Punk ideology

Beginning in the late 1970s, there has evolved a distinctive system of thought associated with the punk subculture. The philosophy is concerned primarily with an individual's intrinsic right to maximum freedom. Devotion to the idea of freedom tends to create strong beliefs in concepts such as Individualism, anti-authoritarianism, political anarchism (though not neccessarily), free thought, and ethics. Punk ideology takes a hard view of the world because to a punk, most modern day societies place extensive artificial limits on humanity. Punk ideology usually achieves its expression through punk rock, fanzines, and spoken-word albums.

Punk originated as a movement of shock, rebellion and discontent, it has evolved into an overt socio-political movement for some. Bands like MC5, Discharge, Black Flag, The Stooges, Dead Kennedys, Bad Religion, Crass, Conflict and Subhumans 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.

The political ideology most often associated with punk is that of anarchism, however punk has been associatied with other ideologies, including left-liberal, socialist, communist anarchist, and even neo-Nazism. When punks engage in activism, their demands can usually be described as progressive. Despite the similarities punk may have with the left wing, some punks perceive the efforts of the left as ineffectual, and sometimes just as objectionable as the right wing. This article provides a rough generalization of the philosophies of groups who identify themselves as punks, and doesn't completely represent the views of all of those who do so.

Political ideals

Anti-authoritarianism

Punks see authority figues like the police, the clergy, governments as dangerous and oppressive. Punks believe authority leads to corruption and abuse. Punk ideas about authority partly derive the ideology of anarchism. Police brutality and institutionalized discrimination against punks also account for their opposition to authoritarianism.

See songs on authoritarianism.

Non-conformity

Punks see Conformity as dangerous social coercion because it is a method of forfeiting free thought. They believe conformity prevents people from seeing the true nature of society, and forces people to be obedient to the desires of those who hold power. However, a person who dresses like a punk and listens to punk music may be conforming to the punk movement. Some view punk as a state of mind instead of a set style of dress or music.

See songs on conformity.

Anti-militarism

A segment of Punks reject the use of military force. To them, the military is the most extreme form of authoritarianism. However, not all punks are pacifists, and others view self-defence as natural. There have been many Punks in the military, and the life of a soldier is a frequent subject of Punk rock songs.

See songs on militarism.

Anti-capitalism

Punk draws heavily from anti-capitalist movements, and opposition to wage slavery. They believe that capitalism is authoritarian, exploitative, unfulfilling, and mind-numbing. Some segments of Punk advocate anti-consumerism and a DIY-lifestyle (including dumpster diving and shoplifting), and destruction of corporate property as forms of direct action. Some punk bands have written songs promoting right to employment, better working conditions, trade union recognition, and an end to discrimiation in the workplace. Critics argue that the DIY ethic that many punks subscribe to is inherently capitalist. Michael Graves, an ex-frontman of The Misfits, believes that despite its socialist, communist and anarchist rhetoric, punk is really youth culture's equivalent of Thatcherism.

Secularism and spirituality

Most punks see spirituality as a private matter of choice, and take a dim view of religious evangelism and proselytizing. The lyrics of some punk songs criticize the the authority of the Church and conformity inspired by religion. Many punks are atheists, who see spirituality as a social construct used to control society. Some punks follow a spirituality outside of mainstream religions (although sometimes based on philosophies such as Buddhism or Taoism). They believe organized religion is a form of authoritarianism which causes more problems for humanity than solutions. There are Christian punks who believe there is no contradiction in being punks and Christians, citing Christian anarchism as a case in point. Some punks subscribe to "post-Christianity," referring to modern Biblical criticism such as that of John Shelby Spong and John Dominic Crossan. They accepts the core moral and ethical message of the Golden Rule in the purported teachings of Jesus of Nazareth and other Christian writers. However they reject the supernatural elements of Christian tradition as merely metaphor. There are practicing Muslim punks in Malaysia, who are involved in Straight Edge.

See songs on religion.

