''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 neces ...

writer and poet Hakim Bey (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 o ...

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 is ...

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 The establishment of the Roanoke Colony ( ) was an attempt by Sir Walter Raleigh to found the first permanent English settlement in North America. The English, led by Sir Humphrey Gilbert, had briefly claimed St. John's, Newfoundland, in 15 ...

— 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 e ...

References

External links

Full text of ''T.A.Z.''T.A.Z.: The Temporary Autonomous Zone free audio version at Archive.org
{{Authority control Anarchist communities Post-left anarchism 1985 non-fiction books Books about anarchism

Themes

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References

External links