Anarchism: A Documentary History of Libertarian Ideas

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Anarchism: A Documentary History of Libertarian Ideas is a three-volume anthology of anarchist writings edited by historian Robert Graham. [1] The anthology is published by Black Rose Books. Each selection is introduced by Graham, placing each author and selection in their historical and ideological context. The focus of the anthology is on the origins and development of anarchist ideas; it is not a documentary history of the world's anarchist movements, although the selections are geographically diverse.

Contents

Volume One

Volume One: From Anarchy to Anarchism (300 CE to 1939) was published in Montreal by Black Rose Books in 2005. [2] Anarchist writer and publisher Stuart Christie wrote of the first volume in the Independent on Sunday that it "provides a good, comprehensive introduction to the strands, ideas and themes of anarchist and libertarian thought from the feudal era (AD300) to 1939". [3] George Fetherling of The Georgia Straight compared the collection favourably to Daniel Guérin's No Gods No Masters: An Anthology of Anarchism , observing that in contrast to Guérin's focus on the established canon of 19th-century European anarchist thinkers and adversarial style, Graham's collection "goes much farther afield, not only in scope and time but also in geography", and takes an informative, non-confrontational tone. [1] The Kate Sharpley Library praised the collection for avoiding both repetitive drabness and the temptation to opt for selections of misrepresentative novelty, and singled out the Latin American and Asian selections as "especially valuable because so little is easily available elsewhere". [4] The volume was also recommended by Kenneth Gregg in a literature review for the anarcho-capitalist website LewRockwell.com, [5] and by mutualist scholar Shawn P. Wilbur. [6]

In a review of the collection for the Fall 2006 issue of Labour/Le Travail , leading post-anarchism theorist Saul Newman declared it to be "symptomatic of a growing interest in anarchism and a revitalization of the anarchist tradition", and that it would "serve as an excellent introduction to the anti-authoritarian tradition, and an important resource for the scholar of anarchism". [2] While identifying the collection's assembly of such a diverse range of material as its strength, Newman found its "eclecticism and sheer panoramic scope" also to be a weakness, in that the brevity of the selections often left the reader with only a superficial understanding of the author's work. [2] Being an anthology encompassing a wide range of topics and numerous authors, readers are encouraged to consult the original sources if they wish to learn more about a particular topic or author.

Subsequent volumes

Volume 2, subtitled "The Emergence of the New Anarchism", covers the period from 1939, with the defeat of the Spanish Revolution and the start of the Second World War, to 1977, by which time there had been a significant resurgence in anarchist ideas and movements. [7] It includes material from Herbert Read, Emma Goldman, Daniel Guérin, Marie Louise Berneri, Paul Goodman, Martin Buber, André Breton, Peggy Kornegger, Noam Chomsky, Murray Bookchin, Colin Ward, Ivan Illich, Pierre Clastres, Paul Feyerabend, Carol Ehrlich and many others. Its publication was announced by Graham on April 12, 2009. [8] AK Press Revolution by the Book describes Volume 2 as an exciting read, "because you discover new writers and/or writers you've only seen referenced or briefly quoted before (all contextualized by Robert's introductions)."

Volume 3, subtitled "The New Anarchism" covers the period from 1974 to 2012, [6] showcasing the different currents in anarchist theory and practice which have developed since the 1970s. It was published in November 2012 . Contributors include Peter Marshall, Murray Bookchin, Carole Pateman, Noam Chomsky, Todd May, David Graeber, Jeff Ferrell, Richard Sonn, Mark Leier, Saul Newman, Richard Day and many others. Chapters cover a variety of topics, including anarchism and self-managing democracy, global justice movements, especifismo, anarchist politics, revolutionary movements across the globe, direct action, the logic of state power, anarchy and ecology, personal, social and sexual liberation, art and anarchy, anti-capitalism, post-anarchism and the relevance of anarchism today.

Andrew Cornell has described the anthology as "both a map of a movement and a treasure trove of ideas – a valuable textbook for political militants and scholars alike." Iain McKay calls it "essential reading for all those interested in libertarian thought. The breadth of authors and subjects is both comprehensive and impressive, giving a much needed overview of anarchism as an evolving and relevant social movement and theory." Alan Antliff says that the three volume series "is an invaluable resource, with texts encompassing a remarkable range of theorists, organizations, and thematic issues."

See also

Related Research Articles

Anarchism is a political philosophy and movement that is skeptical of all justifications for authority and seeks to abolish the institutions it claims maintain unnecessary coercion and hierarchy, typically including nation states, and capitalism. Anarchism advocates for the replacement of the state with stateless societies and voluntary free associations. As a historically left-wing movement, this reading of anarchism is placed on the farthest left of the political spectrum, usually described as the libertarian wing of the socialist movement.

