T.A.Z. / Temporary Autonomous Zone

SAM SMITH, WHY BOTHER? - One of the most fascinating and unusual
examinations of how culture can be redefined is contained in a strange
book, T.A.Z. The Temporary Autonomous Zone, Ontological Anarchy, Poetic
Terrorism, by Hakim Bey. Bey argues that the world fundamentally changed
with what he calls the "closure of the map" -- the end of terrestrial
discovery:

"Because the map is an abstraction it cannot cover earth with 1:1
accuracy. Within the fractal complexities of actual geography the map
can see only dimensional grids. Hidden enfolded immensities escape the
measuring rod."

For example, there is the map one might draw of the Internet, whose
nomads may never leave their office or room. They are like Thoreau who
said he had "traveled much -- in Concord." Says Bey:

"Lay down a map of the land; over that set a map of political change;
over that a map of the Net, especially the counter-Net with its emphasis
on clandestine information-flow and logistics -- and finally, over all,
the 1:1 map of the creative imagination, aesthetics, values. The
resultant grid comes to life, animated by unexpected eddies and surges
of energy, coagulations of light, secret tunnels, surprises."

Bey's temporary autonomous zones are uncertain and undulating
communities of the rootless and the alienated:

"The TAZ is like an uprising which does not engage directly with the
state, a guerrilla operation which liberates an area (of land, of time,
of imagination) and then dissolves itself to re-form elsewhere/elsewhen,
before the state can crush it. Because the state is concerned primarily
with simulation rather than substance, the TAZ can "occupy" these areas
clandestinely and carry on its festal purposes for quite a while in
relative peace. Perhaps certain small TAZs have lasted whole lifetimes
because they went unnoticed -- like hillbilly enclaves -- because they
never intersected with the spectacle, never appeared outside that real
life which is invisible to the agents of simulation."

An example is the pirate utopia:

"The sea-rovers and corsairs of the 18th century created an "information
network" that spanned the globe: primitive and devoted primarily to grim
business; the net nevertheless functioned admirably. Scattered
throughout the net were islands, remote hideouts where ships could be
watered and provisioned, booty traded for luxuries and necessities. Some
of these islands supported "intentional communities," whole
mini-societies living consciously outside the law and determined to keep
it up, even if only for a short but merry life . . . Fleeing from
hideous "benefits" of imperialism such as slavery, serfdom, racism and
intolerance, from the tortures of impressment and the living death of
the plantations, the buccaneers adopted Indian ways, intermarried with
Caribs, accepted blacks and Spaniards as equals, rejected all
nationality, elected their captains democratically, and reverted to the
"state of nature." Having declared themselves "at war with all the
world," they sailed forth to plunder under mutual contracts called
"Articles" which were so egalitarian that every member received a full
share and the captain usually only 1 1/4 or 1 1/2 shares . . ."

http://prorev.com/order3.htm#whybother