Forced Choices

My latest work on the system, my freinds, enjoy.



So how is somebody forced to make a choice? When we ask this question it can more aptly be applied to a literal or “physical” sense. For example: if a patient at a mental health institution chooses not to take medication they will be physically forced to, or, if an inmate incarcerated in prison chooses not to return to their cell, they will be physically forced to return to their cell. In these respects, our choices are literally forced upon us. But not everyone lives in mental health institutions and prisons, and nearly all the choices we make daily do not have to be physically forced upon us at all. Quite appropriately, since there are so many of us living on earth that would be a waste of time. Therefore, advanced society has presented our choices to us in such a circuitous manner, that even though we are allowed to choose something or not, IF we don’t choose what we are EXPECTED to choose, bad things will happen to us. So it then becomes an “indirectly” forced choice.

Furthermore, advanced society depends so deeply on our obedience to it, that it REQUIRES us to contribute to its system. In fact, it requires this so intensely, that if we do not choose to be successful and pursue a career, we may be deemed as ineffectual or incompetent. Choosing not to contribute to the system may also subject us to severe persecution and possibly render us outcasts. So, in order to avoid unwanted treatment as that, we must choose to contribute to the system. Among many other things, this choice of contributing to the system to avoid persecution may not be literally forced upon us, but it is in fact indirectly forced upon us. So that even though we have a choice as to whether or not we should contribute, IF we don’t, bad things will happen. Consider the following analogy:

A tiger, free and unrestrained is living in the jungle. He hunts, he drinks water and he sleeps. All are things he instinctually knows how to do in order to survive. Than one day he is prowling through his environment and poachers capture him. They remove him entirely from his natural habitat, and cage him. His world once a vast beautiful jungle has now been reduced to four sides of steel wire mesh. His instincts are repressed and he can no longer hunt. Processed food is given to him that he must eat in order to stave of hunger. Diluted water is given to him that he must drink in order to stave of dehydration. And because he can go nowhere else, he must sleep in the cage that he has been confined to.

But now, let us propose that, like us, the tiger has a logical ability to make choices. So when he lived in the jungle, he KNEW that he needed food, water and sleep. But these choices were not forced upon him by his natural environment, they were merely instinctual survival mechanisms that worked automatically. However, when he was taken from his environment his freedom was not only taken from him, but his ability to make choices, instinctually, were also robbed. When the food was thrown into his cage, his choice was very simply “eat or die”, now when he lived in the jungle, this choice to eat or die was much less degrading and demeaning because he had freedom.

Now on principle of securing whatever freedom he has left, he could reject the food, lie down and never touch it, after all, he is not being “literally” forced to eat. But if he were to do that, bad things would happen, he would starve. He must obey the system. So indirectly he is forced to eat the food. And when he is placed on display to visitors and tourists, he will become aggravated by their relentless taunting and want to lash out and attack them, but if he does that bad things will happen, he will be beaten and restrained and harmed, so indirectly he is forced to remain submissive. As time passes, he will eventually develop a dependency on this new imprisoned life losing any instincts or connection to his natural environment he once had, and soon enough the dreariness of fulfilling these imposed choices will be a daily torment.

This analogy is paramount to illustrating how advanced society forces us to make choices. In no literal sense, do we view our ability to make choices to be forced, but indirectly we MUST make them if we want to live and be accepted. So a child can grow up and choose not to attend school, but if they do that, bad things will happen, they will be shunned and ridiculed as a fool and an outsider, so in that instance they are forced to attend school. None of us are literally forced to pay bills, but if we don’t, we can’t keep our homes, so we are forced to pay bills. Nothing is literally forcing us to work jobs, but if we don’t, we won’t acquire money to eat and drink, so we are forced to work.

