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Punk ideologies are a group of varied social and political beliefs associated with thepunk subculture andpunk rock. It is primarily concerned with concepts such asmutual aid,[1] is opposed toselling out,[2]hierarchy,white supremacy,authoritarianism,[3]eugenics,class andclassism, and supportsanti-consumerism,[3]anti-corporatism,anti-war,anti-imperialism,anti-globalization,anti-gentrification,anti-racism,anti-sexism,gender equality,anti-homophobia,racial equality,animal rights,[4]free-thought andnon-conformity. One of its main tenets is a rejection of mainstream, corporatemass culture and its values. It continues to evolve its ideology as the movement spreads throughout North America from its origins in England and New York and embraces a range of anti-racist and anti-sexist belief systems. Punk does not necessarily lend itself to any particular party politics as it is primarilyanti-establishment and oftenanarchist.[5][6]
Punk ideologies are usually expressed throughpunk rock music and lyrics,punk literature such as amateurfanzines,spoken word performances or recordings,punk fashion, orpunk visual art. Some punks have participated indirect action, such as protest or demonstration disruption, political violence,ecotage, street barricades,squatting,pirate radio, off-grid energy,graffiti,vandalism and public and businessproperty destruction, and indirect action through counter-propaganda,protests orboycotts. They support and squat in urban and rural collective houses, with group funds held in common.Punk fashion was originally an expression of nonconformity, as well as opposition to both mainstream culture and thestatus quo. Punk fashion often displays aggression, rebellion, and individualism. Some punks wear accessories, clothing or havetattoos that express sociopolitical messages. They stage Punk Rock Food Drives, such as D.O.A's Unity for Freedom. Punk visual art also often includes political messages. Many punks wear secondhand clothing, partly as an anti-consumerist statement.
An attitude common in the punk subculture is the opposition to selling out, which refers to abandoning of one's values and/or a change in musical style towardpop (e.g.electropop) and embracing mainstream culture or more radio-friendlyrock (e.g.pop rock) in exchange for wealth, status, or power. The issue ofauthenticity is important in the punk subculture—the pejorative termposeur is applied to those who try to associate with punk and adopt its stylistic attributes but are deemed not to share or understand the underlying core values or philosophy.
Becauseanti-establishment attitudes are such an important part of the punk subculture, a network ofindependent record labels, venues and distributors has developed. Some punk bands have chosen to break from this independent system and work within the established system ofmajor labels. Thedo it yourself (DIY) ideal is common in the punk scene, especially in terms of music recording and distribution, concert promotion, and photocopying magazines, posters and flyers. The expressionDIY was coined by commentators after the fact.
The following include some of the most common ideologies and philosophies within the punk subculture (in alphabetical order).
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There is a complex and worldwide underground of punks committed to anarchism as a serious political ideology, sometimes termed "peace punks" or "anarcho-punks." While some well-known punk bands such as theSex Pistols andThe Exploited had songs aboutanarchy, notably the Pistols' "Anarchy in the UK", they did not embrace anarchism as a disciplined ideology. As such, these bands are not considered part of the anarcho-punk scene.[7]
Anarcho-punks typically believe indirect action. Many anarcho-punks arepacifists (e.g. Crass andDischarge) and therefore believe in using non-violent means of achieving their aims. These include peaceful protest,squatting,applying legal graffiti,culture jamming,ecotage,freeganism,boycotting,civil disobedience,hacktivism andsubvertising. Some anarcho-punks believe that violence or property damage is an acceptable way of achieving social change (e.g.Conflict). This manifests itself asrioting,illegal graffiti,vandalism, wire cutting,hunt sabotage, participation inClass War-style activities, melee weapons and in extreme cases,bombings. Notable anarchist punk artists include:Aus-Rotten,Dave Insurgent,Crass,Subhumans,Colin Jerwood, andDave Dictor.
In the 1980s, bothstraight edge hardcore punk in the United States[8][9] and anarcho-punk in the United Kingdom[10] started to become associated withanimal rights. This association was made possible through activism by bands such asNapalm Death,Icons of Filth,Conflict, andElectro Hippies. Some musicians in these bands were vegans and vegetarians themselves and publicly advocated for these ideologies. In addition to this, bands at the forefront of this movement included lyrical themes pertaining toanimal rights,vegetarianism andveganism.[11] Consequently, these ideas became a feature of the punk subculture and this association continues on into the 21st century.[10][12] A notable example is Jack McGarry of the band SX-70 citing messages of animal rights in lyrics of music he listened to as an influence in becoming vegan.[13] It is additionally evidenced by the prominence of vegan punk events such asFluff Fest in Europe.[14][15]
Some punks claim to be adherents toapoliticism, such as the bandCharged GBH and the singerGG Allin, although some socio-political ideas have appeared in their lyrics. Some Charged GBH songs have discussed social issues, and a few have expressed anti-war views. Allin expressed a vague desire to kill the United States president and destroy the political system in his song "Violence Now".[16] Punk subgenres that are generally apolitical includeglam punk,psychobilly,horror punk,punk pathetique,death rock andpop punk. Many of the bands credited with starting the punk movement were decidedly apolitical, includingThe Dictators,Ramones (which featured staunchconservativeJohnny Ramone alongsideliberal activistJoey Ramone),New York Dolls,Television,Johnny Thunders' Heartbreakers, andRichard Hell & The Voidoids.
