We present the English translation of the French publication ‘Black Out. Controversy about meaning and efficiency of sabotage’
Between February and March 2020, all over the world, heads of state made solemn and grave announcements in order to prepare their populations for what appeared to be a new era : one of war against the virus. Within a couple months, the sabotage of telecommunication infrastructures had almost become a daily event in France, as well as in other European countries. Simultaneously, a debate sprang up within anarchist and radical ecological publications, in particular about the meaning and efficiency of these acts. How could we undermine technological control ? Could we provoke a tipping point within this situation? What scenarios did these sabotages open up ? How could we consider efficiency, organization and ethics altogether? Nowadays, the situation has evolved, but the problems brought up by the following texts remain unresolved, maybe even more so now, and without obvious answers : what are the links between direct action and social or ecological movements? What strategies emerge when we separate or combine anarchist, ecologist and techno-critical perspectives? How do these strategies integrate a now-decisive element : the war in Europe, which will guide and harden the grip of states on their populations.