Anti-nationalism

Most left-wing punks are contemptuous of their governments, and do not express a great deal of nationalism, patriotism or jingoism. Nationalism as devotion to one's government conflicts with the anti-statism of anarchism. Punks often criticize nationalism as providing governments with unwarranted public support. Other punks view patriotism and support of the government as two separate and distinct beliefs. In many ex-Soviet countries, punks played an important role in their country's anti-nationalistic and anti-Soviet movements. In the 1980s this was a way to protest Soviet authority.

Nazi punks are highly nationalistic and often accuse others of being "Communists". Some have used the slogan "Punk's Not Red", which is a play on the expression "Punk's not Dead". The slogan implies that punk is not a left wing movement. An example of a Nazi punk band is Skrewdriver, who were part of the Rock Against Communism movement, which is popular with Nazi Skinheads

Media

Some punks portray the mass media as an instrument of propaganda amd social control. Some believe Television is a waste of time and a distraction from reality and healthy habits. Punk music often laments the commercialism, and the power interests controlling the media.

See songs on the media.

Environmentalism

Some punks are environmentalists. One stream in the punk subculture resembles Deep Ecology, which is a non-anthropocentric philosophy that posits that humans are merely one of many species, with no special importance.

See songs on environmentalism.

Vegetarianism, veganism, and animal rights

Some believe that the brutal way humans treat animals is psychologically connected to the way humans oppress each other. They consider the use of animals for food, clothing, as a form of oppression. They consider it speciesism, and compare it to racism, sexism and homophobia. Others who are less concerned with the treatment of animals have converted to vegetarianism or veganism based on the belief that the livestock industry destroys land and water resources. Some punks are concerned with vivisection and other types of experiments conducted on animals for cosmetic and medical purposes. Others see medical tests on animals as justified, and some punks see vegetarianism and veganism as an example of political correctness, puritanism and conformity.

See songs on vegetarians, veganism, and animal rights.

Other punk ideologies

Punk can take a wide range of ideological beleifs, some of which in complete opposition to the left-wing norm. Nazi Punk and Rock Against Communism, for example, have a nationalistic, fascist and racist ideology. Conservative Punks ascribe to a punk lifestyle but reject the typical leftist views of other punks.

Hardline straight edge punks associate with progressive ideologies like deep ecology, straight edge, animal liberation, but also have a strong affiliation with traditional Abrahamic religion. Straight Edge punk takes a strong stance against drug abuse and for sexual abstinence.

Riot grrrls are are affiliated with third wave feminism, wishing to challenge the sexism within their scenes. They advocate female autonomy, through women-only record labels and gigs. They have connections with the queercore movement, which challenges elitism and snobbery in gay culture, while challenging stereotypes of homosexuals.

Oi! aligns itself with a rough form of socialist working class populism. Some Oi! bands weren't political, and mostly sang about day-to-day topics like football, alcohol and streetfights. However, many Oi! bands sang about politically-charged topics like unemployment, police harassment and working class power. Like the skinhead subculture it's connected to, Oi! is sometimes mistakenly branded as racist, due to media sensationalism. Although some bands labelled as Oi! (like Skrewdriver), did hold these views, most Oi! bands are not racist, and many are staunchly anti-racist, such as the Angelic Upstarts and The Oppressed.

Aesthetics

Music

Punk music has evolved and mutated to create a diversity of sounds. Punks may enjoy the earthy harmony of folk-punk, the nostalgic (but often still relevant) anthems of 80s peace-punk and anarcho-punk, or the more abrasive offerings of hardcore punk and its sub-genres (i.e. crust, grindcore, metalcore, thrash, power violence). In general, punk music is loud, fast, and usually didactic. The loud and fast sound is meant to express impatience, frustration, discontent, anger and aggression. Punks believe the state of popular music reflects the major record labels' influence on artists, as well as artists' own desire for recognition and wealth overshadowing their creativity.