In addition, if someone desires to cease all effort and compliance to advanced society and live in the wild, they can most certainly do that. But if they do that, they will be an outcast, a recluse and be entirely alone (with such a psychological reliance on modern society they would be far too reluctant anyway). So therefore, indirectly, they are forced to be a part of the system. In early ancient societies, (i.e. Greek, Roman), advanced technology did not exist and nobody had to banish themselves to be free. Everyone was surrounded by nature and even though there were monumental erections of architecture and large communities, people still hunted and gathered. Anyone could choose to exclude themselves from a collective society but they would not be alone as a result, there were plenty of small villages and groups of people who thrived in various areas of the woods and forests. However, now, since we have become so hopelessly addicted to advanced society and technology, NOBODY wants to live with nature anymore, so whoever does will most certainly be a hermit, so indirectly, we are forced to be a part of the system. Just like the tiger, the choice is either “serve the system or die.” That is the dependency that modern society has inflicted upon us, so that in order to live and be accepted we must obey the system and contribute and be submissive. And since people have a natural desire to be around other people, advanced society has wisely exploited this, and now in order to be around other people, we MUST be a part of the system. Besides, if one were to live in the wild, it would be tremendously difficult considering industrial society’s astronomical destruction and poisoning of nature and animals, there wouldn’t be much natural supplies to build shelter or hunt due to the extinction of species, so aside from the loneliness, this also adjoins to our indirectly forced choice to live in advanced society.

But what if someone did make the choice to live outside advanced society? The real question is: even though they’re not part of the system wouldn’t their choices to eat, drink and sleep still be “indirectly” forced upon them by their natural environment? The answer to this question is no. The reason being that, choices to survive are not choices at all, but simply that-survival. Inherent urges. Biological necessities that we all must abide by whether we live in advanced society or not. However, what makes these innate urges “forced” upon us is when they are abused and used against us by an oppressive system of control, compelling us to obey. This is also how modern society keeps us deeply dependent upon it. So in essence, we are the tiger. And it is these daily choices that we make that have become our freedom, which isn’t freedom at all but the ILLUSION of freedom, the manufacturing of it. Only when we make the only choice that really matters will we regain true freedom, and the only choice that would matter in order to do that, would be to STOP making choices imposed on us by advanced society.

That is the situation; what is the solution?

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That is the situation; what is the solution?

Heh, ah yes unreasonable, the ultimate enigma to the cultural and sociological disater. What IS the solution, indeed. This question can ATTEMPT to be answered by aspiring revolutionaries and other militants in opposition to the system, however, the veritable TRUTH is that the solution is far too complex, (for me anyway), to construct. This "complexity" to the solution involves many trifles to gain a handle on. Firstly, i do zealously agree and accept anarchist ideals and observations on the state of the system and its injustice, there is no denying them, however, i do not advocate a "socially violent" revolution in accordance with thier overall direction that they assume. Violance i believe results in nothing more than trivial, small-scale accomplishments that never last in the long run, but simply satisfy only temperaily our rebellion. I DO advocate, that in order to hasten the demise of the system a rational and logical "ideology" must first be created and initiated, to achieve global alliance and attention. It is one thing to claim these very obvious "indignities" and "injustices" to people who understand them, but it is another thing to formulate them into an encapsulating "ideology" that reaches out to people all over the world. IF people as a "whole" were to be inspired by this implemented idea regarding WHY the system is evil and WHY it should be abolished, THAN i believe a revolution would possibly be the subsequent catalyst. So the question is, WHAT would this "ideology" consist of? And HOW effective would it have to be in order to achieve world-wide attention? These are the questions i cannot answer due to there, as i stated, "complexity". I would not know exactly HOW to create such an ideology or HOW exactly to enforce it successfully in society, but i do know this: A revolution has not yet occured for the very simple reason that people do not BELIEVE that it can. THAT IS THE PROBLEM. People DO want to be convinced and lead, and inspired, and there must be a "cause" , not just for anarchists or any other radical to believe in, but for EVERYONE to believe in. This i think would be the most logical APPROACH to the solution, the rest i have yet to figure out.

