Essays from Anarres Books

These essays are published by Anarres Books, or linked to on this internet site, to make them more readily available. We think these essays are important although the essays do not necessarily reflect the opinions or ideas of the Anarres Books Collective.

• You Can't Blow Up a Social Relationship: The Anarchist Case against Terrorism
  A classic Australian anarchist text and argument against terrorism written in 1979. (57kb)

• A Personal Journey through Anarchism in Australia
  Anarres Books coordinated and publicised this talk by Australian historian, Bob James, in November 1997 at the Anarchist Media Institute public meeting. He edited the book, Anarchism in Australia: An Anthology which was printed in a 50 copy limited edition for the Australian Anarchist Centenary Celebrations in Melbourne in 1986.

• The Tragedy of Labour History in Australia
  This talk by Bob James was presented at Melbourne's New International Bookshop in November 1997. Anarres Books presently sells two books and a number of pamphlets by Bob James on anarchism and labour history.

• On Conflict and Consensus
  Published in 1987 by Food Not Bombs Publishing. A handbook on Formal Consensus decision making by C.T. Butler and Amy Rothstein. (95kb)

• Essays from the AntiMass
  • AntiMass - Methods of organisation for collectives
    An influential text, first published between 1970 and 1971 in San Francisco, on organising in small groups.
  • Using Structure in Collectives
    An essay on consensus decision making and structure in small groups and collectives by Australian anarchist, John Englart. Goes pretty deeply into how to organise a collective and some of the pitfalls to avoid.
  • AntiMass Collectives as Anarchist Organisation
    An insight by Richard Fields into the strategy of the antimass, using examples of anarchist groups in Australia.
  • Aims and Objectives of the Anarchist Movement
    Redfern Black Rose Anarchist Bookshop paper presented at the Anarchist Centenary conference in 1986. Looks at their collective practice and compares their practice with other task collectives.
  • The Question is not 'Organisation or no organisation?' but 'what sort of organisation?'
    Paper delivered to the Anarcho-feminist Conference in Canberra in 1976, approaching the question of organisation from feminist practice and anarchist theory.

• The Tyranny of Structurelessness
  by Jo Freeman, was first printed by the women's liberation movement, USA, in 1970. It was reprinted in Berkeley Journal of Sociology in 1970 and later issued as a pamphlet by Agitprop in 1972. Republished many times since. An important work for recognising that structure in small groups is always present, and the need to formalise structure appropriate for the group's task.