Jesse Walker, speaking at a panel discussion about employee ownership (Facebook photo)
I finally got around to reading Jesse Walker's article "The Anarchist and the Republican: How John McClaughry and Karl Hess fought to decentralize power—one from inside the system, one ever further from it." (Karl Hess in fact was both an anarchist AND a Republican in his lifetime, while McClaughry was a Republican with anarchist principles).
Both men had a whiff of Discordianism about them. Here's a bit about Hess' early days:
"Hess' media career began in 1938, when the 15-year-old son of a divorced D.C. switchboard operator decided he'd had enough of classrooms. So he registered at every high school in town and then told each one he was transferring. Having trapped the truancy officers in a bureaucratic strange loop, he went to work for a radio station and a series of local newspapers."
A bit about McClaughry:
"He amused himself by writing politicians absurdist crank letters under assumed names. He had a hobby of hopping freight trains, a pastime that acquired a Coen brothers quality the day a brakeman joined him in the caboose; McClaughry expected to be kicked off, but the fellow instead insisted they sing old minstrel songs together. He built a cabin in the Vermont woods with no plumbing or electricity, then had a more comfortable home erected on the property; in 1967 he became town moderator of Kirby, and he still chairs his community's annual meetings today."
It's a fairly long article, but if you read the whole thing, it may be the most interesting piece you read today.
YouTube video: "Subversion for Fun and Profit: An Evening with Karl Hess and Robert Anton Wilson."
1 comment:
Dang, Jesse. This is a great article - thank you for writing it. If anyone enjoys reading about Hess, check out his book "Dear America". It's a fantastic read.
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