tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9339045.post1886709586506637920..comments2024-03-26T15:19:23.091-07:00Comments on false dichotomy by charles davis: Anarchy and OmetepeCharles Davishttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06005070529766546097noreply@blogger.comBlogger14125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9339045.post-73163672531317049392013-05-16T12:16:06.563-07:002013-05-16T12:16:06.563-07:00Also, I just saw this was a couple years old, so c...Also, I just saw this was a couple years old, so cheers if you read itAnonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9339045.post-4568243808784486592013-05-16T12:10:49.377-07:002013-05-16T12:10:49.377-07:00I read mostly regular philosophy nowadays, and I h...I read mostly regular philosophy nowadays, and I haven't read anarchism for years, but chomsky is always a good way to see sensible anarchist ideals embodied in practical form, rather than reading incredibly boring and abstract theory. (There's enough of that in the "social contract" tradition.) He cites the author Rudolf Rocker approvingly, but I have not read much of anything by him.<br /><br />Robert Paul Wolff has a small book on anarchism called In Defense of Anarchism, and there is also Lysander Spooner. Also I'm aware nobody actually reads book recommendations Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9339045.post-3307828862505167672011-09-20T09:53:32.997-07:002011-09-20T09:53:32.997-07:00Awesome piece, Charles, that at least provides som...Awesome piece, Charles, that at least provides some answers to some of my concern trolling up blog :)Brian Mnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9339045.post-54517137201699275602011-09-17T02:55:57.682-07:002011-09-17T02:55:57.682-07:00Hands down, my favorite anarchist writer is Voltai...Hands down, my favorite anarchist writer is Voltairine de Cleyre. Hell, she's one of my favorite writers, period. There's no other anarchist writer (unless we're gonna count someone like Tolstoy) with an equal command of language. And where a lot of anarchist theory leaves me cold, de Cleyre's prose is just brimming with humanity.<br /><br />And to echo Charles Davis, no one needs to read a word of Goldman or Kropotkin to "get" anarchism. Indeed, the greatest practitioners that exist today never have - e.g., the worker takeovers in Argentina or the Bushmen in Africa. The anarchist impulse exists in our everyday behavior.Danhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/16037402600046752748noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9339045.post-73157009902669996782011-09-16T20:09:49.953-07:002011-09-16T20:09:49.953-07:00I mostly echo the recommendations above, but wante...I mostly echo the recommendations above, but wanted to chime in because Berkman's "ABCs of Anarchism" was my first introduction when my sister's boyfriend gave it to her and she tossed it at my 15-year-old self. I read it and thought, "hey, this makes a lot of sense." 26 years later, I still think it makes a lot of sense. <br /><br />"Native American Anarchism," by Eunice Minette Schuster, which surveys leftist individualist libertarians in the US, many of whom did not describe themselves as anarchist, and "Anarchism and the Black Revolution," by Lorenzo Kom'boa Ervin, also offer some perspectives beyond the major theorists generally named and particularly pertinent to the situation in the US (although both are a bit dated as well).Rojohttps://www.blogger.com/profile/05098831940691963743noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9339045.post-34403211722483122842011-09-16T16:56:51.749-07:002011-09-16T16:56:51.749-07:00And the Emma Goldman anthology titled "Red Em...And the Emma Goldman anthology titled "Red Emma Speaks" is a good read as well. Kevin Carson is a contemporary mutualist who takes a lot of cues from Proudhon and Tucker. I'll stop thinking of things now.Todd S.https://www.blogger.com/profile/10212986450069403803noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9339045.post-19266162772082033432011-09-16T16:50:23.945-07:002011-09-16T16:50:23.945-07:00And I'll second the recommendations for Kropot...And I'll second the recommendations for Kropotkin and Berkman, though Berkman did renounce anarchism eventually. He still understood it well enough. I guess I'll throw Noam Chomsky in there, though I hesitate to call him an actual anarchist in many regards. His recent books read more progressive than anarchist.