The threads that connect Murray Bookchin to Death Stranding

 

 Over the past week or so, I've been reading The Next Revolution (NR), a collection of essays by Murray Bookchin, and talking to a friend whose been playing the 2019 game Death Stranding (DS). I enjoyed my time with the game when I played through it just over a year ago, and aside from some notes, I'm enjoying the read of NR. Since both are on my I've noticed some parallels and threads or strands if you will connecting the two.

 A quick summary, DS is a game set in the aftermath of an apocalyptic event where humanity is reduced to a scattering of small settlements ranging from tiny one or two person shelters to cities that are roughly a few blocks in size with a central depot and maybe a dock. You play Sam the courier and guide him on his journey, exploring the land and delivering packages.

Murray Bookchin was a lifelong revolutionary theorist committed to answering the question of how to overcome capitalism and build a better society in its place. Bookchin went through many schools of thought, from Marxism to Anarchism to a new idea he sometimes called Libertarian Municipalism/Communalism or Ecological Communalism. But throughout his journey, his commitment to centreing ecological questions remained constant. If you were on social media in 2016-19, you may remember the meme "Google Murray Bookchin!" that was indeed about the same man.

The world of DS is one where renewable power is omnipresent and recycling of material is the driver of manufacturing, but that's not quite what I have in mind when I think of the parallels between the two works. What caught my mind is Bookchin's arguments in favour of a confederation of communes to replace capitalist and state society. A common argument against alternatives to capitalism concerns the impossibility of such a society working in practice. How can disparate communities get along and work out common problems or share without some outside authority to compel them to do so? A common response has been to stress self-sufficiency of each collective or commune, in which case it just isn't rational to fight and squabble as it won't lead to any benefits but will still require many costs in time, energy and resources. If a system of self-sufficient societies is feasible, then I suppose that would be an answer, personally I don't think it is possible to achieve a system where every single community is self-sufficient in every detail, but assuming it is possible I think that's a strong incentive for isolation and extreme localism. Bookchin is also sceptical of such a possibility, his answer is rooted in that co-dependency of communities. In this Communalist alternative, Communes will Federate or Confederate together for mutual need and benefit.

 A crucial element in giving reality to confederalism is the interdependence of communities for an authentic mutualism based on shared resources, production, and policymaking. If one community is not obliged to count on another or others generally to satisfy important material needs and realize common political goals in such a way that it is interlinked to a greater whole, exclusivity and parochialism are genuine possibilities. Only insofar as we recognize that confederation must be conceived as an extension of a form of participatory administration—by means of confederal networks—can decentralization and localism prevent the communities that compose larger bodies of association from withdrawing into themselves at the expense of wider areas of human consociation.
Essay 4: The Meaning of Confederalism

In short, this society will work together because its material needs compel it and its material structure is the most rational way of fulfilling those compulsions. 

In Death Stranding, a version of this social structure plays out. The scattered outposts of humanity seem to be sufficient alone for the bare necessities of survival and existence, but they all lack in specific equipment, resources and the things that make life fulfilling. Sam the main character is a courier and in this society it is the courier's role to take needed supplies from those who have, to those who need. In return, the people Sam helps give him more tools and resources to improve his work and survival in the wilderness and agree to actively participate in a network of exchange and support with the other settlements by joining the Chiral network (I'll explain what that is later). It's mutual assistance for collective benefit, they all prosper the more their dependence and connections with each other deepens and the network eventually grows from one isolated corner to a vast region. Some people will join up relatively quickly in gratitude for Sam's efforts and the benefits that collaboration brings, but others take more convincing or in another way negotiation through deeds.

To take one example, the character Elder, an old man who lives alone on top of a hill. He has needs that can't be provided at his camp, but he is wary of joining the network that Sam is recruiting for, so he is reluctant to sign up, he co-operates with Sam to an extent and is eventually won over by the delivery of medicine and other positive experiences and the potential benefits joining gives him. In return, he produces unique equipment and resources for Sam.

If Sam fails to deliver medication in time, Elder will die and the benefits of his joining will be denied to you.

 

 This communal interdependence being the groundwork of social interactions based on collaboration is also reinforced by the multiplayer aspects. While playing the game, other players can interact with you in the game world. This can just be emoting to each other, trading (exchange of materials) gifting items, or working collaboratively to make traversing the extremely hostile terrain more manageable and fun. 

One example stands out in my mind. To make travelling the vast distances of the world and its rivers, crevices and jagged rocks more manageable, there is a road network. However, it hasn't been built yet, that's your job should you choose to do it. There is a network of 3d printers that with enough material will build the road in sections. 

The world of DS is harsh and difficult, especially when balancing kilos of equipment and material on your back. So a road that is smooth and level is an obvious advantage, but the resources required is a barrier, especially in the early game. I spent a long while scrapping together the resources needed for the first part of the road. I still remember how my elation at seeing the printer conjure up a road deflated once I saw just how little of the road it had constructed and how big the map was. Building that on my own would be time-consuming and not fun. So, I gave up on it and focused on my missions and hauling cargo over rocks and streams, dodging scavengers. 

While I was doing that, three other players popped into my world and pooled enough resources to build enough of the road to connect the first sub-region of the world. This drastically cut down my travel time, and made it safer, and more enjoyable as I could now ride my three wheeled back or boxy truck without worrying about hitting a ditch. It even charged my vehicles' battery, boosting its range when I had to go off the grid. It's also when the multiplayer and the message of DS clicked for me. Having understood the message and mechanics of the game, working for everyone benefits everyone, I found more enjoyment in the game and made sure to put any surplus material into other road building nodes or storage boxes. This is just one example of many I could give, ranging from sheltering from a snow storm to placing ladders to help others cross rivers.

The Stranding.
Borders, countries, governments—it’s all bullshit. Least that’s how it was, and maybe always will be, but…if you really believe that there chiral network of yours can bring people together, no matter what walls stand between ‘em, then spread it all over. But you damn well better make sure that you do right by each and every American—only then can you ask them to do right by the UCA. That’s the social contract, and don’t you ever forget it.
I’m taking a chance on you, Bridges, not because I believe in you and yours, but because I want to. Don’t let me down again.
Email from Elder

It's not however a perfect depiction of Bookchin's new society. The Chiral network is not a representation of an egalitarian confederation of like-minded communities, it's run by the remnants of the United States Government, and they've tasked Sam with expanding it as part of a plan to "rebuild America". This rump USA is the central node and foundation of the network of settlements. The disparity between the cities which are the main production hubs and the smaller settlements is also a divergence. Bookchin unlike some ecological thinkers believes cities have their place, albeit in a very different organisational structure and much smaller than cities in our present world. A Communalist Death Stranding would drop the USA as a relic and instead of a few cities and dozens of one and two person shelters would restructure it to say a dozen communities of similar size. Perhaps retaining a handful of the isolated one or two person shelters as a contrast and representation of the dangers of refusing to adapt.