Review: Practical Anarchism: A Guide for Everyday Life

From Freedom News by Uri Gordon

Author: Scott Branson
Practical Anarchism: A Guide for Everyday Life
Pluto Press
ISBN: 9780745344928

OMG it’s an anarchist self-help book! No, not an ironic one for burnt-out activists. This is a guide to rethinking everyday life for readers with no priors. Each chapter in Practical Anarchism starts with a few bullet points (‘you aren’t your job’; ‘study can take place anywhere’; ‘rethink the arrangement of our lives’) and ends with FAQ (‘do I have to be polyamorous?’; ‘can I have my own toothbrush’?). The main chapters contain bite-sized discussions that aim to “de-naturalise” the established authoritarian and/or competitive norms that govern different social institutions (families and relationships, schooling, labour, money, art, local services) and offer examples that point to other possibilities, based on norms of care and freedom. The book ends with a reflection on anarchist practice in terms of unity between means and ends and ideas of everyday revolution.

For readers already familiar with anarchist critiques and alternatives, the book still offers a valuable introduction to contemporary black/feminist/queer/indigenous writers (mainly from the US), whose abolitionist stances against institutions and regimes of domination have gained anarchists’ appreciation in recent years. These include authors of both social commentary and science fiction, such as adrienne marie brown, bell hooks, Octavia Butler, Margaret Killjoy, Leanne Betosamotake Simpson, Monique Wittig, and many others on whose work Branson draws. Kropotkin and Colin Ward are also prominent, as are current anarchist writers such as Peter Gelderloos and Cindy Milstein. There is a helpful “further reading” section at the end of the book.

Unless it becomes a best-seller (why not?) we’ll never know how much Practical Anarchism has done to radicalise new people. The strawberry-banana colour scheme, and the respectful bracketing of anarchism’s confrontational side, may raise eyebrows – but they seem to be part a deliberate strategy of gentleness towards an imagined young (and probably American) reader who is still working their way out of identification with dominant systems, in an atomised society where collectivity is extremely rare. It is hard for me to judge how successful this is as a pitch, but Scott Branson deserves appreciation just for the attempt to write a gateway book in a previously unattempted genre.

Uri Gordon

Practical Anarchism: A Guide for Everyday Life can be purchased here.

There are 9 Comments

"Unless it becomes a best-seller (why not?) we’ll never know how much Practical Anarchism has done to radicalise new people."

But did it help you become a practical anarchist (as opposed to merely one of opinion or academic)? I think that's the goal of the book, it can't be too radical if it expects to be practical to a wide audience. How applicable is it to daily life? Did you try applying anything? How well did it work in each case? Those are the questions I'm interested in.

"But did it help you become a practical anarchist (as opposed to merely one of opinion or academic)?"

Yes.

"I think that's the goal of the book, it can't be too radical if it expects to be practical to a wide audience."

OK, bro.

"How applicable is it to daily life?"

Very!

"Did you try applying anything?"

Yes!

"How well did it work in each case?"

Read good.

"Those are the questions I'm interested in."

Try reading the book next time if you have more questions about what's in the book.

I don’t wanna blow your mind or anything, but there is such a thing as “field trials” and “case studies” and “reportbacks” to put it in a few of many ways, you little troll. I’m asking for feedback from application, I have access to the text and to my own experiences thank you very much.

i guess this is a hypothetical review of a nominally practical text about theory?

Make them fancy book-folk tell you what them pages say so you can give them what for with your real experience. Can't be bothered to read books when there's anime tiddies to look at on the chans, amirite?

you can project all you want kid, you’re the only here who would have thought to bring that up to this conversation

ps. anews demographic skews old, my cohort is not so big on “chans” and “anime”, at least i manage to thread replies most of the time

My project is writing books that contain words people can read to find answers about what the books are about. In my spare time I dunk on trolls that don't read book but have opinions about them and whom have never touch a real human tiddy without chemical intervention or fiat currency transaction.

Oh there have been plenty of '“field trials”, “case studies”, and “reportbacks”', bro. Don't worry. It's all referenced in the text. Just buy yourself a copy and your erections will maintain firmness guaranteed.

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