Table of Contents
Preface xi
Introduction 1
In the Margins, or on the Front-Line? 6
Winch Anarchism? 7
Defining the Anarchist Common Sense 8
Chapter 1 The Case for Anarchy: Unhelpful Assumptions & Unchallenged Ideas 14
Pockets of Anarchy 16
The Global Justice Movement 17
Absolute Anarchy: Life in Primitive Societies 19
Anarchy in Spain 20
Anarchy in Action: A Critical Response 22
Pockets of Anarchy. The Global justice Movement 24
Absolute Anarchy: Life in Primitive Societies 26
Anarchy in Spain 30
Anarchy in Action: Some Lessons 35
The Anarchist Opposition to Blueprints: Trifling Details, or Necessary Reflections? 36
Conclusions 42
Chapter 2 Fanatical Lovers of Liberty? Anarchism and the Limits of Freedom 45
Freedom: A 'perplexingly polymorphous notion.' Anarchist Freedom: An Overview 48
Freedom as Rejection of the State/Authority 51
Anarchist Freedom: Positive or Negative? 52
Equal-Liberty 55
Anarchy and Anti-Social Behaviour 60
Can Mutual Aid Protect Us? 66
Temporary, and Tranquil, Autonomous Zones 68
What is Crime Anyway? 70
Conclusions 73
Chapter 3 It's Good to be Free… But are we Free to be Bad? Ethics & More Limits of Freedom 77
Anarchist Approaches to Ethics: Peter Kropotkin and Murray Bookchin 80
Human Nature and Mutual Aid 84
Prefiguration: Which Means, to What Ends? 87
Anarchist Approaches to Ethics, Continued 88
Escape from Ethics 90
Liberalism and Anarchism 94
Neutrality Explained & Critiqued 97
Value Conflict, without the State 100
Anarchist Freedom: The story so far 103
Freedom in Diversity? 105
Conclusions 109
Chapter 4 The Power of Community, for Better and for Worse: The Unavoidable Consequences of Power 111
The Postanarchist View of Anarchism, and the Poststructural View of Power
A Response to the Postanarchist Critique: The Anarchist View of Power 119
The Implications of Power without the State 124
Jo Freeman and 'The Tyranny of Structurelessness.' 126
Beyond Horse Power: How the. Power of the Car has Shaped Contemporary Lives 133
Conclusions 141
Chapter 5 From Majority Rule to the Tyranny of One: Conflict & Consensus Decision Making 143
The Principles & Processes of Consensus Decision Making. Inspirational, but how Viable? 148
Consensus: A Dissenting Voice… A Tyranny of one 150
Consensus and the Common Good 153
Standing Aside; the Unavoidable Consequences of Decisions 155
Agreeing to Disagree… At a Reasonable Distance 160
Duty, Responsibility, and Care 164
The Successes of Consensus? 167
Conclusions 169
Chapter 6 Melting the Snow: How Anarchism Prefigures Anarchy 172
Prefiguration: What, When and How? 174
Social Prefiguration: Building the New Society 179
Personal Prefiguration; No Gods, No Masters … No Excuses 187
Lifestyle Politics: Revolutionary, or Reformist? 189
Responsibility in an Unjust World 193
Rethinking Blue-prints: Positive Visions or Authoritarian Models? 197
Conclusions 202
Conclusion: Rules without Rulers? 204
Bibliography 208
Endnotes 220