Revolution is a line we trace in the present.

It means building autonomy here and now, making government and the economy superfluous. Breaking out of being governed will mean more than winning battle after battle and outmaneuvering political foes. It will rest on our ability to create the lasting foundation for life in common.

Spread secession to all areas of life. Go on permanent strike, slowly but surely, and take everyone with you. Refuse to be managed, or to manage anyone in turn. Drive a wedge down the center of society. Disavow a lifetime’s worth of cynicism and resentment. Believe that it is all possible.

Strikes persist, and the dull weight of debt disintegrates as financial capital collapses under growing hostility. Neighborhood assemblies decide how to act in the state of emergency, rebellious soldiers refuse to fire on their own neighborhoods, and “crime” is now relegated to raids on the governed zones. In cities, every day is like a block party. Confiscated cookouts on crowded streets herald a time beyond these remnants of economic life, when shops are primed for a new use in common. At night, bonfires illuminate the distance and the stars in their wisdom reappear to protect us. In the suburbs, a Walmart is now a hub for free goods and getting organized. Truckers and first responders meet to coordinate aid to a flooded territory. In the West, technologists outfit weather balloons with transceivers to amplify the autonomous internet. Labor freed from the economy increases the yield of autonomous farms, and children again learn how to be loyal to the earth.