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Yeah, CrimethInc. is pretty good stuff on a propagandistic level -- by which I mean that it makes a primarily emotional appeal to the readers to question their current mode of existence. They ask what I, personally, feel is one of the most fundamental questions for the would-be revolutionary: are you happy in this world, right now? On a personal, primal level, this question transcends and supercedes any issue of ideology or abstract principle ("Justice," "Honor," "Equality," "The Workers," "Capital," etc.). Any attempted revolution based on an impersonal ideology is already alienated from the individual human beings who are expected to commit their lives to it -- insurrection must be based (IMHO) in each individual's desire to seize the life they will to live, and to create the world in which they will to live it. Specific issues and points of attack can be taken on as they come, based on each individual's situation -- but the initial spark must come from the passion for life.
CrimethInc. addresses this well, if somewhat repetitively. They are (intentionally, I think) a little vague, though, in other areas. Their critique of modern society is painted with broad strokes, as are their suggestions for insurrection. They are, as I said, primarily propaganda.
If this approach to anarchy appeals to you, I recommend Venomous Butterfly, an insurrectional web-zine. While its approach is still fairly general, its articles plumb somewhat deeper depths. Many of the articles are reprinted translations from Italian anarchists, which gives an additional international perspective (from many other publications, it would almost appear that anarchic action exists only within the US and UK borders). VB shares a website with Killing King Abacus, another pretty good magazine. Follow the links. 
Do Or Die is an action-oriented eco-anarchy publication from the UK. The latest issue is available only in print form, but the four or five previous issues are archived online. A nice "Direct Action" supplement to all the theory - it's nice to see other people doing for themselves, and it brings some immediacy to the battle.
Yeah, this is something I've been thinking about a lot, lately. It's a "school" of anarchic thought in sharp contrast to the anarcho-syndicalist approach, which the "insurrectional anarchist" (to throw an ad hoc title on anarchists who hold these views) generally sees as being, in its own way, as stifling of individual and tribal energy and freedom as any other State.
Meanwhile, CrimethInc.'s self-defined status as a non-entity might be worth a separate discussion of its own, since it deals specifically with the revolutionary potential of myth-making. One of their major pamphlets traces out explicitly a number of possible reader reactions to CrimethInc. and their utility -- an in-joke with your friends that stimulates some discussion, a massive shadow-organization to let the fledgeling revolutionary feel like part of something "bigger than themselves," a creative crutch to outgrow, a competitor or rival on the revolutionary playing field that one can push oneself to surpass or just turn into a scapegoat for everything that's wrong in "The Movement." Anyone can claim responsibility for an action in the name of CrimethInc., and anyone can feel pride in what anyone else has done under the CrimethInc. name. It's a little like some of the "shared identities" that exist on the Web (like "Boris Karloff"), on an organizational level. They really try to blur the lines between fiction and "reality," with some success. Just on a, dare I say it, artistic level, it really is very appealing. Whether or not it is tactically useful... I can't say for sure, of course, but it strikes me that it could be, especially when law enforcement wastes its time searching for the centralized organization that simply must lie at the center of all the disinformation.
That's enough from me for now, I think.
Have fun, and Don't Get Caught!
~L |
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