Means and Ends - bookwyrm.cincodenada.com

English language

Published Feb. 26, 2023 by AK Press Distribution.

ISBN:: 9781849354981

(1 review)

Means and Ends is a new overview of the revolutionary strategy of anarchism in Europe and the United States between 1868 and 1939. Zoe Baker clearly and accessibly explains the ideas that historical anarchists developed in order to change the world. This includes their views on direct action, revolution, organization, state socialism, reforms, and trade unions. Throughout, she demonstrates that the reasons anarchists gave for supporting or opposing particular strategies were grounded in a theoretical framework—a theory of practice—which maintained that, as people engage in activity, they simultaneously change the world and themselves. This theoretical framework was the foundation for the anarchist commitment to the unity of means and ends: the means that revolutionaries propose to achieve social change have to involve forms of activity which transform people into individuals who are capable of, and driven to, both overthrow capitalism and the state and build a free society. The consistent …

Means and Ends is a new overview of the revolutionary strategy of anarchism in Europe and the United States between 1868 and 1939. Zoe Baker clearly and accessibly explains the ideas that historical anarchists developed in order to change the world. This includes their views on direct action, revolution, organization, state socialism, reforms, and trade unions. Throughout, she demonstrates that the reasons anarchists gave for supporting or opposing particular strategies were grounded in a theoretical framework—a theory of practice—which maintained that, as people engage in activity, they simultaneously change the world and themselves. This theoretical framework was the foundation for the anarchist commitment to the unity of means and ends: the means that revolutionaries propose to achieve social change have to involve forms of activity which transform people into individuals who are capable of, and driven to, both overthrow capitalism and the state and build a free society. The consistent heart of anarchism was the idea that anarchist ends can only be achieved through anarchist means. Cutting through misconceptions and historical inaccuracies, Baker draws upon a vast assortment of examples to show how this simple premise underpinned anarchist attempts to put theory into action.

1 edition

mycorrhiza reviewed Means and Ends by Zoe Baker

A deeply researched history of an important facet of the anarchist movement

5 stars

I came to Means and Ends as a moderately well-read anarchist. I’ve read plenty of “theory”, and was already familiar with the writing of Bakunin, Kropotkin, Goldman, Malatesta, Cafiero, and others who were writing about anarchist communism in the late 19th and early 20th centuries in Europe and North America. Nevertheless, I enjoyed this book and got a lot out of it.

When I was only couple chapters into the book I had quipped that it was “dry and academic”, but I realize that this isn’t a fair description. Okay, maybe it is a bit dry in tone — which I feel is a bit unfair to the wild characters who comprised the anarchist movement — but Baker did a commendable job of transforming a PhD dissertation into something so easy to read. She was fairly even-handed in presenting the controversies that divided the movement, although I got the impression …

I came to Means and Ends as a moderately well-read anarchist. I’ve read plenty of “theory”, and was already familiar with the writing of Bakunin, Kropotkin, Goldman, Malatesta, Cafiero, and others who were writing about anarchist communism in the late 19th and early 20th centuries in Europe and North America. Nevertheless, I enjoyed this book and got a lot out of it.

When I was only couple chapters into the book I had quipped that it was “dry and academic”, but I realize that this isn’t a fair description. Okay, maybe it is a bit dry in tone — which I feel is a bit unfair to the wild characters who comprised the anarchist movement — but Baker did a commendable job of transforming a PhD dissertation into something so easy to read. She was fairly even-handed in presenting the controversies that divided the movement, although I got the impression that she favors “mass anarchism” over insurrectionist and anti-organizational approaches.

Since anarchists (at least a certain breed of us) love a reading group, I can imagine that some may read at least a few chapters from Means and Ends. Here’s one way that the chapters could be prioritized:

3: Values, Critique, and Vision 5: Anarchism and State Socialism 4: Anarchist Strategy 7: Mass Anarchism 6: Insurrectionist Anarchism 9: The Theory and Practice of Syndicalist Anarchism 10: Organizational Dualism 8: The History of Syndicalist Anarchism 2: Theoretical Framework 11: Conclusion 1: Defining Anarchism

I still recommend reading them in the order used by book; what I’m suggesting here is that if you want to read only two chapters, read 3 and 5 (skipping 4), but if you can read a third, read 3 through 5. This is aimed at folks who are fairly new to anarchist writings and history from this era; for theory-heads who might want to challenge themselves with different viewpoints, I suggest choosing from 6, 7, 9, and 10 as appropriate.

If I could get every liberal and socialist I know to read the third chapter, that would go a long way toward helping them understand where I’m coming from — I’m surprised at how closely my basic values align with people who were born a century before me. On the other hand, the anarchists were uncanny in predicting how liberal democracies and state communism would develop in the postwar era and we still have the same fight on our hands.

Subjects

Anarchism