The nature of anarchism (Lefty Despair etc.)

Brian O. Sheppard x349393 bsheppard at bari.iww.org
Thu Sep 26 14:02:18 PDT 2002


Doug Henwood wrote:


> > I think the anarchists here are a bit too glib in dismissing their
> > right-wing counterparts. They argue that modern big business

A lot of anarchists are also casual in dismissing their own classical counterparts. And their leftist counterparts (Bookchin and others). And any anarchist theory. actually.

Dennis Perrin wrote:


> Also recall Karl Hess, former Goldwater speechwriter turned radical
> libertarian against the war (advocated burning draft cards) turned
> Progressive mag writer turned small enterprise libertarian.Wrote a series of
> glories of bartering. He also appeared in one of George Woodcock's anarchist
> compilations put out by Black Rose books.

Ted Kaczynski's writings were also recently adopted into the Joseph A Labadie Anarchist Archives at the University of Michigan, considered by many to be an "archive of record" of the anarchist movement. Too bad.


> I agree -- left anarchists too easily dismiss their rightist cousins, while
> the rightists at least acknowledge some common ground, mostly on social
> issues, though, not monetary ones.

Some rightists do. But they can polemicize and "easily dismiss" the anti-capitalist, communist-anarchists just as out-of-hand, as well. Rothbard spent much of his time doing just this. So do the folks at anti-state.com. The charge of "secret statist" is not uncommon here.

However - the right-libertarian emphasis on civil liberties, freedom of speech, most things, in short, save for economic freedom, is commendable. But without economic freedom all else is a joke.

Brian

---

"And Mr. Block thinks he may / Be President some day." - Joe Hill, "Mr. Block"



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