substack newsletter ppl

From The Flame That Survived The Rain

Distinct from other socialist schools of thought, anarchism asserts that it’s vehemently opposed to all coercive hierarchies as they exist in every aspect of life. Whereas the marxists primarily aims to abolish economic exploitation and destroy the capitalist mode of production, the revolutionary feminists strive to dismantle male domination and eradicate cis-hetero patriarchy, and the post-colonial insurgent seeks to end settler colonialism and imperialist interventions on dispossessed lands, the anarchist primarily begins with the position that all systems of oppression and pyramidal power structures are a threat and the antithesis to the total liberation of all marginalized, poor, and working class people—regardless of race, gender, and sexuality.

From Kierkegaardian Reflections by Anarchierkegaard

Paul's presumed theological anarchy in the context of lawlessness

From Anarchistories by Tom Goyens

When Radical Politics Went Steamboating

In July 1900, Jewish stage actors were invited to perform during a steamboat excursion organized by the Yiddish-speaking anarchist movement. There was just one problem. Through their union, the actors declined, explaining that they were accustomed to performing on a fixed stage. As one representative put it, “No actor wishes to make a fool of himself, standing on a ship and acting scenes or declaiming there while the ship rocks.” The editors reassured them that no performance was necessary. “Instead of coming to our excursion as performers,” they replied, “we ask all Jewish actors and actresses to come as our guests.”1

From The Dugout (Substack)

W/ Brooke From Strangers In A Tangled Wilderness

Jordan sits down with Brooke of Strangers in a Tangled Wilderness and Live Like the World Is Dying for a conversation on economics, anarchism, and building alternatives to capitalism.

From Perspectiva by Dr. Swan Dao

Anarchism is a contentious, enigmatic, and nebulous subject. As a political movement, it is all too often misconstrued and distorted: when not trivialised or censored, it is maligned and demonised. For the general public, the figure of the anarchist brings to mind bomb-throwing terrorists, violent strikers, or unprincipled vandals.

From Anarchistories by Tom Goyens

The oppression of women in Iran remains one of the clearest expressions of the theocratic order established in 1979. The nationwide “Woman, Life, Freedom” uprising that followed the death of Mahsa Amini in police custody in September 2022 revealed not only the courage of Iranian women but also the unresolved struggle over bodily autonomy, public morality, and state power that began with the Islamic Revolution itself.

From Anarchisthistories (Substack) by Tom Goyens

Toward the Divine State

From the beginning, anarchists suspected that Iran’s revolution might end not in freedom, but in clerical rule. Today, with the benefit of hindsight, the religious character of the revolution appears obvious. But during 1978 and early 1979, events in Iran remained fluid and uncertain. Anarchists nevertheless sensed the danger early. Long hostile to clerical authority and the quite tyranny of piety, they viewed theocratic politics as inherently hostile to human emancipation.

From Anarchistories by Tom Goyens

Eight weeks into Trump’s war with Iran, the origins of the Islamic Republic are worth revisiting. The regime now confronting Washington was born in the upheaval of 1979, when the Shah’s pro-Western monarchy collapsed and Ayatollah Khomeini seized the revolutionary moment. But the Iranian Revolution was no unified uprising. The anti-Shah movement brought together a volatile mix of factions: secular nationalists, pro-Soviet Communists, Marxist guerrillas, religious left-wing militants, and Islamic fundamentalists. By 1980, Khomeini had outmaneuvered his rivals and consolidated a regime that has endured ever since.

From anarchofggt

I have noticed a disappointing trend with my anarchist milieu situated in the Pacific Northwest of Turtle Island. It is a concerning disregard and total dismissal of our inherited anarchist theories and histories, again from people who call themselves “anarchists.” I have noticed this is particularly a problem from White people. Self-proclaimed anarchists here behave as if they are past the droning of Proudhon, Kropotkin, or Malatesta, while still engaging in the same Sisyphean “debates” trying to approach conclusions already reached 100 years ago, while using different language are really just concepts such as the principle of voluntary association, the merits of violence and nonviolence, or if organized Platformism is the way to go.

From Anarchistories by Tom Goyens

Twenty years have passed since the death of historian Paul Avrich on February 16, 2006, yet his influence on the study of American anarchism remains unmatched. I first met Paul in October 2000 at a symposium held at the Labadie Collection at the University of Michigan in Ann Arbor. At the time, I was searching for a dissertation topic and, with some uncertainty, proposed a study of German immigrant anarchists. Paul responded with immediate enthusiasm and urged me to pursue it. That was all I needed.