The Anarchist Reader

by George Woodcock (Editor)

The Anarchist Reader. Edited and compiled by George Woodcock. Published by Harvester Press / Humanities Press, Hassocks, Sussex, England / Atlantic Highlands, New York, in 1977. First British hardcover edition, first printing, as indicated by the statement "First published in England in 1977 by the Harvester Press Limited" at the top of the copyright page. Printed in Great Britain. Black full-cloth hardcover with gold lettering on spine. Red endpapers. 383 pages. Dust jacket has "Harvester Press" printed on front cover. From the dust "A major new 'reader', bringing together the critical statements of every important Anarchist thinker and writer since the earliest development of Anarchist politics. This book is edited by the most respected scholar in the entire field."

Genres: Politics, Nonfiction, Philosophy

Paperback

First published January 1, 1977

About the author

Woodcock was born in Winnipeg, Manitoba, but moved with his parents to England at an early age, attending Sir William Borlase's Grammar School in Marlow and Morley College. Though his family was quite poor, Woodcock had the opportunity to go to Oxford University on a partial scholarship; however, he turned down the chance because he would have had to become a member of the clergy.Instead, he took a job as a clerk at the Great Western Railway and it was there that he first became interested in anarchism (specifically libertarian socialism). He was to remain an anarchist for the rest of his life, writing several books on the subject.

It was during these years that he met several prominent literary figures, including T. S. Eliot and Aldous Huxley and became good friends with George Orwell despite ideological disagreements. Woodcock later wrote The Crystal Spirit (1966), a critical study of Orwell and his work which won a Governor General's Award.

Woodcock spent World War II working on a farm, as a conscientious objector. At Camp Angel in Oregon, a camp for conscientious objectors, he was a founder of the Untide Press, which sought to bring poetry to the public in an inexpensive but attractive format. Following the war, he returned to Canada, eventually settling in Vancouver, British Columbia. In 1955, he took a post in the English department of the University of British Columbia, where he stayed until the 1970s. Around this time he started to write more prolifically, producing several travel books and collections of poetry, as well as the works on anarchism for which he is best known.

Towards the end of his life, Woodcock became increasingly interested in what he saw as the plight of Tibetans. He travelled to India, studied Buddhism, became friends with the Dalai Lama and established the Tibetan Refugee Aid Society. He and his wife Inge also established Canada India Village Aid, which sponsors self-help projects in rural India. Both organizations exemplify Woodcock's ideal of voluntary cooperation between peoples across national boundaries.

George and Inge also established a program to support professional Canadian writers. The Woodcock Fund, which began in 1989, provides financial assistance to writers in mid-book-project who face an unforeseen financial need that threatens the completion of their book. The Fund is available to writers of fiction, creative non-fiction, plays, and poetry. The Woodcocks helped create an endowment for the program in excess of two million dollars. The Woodcock Fund program is administered by the Writers’ Trust of Canada and has distributed $887,273 to 180 Canadian writers, as of March 2012.

Reviews

[Alex · Rating 2 out of 5]

A fine collection of classic anarchist essays and articles on the surface. However, for a collection compiled in 1977, this book should have had much more feminist awareness and anti-patriarchy focus. Emma Goldman is the only woman included in the compilation, and none of the essays, or the introduction, approaches uncovering sexism or patriarchy, or the long-standing resistance to them.

Should it be renamed The Manarchist Reader?

[Camilla Belmiro · Rating 4 out of 5]

Definitivamente não é uma leitura rápida. O que não quer dizer que é ruim, só que é densa. É aquele tipo de leitura que deve ser feita devagar para que se tome notas e faça reflexões. Acho que é uma ótima introdução para quem quer conhecer o anarquismo além da conceitualização rasa que é difundida por ai. E também para entender que anarco-capitalismo faz ZERO sentido. Minha única crítica negativa é a falta de representatividade feminina (há apenas um texto da Emma Goldman). Afinal, a revolução PRECISA ser feminista!

[Henrique · Rating 4 out of 5]

É um livro útil não apenas para quem eventualmente já simpatize com ideias anarquistas e queira se aprofundar como também para aqueles que, sem nenhuma inclinação pessoal, desejam apenas entender melhor a trajetória e o pensamento do movimento anarquista. Isso porque é uma coletânea que reúne os textos e excertos mais "sagrados" para o movimento, de modo que é a partir desses escritos que se pode tirar boa parte da essência das ideias anarquistas.

A introdução histórica promovida pelo organizador é preciosíssima, porque permite melhor situar o movimento anarquista no contexto da história da humanidade. Embora se trate de um organizador que também é anarquista, a introdução não deixa de citar também alguns pontos que mais são problemáticos para o movimento, como a atitude terrorista de certos grupos.

Isso poderá ser observado também durante os escritos. Há textos francamente controversos, sobretudo a "Defesa de um terrorista", relato em primeira pessoa em que o anarquista Emile Henry justifica as suas ações terroristas que levaram à morte de inocentes (para Henry, no fim das contas, ninguém era inocente). Acho um mérito o livro ter apresentado esses textos, pois, ainda que se considere que eles depõem contra o anarquismo, é fora de dúvida que qualquer publicação que se detenha a analisar as ideias do movimento precisará considerá-los.

Mas estão ali também os anarquistas clássicos, a começar por Proudhon e Bakunin, ou, antes ainda deles, William Godwin, embora esse não tenha nunca se declarado anarquista. É que muitas das ideias dele correspondiam de fato a posicionamentos que os anarquistas iriam adotar mais tarde. O organizador selecionou alguns outros autores que também nunca se declararam anarquistas, como Tolstoi e Thoreau, mas apenas porque as ideias que eles tiveram foram significativas o bastante para convergir e influenciar o anarquismo. Esses escritores, afinal, são ainda citados por movimentos libertários, justificando a sua presença.

É de se observar que alguns dos escritos apresentados não concordam exatamente entre si, ou seja, há visões diferentes sobre o anarquismo, e apresentá-las é também um mérito. Isso se torna verdade sobretudo no capítulo voltado a "imaginar" como seria a sociedade a partir do momento em que deixasse de existir o governo e a autoridade oficial. Cada um tem as suas teorias e suas estratégias de organização social e de viabilidade econômica.

Destaque ainda para os artigos em que anarquistas célebres expõem a razão pela qual discordam da visão comunista para transformação da sociedade.

[Leo H · Rating 4 out of 5]

An interesting book, at least partially because it made me certain that I'm not an anarchist. For me, there are just far too many opportunities and gaps where the anarcho-capitalist, free-market voodoo, small government knobs could get a foot in the door, y'know? But marking a political book down soley because I didn't agree with its arguments feels a bit petty, the extracts are from a wide variety of writers and cover a broad range of anarchist thinking (to the point where some contradict each other, but that's fine) and I certainly learnt a great deal from many of the essays, even if I did roll my eyes at a few. A good primer on Anarchism if you're interested.

[Colin · Rating 5 out of 5]

Worthwhile collection of bits from the big names in 19th and 20th century anarchist literature. People have pointed out the shortcomings, but we have to accept previous history was male-dominated. Perhaps we shall get some new collections in the 21st century.
And Woodcock is the best authority on anarchism.

[Ftc · Rating 5 out of 5]

This may not sound very anarchistic but YOU MUST READ THIS. Brilliant essays from brilliant thinkers. Mandatory reading for anyone who wants to think seriously about politics/political philosophy.

[Jan · Rating 3 out of 5]

easy references

[Stephen Bywater · Rating 4 out of 5]

Taught me all I needed to know about politics. A formative read.