the transformation in the social composition of la!our%
:lo!alisation and informatisation could !e foretold as an e@ect of the
refusal of "ork in the "estern capitalist countries%
=uring the last t"o decades of the t"entieth century "e have "itnessed a
sort
of alliance !et"een recom!inant capital and cognitive "ork% >hat I call
recom!inant are those sections of capitalism "hich are not closely
connected
to a particular industrial application !ut can !e easily transferred from one
place to another from one industrial application to another from one sector
of economic activity to another and so on% +he 'nancial capital that takes
the central role in politics and in the culture of the B)s may !e called
recom!inant%
+he alliance of cognitive la!our and 'nancial capital has produced important
cultural e@ects namely the ideological identi'cation of la!our and
enterprise% +he "orkers have !een induced to see themselves as self4
entrepreneurs and this "as not completely false in the dotcom period
"hen
the cognitive "orker could create his o"n enterprise 2ust investing his
intellectual force (an idea a pro2ect a formula) as an asset% +his "as the
period that :eert 8ovink de'ned as dotcommania (in his remarka!le !ook
=ark
Fi!er)% >hat "as dotcommania? =ue to mass participation in the cycle of
'nancial investment in the B)s a vast process of self4organization of
cognitive producers got under "ay% 6ognitive "orkers invested their
e*pertise
their kno"ledge and their creativity and found in the stock market the
means
to create enterprises% For several years the entrepreneurial form !ecame
the
point "here 'nancial capital and highly productive cognitive la!our met% +he
li!ertarian and li!eral ideology that dominated the (.merican) cy!erculture
of
the B)s idealized the market !y presenting it as a pure environment% In this
environment as natural as the struggle for the survival of the 'ttest that
makes evolution possi!le la!our "ould 'nd the necessary means to valorise
itself and !ecome enterprise% Hnce left to its o"n dynamic the reticular
economic system "as destined to optimise economic gains for everyone
o"ners
and "orkers also !ecause the distinction !et"een o"ners and "orkers
"ould
!ecome increasingly impercepti!le "hen one enters the virtual productive
cycle% +his model theorised !y authors such as Ievin Ielly and transformed
!y
>ired magazine in a sort of digital4li!eral scornful and triumphalist
>eltanschauung "ent !ankrupt in the 'rst couple of years of the ne"
millennium together "ith the ne" economy and a large part of the army of
self4
employed cognitive entrepreneurs "ho had inha!ited the dotcom "orld% It
"ent
!ankrupt !ecause the model of a perfectly free market is a practical and
theoretical lie% >hat neoli!eralism supported in the long run "as not the
free
market !ut monopoly% >hile the market "as idealised as a free space "here
kno"ledges e*pertise and creativity meet reality sho"ed that the !ig
groups
of command operate in a "ay that is far from !eing li!ertarian !ut instead
introduces technological automatisms imposing itself "ith the po"er of the
media or money and 'nally shamelessly ro!!ing the mass of share holders
and
cognitive la!our%
In the second half of the B)s a real class struggle occurred "ithin the
productive circuit of high technologies% +he !ecoming of the "e! has !een
characterised !y this struggle% +he outcome of the struggle at present is
unclear% 3urely the ideology of a free and natural market turned out to !e a
!lunder% +he idea that the market "orks as a pure environment of e/ual
confrontation for ideas pro2ects the productive /uality and the utility of
services has !een "iped out !y the sour truth of a "ar that monopolies have
"aged against the multitude of self4employed cognitive "orkers and against
the
slightly pathetic mass of microtraders%
+he struggle for survival "as not "on !y the !est and most successful !ut
!y
the one "ho dre" his gun the gun of violence ro!!ery systematic theft
of
the violation of all legal and ethical norms% +he Bush4:ates alliance
sanctioned the li/uidation of the market and at that point the phase of the
internal struggle of the virtual class ended% Hne part of the virtual class
entered the techno4military comple*J another part (the large ma2ority) "as
e*pelled from the enterprise and pushed to the margins of e*plicit
proletarization% Hn the cultural plane the conditions for the formation of a
social consciousness of the cognitariat are emerging and this could !e the
most important phenomenon of the years to come the only key to o@er
solutions to the disaster%
=otcoms "ere the training la!oratory for a productive model and for a
market%
In the end the market "as con/uered and su@ocated !y the corporations
and
the army of self4employed entrepreneurs and venture microcapitalists "as
