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.
Street Rebellion: Resistance Beyond Violence and Nonviolence
Street Rebellion: Resistance Beyond Violence and Nonviolence
In a style that bridges the divide between academia and activism, Street Rebellion develops a broader and more accurate understanding of how people struggle for liberation.
We are living in a time of uprisings that routinely involve physical confrontation—burning vehicles, barricades, vandalism, and scuffles between protesters and authorities. Yet the Left has struggled to incorporate rioting into theories of change, remaining stuck in recurring debates over violence and nonviolence. Civil resistance studies have popularized the term “strategic nonviolence,” spreading the notion that violence is wholly counter-productive. Street Rebellion scrutinizes recent research and develops a broad and grounded portrait of the relationship between strategic nonviolence and rioting in the struggle for liberation.
Benjamin S. Case is an organizer, educator, and writer. He is a researcher at the Center for Work and Democracy and a fellow at the Resistance Studies Initiative. Case is based in Pittsburgh, PA.
"For far too long the violence/nonviolence debate has been mired in abstract pontification and muddled terminology. Finally, we have Ben Case's incisive and meticulously researched analysis that captures the contextual utility of violent forms of resistance. Street Rebellion is truly a must-read for every activist and social movement scholar."
—Mark Bray, author of Antifa: The Anti-Fascist Handbook
"Street Rebellion strikes a precise blow to the current accepted dichotomy between violence and nonviolence and flips the entire field of civil resistance on its head. Ben Case has eloquently returned riots to their rightful place in the history of modern social movements."
—Akin Olla, contributing writer at The Guardian and host of This is The Revolution Podcast
"Benjamin Case's work is critical for understanding the way that movements for liberation are exploding across the globe, and to counter the misinformation that suggests the only path to change is through strict nonviolence. This is one of the most essential books of the year."
—Shane Burley, author of Why We Fight and Fascism Today
"In this significant contribution, Case shows how riots make a difference. Essential reading for anyone who thought that the violence-non-violence debate was over."
—Lesley Wood, author of Crisis and Control: The Militarization of Protest Policing