Graham Jones - The Shock Doctrine of the Left

Radical Futures

Hilary Wainwright, A New Politics from the Left

Graham Jones, The Shock Doctrine of the Left

Graham Jones

polity

Copyright Graham Jones 2018

The right of Graham Jones to be identified as Author of this Work has been asserted in accordance with the UK Copyright, Designs and Patents Act 1988.

First published in 2018 by Polity Press

Polity Press
65 Bridge Street
Cambridge CB2 1UR, UK

Polity Press
101 Station Landing
Suite 300
Medford, MA 02155, USA

All rights reserved. Except for the quotation of short passages for the purpose of criticism and review, no part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system or transmitted, in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording or otherwise, without the prior permission of the publisher.

ISBN-13: 978-1-5095-2856-1

A catalogue record for this book is available from the British Library.

Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data

Names: Jones, Graham, 1985- author.
Title: The shock doctrine of the left / Graham Jones.
Description: Cambridge, UK ; Medford, MA : Polity Press, 2018. | Series: Radical futures | Includes bibliographical references and index.1
Identifiers: LCCN 2018000351 (print) | LCCN 2018018170 (ebook) | ISBN 9781509528585 (Epub) | ISBN 9781509528547 (hardback) | ISBN 9781509528554 (pbk.)
Subjects: LCSH: Right and left (Political science) | Direct action. | Radicalism.
Classification: LCC JA83 (ebook) | LCC JA83 .J64 2018 (print) | DDC 320.53--dc23
LC record available at https://lccn.loc.gov/2018000351

The publisher has used its best endeavours to ensure that the URLs for external websites referred to in this book are correct and active at the time of going to press. However, the publisher has no responsibility for the websites and can make no guarantee that a site will remain live or that the content is or will remain appropriate.

Every effort has been made to trace all copyright holders, but if any have been inadvertently overlooked the publisher will be pleased to include any necessary credits in any subsequent reprint or edition.

For further information on Polity, visit our website: politybooks.com

The world is a body. It grows in complexity by the day. And it is sick.

The list of ailments is long: from climate change and nuclear intimidation; resurgent fascism and the constitutional mess of Brexit; stagnant economies and the threat of mass technological unemployment; to the increasing precarity of work, housing and mental health. Without a system for making sense of this chaos, many people are at a loss. We cannot plan or predict our futures. We feel out of control.

Take Back Control the Brexit campaign said, and it resonated. Without a coherent progressive framework for sifting through the complexity, people grasp for whatever explanations they can find. What could be the slogan of a radical democratic project becomes one of isolation and border violence. This book aims to contribute to an alternative vision which can help us to understand, act collectively within, and change the course of this chaos. It is part narrative, part toolkit, part manifesto.

There are too many to name who have contributed to this book, most of them unknowingly. Perhaps we cared for one another, picked each other up when we had no more strength. Perhaps we worked together to build a new world, in our organizing, our actions, our discussions or celebrations. Perhaps you made chaos in my life, or I made it in yours. Likewise, these are the core themes of the book: the necessity of care in reproducing our movements, the dynamics of creating counterpower, and how understanding chaos and complexity is key to all of this.

There are nonetheless certain people I must thank individually. My family, who created me, supported me, and have always been there for me. Nick Srnicek, Alex Williams and Helen Hester, who have been my best advocates within the academy. Harriet for giving me a place to stay in London along with loads of emotional support during the writing of this book. Roger and Joel from Radical Think Tank, who contributed significantly to the development of these ideas through our conversations, workshops and co-organizing. My Radical Assembly friends, from whom I learned so much, and Brick Lane Debates, who set me on a path. Alex and Tammy for their ideas, encouragement and unconditional care in equal measure. David Bell for inspiring my first forays into theory. Everyone who has supported me on Patreon (Maro, Al, George, Het, Steffan, Destro), and those who have helped financially during my frequent crises; I owe my health to you. All of those who took part in and helped to organize the Revolution and Complex Systems course, particularly Shiri from Anti-University Now. Brendan for our inspiring conversations. Plan C comrades who have contributed to discussions and for generously hosting me to talk about them. Patra, for your emotional support during the most difficult times of my life; you are wonderful. Louise for teaching me how to care more. Ramzy for your encouragement to publish, after I did the same for you. Felix, Greygory and everyone at Open Barbers, for all your love and guidance. Bonnie and Nick for teaching me the essentials of organizing, and for the excellent cooking. The New Materialisms reading group for always making me feel welcome. Liam Barrington Bush for our productive debates and your inspiring activism. Lindsay for being an incredibly strong set of shoulders for me to cry on so many times. Isla for your kindness and pragmatism in equal measure. Sophie and Stef for keeping my spirits up with animal pictures at unexpected moments. Rosie and Joel for a quiet space to write and cats to play with. Frankie and Abi for being writing pals. Char for inspiring me to start writing many years ago. I have undoubtedly missed many who deserve their place. It is a privilege to have known so many great people that I struggle to count them all.

I woke on the morning after the 2015 general election and headed straight to social media. A Conservative victory. The left-wing bubble was in shock; five years of disastrous austerity should have seen them off, or so we thought. Murmurs of hope were building around leftist projects elsewhere in Europe, such as Podemos in Spain and Syriza in Greece. But Britains left populist moment was yet to come, future Labour leader Jeremy Corbyn still a relative unknown on the backbenches.

That weekend, the quiet at home felt jarring given the intensity of events, and I felt compelled to travel over to Whitehall where I heard people were assembling. Forty minutes later I was in the middle of a growing crowd of angry people. A police line had formed to hold us away from Downing Street. There was jostling, but no real violence. Until, that is, a line of police charged through the crowd, penning in the innermost protesters. All hell broke loose.

The crowd scattered, green smoke grenades were set off, batons were raised, projectiles were launched. Riot police arrived in waves. I had seen the tactic of kettling before, trapping people for hours at a time before arrests, but I had not been in one, and feared that arrest could mean losing my job. Someone spotted that police were starting to block the road further down. The crowd fled, and I was swept along.

The panicked runners flocked down Whitehall, all turning in sync as they saw the path ahead blocked. We leaped over barriers onto a lawn and charged across, a thin line of officers grabbing randomly and wildly at the crowd that was breaking past. I felt impacts, but adrenaline was numbing any pain. I reached the opposite side and someone dragged me over the fence to safety. As we walked away, I noticed my heart pounding in my throat, and an ache in my upper arm started to swell.