It is naïve to invoke a rhizomatic mode of organization as a means of contestation and as an alternative to global capitalism since it has become what they have in common rather than what holds them apart. The rhizome is the logic of that which oppresses us and, simultaneously, the promise of liberation and the glimpse of another possible world.
Any discussion about how the internet can be used to promote democratic transformation – of production, political decision-making and the entire social field – has to start from a definition of democratic principles, not from simplistic slogans about rhizomes or networks. It is these principles that ultimately distinguish modes of decentralization and horizontality that are based on autonomy and social solidarity rather than on economic interests and profit; types of molecular participation that are based on a desire for openness and transparency rather than opaqueness and secrecy; and movements that proliferate rhizomatically but in a way that is self-critical and open to questions and debates rather than anchored on answers, readymade theories or self-evident doctrines.
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