On Anarchism
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On Anarchism provides the reasoning behind Noam Chomsky's fearless lifelong questioning of the legitimacy of entrenched power. In these essays, Chomsky redeems one of the most maligned ideologies, anarchism, and places it at the foundation of his political thinking. Chomsky's anarchism is distinctly optimistic and egalitarian. Moreover, it is a living, evolving tradition that is situated in a historical lineage; Chomsky's anarchism emphasizes the power of collective, rather than individualist, action. The collection includes a revealing new introduction by journalist Nathan Schneider, who documented the Occupy movement for Harper's and The Nation, and who places Chomsky's ideas in the contemporary political moment. On Anarchism will be essential reading for a new generation of activists who are at the forefront of a resurgence of interest in anarchism—and for anyone who struggles with what can be done to create a more just world.
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I have no idea whom this book (collection of essays, to be more accurate) is aimed at. The liberals and leftists who might be swayed over to anarchism? Something for the centrist or conservative to ponder over? For the politically-inclined language theorist? Or all of the above?
Keeping aside the stream-of-consciousness narrative (this is a common feature of all Chomsky texts, but it is most apparent here) made it a vaguely illuminating read. As an idealist at heart - Chomsky raises a valid point in saying that anarchism is the belief of questioning those in authority as to how they got their power in the first place - if they can't prove that there is a reason for their existence, then they should be dismantled. More strikingly, it doesn't simply apply to businesses - but also for the government.
To most, this all sounds very romantic, not in the ‘this will take a lot of time to be achieved' way but in the ‘unicorns will fart rainbows before this ever happens' way. To assuage these concerns, Chomsky assures the reader that this is possible - it was seen before in large swathes of Spain in the Spanish civil war, during 1936. Revolutionary Catalonia didn't implode - the then-government crushed the spontaneous revolution with the help of Russia.
So there you have it. A primer to anarchism as a viable philosophy? It sounds like fun reading!
But that is sadly not the case. The book is sometimes too nuanced, name-dropping terms that the reader is expected to know. Then, on the other hand, there are some very simplistic interviews, all saying more or less the same thing - the book feels to drag even with its short length. But the simplicity of Chomsky's arguments is so magnificent that when you're reading it, all of this will not strike you.
This book is probably not the best first read if you're looking to get familiar with anarchism as a philosophy, but as someone looking to read up more on the topic, it's not exactly a bad read. I would recommend it solely because it's a breeze to go through, and it raises some hard questions.
