Hedonist International
The Hedonist International (also Hedonist International ) is a loose international network of action-oriented left groups and individuals. It has existed since 2006 and has more than 30 sections in Germany, Austria, Italy, USA, Russia and Switzerland.
concept
According to its manifesto , the Hedonist International does not see itself as an organization, but as an idea under which people all over the world act independently and decentrally under the motto "Protest.Party.Action". The Hedonist International rejects central organizational structures.
The manifesto has so far been translated into 21 languages and defines the scope of action for the sections. The Hedonist International sees hedonism in it "not as the engine of a dull, materialistic fun society, but as an opportunity to overcome the existing" and "wants joy, pleasure, enjoyment and a self-determined life in freedom for all people!" And "happy togetherness, anarchy , Epicurus's ideas , colorful joy, sensuality, debauchery, friendship, justice, tolerance, freedom, sexual freedom , sustainability , peace, free access to information, art, cosmopolitan existence , a world without borders and discrimination ”.
At the First World Congress of the Hedonist International in June 2010, a large number of the various sections met for the first time. The second world congress took place in June 2011 in Riebau with the participation of the philosopher Bernulf Kanitscheider , the third in 2012 in Kuhlmühle , others followed in 2013, 2014, 2015 and 2016. The 8th world congress of the Hedonist International took place from June 8th to 11th, 2017 in Larz instead.
Actions
Fields of action of the Hedonist International are the demand for subcultural free spaces such as clubs and squats, the appropriation of public space, anti-fascism and criticism of capitalism, precarious working conditions and the restriction of freedoms. The Hedonist International makes use of the means of demonstration, the methods of the communication guerrilla and civil disobedience. This includes unannounced gatherings, (temporary) occupations and blockades of public and private space.
In December 2006 the television tower in Berlin was occupied, in May 2007 the German Ministry of Defense blocked the sea and took part in the G8 protests in Heiligendamm.
On 10 April 2008 succeeded the Hedonist International, spoofed content in a post of the broadcast overhead projector of RBB to place. In the report, an alleged speed consumer was introduced who allegedly was on a drug diet. In a press release from the Tito von Hardenberg command, the reason is: “ Polylux was the target of the campaign, but it is representative of large parts of the media landscape, for which research is primarily a cost factor. Central areas of journalism are being outsourced to underpaid interns, who find it difficult to invest sufficient time and resources in their work due to precarious working conditions and the resulting pressure. "
During protests against the event hall O 2 World Berlin , several activists of the Hedonist International succeeded at the opening ceremony on September 10, 2008, without inviting them into the hall with evening wear and disrupting the event.
Support from the Hedonist International includes the citizens' initiative Mediaspree Sink , the water fight and the demonstrations Freedom instead of Fear . In 2010 the Hedonist International caused a sensation during rental protests. Activists stripped naked when viewing apartments in Berlin to demonstrate against excessive rents.
On 5 March 2011, organized Monarchohedonistische front with the Initiative Pro Guttenberg , at the Causa Guttenberg an ironic pro-Guttenberg demonstration in front of the Brandenburg Gate .
During the nuclear accidents in Fukushima , activists of the Hedonist Nuclear Industry opened a satire account for the German Atomic Forum lobbying association, which was able to gain four times as many followers as the original with cynical tweets within a day. The German Atomic Forum threatened legal action and had the account blocked on March 29, 2011.
On February 2, 2012, activists from the Hedonist International and Anonymous threw a cake at ex-Defense Minister Karl-Theodor zu Guttenberg in Berlin. They protested against Guttenberg's appointment as EU advisor on Internet freedom.
In December 2013, a “Gerhard Schröder command” called party members using the telephone number of the SPD headquarters who had opposed such a government alliance in the run-up to the membership vote on the grand coalition. The calls sparked a nationwide response, the SPD initially assumed that their switchboard had been hacked.
