Paper short abstract:

The State represents established power and established systems of energy. When the system of energy needs changing, the State can seem more preoccupied with maintaining its destructive systems of order and power. The fight against fossil fuels in Australia makes this role of the State clear.

Paper long abstract:

Organisations, such as States, gain power over others, because they allocate control over sources of power such as violence, wealth, resources, communication, social categories, and organization of energy supplies. The order associated with these sources of power may produce disorders which undermine the power relations they allocate. The system of order may produce disorder that undermines power and stability.

This paper looks at the inability of the Australian state to deal coherently with the ecological problems caused by its organization of resources, and the ways that Australians have started to try and fight against those allocations of resources. Polls consistently show popular support for renewable energy, and Australia has one of the highest uptakes of small solar power in the world, yet this has not translated into unambiguous political or State support for moving out of fossil fuels. The policies of the major parties look confused and contradictory at best.

To some extent this may be explained by the existential crisis brought about by climate change, but it is also brought about by challenge to the very functionality of the capitalist/neoliberal State in which relations between social power and energy have been forged, blurred and rendered conflictual.

Anarchist theory and practice, draws attention to the problems faced by such a State and may allows us to analyse its breakdown, in a non-oganised and confused response and counter response.