I’m also reading Mutual Aid and Conquest of Bread by Kropotkin and it’s marginally better but still takes me a while to get through a page. I’m baby.

  • No_Values [none/use name]
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    edit-2
    4 years ago

    Anarchy Works by Peter Glendroos is probably the most readable intro anarchist theory, it's a lot more contemporary than Kropotkin et all

    https://theanarchistlibrary.org/library/peter-gelderloos-anarchy-works

    The table of contents reads the the FAQ of those unfamiliar or against anarchism

    Introduction

    Anarchy Would Never Work

    What exactly is anarchism?

    A note on inspiration

    The tricky topic of representation

    Recommended Reading

    1. Human Nature

    Aren’t people naturally selfish?

    Aren’t people naturally competitive?

    Haven’t humans always been patriarchal?

    Aren’t people naturally warlike?

    Aren’t domination and authority natural?

    A broader sense of self

    Recommended Reading

    1. Decisions

    How will decisions be made?

    How will decisions be enforced?

    Who will settle disputes?

    Meeting in the streets

    Recommended Reading

    1. Economy

    Without wages, what is the incentive to work?

    Don’t people need bosses and experts?

    Who will take out the trash?

    Who will take care of the elderly and disabled?

    How will people get healthcare?

    What about education?

    What about technology?

    How will exchange work?

    What about people who don’t want to give up a consumerist lifestyle?

    What about building and organizing large, spread-out infrastructure?

    How will cities work?

    What about drought, famine, or other catastrophes?

    Meeting our needs without keeping count

    Recommended Reading

    1. Environment

    What’s to stop someone from destroying the environment?

    What about global environmental problems, like climate change?

    The only way to save the planet

    Recommended Reading

    1. Crime

    Who will protect us without police?

    What about gangs and bullies?

    What’s to stop someone from killing people?

    What about rape, domestic violence, and other forms of harm?

    Beyond individual justice

    Recommended Reading

    1. Revolution

    How could people organized horizontally possibly overcome the state?

    How do we know revolutionaries won’t become new authorities?

    How will communities decide to organize themselves at first?

    How will reparations for past oppressions be worked out?

    How will a common, anti-authoritarian, ecological ethos come about?

    A revolution that is many revolutions

    Recommended Reading

    1. Neighboring Societies

    Could an anarchist society defend itself from an authoritarian neighbor?

    What will we do about societies that remain patriarchal or racist?

    What will prevent constant warfare and feuding?

    Networks not borders

    Recommended Reading

    1. The Future

    Won’t the state just reemerge over time?

    What about other problems we can’t foresee?

    Making Anarchy Work

    Recommended Reading

    It Works When We Make It Work