A short review of Black Flame which, in general, is very good. I have my disagreements with it, particularly on its inclusion of Marxist-syndicalists into the wider anarchist tradition and exclusion of Proudhon. This was written before the revelation that Michael Schmidt had ties to white nationalism. Needless to say, the book itself shows no signs of that and remains a good, if flawed, account of class struggle anarchism.
(more…)Category: Review
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One Step Forward, Two Steps Back
A review of Imagine by Tommy Sheridan and Alan McCombes, the (then) leaders of the Scottish Socialist Party. An attempt by Trotskyists (formerly of Militant) to become libertarian sounding are not very convincing. At the height of its electoral success in 2003, the party had six Members of the Scottish Parliament (MSPs) but it then imploded, in thanks to the activities of its leader, Sheridan, and the cult of personality the party had created around him. It appeared in Black Flag no. 224 (2004).
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Lies, Damn Lies and Economics
A review of five works on economics and the economy published in the late 1990s. It was my first significant article for the magazine Black Flag, whose editorial committee I had just joined. It appeared in Black Flag No. 215 (1998)
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Divided by time, united by hope
Review of two books on social struggle, one on the 1930s and one on the anti-globalisation movement of the 2000s.
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The Two Souls of Democracy
A review of Tony Benn’s 2005 TV programme on democracy. It points out the democracy has many meanings and can, and is, used to justify elite rule.
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