Fashion

Punk fashion was originally an expression of nonconformity with mainstream culture, as well as that of hippie counterculture. Punk fashion displays many of the things that punk music expresses: aggression, rebellion, and individualism. This use of fashion to shock may have been partly influenced by the Futurist art movement. Early British Punk clothes were an example of polysemy, which is the appropriation of everyday items as clothing to changed the original meaning of the item. For example, safety pins and bin liners were worn by some early punks. Early Punk styles have been linked to Dandyism, because they were concerned with making the body a work of art.

It's common for punks wear to bondage bracelets and heavy chains (possibly symbolizing oppression), and bullet casings (possibly representing anti-military or anti-police views). Some Punks have body piercings and tattoos, some of which are politically-oriented. Many punks wear vintage clothing, partly as an anti-consumerist statement, and because it's inexpensive.

In 1990s USA, there were distinctive east and west coast styles. West coast style became more aligned with a loose, surfer or skateboarder style, while in the midwest and east, the style was more prim, in alignment with indie. In 1990s Britain, punk fashion sometimes mixed with heavy metal and nu metal styles. Examples of this include hoodies and baggy trousers. The streetpunk punk fashion of leather, chains, patches, mohawk hairstyles and boots persists as a distinctive fashion. The newer punk fashions can be said to be apolitical, but they make a statement constructing affiliation and difference in society. However this is based more on cultural differences than ideology.

Visual arts

Punk visual art is usually straightforward with a clear message. Album covers contain potent messages concerning social injustice, economic disparity, and images of suffering. 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, because it was distributed in fanzines created at copy shops. Other imagery can be cartoonish, especially in less overtly-political and apolitical bands. The Ramones often had cartoon images on albumm covers, reflecting their love of campy 1950s and 1960s pop culture.

Behaviour

Do It Yourself (DIY)

In the late 1970s, the punk movement was operating in an environment controlled 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 do it yourself (DIY) ethic. "Don't hate the media, become the media" is a motto of this movement.

Direct Action

Punks sometimes participate in direct action such as protests, boycotts, and in some cases even violence. Some of the most militant punks have bombed gas stations, destroyed animal research laboratories, alterred billboards to include political messages, and occupied abandoned buildings. Hacktivism has become an additional method of sabotage. These acts are committed in an effort to create social change when it is known that the normal channels for change have been proven ineffective.

See songs on direct action.

Not selling out

Selling out refers to any abandonment of personal values in exchange for reciprocal gain, in the form of wealth, status, or power. Because anti-establishment attitudes are such an important part of punk ideology, a network of independent music labels, venues, and distributors has developed. These networks bypass the traditional systems of 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.

Sometimes punk artists will choose to break from this independent system and work within the established system of major labels, incurring criticism from the punk community. Some argue that these artists have betrayed their communities, and that their creative integrity is necessarily compromised. However, some artists argue that working in the major label system is a necessary evil, allowing the widest distribution of their messages.

Another meaning of selling out is for a punk band to change its musical style, such as to prog rock or mainstream pop music. This could be the result of a natural artistic progression or a realisation that punk has limitations. Selling out also has the meaning of adopting a conservative, mainstream lifestyle and ideology. This could come about as either result of disillusionment, or deciding it's time to settle down and move on to other things. For example, Garry Bushell shifted from socialism to the right when he became disillusioned with the punk movement.

See songs on selling out.

Criticisms of punk ideology

Punk ideology has been criticized from outside and within. The Anarcho Punk band Crass wrote songs such as "White Punks on Hope", which accuses Joe Strummer of selling out and betraying his socialist principles, and "Punk is Dead", which attacks corporate co-optation of the punk subculture. Dead Kennedys frontman Jello Biafra accused Maximum RocknRoll of "punk fundamentalism" when they refused to advertise Alternative Tentacles records because they said the records "weren't punk". Another criticism of punk from within is from Conservative Punk, which argues that punks have become "hippies with mohawks".

