Luigi Mangione assassinated the CEO of United HealthCare. It was not personal. He did not have insurance with UHC. Instead, it was a calculated and violent action deliberately focused on a specific corporate target and had a political meaning.
I don’t know if Luigi Mangione knows who Russian anarchist Mikhail Bakunin was. However, Mangione’s actions very much echo Bakunin’s (and other anarchists) “Propaganda of the Deed” tactics. Forget pointless speeches and protests. Instead, take direct action – including murder and bombings – to inflame public opinion in hopes of igniting revolution.
Well, yeah, this is really nihilist. And sometimes such tactics might get a jackboot on your head from the authorities rather than igniting revolution. It can also be quite effective. Anarchists in the late 1800s mostly devised and popularized it. And you can see echoes of it in fringe political movements everywhere, including on the far-right.
From his manifesto:
“These parasites simply had it coming. A reminder: the US has the #1 most expensive healthcare system in the world, yet we rank roughly #42 in life expectancy. United is the largest company in the US by market cap, behind only Apple, Google, Walmart. It has grown and grown, but as our life expectancy? No the reality is, these have simply gotten too powerful, and they continue to abuse our country for immense profit.”
Mangione has been successful at getting public opinion of his side. He’s a folk hero now. His actions absolutely put a focus on the greed and arrogance of healthcare insurers. Do we really want self-proclaimed enforcers going around shooting and killing people? This is maybe not a good political strategy for the future! However, the response to his actions absolutely show they were effective as Propaganda of the Deed. We are living in unusual times now.
“The social media response to Thompson’s death often descended into death-delighting schadenfreude by people who apparently don’t care one whit about the gunning down of a 50-year-old father of two from the quiet suburban city of Maple Grave, Minnesota. The humble Facebook eulogy by UnitedHealth for Brian Thompson was met with so many emoji laughs and claps — 77,000 at last count — that comments were shut down.
Background on Propaganda of the Deed
“Propaganda of the deed is a type of direct action intended to influence public opinion. The action itself is meant to serve as an example for others to follow, acting as a catalyst for social revolution.
It is primarily associated with acts of violence perpetrated by proponents of insurrectionary anarchism in the late 19th and early 20th century, including bombings and assassinations aimed at the state, the ruling class in a spirit of anti-capitalism
The theory of propaganda by the deed was formalised in 1869 by the Russian revolutionaries Mikhail Bakunin and Sergey Nechayev, who favoured insurrectionary direct action over “pointless propaganda.”
There are probably better, more effective ways to rally mass opinion than targeted violence. Which could easily backfire as a tactic. However, Mangione absolutely got everyone’s attention.