£9.00

Excellent intro

This is a book that fills the much needed gap of an up to date, accessible and short introduction to anarchism that can build upon its growing success internationally. Both those new to anarchism and old veterans will find this book of great use. The authors get to the root of anarchism by focusing on the manner in which it manifests itself practically through horizontal organisations without hierarchical social relationships. In this they refer to more contemporary examples of anarchist action and organisation which is refreshing given the dated nature of most introductions to anarchism. The linking of democracy with direct, face to face decision making is a high point of the book which reclaims the term from those who have warped it out of all recognition. The one criticism of it that some might make are that it doesn’t refer to anarcho-syndicalism enough which, although maybe not dominant in the American movement which the text focuses on, was historically (and arguably still is) the main way anarchists have taken on capitalism and the state with most success. Other than this (relatively minor) problem the book is an outstanding contribution to the area and provides a much needed up to date introduction that deserves a very wide readership, including the converted.

Anonymous :: 21 May 2010, 10:28