The word 'anarchism' tends to conjure up images of aggressive protest against government, and - recently - of angry demonstrations against bodies such as the World Bank and the International Monetary Fund. But is anarchism inevitably linked with violent disorder? Do anarchists adhere to a coherent ideology? What exactly is anarchism?
In this Very Short Introduction, Colin Ward considers anarchism from a variety of perspectives: theoretical, historical, and international, and by exploring key anarchist thinkers from Kropotkin to Chomsky. He looks critically at anarchism by evaluating key ideas within it, such as its blanket opposition to incarceration, and policy of 'no compromise' with the apparatus of political decision-making. Among the questions he ponders are: can anarchy ever function effectively as a political force?
Is it more 'organized' and 'reasonable' than is currently perceived? Whatever the politics of the reader, Ward's argument ensures that anarchism will be much better understood after reading this book.
Publication date : October 21, 2004
Language : English
File size : 859 KB
Print length : 126 pages
From the United States
a reader...
1.0 out of 5 stars Slight, biased, more cereal box then serious primary introdution
Reviewed in the United States on June 16, 2020
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This was disappointing. Frankly, on the level of a good high school paper.
A couple of names, a few phrases of history, one liner idea/theory descriptions, a couple of examples of application, not worth the money at all. This VSI series is really a big crap shoot.
I don't want or need 400 pages in an introduction but a solid 150/175 with substance (even in a mini-size book) is what I'm looking for. It can be done. This has 98 superficial, undeveloped, poorly written pages. I really don't understand all the glowing reviews. This isn't even good enough for a text for an advanced high school class. As you can tell, I felt this was a waste of my money.
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Patricia R. Hamilton
4.0 out of 5 stars An excellent update on the subject of anarchism
Reviewed in the United States on January 4, 2019
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I am watching a violent group which calls itself anarchists attach themselves to our community. I needed a refresher on the subject in order to address their concerns and to actually understand if they are also change artists or just noise. Unless this group learns to listen and not just threaten they are just bullies and thugs. This book and writing helped me see clearly how our community is able to respond and regain its equilibrium and move forward in its autonomy well written and easy to read
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J. Brown
5.0 out of 5 stars Little book, big info
Reviewed in the United States on May 25, 2020
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This is the 2nd VSI I have read. I am impressed with the amount of information contained in such a small volume. I highly recommend reading these for whatever subject interests you (they seem to cover everything). I will definitely be reading more.
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Sterling Burnett
3.0 out of 5 stars Informative but limited survey of Anarchist thought.
Reviewed in the United States on March 19, 2018
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Writing with a clear leftist slant, Ward provides an informative survey of some of the leading anarchist theoreticians and briefly describes some interesting attempts to apply theory to select institutions, such as schools and urban gardens on a small scale. What the book lacks however, and what was most disappointing to me, was the short shrift Ward gave to individualist or right leaning anarchism as opposed to communalist variants. He barely discusses Stirner, who Marx took quite seriously as a threat to his promotion of communism and also downplays the contributions and efforts by Tucker and Spooned. He seemingly assumes leftist critiques of Capitalism, including claims of exploitation and environmental harm and scarcity are true --as if they were self-evident or revealed truths, sans the need to provide evidence for his claims. There is a rich literature refuting claims of inevitable scarcity, resource decline, and preferences for individual/autonomous/contractual versus communal forms of association and living. Treating libertarian/anarchist as if they are nothing more than apologists for capitalism the way it operates under existing government regimes, complete with cronyism, corruption and protectionism is not fair to individualist anarchist thinking.
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Clifton Wayne Knox
4.0 out of 5 stars A solid history of Anarchism as a movement.
Reviewed in the United States on November 28, 2015
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While this is an excellent read it completely writes off the Anarchism from the right. As a result this provides an incomplete view of Anarchism at least from a modern perspective.
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Songplayerman
5.0 out of 5 stars Good summary of political and non-political views.
Reviewed in the United States on May 19, 2014
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I found this book helpful because it did not immerse itself in European political history but rather considered the many kinds of lives and people who oppose the state and its policies.
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Hutch Young
3.0 out of 5 stars Decent
Reviewed in the United States on February 27, 2013
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It was very informative but not quite a short introduction. Perhaps too informative and a little too much to read for first timers.
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Alejandro
3.0 out of 5 stars A humble opinion
Reviewed in the United States on September 24, 2014
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Not the best VSI I have read for sure. I buy these to learn about the topic and with this one I feel like I learned less than with the other ones in the series. Still, it deals with interesting topics and will make you think about government, central authority and it's necessity.
