Anarchism Frequently Asked Questions / Anarchism for beginners

A friend of mine asked me to share some good books and infopages on economy in anarcho society, mutualism and collectivism and since I'm not a very good reader and I'm lazy, I thought you might have something to recommend ( hopefully, it will be simple to understand since english is not his good side). I glanced at FAQ, but i don't think that's what he's searching for. I don't think he needs books that critisize todays economy, but which give examples of alternetive economy.

Cheers !

 

http://infoshop.org/page/AnarchistFAQSectionI

Part three and some of four should be informative to your friend. Also, there are plenty of introductory books, such as The Beginner's Guide edited by Ruth Kinna. That book has lots of references of where to look next too, which might be helpful. It depends how much detail you want as well.

 

government only serves to strengthen itself while it destroys the freedom, happiness and creativity of the people it governs.

P.S. Fuck that shit

 

Where do you guys get those books from? I've seen a handful of related texts being sold at Barnes and Nobles, but why the hell would I want to support a chain run by mindless dolts? (granted it is really fun going in there and posting stickers that say "No Gods, No Masters" on the shelves.)

 

HAHA the shit available in mall shops if any is some celeb authors writing or finding something interesting to for liberals... Here are two links for tons of books and Zines that will keep your head busy and critical thinking working and growing...

and this shit is free 99

1. The Anarchist Library: http://theanarchistlibrary.org

2. Zine Library: http://zinelibrary.info

 

Very informative! Thank you for the links!

 

Thanx for sharing this. I will share this to newbie kids around. We plan to establish a new scene, and hope this knowledge will useful to build their understanding on anarcho-punx

 

"A friend of mine asked me to share some good books and infopages on economy in anarcho society, mutualism and collectivism and since I'm not a very good reader and I'm lazy, I thought you might have something to recommend ( hopefully, it will be simple to understand since english is not his good side). I glanced at FAQ, but i don't think that's what he's searching for. I don't think he needs books that critisize todays economy, but which give examples of alternetive economy.

Cheers !"

Here is a brief list of books and some general info on different anarchist alternative economies to capitalism:

Most Anarchists whether Individualists (like Warren and Tucker), Mutualists (Proudhon), Collectivist (Bakunin) held the labor theory of value. Capitalism is a competitive market system that holds a subjective theory of value that does not factor labor into the price of a product. Regarding the labor theory of value if employers pay their workers less than the general value (that includes labor) in the price of their product (assuming the labor theory of value is the main economic system put in place) they are then exploited. Capitalism does not in general factor labor into the price of their products hence it is an exploitive system and huge gaps between the rich and poor are created. Marx it should be noted also agreed with this analysis. He called exploitation surplus value or unearned income.

What are Anarchist alternatives? There are 4 main types of Anarchism: Individualist, Mutualist, Collectvist, and Communist. It should be noted both Individualist and Mutualist economies retain free market economics but they reatain the labor theory of value and therefore are non-exploitive and because they are non-exploitive they are therefore anti-capitalist and so they are part of Anarchist theory as such.

Individualist Anarchism: This type of economy retains employers on a free market however it is an anti-capitalist free market because the employers in an individualist anarchy would pay their workers the full value of their labor on the market. Books for this system include Josiah Warren the First American Anarchist by William Bailie. Another Individualist Anarchy book would be Instead of A Book by Benjamin Tucker.

Mutualist Anarchism: This type of economy retains a competitive market but all companies are run in a co-operative or democratic manner. Books for this system include General Idea of Revolution in the Nineteenth Century by Pierre Joseph Proudhon.

Collectivist Anarchism: This is a non-market system where all workplaces are run democratically. Products are sent to the local community Banks of Exchange for consumption and wages for all occupations are voted on by the local community. Books for this system includes Bakunin on Anarchy by Sam Dolgoff.

Communist Anarchism: I believe Kropotkin was critical of the labor theory of value however he wanted to have a system without exchange in general where all products are free for the local community members and all workplaces are run democratically. Books for this system include Fields Factories and Workshops by Peter Kropotkin.

Apologies for any generalizations and as others have stated on this thread the An Anarchist FAQ is top quality. Hope this info is useful for study in different types of ecnomics!

 

Malatesta supposedly wrote, "impossibility never prevented anything from happening",(it's stoic logic...) but I can't find where he wrote this. I've read a lot of his work and I am still searching for that letter, correspondence or dialogue that contains this quote.

Does anyone know?

 

all forms of government are counterproductive to true and absolute individual autonomy. Society doesn't need them. Each person should be responsible for their own actions and hold themselves accountable. Empires were ran by emperors, kingdoms were ran by kings, and countries are ran by cunts.

 

I don't support monopoly of violence from a wealthy minority and i do not support exploitation of queers, minorities, workers or anyone at all.

 

Solid info on tactics against the system and bourgeoisie. Will definitely pass this on to newbies!

 

I don't know where he wrote that specifically. Malatesta's quotes are very inspiring. I've hand-picked a few of his quotes below (there are lots more to be found on the internet).

Errico Malatesta quotes:

“Not whether we accomplish anarchism today, tomorrow, or within ten centuries, but that we walk towards anarchism today, tomorrow, and always.”

“Experience through freedom is the only means to arrive at the truth and the best solutions; and there is no freedom if there is not the freedom to be wrong.”

“Capitalism is the same everywhere. In order to survive and prosper it needs a permanent situation of partial scarcity: it needs it to maintain its prices and to create hungry masses to work under any conditions.”

“Anarchy is synonymous with Socialism. Because both signify the abolition of exploitation and of the domination of man over man, whether maintained by the force of arms or by the monopolization of the means of life.”

“For anarchy to succeed or simply to advance towards its success it must be conceived not only as a lighthouse which illuminates and attracts, but as something possible and attainable, not in centuries to come, but in a relatively short time and without relying on miracles...”

“Anarchists present a new method; the free initiative of all and free agreement; then, after the revolutionary abolition of private property, every one will have equal power to dispose of social wealth.”

“We too aspire to communism as the most perfect achievement of human solidarity, but it must be anarchist communism, that is, freely desired and accepted, and the means by which the freedom of everyone is guaranteed and can expand; for these reasons we maintain that State communism, which is authoritarian and imposed, is the most hateful tyranny that has ever afflicted, tormented and handicapped mankind.”

“We follow ideas and not men, and rebel against this habit of embodying a principle in a man.”

“The freedom we want, for ourselves and for others, is not an absolute metaphysical, abstract freedom which in practice is inevitably translated into the oppression of the weak; but it is real freedom, possible freedom, which is the conscious community of interests, voluntary solidarity.”

“There is among us a tendency to consider true, good and fine everything that appears under the agreeable cloak of revolt against the accepted “truths”, especially if supported by people who are, or call themselves, anarchists. This shows a deficiency of that spirit of investigation and criticism that should be maximally developed in anarchists.”

“If today we fall without lowering our colors, our cause is certain of victory tomorrow.”

“Man has two necessary fundamental characteristics, the instinct of his own preservation, without which no being could exist, and the instinct of the preservation of his species, without which no species could have been formed or have continued to exist.” *
*(To this one I would add a third, possibly a (re)emerging instinct. One that modern society had forgotten but one that we are now waking up to again, through necessity rather than common sense and which will hopefully become the third necessary fundamental characteristic of human kind: The instinct of the preservation of our planet and the natural world, in all its diversity, without which our lives will become impossible.)

“We anarchists do not want to emancipate the people; we want the people to emancipate themselves.”