''T.A.Z.: The Temporary Autonomous Zone'' is a book by the
anarchist
Anarchism is a political philosophy and movement that is skeptical of all justifications for authority and seeks to abolish the institutions it claims maintain unnecessary coercion and hierarchy, typically including, though not necessari ...
writer and poet
Hakim Bey
Peter Lamborn Wilson (October 20, 1945 – May 23, 2022) was an American anarchist author and poet, primarily known for his concept of Temporary Autonomous Zones, short-lived spaces which elude formal structures of control. During the 1970s, Wil ...
(Peter Lamborn Wilson) published in 1991 by
Autonomedia
Autonomedia is a nonprofit publisher based in Williamsburg, Brooklyn known for publishing works of criticism. Staffed by volunteers, they have published over 200 books, usually with 3,000 of each run. Its most renowned book is Hakim Bey's essays on ...
and in 2011 by Pacific Publishing Studio (). It is composed of three sections, "Chaos: The Broadsheets of Ontological Anarchism", "Communiques of the Association for Ontological Anarchy" and "The Temporary Autonomous Zone".
Themes
The book describes the socio-political tactic of creating temporary spaces that elude formal structures of control. The essay uses various examples from history and philosophy, all of which suggest that the best way to create a non-hierarchical system of social relationships is to concentrate on the present and on releasing one's own mind from the controlling mechanisms that have been imposed on it.
In the formation of a temporary autonomous zone, Bey argues, information becomes a key tool that sneaks into the cracks of formal procedures. A new territory of the moment is created that is on the boundary line of established regions. Any attempt at permanence that goes beyond the moment deteriorates to a structured system that inevitably stifles individual creativity. It is this chance at creativity that is real empowerment.
Bey later expanded the concept beyond the "temporary", saying, "We've had to consider the fact that not all existing autonomous zones are 'temporary.' Some are ... more-or-less 'permanent.'"
Hence, the concept of the permanent autonomous zone.
The titular section is divided up into the following subsections:
#
Pirate Utopia
Pirate utopias were defined by anarchist writer Peter Lamborn Wilson, who coined the term in his 1995 book ''Pirate Utopias: Moorish Corsairs & European Renegadoes'' as secret islands once used for supply purposes by pirates. Wilson's concept i ...
s
# Waiting for the Revolution
# The Psychotopology of Everyday Life
# The Net and the Web
# "Gone to Croatan"
# Music as an Organizational Principle
# The Will To Power as Disappearance
# Ratholes in the Babylon of Information
The ideas which inspired the "Gone to Croatan" chapter — i.e. the disappearance of the
Roanoke Colony — were later used as the basis for the book ''
Gone To Croatan: The Origins of North American Dropout Culture'', edited by Ron Sakolsky and
James Koehnline
James Irvin Koehnline () is an American collage artist whose work has appeared in many anarchist periodicals and books, as well as music CDs. He has co-edited a number of books and had his work collected in ''Magpie Reveries''. He designs and edi ...
.
See also
*
List of books about anarchism
This is a chronological list of both fictional and non-fictional books written about anarchism. This list includes books that advocate for anarchism as well as those that criticize or oppose it. For ease of access, this list provides a link to t ...
References
External links
Full text of ''T.A.Z.''T.A.Z.: The Temporary Autonomous Zone free audio version at Archive.org
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Anarchist communities
Post-left anarchism
1985 non-fiction books
Books about anarchism