An experiment nears completion

The R-Word was initially created as an experiment, to see if folks were generally ready to explore a very new way of imagining, discussing and enacting “revolution,” which I imagined (back in July of ‘22) would require liberating the energy of the word ‘revolution’ from the historical connotation of violence as revolutionary praxis.

I believe the results of that experiment have been conclusive. The world is not yet ready to use the word “revolution” to refer to a non-violent, but still rapid and dramatic, shift of cultural direction — at least not with regard to the eco-cultural revolution I was longing for back then. Maybe it will happen by yet another name?

Inspired in part by a post from Dougald Hine, on his Substack, Writing Home — The Lesson of Empty Hands — I feel it’s time for me to set my experiment aside. I had hoped, and meant, to spark a conversation on non-violent revolution of an eco-cultural kind. And now I have no energy for that conversation myself. Maybe some others will take up that cause? We shall see.

My attention and focus has moved away from blowing upon a relatively tiny ember called “non-violent revolution” to pondering (together) the notion of metacrisis in the light of philosophy.

The lights at The R-Word won’t go out. It will remain online as an archive—, and there may be a few more articles, essays or poems to come. But I’m ready to move on.

It will take a while for the publication I want to be part of creating to come into being, and there is a start on it. But I may begin another Substack in the meanwhile, dealing with metacrisis philosophy. If you’d like to participate in this venue, please do let me know. I’d love to hear your voice. And I’d love to share in the process with collaborators.