There ARE choices.

The captured tiger has no choice in a cage because he has not the brain capacity or means to choice outside of it.

You, on the other hand, do have a choice to eat or not, to work or not, to go to school or not, etc. There are many who drop out of school, there are many homeless wandering the streets and there are people who end their lives instead of living to fulfill the obligations of the body.

The ARE choices.

Some are difficult to make. You say "forced" because you do not have the will power, motivation, or know-how to make hard decisions.

system-hater wrote:

And because he can go nowhere else, he must sleep in the cage that he has been confined to.

This seems to me important. Is there anywhere to retreat to? Uganda, Utah, cyber-reality?


- Is a neurotic an object?

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Biological necessities that we all must abide by whether we live in advanced society or not. However, what makes these innate urges “forced” upon us is when they are abused and used against us by an oppressive system of control, compelling us to obey. This is also how modern society keeps us deeply dependent upon it.

Difficult, but not impossible to take action. How to avoid money, rent, tap water, bottled water, shoes, garment factory clothes, transport, all food, ... What are you prepared to risk, when we renounce the world? What are the first escalations? Communes? Compounds? Take to the country-side? Organizing, subscription and committee, teaching, action, propaganda and agitation... all these habits of just a generation ago have been wiped out. We need to re-group, hold liberated areas, educate and set up schools and hospitals, identify allied areas, establish bases, train, spy, write pamphlets, distribute literature, build bombs, starve out the capitalists and their bureaucrat class in the cities as usual; this has all been done before many times...

[quote="SpeedOfSilence"]There ARE choices.

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The captured tiger has no choice in a cage because he has not the brain capacity or means to choice outside of it.

You have misunderstood the analogy of the tiger. I was using it to exemplify, (in theory) our present condition in society, which is the purpose that an analogy serves in the first place.

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You, on the other hand, do have a choice to eat or not, to work or not, to go to school or not, etc. There are many who drop out of school, there are many homeless wandering the streets and there are people who end their lives instead of living to fulfill the obligations of the body.

Yes. And as i explained accuratly in the essay, this is a reperation and a travesty of advanced society not of our own actions. These are the choices that are "imposed" on us by advanced society, "choose what we EXPECT you to choose, or bad things will happen to you", Of course if someone decides not to work they will eventually become homeless, that is exactly the indirect injustice of the system. didn't you learn anything from the essay?

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The ARE choices.

Not our own. GIVEN to us by advanced society.

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Some are difficult to make. You say "forced" because you do not have the will power, motivation, or know-how to make hard decisions.

You are presumptuous and ignorant. You know nothing of my status in my life or what i have achieved. People are naturally inclined to use thier will to make choices that are good for them. It has nothing to do with motivation, or having the "steeled" ability to make "hard" decisions. It has everything to do with the tyranny of the system, "regulating" HOW we should use our will power and make our choices in accordance with what we are EXPECTED to do. I suggest you read it again. Only this time, pay closer attention and have an open-mind.

system-hater wrote:

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They ARE choices.

Not our own. GIVEN to us by advanced society.

In visionary moments we can see the natural-ness of given society. This is how we are able to see through it.

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You are presumptuous and ignorant.

This is assumed of course.

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You know nothing of my status in my life or what i have achieved.

Pray tell.

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It has nothing to do with motivation, or having the "steeled" ability to make "hard" decisions. It has everything to do with the tyranny of the system,

Don't blame them, they are responsible too.

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I suggest you read it again. Only this time, pay closer attention and have an open-mind.

This is a normal feeling. Don't give up and get frustrated. Do think about how agitationists and propagandists do it, because you do get the door slammed in your face a lot when you have something a little unorthodox to say. And most people won't understand. How can an unpopular lesson be taught?

Let's talk about agitprop tactics,

- Gaining and holding an audience's attention
- Building sympathy and understanding
- Explaining new concepts
- Strategic versus tactical objectives
- Pros and cons of the medium
...