''Anarchy Alive!: Anti-Authoritarian Politics from Practice to Theory'' is a book by Uri Gordon that investigates anarchist theory and practice. An expanded reworking of the author's

PhD thesis A thesis ( : theses), or dissertation (abbreviated diss.), is a document submitted in support of candidature for an academic degree or professional qualification presenting the author's research and findings.International Standard ISO 7144: ...

at the

University of Oxford , mottoeng = The Lord is my light , established = , endowment = £6.1 billion (including colleges) (2019) , budget = £2.145 billion (2019–20) , chancellor ...

, the book was released by

Pluto Press Pluto Press is a British independent book publisher based in London, founded in 1969. Originally, it was the publishing arm of the International Socialists (today known as the Socialist Workers Party), until it changed hands and was replaced ...

, a

London London is the capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of England and the United Kingdom, with a population of just under 9 million. It stands on the River Thames in south-east England at the head of a estuary dow ...

-based radical publisher, in November 2007. It is presented as "an anarchist book about anarchism", and assumes some background knowledge and sympathy for anarchism on the part of the reader. Gordon considers his approach in the book to have many commonalities with that of anthropologist David Graeber, author of '' Fragments of an Anarchist Anthropology''.

''Anarchy Alive!'' was not designed to further debates about the finer points of

anarchist theory Anarchism is the political philosophy which holds ruling classes and the state to be undesirable, unnecessary and harmful, The following sources cite anarchism as a political philosophy: Slevin, Carl. "Anarchism." ''The Concise Oxford Dict ...

within academia, nor as a

history of ideas Intellectual history (also the history of ideas) is the study of the history of human thought and of intellectuals, people who conceptualize, discuss, write about, and concern themselves with ideas. The investigative premise of intellectual his ...

, 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". It is divided into six chapters, addressing anarchism as a political culture, anarchism as an ideology, anarchist forms of organisation and

power Power most often refers to: * Power (physics), meaning "rate of doing work" ** Engine power, the power put out by an engine ** Electric power * Power (social and political), the ability to influence people or events ** Abusive power Power may a ...

anarchism and violence Anarchism and violence have been linked together by events in anarchist history such as violent revolution, terrorism, assassination attempts and propaganda of the deed. Propaganda of the deed, or ''attentát'', was espoused by leading anarchis ...

, anarchism and technology, and anarchism and nationalism (through the case study of the Israeli–Palestinian conflict).

Reception

''Anarchy Alive!'' was favourably reviewed in journals including '' Anarchy: A Journal of Desire Armed'', '' New International'' and ''

Anarchist Studies ''Anarchist Studies'' is a biannual academic journal on anarchism. It takes an interdisciplinary approach, examining the history, culture, and theory of anarchism. The journal was established in 1993 and is edited by Ruth Kinna and published by ...

''. 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". 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. The

CrimethInc. CrimethInc., also known as CWC, which stands for either "CrimethInc. Ex-Workers Collective" or "CrimethInc Ex-Workers Ex-Collective", is a decentralized anarchist collective of autonomous cells. * * * CrimethInc. emerged in the mid-1990s, initia ...

collective recommended the work for its analysis of

and authority in an anarchist context. '' Freedom'' reviewer Tom Jennings dissented, calling into question the theoretical coherence of the book. Another critical view came from the ''

Socialist Standard ''Socialist Standard'' is a monthly socialist magazine published without interruption since September 1904 by the Socialist Party of Great Britain (SPGB). The magazine is written in a simple, direct style and focuses mainly on socialist advocacy ...

'', 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 Representative democracy, also known as indirect democracy, is a type of democracy where elected people represent a group of people, in contrast to direct democracy. Nearly all modern Western-style democracies function as some type of represe ...

Citations

References

External links

AnarchyAlive.com blog
{{anarchism Books about anarchism 2007 non-fiction books Pluto Press books

Contents

Reception

See also

Citations

References

External links