ro!!ed and dissolved% +hus a ne" phase !egan7 the groups that !ecame
predominant in the cycle of the net4economy forge an alliance "ith the
dominant group of the old4economy (the Bush clan representative of the oil
and military industry) and this phase signals a !locking of the pro2ect of
glo!alisation% 0eoli!eralism produced its o"n negation and those "ho "ere
its
most enthusiastic supporters !ecome its marginalized victims%
>ith the dotcom crash cognitive la!our has separated itself from capital%
=igital artisans "ho felt like entrepreneurs of their o"n la!our during the
B)s are slo"ly realizing that they have !een deceived e*propriated and
this
"ill create the conditions for a ne" consciousness of cognitive "orkers% +he
latter "ill realise that despite having all the productive po"er they have
!een e*propriated of its fruits !y a minority of ignorant speculators "ho are
only good at handling the legal and 'nancial aspects of the productive
process% +he unproductive section of the virtual class the la"yers and the
accountants appropriate the cognitive surplus value of physicists and
engineers of chemists "riters and media operators% But they can detach
themselves from the 2uridical and 'nancial castle of semiocapitalism and
!uild a direct relation "ith society "ith the users7 then may!e the process
of the autonomous self4organisation of cognitive la!our "ill !egin% +his
process is already under "ay as the e*periences of media activism and the
creation of net"orks of solidarity from migrant la!our sho"%
>e needed to go through the dotcom purgatory through the illusion of a
fusion
!et"een la!our and capitalist enterprise and then through the hell of
recession and endless "ar in order to see the pro!lem emerge in clear
terms%
Hn the one hand the useless and o!sessive system of 'nancial
accumulation
and a privatisation of pu!lic kno"ledge the heritage of the old industrial
economy% Hn the other hand productive la!our increasingly inscri!ed in the
cognitive functions of society7 cognitive la!our is starting to see itself as
a cognitariat !uilding institutions of kno"ledge of creation of care of
invention and of education that are autonomous from capital%
Fractalisation =espair and 3uicide
In the net economy ;e*i!ility has evolved into a form of the fractalisation
of la!our% Fractalisation means fragmentation of time4activity% +he "orker
does not e*ist any more as a person% 1e is 2ust the interchangea!le
producer
of micro4fragments of recom!inant semiosis "hich enters into the
continuous
;u* of the net"ork% 6apital is no longer paying for the availa!ility of the
"orker to !e e*ploited for a long period of time is no longer paying a salary
covering the entire range of economic needs of a "orking person% +he
"orker (a
mere machine possessing a !rain that can !e used for a fragment of time) is
paid for his punctual performance% +he "orking time is fractalised and
cellularised% 6ells of time are on sale on the net and the corporation can
!uy as many as it needs% +he cell phone is the tool that !est de'nes the
relationship !et"een the fractal "orker and recom!inant capital%
6ognitive la!our is an ocean of microscopic fragments of time and
cellularisation is the a!ility to recom!ine fragments of time in the frame"ork
of a single semi4product% +he cell phone can !e seen as the assem!ly line of
cognitive la!our% +his is the e@ect of the ;e*i!ilisation and fractalisation
of la!our7 "hat used to !e the autonomy and the political po"er of the
"orkforce has !ecame the total dependence of cognitive la!our on the
capitalist organisation of the glo!al net"ork% +his is the central nucleus of
the creation of semiocapitalism% >hat used to !e refusal of "ork has
!ecame a
total dependence of emotions and thought on the ;o" of information% .nd
the
e@ect of this is a sort of nervous !reakdo"n that strikes the glo!al mind and
provokes "hat "e are accustomed to call the dotcom4crash%
+he dotcom4crash and the crisis of 'nancial mass4capitalism can !e vie"ed
as
an e@ect of the collapse of the economic investment of social desire% I use
the "ord collapse in a sense that is not metaphorical !ut rather a clinical
description of "hat is going on in the "estern mind% I use the "ord collapse
in order to e*press a real pathological crash of the psycho4social organism%
>hat "e have seen in the period follo"ing the 'rst signs of economic crash
in the 'rst months of the ne" century is a psychopathological phenomenon
the collapse of the glo!al mind% I see the present economic depression as
the
side4e@ect of a psychic depression% +he intense and prolonged investment
of
desire and of mental and li!idinal energies in la!our has created the psychic
environment for the collapse "hich is no" manifesting itself in the 'eld of
economic recession in the 'eld of military aggression and of a suicidal
tendency%
