Punk ideology

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Beginning in the late 1970s and continuing to the present, there has evolved a distinctive and largely cohesive system of thought associated with the punk subculture (often simply referred to as punk). Individualism, anti-authoritarianism, political anarchism, free thought, and ethics are concepts, among others, that are addressed by this philosophy. Punk ideology views the world and most that are in it as deeply corrupt and wrong. Punk thoughts usually achieve expression through punk music, fanzines, and spoken-word albums.

This article focuses on a perception of general punk ideology. For information on more specific types of punk ideologies see the section titled other punk ideologies. The rest of this article will use the word "punk" to refer to this generalized punk ideology or to a person who espouses this general take on punk ideology. Therefore, this article only provides a rough generalization of the philosophies of certain groups who identify themselves as punks and is not likely to completely represent the views of all or even the majority of those who do so.

Contents

History

Punk, since the mid-1970s, has been a movement of shock, rebellion and discontent. As time has progressed, punk has become an overt socio-political movement for some who identify themselves as punks. Bands like Dead Kennedys, Bad Religion, Crass, Conflict, Subhumans and many others helped to contribute to this ideological climate. In their lyrics, these bands expressed serious discontent with the systems and institutions that organize and control the world. They also offered analysis and potential solutions to the world's problems. This spirit is active to this day in punk music and has matured and expanded in its range.

Politics

Image:NoWarButTheClassWar.jpg

The political ideology most often associated with punk is that of anarchism. A lot of punk activism has been done in support of anarchist goals. Whether a punk subscribes to anarchism or not, he or she almost certainly is discontent with his or her government. Punks are often very active in trying to change their governing political systems to some extent. When punks engage in activism their demands can usually be described as progressive. Despite the similarities punk may have with the left wing, many punks perceive the efforts of the left as ineffectual and sometimes just as objectionable as the right wing.

Not all punks are connected to anarchism, or have anarchist views. For ex. Joe Strummer was a socialist and Ted Leo of Chisel is a liberal.

Authoritarianism

In punk thought, authority corrupts humans to intolerable extremes. Police, religion, governments, and any other institution that has the ability to coerce is seen as dangerous and despicable. Authority leads always to corruption and abuse. Punk ideas concerning authority derive in part from the political ideology of anarchism. Police brutality and institutionalized discrimination against punks also account for this stance on authoritarianism.

See songs on authoritarianism.

Conformity

Conformity is viewed as dangerous social coercion, which prevents people from seeing the true nature of society and forces people to be obedient to the desires of those who hold power be it of mainstream pop culture or the government.

See songs on conformity.


Militarism

Punk ideology uncompromisingly rejects the use of military force. To punks, the military is the most extreme form of authoritarianism.

See songs on militarism.

Selling out

The issues surrounding the act of compromising one's ethical parameters in exchange for personal gain are of particular relevance to punk ideology and culture. Generally, selling out refers to any abandonment of personal and/or community values in exchange for some reciprocal gain, usually in the form of wealth, status, or power. However, due to the direct association between punk rock music and punk ideology, this issue has taken on a specific meaning unique to the punk rock community.

Because anti-establishment attitudes are such an important part of this version of punk ideology, a network of independent music labels, venues, and distributors has slowly come into existence (see Do It Yourself), allowing parties interested in the creation, distribution, and purchase of independently-produced punk music to opt out of the major label system. These networks bypass the traditional systems of content distribution, which are controlled by a small number of large corporations who many feel stifle creative initiative and marginalize the concepts presented in punk ideology.

Often, up-and-coming or long-established punk artists will choose to break from this independent system and work within the established system of major record labels, incurring criticism from within the punk community. Some argue that through their choice, these artists have betrayed their communities and that as punk artists; their creative integrity is necessarily compromised. However, many artists have defended their actions, arguing that working through the major label system is a necessary evil to allow for the widest propagation of their artistic message. The band Chumbawamba is well known for using this justification when they signed on with the major label EMI.

See songs on selling out.

Religion

Many punk songs have lamented the conformity that religion inspires and the coercive authority of the Church. Many punks are not religious and believe that religion offers more problems for humanity to deal with than solutions.

See songs on religion.

Patriotism

Most left-wing punks are contemptuous of their governments and do not express a great deal of patriotism. Furthermore, patriotism as devotion to the state conflicts with the anti-statism of anarchism. Punks often object to patriotism as being used as an excuse for governments to act in immoral ways. Other punks view patriotism and supporting a government as two different acts, or as writer and humorist Mark Twain put it, "Patriotism is supporting your country all the time, and your government when it deserves it."

The Media

Punks often portray the mass media as a dangerous instrument of social control. Television is, for the most part seen as a waste of time and a distraction from reality and healthier habits. Punk music often laments the commercialism, and the power interests that control the media. The Do It Yourself punk ethic is a reaction to this perceived imbalance of power in the media.

In the USA, a new form of highly political punks, who call themselves Individualistic Punks, believe that the media is used as a tool of government control. They argue that by only reporting the two leading parties, the Democrats and the Republicans, the media guarantees itself a win/win situation. They believe that Democrats and Republicans only share subtle differences in contrast to the rest of the political parties.

See songs on the media.

Environmentalism

Many punks are practicing environmentalists. "While there will always be different opinions coming from under the punk banner, the most evident environmental philosophy closely resembles something called 'Deep Ecology'"*. This is a non-anthropocentric form of environmentalism meaning it is a philosophy that sees humans as merely one of many species with no special importance.