Christian punk is a subgenre of punk rock with some degree of Christian lyrical content. Some Christian punk bands are associated with theChristian music industry,[17] while others reject that association. Ideologies within Christian punk vary, though a number of bands lean towards traditional left-wing politics, most prominentlyCrashdog,Showbread (band),Ballydowse andThe Psalters, the latter three of whom identified asChristian anarchists.[18][19] Further examples of notable Christian punk bands includeAltar Boys,[20]The Crucified,[21]Five Iron Frenzy,[22]Flatfoot 56,[23] Side Walk Slam, and pop-punk bandMxPx, who earned agold record in 1998.[24]
A moderate number of punk bands and artists areconservative, rejectingliberalism,communism andsocialism in favor of conservatism. Notable conservative punks includeJohnny Ramone,Dee Dee Ramone,[25]Cherie Currie,[26]Forgotten Rebels,John Kezdy,[27]Billy Zoom,[28]Exene Cervenka,[29]Joe Escalante,Bobby Steele,Ross the Boss,[30]Duane Peters,Leonard Graves Phillips,[31]John Knight,[32]Jon Moss,[33]Lee Ving,[31]Klamydia,Dave Smalley,[31]U.S. Chaos,Cro-Mags,[34][35] andAgnostic Front.[36][35]John Lydon of theSex Pistols has also expressed some conservative views as early as the80s.[37][38] During the1980 United States presidential election,Iggy Pop became a vocal supporter ofRonald Reagan.[39]Ian Curtis of thepost-punk quartetJoy Division was a loyalConservative voter[40] who not only voted forMargaret Thatcher in1979 but persuaded the Liberal candidate to give him a lift to the polling station in order to do so.[41]
SomeChristian punk and hardcore bands haveconservative political stances, in particular some of theNYHC bands.[42]
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Riot grrrl is an underground subculturalfeminist punk movement that combines feminism, punk music and politics. It began during the early 1990s within the United States inOlympia, Washington, and the greaterPacific Northwest. It is often associated withthird-wave feminism, which is sometimes seen as having grown out of the riot grrrl movement, and has recently been seen in currentfourth-wave feminist punk music. Riot grrrl bands often address issues such asrape,domestic abuse,sexuality,racism,patriarchy,classism,anarchism, and often contain themes offemale empowerment. Primary bands associated with the movement includeBikini Kill,Bratmobile,Heavens to Betsy,Excuse 17,Huggy Bear,Skinned Teen,Emily's Sassy Lime andSleater-Kinney, small italian band Pankhurst, as well asqueercore groups such asTeam Dresch and theThird Sex.[47][48][49][50]
The Filipino punk band theWuds which was formed in the early 1980s is the first known punk band who composed songs dedicated toHare Krishna movement.[51] In the 1990s, some notable members of theNew York hardcore scene, includingRay Cappo (Youth of Today,Shelter and other bands),John Joseph (Cro-Mags) andHarley Flanagan (Cro-Mags) converted toHare Krishna.[52] This led to trend within the western hardcore scene that became known as Krishnacore.
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Taqwacore is a punk subgenre, many of whose members are Muslim artists who live in the West.
Liberal punks were in the punk subculture from the beginning and are mostly on theliberal left. Notable liberal punks (second wave, mid-1990s to 2000s) include:Fat Mike ofNOFX,Ted Leo,Green Day,Crashdog,Dropkick Murphys,Hoxton Tom McCourt,Jared Gomes ofHed PE,[53][54][55][56]Tim Armstrong ofRancid andTim McIlrath ofRise Against. Liberal ideologies in punk music are most notably found in the lyrical content of these songs.[57] While viewpoints typically associated with liberals (such as beinganti-war) can be seen within the lyrical content of some punk songs, they are also sometimes endorsed by musicians in public statements and interviews as well.[58] Some liberal punks also participated in theRock Against Bush movement in the mid-2000s, in support of the Democratic Party candidateJohn Kerry.
