Encounters with Anarchist Individualism: Bigger on the Inside

From Libertarian Labyrinth by Shawn P. Wilbur

After a rather lengthy delay, I’m settling down to some projects that I had initially intended to begin back in January. As it happens, all three of the tasks at the top of the pile — work on Proudhon’s Justice, an edition of E. Armand’s Anarchist Individualist Initiation and Sociology [Reconstructed], an anthology of the works of Lewis Masquerier — called for the careful comparison of multiple versions of the texts involved. It’s a variety of work that I really enjoy, “when the fit takes me,” but it doesn’t take me all the time.

The Anarchism of the Encounter: A Distillation

From Libertarian Labyrinth by Shawn P. Wilbur

Introduction: Distilling Anarchism

Some of the work I have done on anarchist history and theory has taken the form of synthesis, attempting to draw together elements from a variety of anarchist tendencies and milieus, or of a kind of reconciliation, as in the case of the “neo-Proudhonian synthesis,” based on the idea that the apparent discontinuities in anarchist ideas have been, in fact, more apparent than real.

Revenge of the Return of Anarchy and Democracy (Revisited)

From Libertarian Labyrinth by Shawn P. Wilbur

The most recent issue of Anarcho-Syndicalist Review includes an article by Wayne Price, “Do Anarchists Support Democracy? The Opinions of Errico Malatesta,” in which he once again takes up the defense of “democracy” as at least consistent with anarchist principles. A brief discussion of the article on the North American Anarchist Studies Association list picked up threads from the 2017 C4SS “Mutual Exchange” on anarchy and democracy.

Anarchy 101: Thinking about Authority and Hierarchy

From Libertarian Labyrinth by Shawn P. Wilbur

This is the second in a series of documents attempting to frame the discussion of key concepts in anarchist theory. (You will find all of these documents linked in the subreddit’s wiki, on the “Anarchism in a Nutshell” page.)

Encounters with Anarchist Individualism

From Libertarian Labyrinth by Shawn P. Wilbur

I must have written a dozen variations on this theme over the last few years, as I have gradually refined my ideas about anarchism-in-general. Those familiar with my past work will recognize a variety of allusions, going back to the decade-old work on “the anarchic encounter,” which once enjoyed a certain pride of place in the revived theory of anarchistic mutualism. The notion of the encounter as a fundamental element of anarchist practice is one that I have returned to quite a number of times over the years, both on the blog and in my notebooks. Towards the end of Constructing Anarchisms, I went so far as to posit the encounter as essentially the whole of anarchist practice.

Notes on Anarchy and Hegemony in the Realm of Definitions

From Libertarian Labyrinth by Shawn P. Wilbur

The notes that follow are preliminary, as I try to bring together a number of considerations regarding vocabulary, definition, theoretical clarity and such. They begin with some questions raised about the translation of Proudhon’s work, pass through a discussion of Proudhon’s own approach to the definition of key terms — which I hope will be useful as we begin reading and discussion of Justice in the Revolution and in the Church — and end with some general thoughts about anarchists’ engagement with the question of definition in the present.

Privation

From Constructing an Anarchism by Shawn P. Wilbur

Privation is a state in which the essentials are lacking. That may seem like a strange place to begin constructing an anarchism, but perhaps not when we remind ourselves that the prefix “an-” is a privative prefix. When we find a concept shaped by that prefix, we should expect to find privation, the lack or absence of something fundamental or essential. There may be exceptions, since we do all sorts of things with language, but, in general, we do not mark the absence of the merely incidental or inessential.

Constructing Anarchisms (Reimagined)

From Constructing Anarchisms

I have simply gone ahead and set up a “Village”-sized instance with them at constructinganarchisms.org. My plan for the site is simple: I’m going to pursue one of the lines forward from “A Schematic Anarchism,” building up what I have called a “plain” or “shareable” anarchism from the formula I have proposed, and I’m going to invite anyone who would like to make a somewhat belated attempt at “making anarchism their own” to join me—or at least work in parallel with me on the new site.

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