About Anarchism (Paperback)

This short description by the late Nicolas Walter, editor of New Humanist for ten years, is possibly one of the most comprehensive and understandable introductions to what a more modern version of anarchism actually is, written in a most warm, mature and honest style. It's incredibly easy to read, with as little or as much prior political knowledge needed to begin with. Along with the introduction by Natasha Walter, Nicolas' daughter, this little book can be read in a single evening, and as it proved for me, can change your view of the world for the rest of your life.

Topics discussed (in bite sized chapters):

What anarchists believe:
Theories of human nature, comparisons to liberalism and socialism, state and class, organisation, property, religion, war, the individual, the collective. "Anarchists have always opposed every form of national, social, racial or sexual oppression, and have always supported every movement for national, social, racial or sexual emancipation. But they tend to differ from their allies in the movement by seeing all forms of oppression as being political by nature, and in seeing all victims of oppression as individual human beings rather than as members of a nationality, class, race or sex."

How anarchists divide themselves:
In theory there are many different types of anarchists, but Nicolas refreshingly finds a method to unite them all. "In our private lives we are individualists, doing our own thing and choosing our companions and friends for personal reasons; in our social lives we are mutualists, making free arrangements with each other, and giving what we have and getting what we need by equal exchanges with each other; in our working lives we are mostly collectivists, joining our colleagues in deciding how the job should be done; in our political lives we would mostly be communists, joining our neighbours in deciding how the community should be run."

What anarchists want:
Topics range from the different goals of 'individualist' or lifestyle anarchy to the more productive social versions of anarchism. How work, education, and wealth could be managed, what to do with criminals, the difference between reform and revolution, etc. "A free society would have to be pluralist and put up with not only minor differences of opinion about how freedom and equality should be put into practice but also with major deviations from the theory of freedom and equality altogether. The only condition would be that no people are forced to join such tendencies against their will..."

What Anarchists do:
This outlines the methods of action that anarchists take, ranging from the production of literature to direct action to pure bohemianism. "It is as dogmatic to say that things will never change as to say that things are bound to change... This is a struggle which we may not win and may never but which is still worth fighting."

I cannot express how much use this little book has been to me in shaping my ideas of the world and my life. In a world where the poor are just getting poorer, the wars never end, governments incapable of controlling the worlds mega corporations, the traditional left so hindered by the catastrophe of the Soviet experiment, a proposal such as this one reflects the fact that a fully inclusive, constructive, free and equal society is still possible and in fact, utterly necessary. I feel completely justified in awarding it 5 stars, this is the best introduction to anarchism I have read as yet, and a light to all seeking a better future for ourselves and the world.