Here we have the map of Genova again. One main focus of
the demonstrations in 2001 at the G8-summit was against the border regime
in EUrope. It was obvious to see how the Schengen system works once more:
not only were the outer state borders of Italy re-installed (the Schengen-treaty
was set out for a week), but also the city of Genova was divided by new
borders. There were two security zones erected, a red and yellow zone,
where one could enter only with special permissions. So the border was
put in the middle of the city by putting up container walls and fences,
an unfolding of temporary borders. This is how the new fortifications
of power look like.
If we recall the picture where Constant put together the maps of different
cities to illustrate the ideas of New Babylon, we now can see this modular
structure spreading out over the globe in another form. The temporary
Red Zones and modular borders and fortifications bring together cities
such as Seattle or Genova or Göteborg on one map, next to another.
it's all within the same structure, and that structure materializes in
the days around the protests: a NEW Babylon.
The utopian promise of a modular structure to free people from functionalist
capitalism has now turned to a dystopian reality, where the suppression
is flexible and modular.
We will see the same in
a few weeks in Copenhagen at the EU-summit. The struggles against
the capitalist totality will materialize in the city and existing power
structures will become visible for some days.
