I’m digging anarchists’ more hands on, pragmatic approach to politics. I finished The Conquest of Bread a couple of weeks ago and I’m currently working my way through Bullshit Jobs. Any suggestions about theory, praxis, mutual aid, etc. would be appreciated
I highly recommend “An Anarchist FAQ” :
https://www.anarchistfaq.org/afaq/index.html
This FAQ is what turned me to an Anarchist.
Seconding this.
AFAQ gives overviews on topics with a lot of quoting from books and essays. It often notes that a book is ‘essential reading’ for a certain topic.
So it’s not only an informative read in itself, it’s a great source for people looking for reading recommendations.
You may join local IWW, help with local food not bombs, go to some anarchist bookfair near you etc. About theory, there is a website called the anarchist library with a lot of books concerning anarchism for free!
and libcomm.org
Fixing: https://libcom.org/
first off, I’m a Marxist but y’all are my comrades, so my suggestions are coming from the outside but these are a couple pieces I used when I was finding my feet politically. These are a couple of the works that I found that make a compelling case for anarchism.
https://theanarchistlibrary.org/library/errico-malatesta-anarchy
https://theanarchistlibrary.org/library/petr-kropotkin-mutual-aid-a-factor-of-evolution and anything else Kropotkin, sounds like you read the bread book and liked it (it’s a banger)
https://theanarchistlibrary.org/library/anonymous-desert
https://theanarchistlibrary.org/library/dean-spade-mutual-aid (haven’t read this one but heard good things)
first anarchist revolution, The Paris Commune, was marxist. marxism is anarchist 'til you introduce Lenin’s stuff, which i don’t
i’m not marxist (im hegelian) but i consider many marxists to be anarchists
I haven’t read any anarchist books myself yet, but I have read plenty of shorter texts I found online (mostly from The Anarchist Library).
Here are a few I found to be worth a read (in no particular order):
- Abolish Money! - Shūsui Kōtoku
- Are We Good Enough? - Peter Kropotkin
- Are You An Anarchist? The Answer May Surprise You! - David Graeber
- Ethics: Morality of the State - Mikhail Bakunin
- Power Corrupts the Best - Mikhail Bakunin
- Prisons and Crime - Alexander Berkman
- The Jobless - Alexander Berkman
- Where I Stand - Mikhail Bakunin
Since you already read The Conquest of Bread I decided to leave out most of Kropotkin’s shorter texts, as I assume that you should already be familiar with his ideas and principles.
Although not anarchists, I still find many libertarian Marxists to be pretty insightful as well (some may as well be Anarchists in denial). Anton Pannekoek’s and Rosa Luxemburg’s works being some I really enjoy reading.
- Letter on Workers Councils - Anton Pannekoek
- Theses On The Fight Of The Working Class Against Capitalism - Anton Pannekoek
I also have What is Anarchism? (by Alexander Berkman) and Anarcho-Syndicalism (by Rudolf Rocker) standing on my bookshelf, but I haven’t gotten around to reading them quite yet. If they sound interesting enough you could give them a try.
Pyter Kropotkin’s Mutual aid and conquest of bread.
Both have somethings that are out dated. But both are very good for foundational understanding of anarchy.
On Anarchism, Noam Chomsky.
He’s not an anarchist, per se, but Noam Chomsky is always good to read. I heard Neal Stephenson’s book The Diamond Age is about anarchy? As well as Kim Stanley Robinson’s book Red Planet. Sadly, those are the only two I am aware of!
I started with A Crime Called Freedom: Writings of Os Cangaceiros, but try as I might I can’t find volume 2 of it anywhere.
In addition to the great suggestions others have already provided, check out Emma Goldman’s writings if you haven’t already. They might appeal to you and she has some interesting takes.
Here’s a good starting point: http://dwardmac.pitzer.edu/Anarchist_Archives/goldman/GoldmanCW.html
For a comprehensive overview of the diverse currents of anarchist thought and practice, I am really enjoying the Palgrave Handbook of Anarchism. It can be downloaded on Annas Archive.
I also like this Wikipedia list of Books about Anarchism: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_books_about_anarchism
(this is all philosophy)
learn Marxism op!!! or trip on Deleuze, and then add Tiqqun’s Cybernetics
Zizek’s Sublime Object of Ideology is one of my favorites.
Nick Land’s Fanged Noumena is fucking insane if you’re curious about accelerationism and the singularity.
Mark Fischer’s Capitalist Realism is a cool starting point to organize with.
you can search these topics on instagram or youtube to get a quick understanding. it’s well worth your time.