> If personal vendetta is the exclusive motive behind Bookchin's essay, he
> did a fine job making his targets out to be looney toons. The stuff he
> quotes from Hakin Bey and John Zerzan demands criticism, especially if
> that's what passes for anarchism. Did he wildly distort their
> propositions (to the point of outright lies) or are they irrelevant
> figures to modern anarchism?
He wildly distorted their positions, which is standard procedure for him. Remember, Bookchin is one of those few writers who publicly complains about how underappreciated he is. Much of his work in the past 10 years has involved attempts to preserve his "legacy." He's been bitter for a long time that the book he wrote in the early 60s was eclipsed by Rachel Carson's book.
Bey and Zerzan are important figures to contemporary anarchism, much more so than Bookchin.
A good interview with Zerzan: http://www.altpr.org/apr12/zerzan.html
> A good portion of Bookchin's essay attempts to define what it means to be
> an anarchist, which he contrasts with being a Luddite, mystic, or
> solipsist. It strikes me as an important thing to worry about for those
> with any interest in anarchism, especially if what it means to be an
> anarchist is contested. Still, if you have some history about Bookchin
> and his interlocutors that would shed light on his reasons for writing
> Social Anarchism v Lifestyle Anarchism, and undermine his criticisms,
> please share. I don't know much about Bookchin's relations with others
> in the anarchist community.
Like many arguments between political tendencies, this goes back many years and involves many articles, spats, and a few books.
If you ask me, many of those involved could have spent their time on more constructive work.
<< Chuck0 >>
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INTERNATIONALISM IN PRACTICE
An American soldier in a hospital explained how he was wounded: He said, "I was told that the way to tell a hostile Vietnamese from a friendly Vietnamese was to shout ‘To hell with Ho Chi Minh!’ If he shoots, he’s unfriendly. So I saw this dude and yelled ‘To hell with Ho Chi Minh!’ and he yelled back, ‘To hell with President Johnson!’ We were shaking hands when a truck hit us."
(from 1,001 Ways to Beat the Draft, by Tuli Kupferburg).