The Bookworm: Anarchism

Anarchism: A Beginner’s Guide by Ruth Kinna. 228 pages. Oneworld Publications. 2005.

Anarchy is the goal of anarchists: the society variously described to be without government or without authority; a condition of statelessness, of free federation, of ‘complete’ freedom and equality based on rational self-interest, co-operation or reciprocity, or of resistance built on continuous action.

To my new readers at the CIA, welcome to The Quiet Man.

(Sometimes I wonder if the purpose of social networking sites, blogs, and the Internet in general is for mass surveillance — keeping tabs on activities and monitoring opinions and behavior. After all, a precursor to “the Net” was used to interconnect computers at the Pentagon, operation centers in Cheyenne Mountain, and SAC.)

ANYWAY. I used my day off Monday to polish off Ruth Kinna’s Anarchism: A Beginners Guide. It is part of Oneworld Publication’s series of introductory books, which have been written on a variety of subjects including “the brain,” “classical music,” and “the small arms trade.” This guide to anarchism was the only one I saw in The Section That Shall Not Be Named at Skylight Books in LA.

Zee German, a self-described anarcho-syndicalist, piqued my interest in anarchy. I bought Anarchism not only to learn more but also to try cutting through the seemingly endless array of different schools of thought to a single, overarching idea and cause. Kinna did a great job of boiling the concept down to a compact notion; the first line of the first chapter is, “Anarchism is a doctrine that aims at the liberation of peoples from political domination and economic exploitation by the encouragement of direct or non-governmental action.” Though Kinna says many anarchists resist the suggestion that anarchism can be defined by any one single position (which is a very anarchistic understanding of anarchism), she makes readers understand that the comprehensive belief is the rejection of the state.

What exactly is “the state”? Anarchists, Kinna writes, do not necessarily reject the idea of government — people coming together for democratic federation that functions in a grassroots/bottom-up fashion — but they viciously oppose the idea of a centralized and bureaucratic regime (“the state”) which governs top-down, imposing laws, regulations, and cultural norms on citizens. “The State” could be anything from an organized religion, 4-H group, or nation. It basically represents a hierarchy of authority where those at the top have power to govern and control those below.

At least I think.

Anarchism is a dizzyingly complex concept, especially when you factor in all the suffixed beliefs: anarcho-syndicalism, anarcha-feminisim, anarcho-communisim, anarcho-captialism, anarcho-reformism, and anarcho-primitivism — to name a few. There are even prefix variations, such as eco-anarchism. Kinna does not go into detail about each one, but the fundamental understanding is that anarchism can be tailored to the situation and individual, or individuals; anarchism is always evolving, always fighting new battles against exploitation and repression in the name of natural freedom and free association. One thing it certainly is not is the misconception junior high punks fall in love with, sewing patches of the encircled “A” on their backpacks and book binders (at least they did at South East): chaos and complete disorder. To the contrary, Kinna outlines concepts that would require tireless micromanagement, organization, and mutual respect. People would need to turn off their TVs and actually work together.

Along with outlining the ideology of anarchism, Kinna delves into its origins and summarizes the thoughts and work of early anarchists. She covers anarchistic thinking in regards to power, authority, and liberty; strategies for change; and the debate over the use of violence and vandalism. She also writes a little about historical examples of anarchy, including those undertaken during the Spanish Civil War by the CNT, and what some believe an anarchistic world would look like.

Though enlightening and interesting, Anarchism suffers from poor writing and bad organization. Kinna, who is described as a “Senior Lecturer in Politics at Loughborough University,” is prone to following tangents and digressing into what Zee German calls “academic masturbation.” She is also notorious for dropping the names of political theorists and isms and assuming the reader knows who and what they are. This is the revised version of Anarchism (published in 2009), which tried to correct errors and “unwitting misrepresentations,” so it is sad to think this is an improved version of the book.

Overall, though, I think Anarchism did what I wanted it to do. It is, as Howard Zinn was quoted as saying on the back cover, “A valuable contribution to our understanding of this much misunderstood philosophy.”

New words I learned: All definitions courtesy of my MacBook dictionary. Epigone: “a less distinguished follower or imitator of someone, esp. an artist or philosopher.” Protean (which is a good one-word description of anarchism): “tending or able to change frequently or easily.” Pithy (used as “pithier”): “(of language or style) concise and forcefully expressive.” Polemical: “of, relating to, or involving strongly critical, controversial, or disputatious writing or speech.” Rapine: “the violent seizure of someone's property.” Bipartite: “involving or made by two separate parties.” Acephalous: the first meaning is “no longer having a head,” but it is used symbolically to mean, “having no leader or chief.” Foist: “impose an unwelcome or unnecessary person or thing on.” Quintessence: “the most perfect or typical example of a quality or class.” Emotive: “arousing or able to arouse intense feeling.” Ossify: literally means “turn into bone or boney tissue,” but it is used symbolically to mean, “cease developing; be stagnant or rigid.” Jacquerie: “a communal uprising or revolt.” Chichi: “attempting stylish elegance but achieving only an overelaborate affectedness.” Messianic: “inspired by hope or belief in a messiah.”