<br /><br />Some non-anarchist reading that I find valuable: Howard Zinn for his historical perspectives; Buckminster Fuller for his general thought process; and as Charles Davis said Thoreau because he's an O.G.Todd S.https://www.blogger.com/profile/10212986450069403803noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9339045.post-86621976030970618302011-09-16T15:24:10.647-07:002011-09-16T15:24:10.647-07:00I'm frankly not as well-read as I probably sho...I'm frankly not as well-read as I probably should be when it comes to anarchist literature, though I would second the Proudhon and Bakunin recommendations. Peter Kropotkins' <i>Mutual Aid</i> is also an interesting, if often dry, read.<br /><br />I'd also recommend Thoreau's essay on civil disobedience, which was probably the most influential work for me. Even if you've read it already, it's worth another look. I've also enjoyed reading Alexander Berkman's "ABCs of Communist Anarchism" more than I thought I would; it's not as dogmatic as I feared -- he even accurately and without malice describes competing anarchistic schools (obviously wasn't a blogger) -- and I've been pleasantly surprised by how relevant much of it still is, particularly the later chapters noting that what's needed isn't merely a toppling of the state, which really ought to come last, but a social revolution so that the public won't merely empower another group of jackals to run things.Charles Davishttps://www.blogger.com/profile/06005070529766546097noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9339045.post-66604839409079086292011-09-16T13:34:13.459-07:002011-09-16T13:34:13.459-07:00Thanks, Todd. I'll start with that and see wh...Thanks, Todd. I'll start with that and see where it takes me. I'm open to other suggestions, too, from Charlie or whomever.Domnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9339045.post-74215803768537402632011-09-16T11:48:48.463-07:002011-09-16T11:48:48.463-07:00@Dom, Proudhon and Bakunin are indeed good places ...@Dom, Proudhon and Bakunin are indeed good places to start, though they differ in their views. Benjamin Tucker was a Proudhonian of sorts and one of the main proponents of individualist anarchism.Todd S.https://www.blogger.com/profile/10212986450069403803noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9339045.post-53581548629311397792011-09-16T11:13:29.925-07:002011-09-16T11:13:29.925-07:00I've been reading you for a month or so now, a...I've been reading you for a month or so now, and you're quickly becoming my favorite blogger (Greenwald still holds that spot for the moment, but he isn't quite radical enough for my liking--at least not yet.)<br /><br />Your offering above is one of the best blog entries I've read in some time, a seamless blend of idea and image, with a healthy balance of critique and construction. You've got a fun narrative going, and all of a sudden, BAM!, your reader realizes anarchy isn't so bad after all.<br /><br />So many individuals have become disenchanted with today's obscenely powerful state and corporate institutions, but they allow themselves to be depoliticized, in large part because they think the alternative is "anarchy", without really understanding what that means.<br /><br />I've recently, after trying on a number of different political hats, come to embrace anarchism or anarcho-syndicalism. In truth, I must admit I'm not well versed on the differences, despite spending 5 years in philosophy grad school (almost getting a Ph.D. before I became completely averse to the academy). I read a lot of Marx and 20th Century Marxism (among other things) and would see responses to Proudhon and Bakunin, but never took the opportunity to read "anarchist" thought seriously.<br /><br />Where would be a good place to start with anarchist authors/texts for someone who has a pretty extensive knowledge of mainstream Western political philosophy? I'd appreciate any recommendations, because I'm trying to advocate for anarchism more cogently.Domnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9339045.post-65026594680213786632011-09-16T08:49:26.594-07:002011-09-16T08:49:26.594-07:00Beautiful.Beautiful.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9339045.post-38848229651365878382011-09-16T05:40:27.558-07:002011-09-16T05:40:27.558-07:00As an habitual cynic, I take inspiration as it com...As an habitual cynic, I take inspiration as it comes, when, and where. Thank you for providing a much-needed dose with this post.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9339045.post-5887399338000561922011-09-15T19:16:12.566-07:002011-09-15T19:16:12.566-07:00I like this type of piece. Kind of a gonzo journal...I like this type of piece. Kind of a gonzo journalism style, but without the mescaline. Were I to ever get any published writing, this is the type of thing I see myself doing.Todd S.https://www.blogger.com/profile/10212986450069403803noreply@blogger.com