Anarchism for Beginners

The ideas of Proudhon, Bakunin, and Kropotkin are gathering strength for new times, and intellectuals like Michael Foucault, Gilles Deleuze, Osvaldo Bayer, Noam Chomsky, and Murray Bookchin recognize in their work what they’ve inherited from these original nonconformists. The history built by the anarchists during their fight against power, oppression, and the State—reaching its highest point in farmer’s communes in pre-Franco Spain—also affected the culture. These ideas proved foundational to a vanguard of artists of the 20th century, as well as popular culture phenomena such as the punk movement. In this text by Marcos Mayer, accompanied by the notable illustrations of Sanyú, Anarchism For Beginners covers the history and influence of this movement through its contradictions and missteps, as well as its notable creativity and indefatigable fighting spirit.