In a few months I will find myself outside of an academic institution for the first time in 25 years. This is a result of the cuts to Higher Education that are sweeping through British universities, and I'm sure that I won't be the only one to find myself surplus to the requirements of the neo-liberal vision for Higher Education. Research excellence in Philosophy and other Humanities subjects is, in the end, not 'valuable' enough for institutions to protect as they come under pressure to trim their expenditure and meet market demands. If we do not have 'intellectual capital' that can be 'exploited' in the 'knowledge economy', then we are of little worth to universities who now see research primarily as a source of 'income generation'.
Philosophy and Humanities courses are also under threat. The Philosophy programme at Middlesex is closing down, and there are similar threats to the Philosophy and the Professional Ethics programmes at Keele. These subjects will, eventually, be the preserve of the elite who attend the top few universities that can afford to host them. The post-1990 revolution which saw the expansion of the teaching of radical theory to students who were only supposed to be trained for the jobs market is being dismantled. And the tragedy is that the Philosophy and Humanities courses that will get offered in those few elite institutions will be far from radical in content.
Guerilla Philosophy is about finding a way to keep the fire of radical critique burning, especially for those who find themselves without an institutional context. We have to become Guerilla Philosophers, standing outside and in opposition to institutional power, finding ways of speaking and having our voice heard. And that voice has to be critical and oppositional.
The aim of this site is to offer an initial space for those critical voices, and lead to the formation of The Guerilla Philosophy Collective, which can create more spaces and a louder voice. We can also offer support to those who are under threat, or who find themselves outside of an institution through no fault of their own, ensuring that they do not disappear from view. The danger is that we will be silenced, and this is a very small step towards ensuring that this does not happen.
There is no manifesto here, just a determination to enable an oppositional critique of the neo-liberal revolutionary movement that, for the moment, is setting the agenda for Higher Education and the wider society. We can use this space to develop arguments, post news, organise and publicise events, create networks and resources for resistance. This is the beginning, not the end.
