Anarchism without ‘Anarchism’: Searching for Progressive Politics in the Early 21st Century

Abstract

Recent explorations of the anarchist heritage are to be welcomed, bringing to a contemporary intellectual audience the politically and morally inspiring thought of such major thinkers as Bakunin, Kropotkin, Proudhon and, more recently, Harold Laski and Paul Goodman. This rich tradition reminds us strongly of the relevance of anti-state traditions of reflection and advocacy, as well as the indispensable role of cooperation, non-violence, community, small-scale social organisation and local solutions for human material needs if the aspiration for a just society is ever to be rescued from its utopian greenhouse. There is every reason to celebrate this anarchist perspective for its own sake, although in a critical and discriminating manner. Non-violent anarchism has a surprising resonance in relation to the ongoing desperate search for a viable progressive politics in the aftermath of the demise of socialist thought and practice.