Nazi punks have awhite nationalist ideology that is closely related to that ofwhite power skinheads.Ian Stuart Donaldson and his bandSkrewdriver are credited with popularizingwhite power rock andhatecore (for its hateful lyrical themes), orRock Against Communism. Nazi punks are different from early punks such asSid Vicious andSiouxsie Sioux, who are believed to have incorporated Nazi imagery such asswastikas for shock or comedy value. "Nazi Punks Fuck Off" is a song by theDead Kennedys, an American punk rock band, and is often considered the most famous song regarding Nazi punk. The song was released in 1981 and was written in response to the rise of neo-Nazi and far-right punks that had started attending Dead Kennedy shows in response to their satirical song "Kill the Poor". The lyrics of "Nazi Punks Fuck Off" condemn the presence of far-right and fascist punks attending their shows, calling out individuals who espouse racist, sexist, and homophobic beliefs. The song's chorus is a direct call to action, urging punk fans to reject and expel these hateful elements from their community.[59]
Centering on a belief in the abject lack of meaning and value to life,nihilism was a fixture in some early punk rock andprotopunk.[60] TheSex Pistols were central to the association of punk and nihilism, with theTrouser Press Record Guide writing that their "confrontational, nihilistic public image and rabidly nihilistic socio-political lyrics set the tone that continues to guide punk bands."[61] However, researcher Neil Eriksen argues that though "much of the critical realism [of punk rock] expresses cynicism and nihilism, it does serve to question existing relations in such a way that listeners are forced to think about what is being said",[62] so that overt rejection of meaning is primarily concerned with challenging existing values.
TheSituationist International (SI) was an early influence on punk subculture in theUnited Kingdom.[63] Started in continental Europe in the 1950s, the SI was an avant-garde political movement that sought to recapture the ideals of surrealist art and use them to construct new and radical social situations.Malcolm McLaren introduced situationist ideas to punk through his management of the bandSex Pistols.[63]Vivienne Westwood, McLaren's partner and the band's designer/stylist, expressed situationist ideals through fashion that was intended to provoke a specific social response. 15% Pus and DUST, subversive 1990s Manchester bands, staged psycho-geographic walks aroundHulme and created human collages from road signs as part of what became known as 'psycho-spectre'.Jamie Reid's distinctive album cover artwork was openly situationist.
The Clash were a blatantly political punk rock band, introducingsocialism to the punk scene.[64][65] Clash frontmanJoe Strummer said of his socialist views "I believe in socialism because it seems more humanitarian, rather than every man for himself and 'I'm alright jack' and all those asshole businessmen with all the loot. I made up my mind from viewing society from that angle. That's where I'm from and there's where I've made my decisions from. That's why I believe in socialism."[66] Some of the originalOi! bands expressed a rough form of socialistworking classpopulism — often mixed withpatriotism.[67][68][69] Many Oi! bands sang aboutunemployment, economic inequality, working class power and police harassment. In the 1980s, several notable British socialist punk musicians were involved withRed Wedge. Notable socialist punks include:Attila the Stockbroker,Billy Bragg,Bruce La Bruce,Garry Bushell (until the late 1980s),Chris Dean,Gary Floyd,Jack Grisham,Stewart Home,Dennis Lyxzén,Thomas Mensforth,Fermin Muguruza,Alberto Pla,Tom Robinson,Seething Wells,Paul Simmonds,Rob Tyner, Joe Strummer,Ian Svenonius,Mark Steel andPaul Weller (guitarist for British powerhouse, new wave band,The Jam). Neil Eriksen wrote in 1980: "... we feel that elements of punk rock fulfill a revolutionary cultural function".[62]
Straight edge originated in theWashington, D.C. hardcore punk scene with theMinor Threat song "Straight Edge" written by frontmanIan MacKaye and guitarist Brian Baker. Straight edge involves abstaining fromalcohol,tobacco, andrecreational drug use. Some who claim the title straight edge also abstain fromcaffeine, casual sex and meat. Those stricter individuals may be considered part of thehardline subculture. Unlike the shunning of meat and caffeine, refraining from casual sex was without question a practice in the original straight edge lifestyle, but it has been overlooked in many of the later reincarnations of straight edge. For some, straight edge is a simple lifestyle preference, but for others it is a political stance. In many cases, it is a rejection of the perceived self-destructive qualities of punk and hardcore culture. MacKaye has often spoken out against others labeling themselves as being Straight edge, which was never his intentions for it being a label, but it became a movement one which he became annoyed with. Notable straight edgers:Tim McIlrath,CM Punk andDavey Havok.
The original album art reworked this philosophy into a trickier conservatism than Agnostic Front's blue-collar grumbling. Inside a mushroom cloud doubling as a crystal ball, the cover drawing revealed a mix of evils from the Krishna perspective: a slaughterhouse, dogfighting, drug abuse, abortion doctors chucking a fetus, two gay men strolling arm in arm. Profile nixed this art, and the band instead chose a photograph of a real mushroom cloud—the 1954 Castle Romeo test—in what has to stand as one of the all-time classics of truth in advertising.
"Johnny has had a conservative streak in him from the get go," he says. "He was coming out in favor of nuclear power in the '80s.
Of all the conservative rock stars, perhaps the most bemusing is Iggy Pop. The artist formerly known as James Osterhaus was, like Johnny Ramone, a vocal supporter of Reagan. "I've been waiting for someone who could communicate the joys of liberty as compared to the joys of equality" he said.
Ian Curtis of Joy Division not only voted Conservative in 1979 but persuaded the Liberal candidate to give him a lift to the polling station in order to do so.
