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Contemporary Anarchism
Anarchism—literally, a society without government—is less a political philosophy than it is a temperament. Anarchists are defiant people who seek to organize for the purpose of destroying organization. For its adherents, anarchism means a grand struggle against evil, a plea for the "new," a secular crusade against the debasement of self, a fight against the degradation of mankind that organized society seems to represent. Anarchism is anti-politics, anti-economics, anti-authoritarianism in all forms. Anarchism is a mood of perpetual rebellion.
The decade of the sixties witnessed a revival in the anarchist temperament, which Perlin finds evident in such diverse efforts as the women's liberation movement, student demonstrations, civil rights marches, free schools, the "back to the land" movement, demands for birth control and other—usually controversial-causes and activities. This new anarchism had few conscious links with the old anarchism. It was instead a response to changed conditions in the social fabric of American and European life, a reflex to the structural, cultural and psychological tensions that made those years turbulent, strife-filled and rebellious.
Perlin concludes that while a revolution was not made in the sixties, a revolutionary life-style became a possibility. The spokesmen for the marginal groups whose interests achieved a new kind of legitimacy during the sixties were anarchists or their sympathizers. A representative cross-section of their writings is included in this volume.
The decade of the sixties witnessed a revival in the anarchist temperament, which Perlin finds evident in such diverse efforts as the women's liberation movement, student demonstrations, civil rights marches, free schools, the "back to the land" movement, demands for birth control and other—usually controversial-causes and activities. This new anarchism had few conscious links with the old anarchism. It was instead a response to changed conditions in the social fabric of American and European life, a reflex to the structural, cultural and psychological tensions that made those years turbulent, strife-filled and rebellious.
Perlin concludes that while a revolution was not made in the sixties, a revolutionary life-style became a possibility. The spokesmen for the marginal groups whose interests achieved a new kind of legitimacy during the sixties were anarchists or their sympathizers. A representative cross-section of their writings is included in this volume.
305 pages, Kindle Edition
Published November 30, 2017
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January 1, 2026
Hard to rate this mishmash anthology of essays from 1978 on the subject of anarchism. In some instances the articles were fantastic, like Emile Capouya’s “Thr Red and the Black,” which featured an outline on May 1968 in France which I had never read about before, or Howard Zin on “The Conspiracy of Law.” Other essays were sloppy and pipe-dreamy, or otherwise too utopian to be useful. The events of the years since this publication, in particular the induction of the Internet and its warping effect on the economy and society, render much of this book outdated. Reading about anarchist theory and history, I’ve noticed, can often seem like reading science-fiction, or alternate history.
On to reading other books. Glad this is over.
On to reading other books. Glad this is over.
Displaying 1 of 1 review