From the notoriously flat structure of Valve to the support of free software to the extremely laissez faire way of running steam to the main Dota tournament being named “The International”… Is Gabe Newell a card carrying Anarchist?
From the notoriously flat structure of Valve to the support of free software to the extremely laissez faire way of running steam to the main Dota tournament being named “The International”… Is Gabe Newell a card carrying Anarchist?
I said nothing about a commune.
Anarchism is an anti-capitalist ideology. However, yes, capitalism is unavoidable, even if you lived on a commune you would have to engage in capitalism to some extent. But working a job so that you can survive is pretty different from owning a 10 billion dollar company. And his estimated personal net worth is 3.9 billion.
I don’t know if you’re an anarchist, I generally avoid in gatekeeping comrades and potential comrades. I don’t even know that engaging in activism or mutual aid is necessary to be an anarchist. And while working a job and making money certainly doesn’t disqualify one from being an anarchist, at the very least, being ideologically opposed to capitalism is a pre-requisuite for being an anarchist as it is a socialist ideology. And I think it would be hard to make a reasonable argument that any billionaire is an anarchist without some amount of agitation for change.
So originally I came to agree to this… but imagine you’re an Anarchist, and your goal is to (without violence and I guess coersion) allow people to live without force / violence (including advertising / propaganda / etc). In that case isn’t the best option to try and make the systems you own (necessarily, due to capitalism) somewhat compatible with anarchist principles? Like if you suddenly found yourself with 10 billion odd, and maybe you wanted to spend 7-8 billion on “cool anarchist ideas” what would you do?
Well I have to kind of reject the premise a bit, because I don’t think you can meaningfully disrupt capitalism and fascism without some violence. And owning a 10 billion dollar company goes well beyond the necessities of capitalism. And I don’t think propaganda is inherently coerisive and therefore don’t necessarily have a problem with it.
But if I woke up tomorrow morning with billions of dollars and ownership of the largest software distribution platform; I would probaby convert the company to a co-op in which my role in the company and my ability to keep my position as president is decided by a democratic vote, I would send funds to Rojava to support the only large scale implementation of anarchist ideology, I would send money to bailfunds across the United States, I would fund revolutionary worker’s unions such as the IWW, I would ensure the workers of the newly converted co-op were free to engage in mutual aid during business hours, I would implement the ADL’s suggestions for dealing with the hate and bigotry on steam: https://www.adl.org/resources/report/not-game-how-steam-harbors-extremists , I would fund and promote leftist games on the store front, remove right wing propaganda, ranging from openly fascist to Military funded, imperialist propaganda like call of duty, I would work with anarchist activist organizations fighting on the ground to make sure they have everything they need, from secure comms, to legal representation, to food and water.
There’s a lot one could do with billions of dollars and a massive software distribution company, and this long ass list is nowhere near complete.
I think Anarchists say violence against the state apparatus is OK, but not against citizenry. In any case I don’t think you directly advocate for violence, so it’s a moot point.
There are some great ideas there. Thanks Doc. And on reading the list I’ve been convinced. It’s frankly irresponsible to have this kind of money and not want to make this sort of change actively.