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An Anarchist FAQ, Vol. 1
This exhaustive volume, the first of two, seeks to provide answers for the curious and critical about anarchist theory, history, and practice. More a reference volume than a primer, An Anarchist FAQ eschews curt answers and engages with questions in a thorough, matter-of-fact style.
Having been an internet staple for over a decade, we are proud to offer this solicitously edited print version. AFAQ's oversized and affordable format (topping out at over 700 pages) will ensure it a place on every shelf, where it will be referenced again and again.
Iain McKay is former editor of Black Flag magazine and is a frequent contributor to Anarcho-Syndicalist Review. He lives in Glasgow, Scotland.
Having been an internet staple for over a decade, we are proud to offer this solicitously edited print version. AFAQ's oversized and affordable format (topping out at over 700 pages) will ensure it a place on every shelf, where it will be referenced again and again.
Iain McKay is former editor of Black Flag magazine and is a frequent contributor to Anarcho-Syndicalist Review. He lives in Glasgow, Scotland.
748 pages, Paperback
First published April 1, 2007
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331 people want to read
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Displaying 1 - 10 of 10 reviews
July 4, 2025
This FAQ-style exploration of anarchism offers a comprehensive and accessible overview, breaking down complex anarchist theory while addressing its real-world applications. At 555 pages, the book covers a vast range of topics but is organized in a way that makes it digestible. It is a valuable resource for anyone seeking to understand anarchism in depth, from foundational principles to the practical challenges faced by anarchist movements today.
The book effectively debunks the common stereotype that anarchism leads to chaos, highlighting its advocacy for decentralized, non-hierarchical systems. Instead of disorder, anarchism promotes self-organization, mutual aid, and direct democracy. This approach, as the book explains, presents a well-structured alternative to authoritarian systems, challenging the prevailing notion that only centralized power can effectively govern.
However, the book does not shy away from discussing the considerable practical challenges of implementing anarchism. It draws on historical and contemporary examples to highlight both the potential and limitations of anarchist ideas. One of the most notable historical examples is the Spanish Civil War. Anarchist militias in Catalonia and other parts of Spain attempted to establish a decentralized, collective society, with workers managing industries and peasants organizing land. Despite these successes, the movement faced significant internal divisions and external military threats, especially from both fascist forces and rival leftist factions. This fragmentation and lack of centralized coordination severely hindered the movement’s ability to sustain itself against the more unified forces of Franco’s regime.
A more contemporary example is Rojava, the Kurdish-led autonomous region in Northern Syria. The revolution in Rojava attempts to implement anarchist principles in the context of war, political instability, and external state opposition. While it has achieved notable successes—such as gender equality, direct democracy, and communal decision-making—the project faces the harsh reality of being located in a region beset by ongoing conflict and geopolitical pressures. The decentralized structure of Rojava, while admirable, has led to difficulties in defending against external military forces, particularly from Turkey, and in securing the necessary resources to maintain its autonomy. The experiment in Rojava, while an inspiring example of anarchist principles in action, underscores the vulnerability of such decentralized systems in the face of organized state violence and international political instability.
Another example is the Zapatista movement in Chiapas, Mexico, where anarchist ideas have been applied through autonomous municipalities and an emphasis on collective land ownership and decision-making. While successful in creating strong local networks and fostering solidarity, the Zapatistas’ challenge lies in scaling these efforts beyond the localized level. Despite their ability to resist state and corporate forces within their region, they have struggled to build a broader movement capable of challenging global capitalism or creating a nationwide shift in Mexico. The key trade-off here is the tension between local autonomy and the need for wider regional or global cooperation in confronting global capitalist systems.
This book is an exhaustive exploration of anarchism, offering a comprehensive FAQ-style approach to the ideology. While it can feel overwhelming due to its length—555 pages, each dense with information—its structure is remarkably organized and thorough, making it an essential resource for anyone interested in anarchism.
A major strength of the book lies in its deep dive into anarchist theory, answering questions on everything from economics to the relationship between anarchism and other political systems. It dispels many misconceptions, such as the idea that anarchism equals chaos or disorganization. In fact, the book shows that anarchists value order, but it’s a decentralized, non-hierarchical order, vastly different from the centralized control found in state-run systems.
Despite its intellectual rigor, the book doesn’t shy away from addressing the practical challenges anarchism faces. One of the key obstacles highlighted is the lack of a clear, universally accepted model for anarchist governance. This is particularly evident when we look at historical attempts to implement anarchism, such as during the Spanish Civil War. The anarchist militias, particularly in Catalonia, organized large-scale collectivizations and implemented self-managed industries, which proved effective to a degree. However, they faced significant challenges in terms of coordination, resistance from state and fascist forces, and maintaining internal unity. The lack of a formal structure made decision-making and strategic planning difficult under the extreme pressure of war. These difficulties led to fragmentation and eventual defeat.