Individualist anarchism is the branch of anarchism that emphasizes the individual and their will over external determinants such as groups, society, traditions and ideological systems. Although usually contrasted to social anarchism, both individualist and social anarchism have influenced each other. Some anarcho-capitalists claim anarcho-capitalism is part of the individualist anarchist tradition, while others disagree and claim individualist anarchism is only part of the socialist movement and part of the libertarian socialist tradition. Mutualism, an economic theory sometimes considered a synthesis of communism and property, has been considered individualist anarchism and other times part of social anarchism. Many anarcho-communists regard themselves as radical individualists, seeing anarcho-communism as the best social system for the realization of individual freedom. Economically, while European individualist anarchists are pluralists who advocate anarchism without adjectives and synthesis anarchism, ranging from anarcho-communist to mutualist economic types, most American individualist anarchists of the 19th century advocated mutualism, a libertarian socialist form of market socialism, or a free-market socialist form of classical economics. Individualist anarchists are opposed to property that violates the entitlement theory of justice, that is, gives privilege due to unjust acquisition or exchange, and thus is exploitative, seeking to "destroy the tyranny of capital, — that is, of property" by mutual credit.

Anarchist communism is a political philosophy and anarchist school of thought that advocates communism. It calls for the abolition of private property but retention of personal property and collectively-owned items, goods, and services. It supports social ownership of property and the distribution of resources "From each according to his ability, to each according to his needs".

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Murray Bookchin</span> American social theorist (1921–2006)

Murray Bookchin was an American social theorist, author, orator, historian, and political philosopher. A pioneer in the environmental movement, Bookchin formulated and developed the theory of social ecology and urban planning within anarchist, libertarian socialist, and ecological thought. He was the author of two dozen books covering topics in politics, philosophy, history, urban affairs, and social ecology. Among the most important were Our Synthetic Environment (1962), Post-Scarcity Anarchism (1971), The Ecology of Freedom (1982), and Urbanization Without Cities (1987). In the late 1990s, he became disenchanted with what he saw as an increasingly apolitical "lifestylism" of the contemporary anarchist movement, stopped referring to himself as an anarchist, and founded his own libertarian socialist ideology called "communalism", which seeks to reconcile and expand Marxist, syndicalist, and anarchist thought.

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The history of anarchism is ambiguous, primarily due to the ambiguity of anarchism itself. Scholars find it hard to define or agree on what anarchism means, which makes outlining its history difficult. There is a range of views on anarchism and its history. Some feel anarchism is a distinct, well-defined 19th and 20th century movement while others identify anarchist traits long before first civilisations existed.

Anarchists have traditionally been skeptical of or vehemently opposed to organized religion. Nevertheless, some anarchists have provided religious interpretations and approaches to anarchism, including the idea that the glorification of the state is a form of sinful idolatry.

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<span class="mw-page-title-main">Kate Sharpley Library</span>

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Anarchism in France can trace its roots to thinker Pierre-Joseph Proudhon, who grew up during the Restoration and was the first self-described anarchist. French anarchists fought in the Spanish Civil War as volunteers in the International Brigades. According to journalist Brian Doherty, "The number of people who subscribed to the anarchist movement's many publications was in the tens of thousands in France alone."

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References

  1. 1 2 Fetherling, George (May 18, 2006). "No Gods, No Masters / Anarchism". Straight.com. Archived from the original on 19 March 2009. Retrieved March 21, 2009.
  2. 1 2 3 Newman, Saul (September 22, 2006). "Robert Graham, ed., Anarchism: A Documentary History of Libertarian Ideas. Volume One: From Anarchy to Anarchism". Labour/Le Travail. Canadian Committee on Labour History (58). Archived from the original on December 1, 2008. Retrieved March 21, 2009.
  3. Christie, Stuart (July 24, 2005). "Building a Library: Anarchy". The Independent on Sunday .
  4. "Anarchism: a documentary history of libertarian ideas, volume one, From anarchy to anarchism (300-1939) edited by Robert Graham [Review]". KSL: Bulletin of the Kate Sharpley Library. Kate Sharpley Library (46–47). July 2006. Retrieved March 21, 2009.
  5. Gregg, Kenneth R. (December 5, 2006). "My Libertarian Books for the Holidays by Kenneth R. Gregg". Lewrockwell.com. Retrieved March 21, 2009.
  6. 1 2 Wilbur, Shawn P. "Anarchism: A Documentary History of Libertarian Ideas weblog". In the Libertarian Labyrinth. Archived from the original on July 8, 2011. Retrieved March 21, 2009.
  7. "Anarchism, Volume Two: Table of Contents". Black Rose Books. Retrieved March 21, 2009.
  8. Graham, Robert. "Anarchism Volume 2: The Emergence of the New Anarchism (1939-1977)". Robert Graham's Anarchism Weblog. Wordpress.com. Archived from the original on 10 May 2009. Retrieved April 12, 2009.