Post-Famine Anarchism

Post-Famine Anarchism Book Description In this book, which includes a series of interrelated articles, Murray Bookchin weighs his ecological and anarchist vision against the possibilities offered by the "post-famine" era. Overcoming the constraints of Marxist political economy—derived from an age of material scarcity and unable to foresee the radical changes of the future—Bookchin argues that the tools necessary for the self-management of a complex industrial society have already developed and have greatly changed our revolutionary face. While technological advances in the twentieth century have greatly expanded production, they have done so in favor of corporate profits and at the expense of human needs, worker control, and ecological sustainability. Combining direct control of industry with an ecological and utopian vision for society, the working class can dispel the myth that the state, hierarchical social relations and (vanguard) political parties are necessary for the struggle for freedom. Bookchin's analysis, based on the realities of contemporary society, still maintains its pragmatic freshness. Bringing together arguably Bookchin's most influential essays (including his famous “Listen, Marxist!” and “Ecology and Revolutionary Thought”), this third edition is accompanied by a new foreword by the author. “With the dynamic emergence of anarchism, a contemporary There is no better classic for insight than Bookchin's Post-Famine Anarchism. In fact, this collection of articles is a cornerstone for the “new anarchism.” The most compelling issues in today's anti-capitalist movements—affinity groups and direct action, ecology and unity in diversity, the critique of hierarchy—are found in Post-Scarcity Anarchism from forty years ago. To quote Bookchin, Post-Scarcity Anarchism continues to offer a “sense of promise” with its utopian demands for directly democratic forms of freedom—one that resonates loudly in today's global experiences.” —Cindy Milstein (Institute for Anarchist Studies board member) “Although Murray Bookchin had published several books before, Post-Famine Anarchism is the first book he published under his own name in 1971. The dazzling texts in the book herald the arrival of a great anarchist thinker, even the most original thinker since Kropotkin. — David Goodway (editor of For Worker's Power: The Selected Writings of Maurice Brinton and Talking Anarchy — with Colin Ward — “Bookchin provides a sharp analysis of modern society and a pointed, provocative discussion of the ecological crisis.” — Library Journal (From the Promotional Bulletin)