Similarly, contemporary anarchist experiments, like those in Rojava (Northern Syria), have demonstrated the promise and limitations of anarchist principles in practice. While the region has implemented a system based on direct democracy, gender equality, and communalism, it has also faced major challenges in terms of external military pressure and limited resources. The emphasis on decentralized governance has been both a strength and a weakness—while it allows for local autonomy, it also makes it harder to coordinate large-scale defense and infrastructure projects.
One practical challenge that the book does well to address is how anarchism can exist in a world dominated by capitalist structures. The book argues that anarchists must continuously resist capitalist systems that inherently enforce hierarchy and inequality. However, implementing anarchism requires building institutions outside the state—a daunting task given the global scale of capitalist influence and the entrenched power of state structures. While the book presents a hopeful outlook, the logistical reality of creating these alternatives is complex and fraught with challenges, as seen in the aforementioned historical and contemporary examples.
Another significant critique the book tackles is the issue of anarchism’s relationship with religion. The author acknowledges the contributions of religious anarchists, like Leo Tolstoy, but points out the tension between anarchism’s focus on secularism and the hierarchical nature of most religious institutions. This exploration underscores a potential rift within the broader anarchist movement, which, while largely secular, must confront how to work with religious communities in ways that do not undermine its anti-authoritarian principles.
Despite these challenges, the book is ultimately optimistic about anarchism’s future, presenting a vision of a world based on cooperation, mutual aid, and direct democracy. The author’s approach is both scholarly and accessible, making complex theories understandable to a wide audience. However, there’s an undercurrent of irony in the notion that anarchism, an ideology defined by resistance to systems of power, could thrive through the very values that modern capitalist society champions—discipline, perseverance, and optimism. It’s an irony that’s hard to ignore, especially when considering how difficult it is to uproot such entrenched systems.
In conclusion, this book is a thorough, well-researched guide to anarchism, but it doesn’t shy away from confronting the movement’s practical and philosophical challenges. It encourages readers to critically examine anarchism’s potential, while also acknowledging the considerable hurdles that any anarchist project would face in a world dominated by state and capitalist structures. Whether or not anarchism can overcome these obstacles remains an open question—but this book provides a critical foundation for those willing to consider the possibilities.
The book effectively debunks the common stereotype that anarchism leads to chaos, highlighting its advocacy for decentralized, non-hierarchical systems. Instead of disorder, anarchism promotes self-organization, mutual aid, and direct democracy. This approach, as the book explains, presents a well-structured alternative to authoritarian systems, challenging the prevailing notion that only centralized power can effectively govern.
However, the book does not shy away from discussing the considerable practical challenges of implementing anarchism. It draws on historical and contemporary examples to highlight both the potential and limitations of anarchist ideas. One of the most notable historical examples is the Spanish Civil War. Anarchist militias in Catalonia and other parts of Spain attempted to establish a decentralized, collective society, with workers managing industries and peasants organizing land. Despite these successes, the movement faced significant internal divisions and external military threats, especially from both fascist forces and rival leftist factions. This fragmentation and lack of centralized coordination severely hindered the movement’s ability to sustain itself against the more unified forces of Franco’s regime.
A more contemporary example is Rojava, the Kurdish-led autonomous region in Northern Syria. The revolution in Rojava attempts to implement anarchist principles in the context of war, political instability, and external state opposition. While it has achieved notable successes—such as gender equality, direct democracy, and communal decision-making—the project faces the harsh reality of being located in a region beset by ongoing conflict and geopolitical pressures. The decentralized structure of Rojava, while admirable, has led to difficulties in defending against external military forces, particularly from Turkey, and in securing the necessary resources to maintain its autonomy. The experiment in Rojava, while an inspiring example of anarchist principles in action, underscores the vulnerability of such decentralized systems in the face of organized state violence and international political instability.
Another example is the Zapatista movement in Chiapas, Mexico, where anarchist ideas have been applied through autonomous municipalities and an emphasis on collective land ownership and decision-making. While successful in creating strong local networks and fostering solidarity, the Zapatistas’ challenge lies in scaling these efforts beyond the localized level. Despite their ability to resist state and corporate forces within their region, they have struggled to build a broader movement capable of challenging global capitalism or creating a nationwide shift in Mexico. The key trade-off here is the tension between local autonomy and the need for wider regional or global cooperation in confronting global capitalist systems.