From the outside, punk ideology has been criticized by people like Jim Goad. In his essay, "The Underground is A Lie!", he claims that many punks are hypocrites. He writes that many act poor, while hiding the fact they come from middle class backgrounds. In "Farts from Underground", he argues that the DIY ethic never produces anything original, and it allows poor quality work to be championed. He feels that in being politicized and propagandist, punk contributes to a model of alternative culture that is more bland than the mainstream.

Another external criticism of punk comes from Aristasians. They argue that punk accomplishes nothing but kick the corpse of the establishment that no longer existed after 1965. They call this "The Doctrine of The Cardboard Enemy", arguing that the more punks rebel against the status quo, the more they become a part of it. In an interview with a fanzine, their media representative, Marianne Martindale, implies that by declaring oneself non-conformist, one conforms to a societal norm. [1] Aristasians claim that this theory equally applies to other youth cultures, such as hip hop, goth, skinhead, black metal, hippie, junglist and new age travellers.

Individuals involved in punk ideology

Liberal

*Brendan Kelly as featured on the Daily Show segment "The Clash"
*Ted Leo
*Fat Mike
*Crashdog
*Joey Ramone

Undefined

*Billy Childish
*GG Allin
*Lou Reed
*Iggy Pop
*Malcolm McLaren
*Jello Biafra (although he says he's an anarchist in his social interactions, he believes some form of government is needed.)

Links to songs

On The Decline Of Man

*The Decline, The Decline, NOFX

On Government

*Die for your Government, Prepare For The Attack, The Varukers
*A Commercial, Bedtime for Democracy, Dead Kennedys
*California Über Alles, Fresh Fruit For Rotting Vegetables, Dead Kennedys
*Government Flu, Plastic Surgery Disasters, Dead Kennedys
*I Am The Owl, Plastic Surgery Disasters, Dead Kennedys
*Idiots are Taking Over, The War on Errorism, NOFX
*Murder the Government, Fuck The Kids 7"/So Long and Thanks for All the Shoes, NOFX
*Glass War, 13 Stitches 7", NOFX
*Re-Gaining Unconsciousness, The War on Errorism, NOFX
*Stars and Stripes of Corruption, Frankenchrist, Dead Kennedys
*Heads Of State, Worlds Apart, Subhumans
*You've Got To Die for Your Government, Die For the Government, Anti-Flag
*Perfect Government, Punk in Drublic, NOFX
*Resisting Tyrannical Government, Less Talk, More Rock, Propagandhi
*Middle Finger Response, How To Clean Everything, Propagandhi
*Bullshit Politicians, Today's Empires, Tomorrow's Ashes, Propagandhi
*Anarchy In The UK, "Never Mind The Bollocks", Sex Pistols

On conformity

*Against the Grain, Against the Grain, Bad Religion
*Individual, Stranger Than Fiction, Bad Religion
*Inner Logic, Stranger Than Fiction, Bad Religion
*Chickenshit Conformist, Bedtime for Democracy, Dead Kennedys
*Terminal Preppie, Plastic Surgery Disasters, Dead Kennedys
*Come Join Us, The Gray Race, Bad Religion
*Conformity, What The Fuck Will Change, A Global Threat
*Break the Mould, Guilty, Oi Polloi
*Blenderhead, Against The Grain, Bad Religion
*Henchman, No Control, Bad Religion
*Ugly Desires, 24 Hour Roadside Resistance, Against All Authority

On authoritarianism

*Fuck Authority, Decay Discography 1993-1998, Whorehouse Of Representatives
*Portrait of Authority, Recipe for Hate, Bad Religion
*No, The Day The Country Died, Subhumans
*Fuck Authority, Land Of The Free? Pennywise
*Fuck Authority, Reagan's In, Wasted Youth

On conspiracy theories

*Stealth, Recipe for Hate, Bad Religion
*Kinky Sex Makes The World Go 'Round, Give Me Convenience Or Give Me Death, Dead Kennedys

On drug legalization

*End the Drug War, Bread and Water, Bread and Water
*Herojuana, Pump Up the Valuum, NOFX
* My Congressman, Lucky, Fifteen

