Riots can be political yet lack all goals or strategy
Evidence
I think those involved in the riots were largely exactly the kind of people I was just talking about — those for whom “politics” means absolutely nothing. I’m not saying that the riots weren’t “political”, that they were an inexplicable upsurge of criminality, as the right did. The riots were political, but in a negative sense — they were a massive symptom of a failure of politics, an expression of discontent which lacked political goals or strategy. These are the signs of a system verging on collapse; people took part because they felt radically excluded. The invisible wall that prevents people from acting like this had collapsed — there was so little on offer that there was almost no incentive not to riot. — Mark Fisher (edited by Darren Ambrose), K-Punk, 2209
Categorization
- DEEPTHINKING: The notion of violence as politics only in the negative — an expression of discontent with no strategy or goal — resists simple dismissal as ‘criminality’ or celebration as ‘revolt’; a genuinely density-bearing distinction.
- XREF: connects to: Unfocused public discontent gives politicians no incentive to act on it. — Mark Fisher (edited by Darren Ambrose), K-Punk: The Collected and Unpublished…, 2186; Riots express a failure of politics rather than being merely criminal — Mark Fisher (edited by Darren Ambrose), K-Punk: The Collected and Unpublished…, 1297; Circulation-phase capitalism produces riots rather than strikes as its signature struggle — Anna Kornbluh, Immediacy, or The Style of Too Late…, 419 (+2 more)
Broader Connections
- Protests without determinate winnable goals breed generalized despondency
#complicates(0.80) — Mark Fisher (edited by Darren Ambrose), K-Punk, 2157 - Mass protest’s outcomes rarely matched participants’ goals
#corroborates(0.80) — Vincent Bevins, If We Burn, 42 - Riots express a failure of politics rather than being merely criminal
#qualifies(0.78) — Mark Fisher (edited by Darren Ambrose), K-Punk, 1297 - Circulation-phase capitalism produces riots rather than strikes as its signature struggle
#expands(0.72) — Anna Kornbluh, Immediacy, or The Style of Too Late…, 419