Rebibia, g12, June 6, 1983

Dear Friends

A very brief message for your meeting. Remember us, we love you very much.

Toni Negri

Roma-Italy-00156
Rebibbia G12
Via Majetti, 165


Once upon a time the Emperor of China wished to know the extent of his domains and he commanded his mapmakers to force every man, woman and child in the land to toil on a lifesize map of his possessions, a map that would cover every inch and wrinkle of the Empire's territory. All the work in China ceased that the Emperor might know his wealth.
  
A writer made up this tale of China. In Italy, in jail, we think this is a wonderful fairy story about the modern State and this is the reason we send it on to you who struggle, as we do, against the Imperial mapmakers. Mapmakers always try to measure their power against time and against our Lives.

"Autonomia" means no more work. We believe modem industrial society can produce a great amount of wealth with very little work. This means that our lives are filled with useless labor which only produces political control. The time we are forced to waste in pointless work is simply a trick for parceling out wealth, not for creating it. "Autonomia" means freeing our time from this kind of work and using it the way we want, to do the things we want and know to do. 

"Autonomia" means enjoying wealth freed from the rules of useless labor, wealth that can be taken any time and everywhere. we see it, from the next-door shopfront and from the store across the street. The Empire's mapmakers say that this breeds terrorism, but it isn't so. When mapmakers no longer know their territory they go mad, and spray madness all around them. We live in jail now and we aren't happy, but we still know what we like and our masters aren't happy either. Their charts are filled with workers who don't make a thing and with unemployed people who do a lot of things. Their maps are meaningless now. 
One of these days they'll find out too.

Freedom and happiness. 

The brothers in Rebibbia prison, Italy.