Chapter 1: Subjective Figures of the Crisis ... - Negri in English

experiment of the Zapatista self-rule in Chiapas, Mexico. The
EZLN was renowned early in its existence for its novel use of the
media, including electronic communiques and Internet postings
from the Lacandon jungle. Even more important and innovative,
though, are the communicative networks and political truths
created in the Zapatista community practices of collective
self-government. Constant attempts in the communities to
subvert gender and social hierarchies and to open to all
decision-making and governing responsibilities give substance
and meaning to their projects to lead by following and to walk
forward questioning.
Break Free
Of all the ways that people refuse the security regime today,
the most significant are modalities of flight. You can't beat the
prison, and you can't fight the army. All you can do is flee. Break
your chains and run. Most often, flight involves not coming out
into the open but rather becoming invisible. Since security
functions so often by making you visible, you have to escape by
refusing to be seen. Becoming invisible, too, is a kind of flight.
The fugitive, the deserter, and the invisible are the real heroes (or
antiheroes) of the struggle of the securitized to be free. But when
you run, think of George Jackson and grab a weapon as you go. It
might come in handy down the road.
You are only able really to refuse and flee, though, when
you recognize your power. Those living under the weight of a
security regime tend to think of themselves as powerless,
dwarfed by against its overarching might. Those in a prison
society think of themselves as living in the belly of a Leviathan,
consumed by its power. How can we possibly match its firepower,
how can we escape its all-seeing eyes and its all-knowing
information systems To find a way out all you have to do is
remember the basic recognition of the nature of power explained
by Foucault and, before him, Niccolo Machiavelli: power is not a
thing but a relation. No matter how mighty and arrogant seems
that power standing above you, know that it depends on you,
feeds on your fear, and survives only because of your willingness
to participate in the relationship. Look for an escape door. One is