On racism and homophobia

*Blue by Day, White by Night, A Call to Action, Contravene
*Don't Call Me White, Punk in Drublic, NOFX
*Guilty Of Being White, Complete Discography, Minor Threat
*Nazi Punks Fuck Off, In God We Trust, Inc., Dead Kennedys
*The Only Good Fascist Is A Very Dead Fascist, Less Talk, More Rock, Propagandhi
*Gay Rude Boys Unite, Mediocore Generica, Leftöver Crack
*Hating Hate, Battle Hymns, Suicide Machines
*This Machine Kills Fascists, "The Underground Network", Anti-Flag

On concerns of totalitarianism

*Get Off The Phone, Free Souls in a Trapped Environment, Citizen Fish
*Commies And Nazis, Unite And Win, Oi Polloi
*Bleed For Me, Plastic Surgery Disasters, Dead Kennedys
*Police Tv, The Massacre, The Exploited

On vegetarians, veganism, environmentalism and animal rights

*This is the ALF, The Ungovernable Force, Conflict
*Pathetic Humanity, And Now Back To Our Program, Aus Rotten
*The Offending Article, We Won't Take No More (compilation), Poison Girls
*They Kill Dogs, While Backs Are Turned, Exitstance
*Pigman, Worlds Apart, Subhumans
*Nailing Descartes To The Wall, Less Talk, More Rock, Propagandhi
*Meat Means Murder, It's Time To See Who's Who, Conflict
*Flesh And Blood, Free Souls in a Trapped Environment, Citizen Fish
*Purina Hall Of Fame, Today's Empires, Tomorrow's Ashes, Propagandhi
*Flesh Of Another, Antischism, Antischism
*Blinded By Science, Not So Brave, Flux Of Pink Indians
*Anarcho - Pie, In Defence Of Our Earth, Oi Polloi
*Whale Song, In Defence Of Our Earth, Oi Polloi
*DDT, Battle Hymns Suicide Machines
*Nuclear Generators, War Profiteering is Killing Us All, Suicide Machines

On heroes

*Heroes, 29:29 Split Vision, Subhumans
*Good Guys Dont Wear White, Complete Discography, Minor Threat
*Hero of Our Time, Tape to Tape, Satanic Surfers
*Nobody's Hero, Nobody's Hero, Stiff Little Fingers

On consumerism

*Desperation, A Call to Action, Contravene
*Panic In The Supermarket, Millennia Madness, Citizen Fish
*Steal This Record, Steal this Record, Suicide Machines

On work

*I Hate Work, Millions Of Dead Cops, MDC
*Get to Work on Time, Worlds Apart, Subhumans
*At My Job, Frankenchrist, Dead Kennedys
*Soup Is Good Food, Frankenchrist, Dead Kennedys
*Take this Job and Shove it, Bedtime for Democracy, Dead Kennedys
*The Right to Work, Chelsea
*Jobs not Jails, The Gonads

On militarism

*Sheep Farming in the Falklands, Flexi Single', Crass
*Part III, How Could Hell Be Any Worse?, Bad Religion
*Atomic Garden, Generator, Bad Religion
*Let them Eat War, The Empire Strikes First, Bad Religion
*Rambozo the Clown, Bedtime for Democracy, Dead Kennedys
*All Good Soldiers, Recipe for Hate, Bad Religion
*Charity, Free Souls in a Trapped Environment, Citizen Fish
*March Of The Crabs, Today's Empires, Tomorrow's Ashes'', Propagandhi

Books and essays on Punk ideology

*O'Hara, Craig, The Philosophy of Punk, AK Press, 1999 ISBN 1873176163
*Punk Manifesto by Greg Graffin
*The apparent indeterminable classification of counterculture An essay on Punk culture and thought by Craig Turnwall
*Punk Productions: Unfinished Business A comprehensive history of punk and interpretation of punk using Marxism and Pyschoanalysis by Stacy Thompson

Punk ideology: Encyclopedia BETA

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