Translating Anarchy: The Anarchism of Occupy Wall Street

by Mark Bray

Translating Anarchy tells the story of the anti-capitalist anti-authoritarians of Occupy Wall Street who strategically communicated their revolutionary politics to the public in a way that was both accessible and revolutionary. OWS organizer Mark Bray combines his direct experience in the movement with nearly 200 interviews with the most active, influential architects of Occupy Wall Street, to reveal the revolutionary anarchist core of Occupy. Although The New York Times and CNN thought that OWS simply wanted tighter financial regulations and a millionaire's tax, Bray shows that the vast majority of organizers called for the abolition of capitalism altogether.

By "translating" their ideas into everyday concepts like community empowerment and collective needs, these anarchists sparked the most dynamic American social movement in decades.

Genres: Politics, History, Nonfiction, Ebooks

342 pages, Paperback

First published September 7, 2013

About the author

Mark Bray is a historian of human rights, terrorism, and political radicalism in Modern Europe who was one of the organizers of Occupy Wall Street. His work has appeared in The Washington Post, Foreign Policy, Critical Quarterly, ROAR Magazine, and numerous edited volumes. He is currently a lecturer at Dartmouth College.

Reviews

[Vincent Tijms · Rating 3 out of 5]

While this book offers interesting tidbits about anarchist history and the daily affairs of Occupy Wall Street, it tries too many different things at the same time to succeed. It tries to be a sociological exploration of OWS, but reduces all interviews to soundbites that illustrate the writer's thoughts. It tries to review the history and varying forms of anarchism, but leaves enormous gaps and dismisses the types of anarchism that Bray isn't comfortable with. It proposes that anarchism can offer an inclusive, pragmatic and liberating framework for the left, but at the same time it deals bitter jabs to liberals, communists and other leftists, whom Bray ultimately wants to have aboard.

This all detracts from the book's coherency and, more importantly, from its ultimate message. In the final segment of the book, Bray addresses the build-up of parallel institutions that should be attractive to a broad segment of society while staying true to anarchist praxis. He talks about the tension between alternative culture, revolutionary change and mass appeal. If Bray's goal was to address the translation of anarchist thought into practice and into society, these are the topics he should have elaborated on.

[Ari Stillman · Rating 3 out of 5]

This book has great value as an insider account of OWS, clarifying many of the misconceptions propagated by the media (though no doubt, of course, enabled by lack of clear messaging and messengers). It offers an overview of anarchist history and its precepts – with the author clearly favoring one iteration of it over others without concealing his disdain at times. Most importantly, the book illuminates the anarchist core and undertones of OWS strategy that, through interviews, are revealed to have been largely kept discreet so as not to discourage would-be activists who might be deterred by misunderstanding what anarchism is all about. The same can be said for elites, who would have been quick to dismiss OWS in that vein. While the account provided is insightful, as the lofty conclusion about the necessity of anarchist precepts to build a better world argues as if obvious, I do not find it a compelling alternative to what we already have despite the many egregious flaws of capitalism. It may work in a limited local capacity, but the idea does not scale or account for externalities such as international relations and trade. Even cooperatives, the author argues, are self-exploitative since they are subject to market forces. There will always be a market so long as there is scarcity, and neither anarchism nor capitalism offer a path to post-scarcity utopia. Better the devil you know, as they say.

[Lance McNeill · Rating 4 out of 5]

Insider look into Occupy Wall Street

I was surprised by what I learned about Occupy Wall Street. I didn’t realize that so much of that movements roots were grounded in anarchism. I have a better understanding of OWS and the anarchist perspective after reading this although I still hold steadfast against the anarchist vision of the future as this author shares.

[Andy · Rating 5 out of 5]

A perceptive insider account of Occupy Wall Street, written in an accessible tone. It's nice to see someone treat anarchist PR as a serious question, and this makes for a solid introductory anarchist text in its own right.

[River · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is an interesting history of Occupy Wall Street in New York City that looks specifically at anarchist involvement in the protest/movement. The author did a number of interviews with organizers to get their insights and thoughts on the topic, so there is a lot of firsthand information that isn't available elsewhere. It generally does a good job of explaining the role of anarchist ideas and the influence of anarchists, in addition to looking at how organizers sought to transmit anarchist ideas to larger audiences.

[Randy Cauthen · Rating 4 out of 5]

A little diffuse -- including a primer on anarchist history and some of Bray's own personal history -- but still really useful. Kind of academic in approach, at least in the first half.