This is what the cultural elite wants us to believe: if our writers don't make sense, or bore us to tears, that can only mean that we aren't worthy of them. [more inside]
posted by philip-random on Nov 26, 2009 - 143 comments

We think it’s normal to work all day every day at a dead-end job. It’s normal to fight with our spouses and our children. It’s normal to eat and drink and drug ourselves to escape, to veg out and stare at a screen for hours a day just to dull the pain. It’s normal to hate our lives and be miserable, it’s normal to be lonely, it’s normal to feel hollow. The Freak Revolution Manifesto.
posted by fiercecupcake on Oct 2, 2009 - 97 comments

Life in this society being, at best, an utter bore and no aspect of society being at all relevant to women, there remains to civic-minded, responsible, thrill-seeking females only to overthrow the government, eliminate the money system, institute complete automation and destroy the male sex. [more inside]
posted by Joe Beese on Jun 11, 2009 - 78 comments

The commercials are all over television — and they certainly are attention-grabbing. They’re the ones where the heavy, bald guy is sitting in his easy chair talking in a squeaky female voice about all the clothes he bought — including a bustier. Or the little old lady speaking with the gruff voice of a younger man about the sweet motorcycle she now owned. Identity theft is a serious crime — one that is occurring with an alarming frequency. The Identity Theft Manifesto explains how criminals get your personal info, and what you can do about it.
posted by netbros on Jun 1, 2009 - 15 comments

The Seasteading Institute (previously) is the brain-child of former Google engineer Patri Friedman , and seeks to set up independent governments in international waters. In April 2009, the institute received $500,000 of seed funding from PayPal founder Peter Thiel. After reading it's revised manifesto, Brad Reed (of Sadly, No) remains unimpressed. [more inside]
posted by The Whelk on May 31, 2009 - 98 comments

The Stuckists are a loosely affiliated group of artists - mainly painters - with some strong opinions, helpfully spelled out in a manifesto. [more inside]
posted by shothotbot on Feb 20, 2009 - 46 comments

The Manners Manifesto For example: "(11) Talk to people at the check-out. You don't have to say much. God, even something inane like, "Busy in here, today, isn't it?" or "Not as busy as usual in here, today, is it?" might put us on the road to peace in the Middle East. Carrying on grumping around and spreading those grump vibes certainly isn't going to help."
posted by feelinglistless on Jan 7, 2008 - 143 comments

Geoff Ryman on mundane science fiction. [previously, via]
posted by brundlefly on Sep 22, 2007 - 82 comments

People don't write manifestos like they used to... Whatever happened to the Surrealist Manifesto? How about the the Italian Futurist Manifesto (and its many spinoffs)? There's also First and Second OuLiPo Manifestos, Humanist (I, II, & III) as well as Post-Humanist Manifestos, not to mention Donna Haraway's Cyborg Manifesto: "...an ironic political myth faithful to feminism, socialism, and materialism...."
posted by anotherpanacea on Aug 21, 2006 - 43 comments

A Feminist Gaming Manifesto. (And part 2 is here.) "So wait, you’re wondering, maybe, why don’t these crazy men-folk just do that? I think the answer is actually pretty straightforward. People who themselves feel marginalized can’t bear the thought that they could be in a position of power wherein they could hurt someone in the same way that they feel hurt. Who out there hasn’t felt terribly marginalized? What happens, then, is there’s this conflation of “you’re doing something that makes me feel excluded or hurt” with “you’re a bad, bad man like those people with the bitch shirts.” You can’t handle that thought, so you try desperately to prove that it’s not the case. Guilt, or fear that you might be guilty, never did anybody any good."
posted by Bryan Behrenshausen on Apr 16, 2006 - 87 comments

On this date in 1848, The Communist Manifesto was published. Howard Zinn: "I don’t see much point in abstract theorizing or getting into arguments about Marxism, Leninism, etc. ... Theoretical analyses are useful but not crucial. There is a lot of wasted time in such endeavors, but not all is wasted. Marx’s Communist Manifesto was a theoretical analysis, immensely useful and inspiring. His first volume of Das Kapital was useful too. His second and third volumes, and his Grundrisse, were probably a waste of time!" Informal Poll: How many of you have actually read the entire Communist Manifesto? (I haven't.)
posted by mickeyz on Feb 24, 2006 - 42 comments

Welcome! This is The Manifesto of Forbidden Truth the most unique and dangerous web site on planet earth. Here, within these pages, all of your most sacred societal Myths, Dogmas, Doctrines, Delusions, Derangements, and Brainwashings will be stripped to the bone and torn asunder, to be replaced by the Forbidden Truths that I shall graciously reveal.
posted by stinkycheese on Jan 5, 2006 - 64 comments

Leftist Propaganda video (embedded wmv) and quite well done!
posted by blue_beetle on Nov 20, 2005 - 31 comments

Manifesto: The Age of Plunder is over.

John Seymour, author of the manifesto, is the doyen of the British smallholder movement (US: read "homesteading" or "back-to-the-land"). John and his ex-wife Sally were "homesteaders" in England at a time when "self-sufficient" living was incomprehensible crankery to the mainstream. His books (e.g.) are witty, entertaining, and instructive. He has not dimmed with age; at 84 he was arrested and tried for partially destroying a field of GMO sugar beets in an act of civil disobedience.

(If the Age of Plunder isn't over, it can't go on much longer.)
posted by bricoleur on Feb 24, 2005 - 23 comments

Elite Designers Against IKEA
posted by armage on Dec 4, 2004 - 90 comments

I demand four minutes and twenty seconds of your life. [via ni.vu ni.connu]
posted by lagado on Sep 1, 2004 - 24 comments

A Consumption Manifesto.
posted by monju_bosatsu on Dec 2, 2003 - 11 comments

Phyllis Chesler calls it as she sees it in her latest feminist manifesto. This is not what you think folks - Chesler toes the line at anti-feminism according to most modern day feminist. I well remember reading Chesler's Letters to a Young Feminist eight years ago and patting down misogynistic tendencies in the hopes of bettering the lives of women everywhere. She calls for sisterhood to further opportunity and does not condone manhating and oppression from the masses which makes her arguments logical as opposed to seething, vituperative vitriol. We all seemed to be begging for a discussion on feminism and issues between the sexes yesterday in this particular post and after reading salon today, felt I would provide one...
posted by gloege on Mar 29, 2002 - 3 comments

Monster Raving Loony Lives! The greatest minor party in the world released a 2001 manifesto: Free Viagra! Close the Channel Tunnel! Let's party!
posted by Erendadus on May 21, 2001 - 0 comments

It's the Unaspanker! Read a good manifesto lately? Meet Robin Whittle, a man who has spent an alarming amount of time on a project called "Fondly and Firmly - The Gentlemanly Art of Spanking the Woman You Love." via cruel.com
posted by gimli on Mar 13, 2001 - 15 comments

Everything about the way we use computers is about to change or, then again, perhaps not.
posted by grumblebee on Jun 16, 2000 - 2 comments

Adbusters' Design Manifesto 2000 is an interesting read. In accordance with what many people believe, and the result of corporations going too far, the question becomes, do we need something like this for web creators? A Pledge to pursue personal interests and experiments on the web, instead of just your daily e-company work? Would you sign such a thing?
posted by mathowie on May 9, 2000 - 12 comments

Why, yes, I like being stupid, but now I don't have to be. How silly of me to have failed to recognize that the earth is a Time Cube, with four simultaneous days. (But if God were queer, I'd think this whole gay marriage rights mess would never have happened...)
posted by jason on Mar 8, 2000 - 12 comments