At the end of March 2014, members of the Hedonist Institute for Applied Populism Research, part of the Hedonist International, announced that they were behind the university group “Die Fleischliste”, which received several hundred votes in the elections for the student parliament of the University of Hamburg and from several media (e.g. Spiegel Online and Hamburg1 ) had been portrayed. According to its spokesman Jesko Gibs, the aim of the campaign was to distort common "structural elements that relevant people use in the media" to criticize populist discourses, such as debates initiated by Thilo Sarrazin or Matthias Matussek .
For the Day of German Unity in 2018, a section named "Neue Treuhand" designed a website and a public rally to act as a fake authority to face the task of "deprivatising dangerous accumulations of wealth". The "myGruni" section had similar intentions on May 1, 2018 and 2019, when it called for demonstrations in the Berlin villa district of Grunewald. The motto here was "Where there's a villa, there's a way".
Public reception
Critics accuse the Hedonist International of a lack of theoretical reflection. The political actions only served to give meaning to a dissolute lifestyle. Media representatives regard the forms of action of the Hedonist International as a modern protest.
Web links
- Official website
- Manifesto of the Hedonist International
- Hedonist International. Changing the world with joy, lust and enjoyment , CRE ( Podcast ).
Individual evidence
- ↑ Manifesto in various languages, for example in Hungarian , Danish , Catalan , French , Letzebuergesch , Greek , Slovenian , Polish , Hebrew or Portuguese .
- ↑ Manifesto of the Hedonist International
- ↑ World Congress: Fire Brigade of Street Fighting
- ↑ High tech around the campfire
- ↑ Im Hedo-Dorf, Frankfurter Allgemeine Sonntagszeitung, June 4, 2012
- ↑ Program of the 6th World Congress of the Hedonist International (2015)
- ↑ https://frab.hedonist-international.org/es/WK2016/cfp
- ^ Program of the 8th World Congress of the Hedonist International
- ^ Up the hedonistic international taz of January 27, 2018, accessed on June 15, 2019
- ↑ Fraudster puts “Polylux” in Spiegel Online from April 11, 2008
- ↑ 1000 demonstrators at the opening of the O2-World Tagesspiegel on September 10, 2008
- ↑ O₂ World under police protection opens Berliner Morgenpost on September 10, 2008
- ↑ Mietprotest in Berlin Spiegel Online of 18 October 2010
- ↑ The Hedonist International registered a Pro Guttenberg demonstration in Berlin
- ↑ Guttenberg opponents ridicule Guttenberg fans
- ^ Atomic lobby satire on the net
- ↑ Satirical Twitter account blocked
- ↑ https://web.archive.org/web/20120204235829/http://hedonist-international.org:80/?q=de/node/1161
- ^ Ole Reissmann: Protest against Guttenberg: words and cake. In: Spiegel Online . February 2, 2012, accessed June 9, 2018 .
- ^ Threatening calls to SPD members: Gerhard Schröder's command
- ^ SPD: threatening phone call from "Kommando Gerhard Schröder"? In: Zeit Online. December 5, 2013, accessed May 2, 2014 .
- ↑ [1]
- ↑ Meat fans make university politics: Everything is made of hack Spiegel Online from March 12, 2014
- ↑ Horror: Vegetarian Bolognese meat lovers at the university go to the barricades ( Memento from April 13, 2014 in the Internet Archive ) Hamburg1 from November 28, 2013
- ↑ Hamburg hedonists reveal themselves: “A pure play” Interview by Lena Kaiser with the Hedonist Institute for Applied Populism Research in the taz on March 31, 2014
- ↑ official website of the "Neue Treuhand"
- ↑ New Germany New Germany: The "New Treuhand" campaign wants to redistribute assets. Accessed on February 13, 2020
- ↑ Hedonist demo on Unity Day taz accessed on February 13, 2020
- ↑ [2] BZ-Berlin "The Grunewald is a problem district", accessed on February 13, 2020
- ↑ "Going where it really hurts" detailed interview, RadioBerlinBrandenburg accessed on February 13, 2020
- ↑ May 1 in Grunewald: Activists call for a "Citizens Festival" in the villa district on Tagesspiegel, accessed on February 13, 2020
- ↑ Netzguerillas - Protest modern ( Memento from February 21, 2009 in the Internet Archive )