An Introduction
I am excited. Things are moving forward. I have confirmed contributors and found a printer and even designed a cover.
Novitas is well underway and I hope to have more information to share with you in the coming weeks about pre-ordering or supporting the project.
In the meantime, I’ve been working on an introduction to the magazine and, while it’s likely that this will be edited a few more times before it becomes immortalized in print, I wanted to share what I’ve got so far.
I must say that “independent anarchist magazine editor” was never on my list of job ambitions but I’m here now and I don’t know if I’ve ever been more excited to take on a role.
Thanks for being here to help make this happen!
We live in an unprecedented time. At least, that's what I keep hearing. It feels as though the last 20 years have been a steady slide downhill as we, as a collective society, deal with the mess of human-made climate collapse, the ongoing colonization and genocide of indigenous people, and struggle to stay afloat during late-stage capitalism. Throw a global pandemic in there, and the path forward for humanity as a whole starts to look a bit bleak.
If you have the gall and guts to look at all this in the face, you'll likely also be aware of the myriad of proposed solutions from high-level government officials promising to make things better. This is what governments do, after all. Their job is to placate and remain in power, ensuring that the systems in place are self-perpetuating. But after decades of decline, many folks are waking up to the fact that these top-down solutions aren't really fixes to the core problem but temporary patches at best. Academics, thinkers, social scientists, and more are all coming to the same conclusion: when you peel back the layers of our current global catastrophes, all signs point to capitalism. I mean, it's hard to avoid the elephant in the room: our current economic culture does not take care of us. Not only is it failing us, it is destroying our planet and all the inhabitants thereof.
Capitalism feels inescapable. A study conducted by YouGov in collaboration with the Cambridge Globalism Project in 2020 found that in 10 out of the 14 countries surveyed, with more than 26,000 participants across the globe, more people believed that society was likely to collapse within their lifetime than believed capitalism could be replaced by a better system.
But as prolific anarchist author Ursula K. LeGuin famously stated, "We live in capitalism; its power feels unescapable. But so did the divine right of kings."
Novitas is here to tell the stories of people who believe that another world is possible. These stories are sparks of hope for folks like us who are seeking something better, but they are also a testament to the challenges of building new systems outside the parameters of late-stage capitalism.
Because honestly, this shit is hard. It's a constant fight against the current.
But if you ask me, the fight—the challenges—are well worth it. Some people believe that capitalism will collapse with a revolution. I prefer to think that those of us devoted to something better will continue to build these new systems that are so enticing and so beautiful that people won't be able to refrain from joining in.
What does it mean to build a system outside of capitalism? It can mean many things. It can be based on equitable living. It can reject the acquisition of wealth. It can build community. It can question authority. Capitalist culture is rooted in so many of the behaviours that we experience every day: individualism, consumerism, the goal of profit above people, endless work as the pursuit of life, inequality, globalization, and above all, oppression, because capitalism can't exist without inequality. The system demands that those who remain on top do so at the expense of others.
Novitas is interested in the everyday. The ground up. The bioregional and localized. It explores the tangible and real approaches to building around, facing head-on, and, above all, dismantling systems that no longer serve us. The folks telling these stories are not internet famous. They haven't won any top 40 under 40 awards. Many of them in this first issue are my friends, co-consipirators, and mentors. They are people like you and me who dedicate their time and energy to helping and inspiring others. I hope you'll enjoy their stories.
Novitas is also a two-part effort: you can read the stories here but also listen to the forthcoming podcast to learn more about the projects and initiatives in an online conversation. I hope that these stories will inspire you to take action in your own communities and build something different—something new—to make the world a better place during this time of uncertainty and struggle.