There is always a Movement with Counter-Movements.
If we look at dance music, for example, we find this in the rhythm of all the groove oriented or funky forms. There is a dominant movement described in 4/4 time on the One, Two, Three, and Four; and, there is also an alternative, counter-movement, which both conforms to the dominant rhythm as well as works against it in a relationship of tension. It may for instance start on the One, but then proceed by increments of 3/16’s, landing on the 1.75, 2.5, 3.25, and 4. The Four will get it back into conformity so that it can start again in unison on the One. This is more than just random syncopation; it is a counter-rhythm proper.
We might extend this principle, in an even more crude, simplistic, and basic way, if that can be tolerated, to the sphere of politics and the authority of the state. There will always exist a dominant authority, and there will always exist an element of intolerance or dissent to this dominant authority. Let’s call the state of authority Control, and the movement of intolerance and dissent Anarchy. Control cannot be absolute and will always give rise to accompanying movements of Anarchy. Anarchy will always be in tension with Control, but will also be subordinate to it, will be conforming and reacting to Control. It cannot displace Control, because if it ever did it would suddenly take over the role of Control, while all of its opposing movements would become the new Anarchy. The rebel challenger kills the king, only to become a new king, with all the king’s duties, including defending himself from rebel challengers.
In the realm of thought, since the age of reason, through the enlightenment and the industrial revolution, there has been a dominant movement for the restructuring of society and methods of science and production under the banner of Reason and Rationality. And, there have been the attendant counter-movements. These counter movements have not been completely anti- or unreasonable. More often they have questioned the conception or constitution of reason, provoking it to try and define itself, and critiquing the range and method of its application. I was always attracted to elements in these counter-movements to reason, especially in the arts: Romanticism, the Gothic revival, Expressionism, and Surrealism. It is interesting that in addition to being somewhat antagonistic or critical to Reason, or perhaps because of this, these movements have also been considered Experimental or Avant-garde.
Some elements of these movements have been: the mystery and wildness of nature; the sublime; the supernatural and occult; intuition, imagination, emotions (including trepidation, angst, anxiety) and subjectivity; the psychological and psychic structures; melodrama; uncontrollable subconscious play; the fantastic; the primitive; the atmospheric and hidden; the crazy and revolting; horror, terror, and awe…