Anarchism
Anarchism and anarchists and anything associated with the thinking, the people, or the history generally get a raw deal from the media and even mainstream historians. It is true that anarchism is profoundly anti-authoritarian, but its popular association with violence (wild-eyed bearded men throwing bombs) is exaggerated, even fictionalized by the very forces threatened by it, namely governments and the media with vested interests in things as they are.
As with any subversive political and economic movement, some proponents became impatient and felt justified in striking out in vengeance or justice. Thus you have Alexander Berkman and his attempted assassination of Pennsylvanian Henry Clay Frick in 1892 and Leon Czolgosz and his successful assassination of President William McKinley in 1901. Berkman, however, served his time in jail, wrote a deep and insightful account of his experience and went on to write more worthwhile books on the subject which possessed his life. (Czolgosz did not have that opportunity, being executed forty-five days after the death of his victim.)
Anarchism survived its dramatic beginnings in the 19th Century, however, and interested readers can find its articulate concern with agricultural reform, labor rights, and prophetic worries about the growth of the surveillance state in many excellent books. Here you will find books and a superb documentary on Sacco and Vanzetti (as well as Woody Guthrie's cd of his investigation into the miscarriage of justice). Here you will find histories, biographies, anthologies, memoirs, and fiction. It is a rich tradition, relevant to this day and to the future.
Proudhon's Sociology
Proudhon's Sociology
An introduction to the thought of Pierre-Joseph Proudhon, the first person to declare themself an anarchist.
Available in English for the first time, Proudhon's Sociology is the landmark statement on Pierre-Joseph Proudhon’s thought. While interest in Proudhon’s work has undergone a revival in the last couple of decades in the English-speaking world, his theories about society remain little known. Ansart’s book renders the complexity of Proudhon's thought intelligible and emphasizes how Proudhonian ideas remain relevant today.
Ansart explores the similarities between Proudhon and Marx’s thought, including the influence that Proudhon’s economic writings and theories of the state had on Marx. A year before the publication of Sociologie de Proudhon (1967), Henri Lefebvre published Sociologie de Marx as part of the same academic series. Both indispensable books, which were available to French students at the time of the strikes of May–June 1968, had a real impact on the theoretical education of that generation—and on generations since.
This English-language edition contains an introduction by René Berthier, annotations by the translators and editor, and an additional piece by Ansart titled “Proudhon Throughout History.”
“Pierre Ansart’s book, commissioned by Georges Balandier for a series that included Henri Lefebvre’s Sociology of Marx, is a clear and authoritative guide to its subject by one of the most important commentators on Proudhon. It is excellent news that the book is to be made available in English, and that a book by Pierre Ansart has finally been translated. Anyone wanting to learn about Proudhon but perhaps daunted by the sheer bulk of Iain McKay’s wonderful Property is Theft! Proudhon anthology now has a book to read in advance that will light their way to engaging with Proudhon.”
—Dr. Michael Tyldesley, Emeritus Honorary Fellow, Department of History, Politics, and Philosophy, Manchester Metropolitan University
Pierre Ansart (1922–2016) taught at Université Paris-Diderot and made contributions to the field of sociology with a multidisciplinary approach that incorporated history and psychology as well as Western and Eastern intellectual traditions. Ansart is the author of over twenty books.