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  • Essay / Defining “autonomism”: theoretical explorations,...

    Mario Tronti, in his 1964 essay “Lenin in England,” made a revolutionary theoretical break from orthodox Marxism that would ultimately lead to what could be considered a contemporary “autonomism”. “Our new approach starts from the proposition that, both nationally and internationally, it is the specific and present political situation of the working class which both necessitates and directs given forms of capital development. »1 However, what is “autonomism”? » in the theoretical and practical sense? Currently, the word "autonomism" is chosen primarily to categorize a group of rebellious activities and theoretical frameworks that meet a particular criterion and originate from autonomous Marxism. The term is derived from the concept of autonomy, which refers to self-governance and the ability to make decisions without constraint. However, it should be noted that this right to govern oneself is viewed through the lens of collectivism and not individualism, as it concerns existence within civilization but within the framework of self-government collective. They are linked by their left-wing politics and anti-authoritarian nature, while being strong advocates and/or participants in an autonomous prefigurative practice of systems of power or centralized organizational structures. “Unlike the centralized decisions and hierarchical authority structures of modern institutions, autonomous social movements directly involve people in decisions affecting their daily lives. They seek to expand democracy and help individuals free themselves from externally imposed political structures and patterns of behavior. ......This therefore makes theoretical favoritism generally considered obsolete. Using this approach, he draws inspiration from Castoriadis's expansion of the definition of autonomy as autonomous living within society and not separate from it, while integrating Negri philosophy and Zapatismo with developments histories of autonomism and Marxism in general: "However, what unifies autonomism thought, beyond its critique of orthodox Marxism and of course neoliberal capitalism, is the perception that Marxist historical concepts and categories undergo a radical transition. Faced with this situation of extreme uncertainty and unpredictability, the best Zapatista strategy seems to be that of "walking while asking", avoiding dogmatism and rigid thinking through a process of continuous reflexivity in order to discover possible paths of exodus from the capitalism..”11