Anarchy Alive!

Anarchy Alive!: Anti-Authoritarian Politics from Practice to Theory is a book by Uri Gordon that investigates anarchist theory and practice.[1] An expanded reworking of the author's PhD thesis at the University of Oxford, the book was released by Pluto Press, a London-based radical publisher, in November 2007.[2][3] It is presented as "an anarchist book about anarchism",[2] and assumes some background knowledge and sympathy for anarchism on the part of the reader.[4] Gordon considers his approach in the book to have many commonalities with that of anthropologist David Graeber, author of Fragments of an Anarchist Anthropology.[5]

Anarchy Alive!
First edition cover
AuthorUri Gordon
CountryUnited Kingdom
SubjectAnarchism
GenrePolitical philosophy, sociology
PublisherPluto Press
Publication date
November 2007
Pages183
ISBN0-7453-2683-8
OCLC154769337
320.5/7 22
LC ClassHX833 .G626 2008

Contents

Anarchy Alive! was not designed to further debates about the finer points of anarchist theory within academia, nor as a history of ideas, but rather to serve as a tool for activists trying to engage with theory—leading anarchist scholar Alex Prichard to characterise it as "a user’s manual for anarchist activism".[6] It is divided into six chapters, addressing anarchism as a political culture, anarchism as an ideology, anarchist forms of organisation and power, anarchism and violence, anarchism and technology, and anarchism and nationalism (through the case study of the Israeli–Palestinian conflict).[2]

Reception

Anarchy Alive! was favourably reviewed in journals including Anarchy: A Journal of Desire Armed, New International and Anarchist Studies.[1][6][7][8][9][3] Reviewing the book in Anarchist Studies, Alex Prichard predicted that "not only will Anarchy Alive! become required reading in the anarchist movement, but it will have a sizeable impact on the academy … this will be a defining text in anarchist circles for the next few years at the very least".[6] Richard Swift, in a review for New International, called the book "a short and thoughtful account", and granted it a four-out-out-of-four star rating.[4] The CrimethInc. collective recommended the work for its analysis of power and authority in an anarchist context.[10] Freedom reviewer Tom Jennings dissented, calling into question the theoretical coherence of the book.[11] Another critical view came from the Socialist Standard, which although conceding that the book was "well-written and can be read on a know-your-opponent basis", denounced the book for its anarchist critique of representative democracy.[12]

See also

Citations
  1. Jarach, Lawrence. "An Academic Shines". Anarchy: A Journal of Desire Armed. Archived from the original on 2008-12-01. Retrieved 2008-11-11.
  2. Gordon 2007
  3. Morse, Chuck (August 23, 2007). "The Past, the Future, and Around the World: Four New Books about Anarchism". Retrieved 2008-11-11.
  4. Swift, Richard (July 2008). "Anarchy Alive!". New International (413). Archived from the original on 22 November 2008. Retrieved 2008-11-11.
  5. Gordon 2007, p. 7
  6. Prichard, Alex. "Reviews". Anarchist Studies. 16 (1). Retrieved 2008-11-11.
  7. Poole, Steven (March 22, 2008). "Rock, race and riots". The Guardian. Retrieved 2008-11-11.
  8. Wurman, Joanna. "El Anarquismo Judío de Hoy en Día" (PDF). La Palabra Israelita. Archived from the original (PDF) on 2011-07-07. Retrieved 2008-11-11.
  9. Pantziarka, Pan (February 19, 2008). "Anarchy Alive!". London Book Review. Retrieved 2008-11-11.
  10. b. traven (September 3, 2009). "New Sticker: Power vs. Authority". CrimethInc. Far East Blog. CrimethInc. Ex-Workers' Collective. Retrieved September 3, 2009.
  11. Jennings, Tom (February 13, 2009). "Reviews: Anarchy Alive!". Freedom. Freedom Press. pp. 15–16. Archived from the original on 15 May 2009. Retrieved May 30, 2009.
  12. ALB. "Anarchists against democracy". Socialist Standard. Archived from the original on 6 October 2008. Retrieved 11 November 2008.

References
  • Gordon, Uri (2007). Anarchy Alive!: Anti-Authoritarian Politics from Practice to Theory. Sydney: Pluto Press. ISBN 978-0-7453-2683-2. OCLC 154769337.CS1 maint: ref=harv (link)
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