by Rob Haskins
This paper discusses Cage’s understanding of anarchism through sources that he himself knew. Particularly relevant is the distinction between living within discipline and living under discipline. In the former, people agree to discipline and act in accord with it. In the latter, participants comply or are punished. Like members of anarchistic societies, Cage performers constantly negotiate changing circumstances: individual actions never suppress those of others. The unusually active role that Cage’s audiences ideally adopt provides another powerful metaphor for anarchistic community. An exploration of these issues further elucidates Cage’s compositions and offers a heretofore underemphasized American context for his work.
[Presented at the Society for American Music 31st Annual Conference, Eugene, Oregon, February 18, 2005.]