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g999b
5.0 out of 5 stars Excellent
Reviewed in the United States on March 8, 2009
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Concise, does not require a PHD to read and understand (it is well written actually), a very good read. Enjoyed it a lot. A great introduction to the topic.
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John L. Murphy
4.0 out of 5 stars In-depth review: an overview by a veteran practitioner of this often misunderstood philosophy
Reviewed in the United States on May 6, 2014
Given his reputation as a veteran activist and architect, who puts his ideals into practice, English anarchist Colin Ward appears to be an wisely chosen author for this Oxford series. He lives rather than merely studies the subject. Some of this Very Short Introduction's best moments come when he narrates the Green applications and environmental dimensions of a left (necessary to preface this as some capitalists have taken this term)-libertarian, small c-communist (as in controlling a common means of ownership for resources shared by all) version. This is, however, one among many versions of living without coercion under a leader or ruler.
This derivation of anarchism contrasts with the popular version, as well as mythologized black-bloc style which may admit violent means to advance the difficult pair of goals, freedom without socialist imposition of top-down power, and liberty without the liberalism which bows to the capitalist and the State as its masters. Ward's chapters move rapidly if unevenly past main themes. He defines the theory and shows its lineage. He looks to its revolutionary phase from the late 19-early 20c, which for many has soured its appeal up through the anti-austerity and Occupy protests of the present, and which with Bolshevism weakened its clout among some who had cheered it on a century ago. He looks at the post-socialist situation and how anarchy may offer alternatives. He counters the nationalist and fundamentalist drives to undermine progress by secular movements and by those seeking a more equitable society.
Here, although the book came out but a decade ago, attacks on the growing menace of the U.S. Christian Right already feel dated, if familiar as to any contemporary reader. But making anarchism fit today's contexts cannot be gainsaid, for this is the purpose Ward seeks. Avi Shlaim is cited as arguing against the nationalist tendencies towards xenophobia and extremism, "towards self-righteousness on the one hand and demonising the enemy on the other" as history is falsified or fabricated. Certainly, anarchists assert, this is relevant no matter who we elect, or is it those who are presented before us for election?
I found the chapter on prisons worthwhile for its excoriation of the industrial penal system, and likewise that on education offered stimulating ideas. How to break free of places where mass inculcation shuts down creativity and insight remains no easy question in an era of correction rather than rehabilitation and of teaching to the test instead of fostering cooperative, enjoyable learning. Both sections, all the same, lurched about a bit in pace and focus, and ended their treatments suddenly; others in this book show a similar unevenness. Ward knows the subject by living it. But it can be a challenge here and there even in a brief book to figure out why he digresses where he does, given the need to cover so much. This may be rectified by Zigo Vodavic's "The Living Spirit of Revolt: the Infrapolitics of Anarchism" (see my review) or a book anyone interested in anarchism will eventually tackle, the magisterial history by Peter Marshall, "Demanding the Impossible," reprinted in 2010 with an update.
This book's precepts may seem utopian, naturally or inevitably, to many skeptics, but I aver even critics of Ward might find useful suggestions (if they ever read such a book) for reform in both schools and the prison-industrial complex. Like that of the military, these regimens dominate our horizons today, and as Ward shows, small-scale efforts for alternative ownership of the way we make a living, teach each other, care for those who lack a way to care for themselves, and break up the centralized power we live and labor under provide worthwhile points for discussion. The anarchist articulation of individual effort and satisfying work and play, allied to the little workshops and craft endeavors a few among us try to sustain, show that progress can be made. Many of those among the New Left may have defected to the New Age (my phrase) but one can sense within Ward's judgment of the counterculture an admission that such advances come at a slow, difficult pace for those who follow in their wake 50 years on.
Ward suggests federalism, as in the Swiss cantons or regionalism supported as a counter to the EU, as ways that devolved administration of one's work and life may go forward. I cite Ward's quote of Gustav Landauer as indicative of this direction. "The state is not something which can be destroyed by a revolution, but is a condition, a certain relationship among human beings, a mode of human behaviour; we destroy it by contracting other relationships, by behaving differently." ( qtd. loc. 160) As Paul Goodman tells us in these pages, the key goal is not freedom per se, for once freed, oppressed people do not know what to do next. Instead, encouraging autonomy, as some do now by passive resistance to coercion and decisions made not by them but for them, seems more sensible. This sort of advice, for many, may better address the need for personal and political change: "the ability to initiate a task and do it in one's own way." (qtd. loc. 847). I hope this helps you evaluate this book's merits yourself.
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