Teaching freedom: Thoughts on an anarchist education
Nearly everyone from across the political spectrum can agree that our current public education system in america is not ideal. Those on the statist left tend to fear that public education is under attack by private corporations and is completely underfunded. More progressive leftists go so far as to not only advocate for more funding for public grade school education but also higher education such as college, university, or graduate… Continue reading
Book review: Romantic Rationalist — A William Godwin Reader
Edited by Peter Marshall ISBN: 978-1-62963-228-5 PP: 192 Publisher: PM Press, 2017 £15.99
If interested in the roots of modern anarchism, you’ll at least know William Godwin’s name. The fellow was quite prolific in writing, so he has a number of works to sort through. Hence the true benefit of this gorgeous volume: rather than sitting down with a volume or two, this reader empowers you to identify… Continue reading
Book Review: Left of the Left — my memories of Sam Dolgoff
by Anatole Dolgoff ISBN: 978-1-84935-248-2 PP: 400 Publisher: AK Press, 2016 £17
Sam Dolgoff was an American anarchist and wobbly (member of the Industrial Workers of the World). He’s an important figure, active for almost seven decades (including ones where anarchism was supposed to have ‘died out’!) Anatole Dolgoff is the youngest son of Sam and Esther Dolgoff, and Left of the Left is his insider’s account… Continue reading
Towards a timeline of anarchism in Britain
In his 1978 book Slow Burning Fuse, which Freedom republished in 2014 and will be reprinting at this year’s London Anarchist Bookfair with full index, historian John Quail put together a unique timeline covering the period 1880-1930, picking out some of the key moments in the history of the British anarchist movement. A similar timeline covering the 87 years since then however hasn’t been produced — until now.… Continue reading
Book Review: Donald Rooum’s Anarchist Wildcat Comics
PM Press, 2016 ISBN: 978-1-62963-127-1 PP: 128 Publisher: PM Press
As it should be, Rooum’s playful illustrations dominate this volume.
Anarchist Wildcat Comics has three parts. The first 40 or so pages are Rooum’s introduction and discussion of his personal history as an anarchist during the middle to late decades of 20th century Britain. Most of the writing centres around the 1960s and his role in exposing police frame-ups of… Continue reading
Editorial: British anarchism in 2016
It’s hard to know where to start when writing an editorial about 2016. So much has happened in British politics that a summary piece could easily end up being just a list of uncommon events, from the rise of Corbynism and its impact on the libertarian left, to Brexit, the collapse of the Tory consensus and the quiet grind forward of the Pitchford Spy Cops inquiry. Hillsborough, Iraq and many… Continue reading
Anarchy in the UK: A Changed Political Landscape
This article is the first in a series by Jon Bigger looking at gains the voices of social conservatism have made in recent years and what that means for anarchist politics.
In 2016 the political landscape has changed around us. A resurgence of conservatism resulting from changes within the Conservative Party leadership following the EU referendum has been followed by Donald Trump’s victory in the US… Continue reading
Anarchism and the Italian referendum
The statement below by the Sicilian Anarchist Federation (original Italian version here) addresses the referendum on changes to the national constitution which took place on December 4th. Among other measures, the changes proposed by the liberal Renzi government aimed to break what has been widely characterised as a “gridlock” in the Italian Senate, including slimming the senate from 315 members to 100 and centralising many functions… Continue reading
So we’re out of Europe…
In the months leading up this year’s referendum on the UK’s continued membership of the European Union I observed lots of discussion — mainly on social media — between anarchists who intended on engaging with the ballot box for the first time in a long time, or in some cases, the first time ever. I couldn’t understand why so many people were prepared to break ranks and participate in bourgeois… Continue reading
Turkey: Meydan anarchists — ‘we are being cornered’
Late last month the editor of Meydan anarchist newspaper in Istanbul was sentenced to a year and three months in prison for “supporting terror,” the latest in a string of attempts by the Turkish State to shut down dissenting voices against Erdogan’s government. Today we are proud to publish a translation of Meydan’s uncompromising response, from their latest edition.
We are being cornered
With the fear and shock… Continue reading →