The Impossible Community

by John P. Clark

The Impossible Community confronts a critical moment when social and ecological catastrophe loom, the Left seems unable to articulate a response, and the Right is monopolizing public debates. This book offers a reformulation of anarchist social and political theory to develop a communitarian anarchist solution.

It argues that a free and just social order requires a radical transformation of the modes of domination exercised through social ideology and institutional structures. Communitarian anarchism unites a universalist concern for social and ecological justice while recognizing the integrity and individuality of the person. In fact, anarchist principles of mutual aid and voluntary cooperation can already be seen in various contexts, from the rebuilding of New Orleans after Katrina to social movements in India.

This work offers both a theoretical framework and concrete case studies to show how contemporary anarchist practice continues a long tradition of successfully synthetizing personal and communal liberation. This significant contribution will appeal not only to students in anarchism and political theory, but also to activists and anyone interested in making the world a better place.

Genres: Politics, Philosophy, Sociology, Nonfiction

328 pages, Paperback

First published June 6, 2013

Reviews

[Camille · Rating 4 out of 5]

I read this as part of the Anarchist Political Ecology group, of which John has been a central organizer and participant. It is a wonderful balance of philosophical critique and practical examples of how we might approach our experiments in bioregional ecological communitarianism today, right now. I undoubtedly had my criticisms -- particularly about the Katrina chapter and also the overly long takedown of Bookchin -- but all in all it was a wonderfully provocative and wholly educational read.

[Karen Mahtin · Rating 4 out of 5]

I have to start with this question: why does political theory have to be so inaccessible? The author (and others, too) uses such big words, and peppers his text with the occasional Latin or French word or phrase, that I (as a college graduate) can't imagine how someone who hasn't been a big reader in the past could read it. I guess that they can do it the same way I did: very slowly (8+ months, not reading every day, and up to 1% at a time), and sometimes double-checking definitions in the dictionary on my e-reader.

I liked hearing about communities and projects that have existed in the past (including the author's own experiences in New Orleans). The analysis of Bookchin's writings left me feeling like Bookchin was not worth the amount of time that John P. Clark spent dissecting his writings!

I'm still interested in living and working in community, and I just might look into reading other books on this topic that have been published by this and similar publishers in the past decade or so. (I mostly read books on other specific subjects)

[Daniel Klawitter · Rating 4 out of 5]

"One sometimes hears, especially from many ecological radicals, that the best hope for a wide-ranging transformation of society is a vast social and ecological catastrophe...However, the grim reality is that this kind of Messianic catastrophism is more likely a road toward fascism than toward a free society. Without the emergence of a strong and hopeful movement for the liberation of humanity and nature, severe crisis will only produce fear, reactivity, and a desperate cry for an authoritarian solution."

[David · Rating 3 out of 5]

The Impossible Community is very dense, and clearly written for an academic audience. Regrettably I know little about the topics covered in the book other than a very generalized knowledge, and therefore the critiques offered were not particularly enlightening. If I had been aware of this going into the book, I would not have read it. I was definitely not the target audience for this book and feel bad for having reviewed it.

[Tyler]

i tried so hard, but i absolutely have to throw in the towel. i have understood so little of what i've read so far and i dread seeing it on my side table and forcing myself to pick it up. i am too stupid to understand or read this.

[Anna Sorokina · Rating 3 out of 5]

criticism of bookchin 101; recommend to those who enjoy nitpicky theory

[Lucy Tierney · Rating 4 out of 5]

Great overview of possible heart-warming futures. This work of genius demanded every neuron in my brain to comprehend, even though Dr. Clark's analyses are crystal clear. An Earth-changing book & highly recommended to those who, like me, have had one course in philosophy. If you have a good background in philosophy you'll love it.

[Brian · Rating 3 out of 5]

This is a dense, academically articulated work that must be read through slowly and carefully. References to Kropotkin and Hegel combine with references to Daoism (Clark has an excellent essay elsewhere on the relationship of Buddhism to anarchism). There is a detailed critique of Bookchin's libertarian municipalism. Despite the complex presentation, with a bit of patience some important elements concerning how anarchism could be realized in practice emerge. This emergence also reveals the difficulties: being able to achieve true horizontal power and representation without resorting to another form of authoritarian rule (e.g., honoring the small affinity/working groups as the core of direct action over the role of the larger, general assembly); acknowledging the problem of scale: the best "local" working groups being 100-200 people, but needing to confederate these groups across larger populations; the problem of local groups having specialized resources and interests that may be difficult to share or exchange across other localities. And I will admit that I probably only absorbed a third of the knowledge that Clark offers. Multiple re-readings are required.

[Michel V · Rating 5 out of 5]

Take the time to dig into this book. It's captivating and argues it's points poignantly.