Howard Ehrlich (Ed.): Reinventing Anarchy

Reinventing Anarchy

What are anarchists thinking these days? This question is central to "Reinventing Anarchy", for the book brings together the work of living anarchists, writing on contemporary issues and ideas. All the articles except one were written within the last ten years, many of them are here published for the first time, and most of the rest are difficult to come by in the average college or public library. The contributors are all anarchist activists who address themselves to the political and social questions that people are asking today, and the anthology offers what is probably the best single statement of the principles of social anarchism yet produced.

Divided into seven sections, each introduced by an editorial commentary and analysis, the book looks first at the question: 'What is anarchism?' It goes on to examine the state of anarchist organization, it dissects the left, new and old, and presents two very different anarchist critiques of Marxism. A section on 'the liberation of the self' is followed by an exploration of the anarchist-feminist connection, a critique of the trade union movement and a discussion of the failure of state socialism as a solution to the problems of work. In conclusion, the questions of direct action and the building of alternative institutions are considered - the problems of reinventing anarchist tactics.

As part of the editors' goal of representing current anarchist thinking, the anthology contains reprints of contemporary posters, leaflets and graphics, as well as the poetry of anarchist writers.