I. Who we areFor ongoing four years, we use and edit the platform www.secarts.org. The Progress of global interconnection, of real-time communication, of linking the various sections of collective political activity allow closer, deeper and less barred cooperation unthinkable still only few years ago. In line with the continuous, partly also volatile evolution of our website, we intend to set the topic regarding articles, discussions and contributions in written form for the time being."Broadcasting should be converted from a distributional to a communicational device. Broadcasting could be the imaginably greatest communication device of public life, an enormous channeling system, that would be, if not only understanding to emit, but also to recieve, able to make the recipient not only listen but also speak and not isolate him, but put him into relations. Unfeasible in this social order, feasible in a different one, the proposals, forming only a natural consequence of technical evolution, serve the propagation and shape of this alternative order. If you regard this as utopian, I'd ask you to think about why it is utopian."
Bertolt Brecht - Broadcasting Theory - 1932 |
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We are politically interested people, democrats, socialists, communists, anti-fascists - men not content and not accepting our everyday's. We are from Germany and from other countries. We work across borders and international; some of us are members of various organisations and parties, some contribute to miscellaneous projects, staffs and circles, some are unionized, some organized locally, others not at all.
We are connected by the struggle against growing fascist activities harming our everyday's life again, for securing and further developing democratic achievements, for a just society without exploitation of man by man. By our interests in science and in active and consequent internationalism. By our conviction of equivalence of all men on earth, no matter gender nor nationality.
We regard ourselves as a small, but active and self-confident part of the left. As a platform for discussion, meeting place and enrichment of a necessary connection. As a tangible appliance of new technological possibilities this society can not use at all or only limited and perverted because of it's structural limitations. As a collective weÂ’re working, learning, discussing and living together for a part. And, as one of the more interesting websites on the Internet.
We certainly are not a substitution for ulterior, political or unionized participation in national or local organisations. Moreso, we are no new party or movement. We are no substitution, but, as soon as it gets going, a good supplement and enrichment for existing work. Our project lives on the combination of various experience and activity horizons. We intend to be no reinstallation, but an upgrade.
II. What we have in commonFor mutual work, we need a common denominator - a basis of views we share to discuss, work and develop upon this foundation. We work in anti-fascist, consequent democratic and communist tradition and we agree in fighting against any fascist body of thought in apparent or disguised form: this includes, besides racism, anti-Semitism, chauvinism and revanchism, any forms „Querfront“*, Teutomania and militarism. We fight against discrimination based on lineage or gender, against adverseness of homosexuality and sexism.Anti-fascism means more to us than democratic lip service: anti-fascism is the basic demand we have to defend and fight for consistently just for working and living at all. Monopoly capitalism is always leaving the fascist option of government open. Anti-fascism, being fierce, consequent and unbending appearence against occuring fascist activities - on the road as well as in staff and management floors - is more important than ever as a civil-democratic basic demand. „Querfront“
*, that is collaboration with social demagogues, demagogic„anti-capitalists“ and disguised fascists can never be an option. Correspondingly, we will not leave any room for propagation of fascist, racist, anti-Semitic or jingoistic body of thought - we regard discussing with fascists and racists of any variety as pointless; commiting to fascist arguments noxious and corruptive in any case.
Fighting German imperialism means to us: the lesson of labour movement - „the main enemy is in at home“ - and the analysis of imperialism as the highest and last stadium of capitalism is of unbowed validity to us. As inhabitants of Germany we fight against German imperialism - and so we do not only aim at our own liberation from capitalistic constraints, but also effectively aid our comrades and allies in other countries in their struggle with imperialistic oppression. We can neither overthrow the American nor the English bourgeosie: our enemy is here, in our country. Especially as inhabitants of Germany, we have to deal with our own, exceptionally aggressive and predatory system of an imperialism being „too late and too short fallen“. That imposes a special obligation on us.
We du our utmost to support souvereignity of countries threatened in their continuance by the foreign policy of the Federal Republic of Germany.
Internationalism means to us respecting and conveniently supporting the struggle of friends and allies in other countries: especially in foreign countries of Europe, being victims of German aggressions multiple times, the representatives of a „better Germany“ have to appear with solidarity and sensitiveness towards friends and comrades. We are no high priests of the pure teachings and do not have any universally valid recipes to distribute - we work solidly on a level of equal rights and we respect national experiences and differences in the struggle. We regard as our peculiar responsibility not to support uncritically but solidly those countries defining themselves als socialistic or on the way to socialism.
Materialism and defence of science means to us: we are defenders of scientific conclusions against esoteric, idealistic, religiously-fundamental or biologistical fumigations. On the contrary, we want to encourage scientists to lead up-to-date discourses with and next to our political contention. Especially in the field of biology elements of race lore are more and more sneaking; in psychology and genetics man shall be reduced to a cue ball of his genome; in natural and social sciences some antiquated recipes are sold out as up-to-date - science itself, or what is left of it, underlies the laws of profit maximization of the monopoles. We look beyond profit logic which we know to be the main obstacle for general evolution of human perception of space, time and matter. We propagate materialism and we are trying hard to objectively discuss and to publish newest scientifical knowledge beyond expensive advertising media, so-called learned journals, for use of a wider public. The commitment to materialism and a scientific basis includes rejection and abatement of nonscientific misteachings - for example creationism, anthroposophy, eco-fascism and unscientic nature-medical mania.
III. How to contributeWe see ourselves as an open project with fixed principles. That means: www.secarts.org does not cost anything and does not engage any „members“ - everbody can contribute via free registration. That also means: we regard this principle as essential for useful and effective work. That does not mean we postulate the acceptance of our principles as the basis for mutual discussion - but we, as a collective, are true to these principles and we strive to design the site and its offers in their meaning. [file-ebooks#5]
www.secarts.org is for free and stays for free. The social situation is getting increasingly difficult for many people, the technical equipment including internet connection alone is hard to acquire for some. To further maintain unlimited access to the offers of the site, www.secarts.org will stay gratis with all its features.
www.secarts.org is and will stay independent and self-financing. Organizational and finanial independence is the main precondition for succeeding as a project like this. This includes consequently going without financing by commercial advertising; making the site compatible to ads would also mean loss of independance as regards content. We finance ourselves entirely by own means and uncommitted donations.
www.secarts.org shall permit constructive and solidary acquaintance. We look forward to everyone taking part in discussion and debate. And we also do desire quite fundamential criticism. One of our specific is to promote the discussion in the left and about struggle for preservation and extension of democratic rights. Also respecting diverging opinions should be self-explanatory.
www.secarts.org does not stand for randomness. Respecting diverging opinions must not slip off into randomness and principle-free tolerance - we stand for our point of view, we represent them and criticize opinions we deem false, as anything else would be casualness. Respecting diverging opinions also means to us quite relentless arguement when there is need for clarification. Without leaving the basis of solidary acquaintance.
After four years of successful cooperation, we, the staff, creators and users of www.secarts.org, plan to continue in this well proven spirit: enhancing offer, quality and variety of this site, integrating more people in mutual activity and helping the individual as well as the collective to further advance.
Resolved at the fourth anniversary of www.secarts.org
Editorial staff and collective. [translation by: Alex & Internationalism Working Group]
Announcing:
* "Querfront" (cross-border action): an origin fascist movement trying to destroy the left-wing parties. "Querfront" works with social demagogic, apparent anti-capitalistic and antisemitic theories. A recurrent moment of "Querfront"-argumentation ist the (unscientific) separation of capitalistic reality in "good" (productive) and "bad" parts: "jewish high finance", "stock-speculation" and so on.