c4ss

Directors Report: C4SS in 2023 (and beyond)

Directors Report: C4SS in 2023 (and beyond)

From C4SS

Anarchism is an odd beast and effective advocacy takes a multitude of forms. During the past year, the team behind the Center for a Stateless Society has been focused on exploring how we can best explain and defend the idea of vibrant social cooperation without aggression, oppression, or centralized authority. With limited resources, both financially and in terms of contributor’s time, we must take the time to reflect on our goals, our tactics, and our path forward, changing with the world around us, the social landscape, and the available communications technology.

On Gaza: “Now Is Not the Time,” “Moral Equivalency,” and “Liberalism”

From Center for a Stateless Society by Kevin Carson October 26th, 2023

So I come neither to praise liberalism nor to bury it. Rather, I call on anarchism, and on the socialist movement more broadly, to embrace and celebrate all of the best in liberalism, and to make ourselves the new bearers of all that is worth preserving in its legacy. In that spirit, I say now is always the time to criticize abuses of power, regardless of which side commits them. And the actions of everyone, regardless of side, are to be judged by the same moral standard.

The Enragés: Emma Goldman and Mutualism Co-Op with Shane Ross

The Enragés: Emma Goldman and Mutualism Co-Op with Shane Ross

From C4SS

For the 26th installment of The Enragés, host Eric Fleischmann was joined by Shane Ross (@taocuck) to discuss their article Emma Goldman and Individualist Anarchism (https://c4ss.org/content/56246) which is part of Center for a Stateless Society’s Mutual Exchange Symposium on egoism.

Review: African Anarchism – The History of a Movement

Review: African Anarchism – The History of a Movement

From C4SS by Jordan Jardine

As an anarchist, I am naturally inclined to research not only anarchist movements from America, but from all around the world. I am very fond of Lao Tzu, for instance, and the Tao Te Ching author was a major influence on prominent anarchists like Peter Kropotkin and Rudolf Rocker. Therefore, I have learned some things about anarchist movements in China and other parts of Asia. However, as an admirer of African culture as well, I recently developed a desire to look into anarchist movements in Africa as well. Luckily, one essential volume documenting this history–and sometimes the lack thereof–is the 1997 book African Anarchism: The History of a Movement by Nigerian anarchist activist Sam Mbah and co-author I.E. Igariwey. 

Earthseed for Anarchists

Just Because We’re Stuck In A Bubble, Doesn’t Mean We Can’t Cause Any Trouble

From C4SS by Locusts and Wild Honey

Science fiction has always been an important playground of radical politics for anarchists, libertarians, and socialists alike. My personal favorite is Octavia Butler’s Parable of the Sower and Parable of the Talents (the two completed novels of her Earthseed series), which tell the story of a United States of the 2030s in the midst of economic collapse, and fascistic rule,  corporate dominance as well as the struggle to build new communities amid this chaos—not to revive the dying empire but to build something new and better from its ashes.

Quakerism, Anarchy, and Everything In Between

Quakerism, Anarchy, and Everything In Between

From C4SS

Quakers or Friends are members of the Religious Society of Friends, a religious sect rooted in Protestant Christianity which is not restricted to any particular creed or theology but rather brought together by an opposition to violence and a common belief in the God, Divinity, and/or Light in all human beings. In A Quaker Book of Wisdom, Robert Lawrence Smith describes Quakerism as “an experiment in religious anarchy.” More extensively, the Wikipedia page (forgive me) for “Anarchism and religion” states:

Anarchism and Cryptocurrency

civ is a scam

From C4$$ by Rai Ling

Cryptocurrency, a digital currency in which transactions are verified and recorded by a decentralized system using cryptography, rather than by a centralized authority, is a controversial technology amongst anarchists, even though it is often used as a tool for undermining state power. The left generally sees cryptocurrency as a negative due to its function as money (which some seek to abolish), volatility, ostensible harm to the environment, alleged lack of decentralization, scams, and association with right-libertarianism, which have resulted in many left-leaning anarchists irrationally lashing out against crypto.

Update on the Laurance Labadie Archival Project

From Center for a Stateless Society by Eric Fleischmann

Things are at a bit of a standstill with the Laurance Labadie Archival Project, and this is mainly due to the fact that on top of all the other work I’m doing I simply do not have the time or energy to transcribe, edit, and respond to each of his works. The last of these efforts was intended for me to be able to immerse myself (as much as is possible) in the kind of discourse that Labadie himself was doing: a back and forth between lay philosophers and political theorists in publicly available magazines. And I stand by this effort as it has allowed me to engage with Labadie in a way that feels very personal.

History of Egoist Anarchism

Stirner's appearance is a spook. How are we to trust Engel's ill-intended caricatures?

From Center for a Stateless Society Faruk Pak

Egoist philosophy generally refers to any school of thought that considers the self (i.e. one’s own personal interests) to be the primary source of ethical standards and action, superseding external factors such as social norms or other-regarding principles. As a result, egoist anarchist schools of thought tend to emphasize personal liberation and non-subordination so that individuals may pursue their own ends without sacrificing them for others or vice versa.

A Brief History of Individualist Anarchism

"Andor was an individualist anarchist" - WG

From C4SS by Faruk Pak

In this article, we will explore early individualist anarchism in the US which is, in my honest consideration, the closest thing to what the concept of anarchism really is. Looking at the history of the anarchist movement, the main representatives of individualist anarchism are thinkers such as Godwin, Stirner, and Tucker. 

The First Intifada and Anarchism

From Center for a Stateless Society by Faruk Pak

The First Intifada ended with the establishment of a Palestinian Authority tasked with limited self-governance of parts of the West Bank and Gaza Strip after the Oslo Accords; some may consider this as anti-anarchist; indeed, such treaties among illegitimate states, the establishment of a new hierarchy or administration, etc. do not seem to be auspicious at first glance. These forms of action and resistance, which many anarchists — even any consistent anarchist — will approve of, helped to bring a new government out of a state that is illegitimate and uses unlimited violence under the pretext of national sovereignty. It is the magnitude of the concession indicating how threatened the State felt, which I take into account to be a concrete achievement for a modern anarchist.

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