See songs on environmentalism.

Aesthetics

Music

In its almost three decades of existence, punk music has evolved and mutated to create a diversity of sounds. Punks may now enjoy the earthy harmonious-ness of folk-punk, the nostalgic, but often still relevant anthems of 80s peace- and anarcho-punk, or the more abrasive offerings of hardcore punk ("hardcore" for short), and its own elaborate array of sub-genres (i.e. crustcore, grindcore, metalcore, thrash or thrashcore, etc.) In general, however, punk music is loud, fast, and usually didactic. The sound is meant to express impatience, frustration and discontent. It also expresses anger and aggression by being loud and fast. The rhythm is often monotonous, but can in some cases be extremely erratic and complex.

Punk music intentionally defies the expectations that the listener has become accustomed to from listening to other, more commercial forms of music. Punks often accuse mainstream music of being insincere, watered down, and overproduced, and thus, inartistic. This may be said to reflect the influence of major record labels over an artist's music, as well as the artist's commitment to recognition and wealth, rather than a genuine DIY ethic.

Fashion

In the early 1980's, a very distinct Punk fashion became visible in the subculture. It expressed many of the things that punk music expressed: aggression, rebellion, and individualism. This use of fashion being used as a way to be shocking, may have been influenced in part by the Futurist. As the punk movement matured, fashion became less important as punk ideas became more important. Punk fashion has also received criticisms for being meaningless and for being conformist as the fashion grew in popularity.

Visual arts

Visual art is usually straightforward with a clear message. Album covers contain potent messages concerning social injustice, economic disparity, and images of suffering to shock and create a feeling of empathy in the viewer. Alternatively, they may contain images of selfishness, apathy, and other things that may provoke contempt in the viewer. Much of the earlier artwork was in black and white. This was because earlier art was distributed in fanzines created at copy shops.

Ethics

As explained in the other sections of this article, punk ideology sees the world as deeply corrupt. Because of this worldview, a distinct system of beliefs has emerged from the punk movement, which tries to explain the way people ought to behave in such a bleak world.

Non-conformity

As the section on conformity pointed out, punks see this social phenomenon as deceitful and coercive. Attempting to aquire a state of non-conformity is one of the most obvious of all punk attributes, though often the most difficult. The ideas punk holds so dear are always under attack by the youth of today who purely see punk as cool and not the meaningful way of changing society for the better real punks live by. The unique, and to many abrasive, sound of punk music expresses not only aggression and discontent but also a refusal to sound mainstream or to sound acceptable to a wide audience. Punk fashion was originally expression of nonconformity with mainstream culture as well as that of hippie counterculture.

See songs on On Non-Conformity.

Do it yourself

In the late 1970s, the punk movement was operating in an environment controlled to an unacceptable degree by outside influences. Because this impinged on the freedom of the movement, people in the punk scene began creating their own record companies, organizing their own concerts, and creating their own print media. This became known as the DIY movement. "Don't hate the media, become the media" is a famous motto for this movement.

Direct Action

Punks often participate in direct action to accomplish desired goals. In addition to protests, boycotts and so forth, punks are also known for the use of violence. More active and radical members of the community have been known to bomb gas stations, destroy animal research laboratories, and alter billboards to include political messages. Recently the phenomenon of hactivism has been used as an additional method of sabotage. These acts are committed in an effort to create social change when it is thought that the normal channels for change have been proven ineffective. Destruction of private property is often deemed acceptable by trendy skater kids as it conveys a cool message of disapproval without hurting people (see conformity). Because Punks tend to disdain materialism, the destruction of someone else's private possesions does not receive much sympathy. Private property itself, however, is much different from possessions.

See songs on direct action.

Vegetarians, veganism, and animal rights

Some who identify themselves as punks see the exploitation of animals for food, clothing, and research as an extension of the oppression committed against humans. Other punks unconcerned with the treatment of animals have also converted to vegetarians/veganism based on the belief that raising livestock destroys land and water resources. Some punks believe that the brutal way humans treat animals is psychologically connected to the way humans oppress each other. Other punks, under the banner of live for ones's self, see vegetarians, vegans, etc as mindless conformists. Another animal rights issue that punks are concerned with is vivisection and other types of experimentation conducted on animals for cosmetic and medical purposes. These practices have prompted protests from the punk community and the creation of direct action organizations like the Animal Liberation Front.

See songs on vegetarians, veganism, and animal rights.

Links to songs

On The Decline Of Man

On Government

Americana, Americana The Offspring

On conformity

On authoritarianism

On non-conformity

On conspiracy theories

On drug legalization

On racism

On concerns of totalitarianism

On vegetarians, veganism and animal rights

On heroes

On consumerism

On work

On militarism

On society

On selling out

On religion

On the media

On environmentalism

On Direct Action

Books and essays on Punk ideology

Important people in Punk ideology

Other Punk ideologies

See also

External links

Bibliography

Punk rock | Punk genres
Anarcho-punk - Anti-folk - Crust punk - Death rock - Garage punk - Gothic rock - Hardcore & Post-hardcore - Horror punk - New Wave - No Wave - Noise rock - Oi! - Pop punk - Post-punk - Post-punk revival - Psychobilly - Riot grrrl - Ska punk - Two Tone
Other topics
DIY - Punk pioneers - First wave - Second wave - Punk cities - Punk movies - Skinhead - Skinhead films - Ska

Current punk community websites.

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