+he attention economy has !ecame an important su!2ect during the 'rst
years
of the ne" century%
Kirtual "orkers have less and less time for attention they are involved in a
gro"ing num!er of intellectual tasks and they have no more time to devote
to
their o"n life to love tenderness and a@ection% +hey take Kiagra !ecause
they have no time for se*ual preliminaries% +he cellularisation has produced
a
kind of occupation of life% +he e@ect is a psychopathologisation of social
relationships% +he symptoms of it are /uite evident7 millions of !o*es of
Prozac sold every month the epidemic of attention de'cit disorders among
youngsters the di@usion of drugs like -italin among children in the schools
and the spreading epidemic of panic%%
+he scenario of the 'rst years of the ne" millennium seems to !e
dominated !y
a verita!le "ave of psychopathic !ehaviour% +he suicidal phenomenon is
spreading "ell !eyond the !orders of Islamic fanatic martyrdom% 3ince
>+6/BAA
suicide has !ecame the crucial political act on the glo!al political scene%
.ggressive suicide should not !e seen as a mere phenomenon of despair
and
aggression !ut has to !e seen as the declaration of the end% +he suicidal
"ave seems to suggest that humankind has run out of time and despair has
!ecame the prevalent "ay of thinking a!out the future%
3o "hat? I have no ans"er% .ll "e can do is "hat "e are actually doing
already7 the self4organisation of cognitive "ork is the only "ay to go !eyond
the psychopathic present% I don<t !elieve that the "orld can !e governed !y
-eason% +he Ltopia of Enlightenment has failed% But I think that the
dissemination of self4organised kno"ledge can create a social frame"ork
containing in'nite autonomous and self4reliant "orlds%
+he process of creating the net"ork is so comple* that it cannot !e
governed
!y human reason% +he glo!al mind is too comple* to !e kno"n and
mastered !y
su!4segmental localised minds% >e cannot kno" "e cannot control "e
cannot
govern the entire force of the glo!al mind%
But "e can master the singular process of producing a singular "orld of
sociality% +his is autonomy today%
#ifo $%anco #eadi&
=ans les ann9es F) 'gure de proue du mouvement des radios li!res M
Bologne (-adio .lice) Franco Berardi est tout M la foi philosophe et activiste
du mouvement contre la glo!alisation% 6onnu sous le nom de # Bifo $ depuis
/uNM lN9cole il a sign9 sous ce nom de la peinture a!straite% Il participe au
mouvement de (F M la facult9 des lettres et de philosophie de de Bologne
%oO il est laur9at en esth9ti/ue avec le professeur 8uciano .nceschi #
.narcho4op9raiste $ il appartient au groupe # Potere Hperaio $ et pu!lie
chez Feltrinelli son premier livre PP Q6ontro Il lavoro $RR avant de fonder en
AB5C le magazine # . /+raverso $ /ui devint le centre du mouvement radical
et cr9atif dit # ,ouvement de Bologne $ En AB5( avec lNe*p9rience de #
-adio .lice $ M Bologne les relations entre les technologies de lNinformation
et de la la communication et le mouvement social deviennent le point
central de sa pens9e et de son action %Il est o!lig9 de sNenfuire en AB55 de
Bologne oO la police encercle -adio .lice % Il gagne Paris oO il fait la
rencontre d9cisive de F9li* :uattari et de ,ichel Foucault et pu!lie au 3euil
PP # En'n le ciel est tom!S sur la terre $%RR -entr9 en Italie il pu!lie PP# 8a
!arca dellNamore si S spezzata $RR et se rend M 0e"4 Tork oO il colla!ore a la
revue # 3emiote*te $ Puis il voyage en Inde ,e*i/ue 09pal6hine %
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dN Q9cologie mentaleQ% % Il commence M sNaccuper de r9seau* t9l9mati/ues et
pu!lie dans la revue Q.lfa!etaQ lNarticle Q+ecnologie comunicativeQ dans
le/uel il pr9voit lNe*plosion des r9seau* comme ph9nom9ne social et
culturel d9cisif % .prSs une p9riode dN9tudes en 6alifornie en ABFB il pu!lie
lNopuscule PPQ6y!erpunkQ RR au* 9ditions 3ynergon suivi par PPQPiuN cy!er
che punkQRRPP Q6ancel Politiche della mutazione QRR PPQ,utazione e
cy!erpunkQRR% Il 9crit le sc9nario et 2oue en ABBA le 'lm de -enato =e
,aria 7QIl +raslocoQ%%et organise en ABBU avec le 6onsortium LniversitaN 6ittaN
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9t9 pu!li9s par 6astelvecchi ( ABBC) Il pu!lie PP Q6ome si cura il nazi
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PPQ8a fa!rica dellNinfelicitM 7 ne" economy e movimiento del
cognitariatoQRR PPQ8a nefasta utopia di Potere operaioQRR (ABB5) et
derni9rement un livre sur la pens9e politi/ue de F9li* :uattariPP QFeli*QRR
(V))A) ainsi /ue PP Q+elestreet 4 ,acchina immaginativa non omologataQRR (
V))W) sur lNe*p9rience de +elestreet un r9seau de communication r9pandu
un peu partout en Italie contre la dictature des grands m9dias Il anime
actuellement le site # -ekom!inant $ 7 http7//net4i%zkm%de/rekom!inant% En
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