gly’s Reviews > Black Flags and Social Movements: A Sociological Analysis of Movement Anarchism > Status Update

“By propagating the misconception of anarchist violence—mainly by refusing to compare the violence used by the powerful and the out-of-power—police violence against protesters is justified… This all reinforces the perceived ‘need’ for the state to intervene in society’s madness—which it contributes to and manages—and ‘protect’ citizens from each other.” (p. xxi)

“Sociologists in particular cannot forget Weber’s key observation that the state holds the monopoly on violence; the evidence can be witnessed in murderous wars, incarceration of citizens, and symbolic and actual violence against people. Thus, to associate ‘anarchist’ with ‘violence’ misses the most obvious of contradictions…” (p. xx)

“Anarchists generally oppose hierarchy, competition, and domination, and instead support efforts of horizontalism, cooperation, and self-management. These goals can be viewed as dialectical.” (p. xviii)

“it is inappropriate to create a world free of oppressive authority figures by using the state—a major institution of oppressive power—to eradicate oppressive authority.” (p. xviii)