This book is an exhaustive exploration of anarchism, offering a comprehensive FAQ-style approach to the ideology. While it can feel overwhelming due to its length—555 pages, each dense with information—its structure is remarkably organized and thorough, making it an essential resource for anyone interested in anarchism.
A major strength of the book lies in its deep dive into anarchist theory, answering questions on everything from economics to the relationship between anarchism and other political systems. It dispels many misconceptions, such as the idea that anarchism equals chaos or disorganization. In fact, the book shows that anarchists value order, but it’s a decentralized, non-hierarchical order, vastly different from the centralized control found in state-run systems.
Despite its intellectual rigor, the book doesn’t shy away from addressing the practical challenges anarchism faces. One of the key obstacles highlighted is the lack of a clear, universally accepted model for anarchist governance. This is particularly evident when we look at historical attempts to implement anarchism, such as during the Spanish Civil War. The anarchist militias, particularly in Catalonia, organized large-scale collectivizations and implemented self-managed industries, which proved effective to a degree. However, they faced significant challenges in terms of coordination, resistance from state and fascist forces, and maintaining internal unity. The lack of a formal structure made decision-making and strategic planning difficult under the extreme pressure of war. These difficulties led to fragmentation and eventual defeat.
Similarly, contemporary anarchist experiments, like those in Rojava (Northern Syria), have demonstrated the promise and limitations of anarchist principles in practice. While the region has implemented a system based on direct democracy, gender equality, and communalism, it has also faced major challenges in terms of external military pressure and limited resources. The emphasis on decentralized governance has been both a strength and a weakness—while it allows for local autonomy, it also makes it harder to coordinate large-scale defense and infrastructure projects.
One practical challenge that the book does well to address is how anarchism can exist in a world dominated by capitalist structures. The book argues that anarchists must continuously resist capitalist systems that inherently enforce hierarchy and inequality. However, implementing anarchism requires building institutions outside the state—a daunting task given the global scale of capitalist influence and the entrenched power of state structures. While the book presents a hopeful outlook, the logistical reality of creating these alternatives is complex and fraught with challenges, as seen in the aforementioned historical and contemporary examples.
Another significant critique the book tackles is the issue of anarchism’s relationship with religion. The author acknowledges the contributions of religious anarchists, like Leo Tolstoy, but points out the tension between anarchism’s focus on secularism and the hierarchical nature of most religious institutions. This exploration underscores a potential rift within the broader anarchist movement, which, while largely secular, must confront how to work with religious communities in ways that do not undermine its anti-authoritarian principles.
Despite these challenges, the book is ultimately optimistic about anarchism’s future, presenting a vision of a world based on cooperation, mutual aid, and direct democracy. The author’s approach is both scholarly and accessible, making complex theories understandable to a wide audience. However, there’s an undercurrent of irony in the notion that anarchism, an ideology defined by resistance to systems of power, could thrive through the very values that modern capitalist society champions—discipline, perseverance, and optimism. It’s an irony that’s hard to ignore, especially when considering how difficult it is to uproot such entrenched systems.
In conclusion, this book is a thorough, well-researched guide to anarchism, but it doesn’t shy away from confronting the movement’s practical and philosophical challenges. It encourages readers to critically examine anarchism’s potential, while also acknowledging the considerable hurdles that any anarchist project would face in a world dominated by state and capitalist structures. Whether or not anarchism can overcome these obstacles remains an open question—but this book provides a critical foundation for those willing to consider the possibilities.
March 4, 2010
Fantastic.
Gets into every single CREVICE about anarchism..and still a vol. 2 on the way! [it's set up in a, b, c order so this apparently didnt get thru all letters..:]
Took so long for me personally because i didnt wanna rush thru - i hoped to soak in every piece - small or long - by itself..
Gets into every single CREVICE about anarchism..and still a vol. 2 on the way! [it's set up in a, b, c order so this apparently didnt get thru all letters..:]
Took so long for me personally because i didnt wanna rush thru - i hoped to soak in every piece - small or long - by itself..
March 29, 2023
i mean you already know i love some anarchism <3 i really appreciate this concise background! i think i need more theory knowledge and historical knowledge to fully understand all of it
November 13, 2010
A drab and boring catechism of anarchist sectarian orthodoxy, its bad enough that this sleep inducing brick of text was posted on the Net in the first place.
December 22, 2010
A sublime waste of AK Press's resources.
July 18, 2012
A must read if you want to know anarchist ideology.
Read
February 26, 2022I didn’t actually read this book, I read the anarchist zine no more city and I wanted to log it.
August 6, 2023
Mi review en bookwyrm https://lectura.social/user/rsf92/rev...
February 8, 2013
I'm reading the online version that has 1729 pages, so not quite finished. So far so good though.
Displaying 1 - 10 of 10 reviews