History of Communalism

Kenneth Rexroth is known as an American poet, essayist and anarchist. This book, whose first edition was published in English in 1974, has been cited as a reference book in many studies.

This book was written by a poet. So, what could motivate a poet to write a history book, moreover, the history of communalism?

The History of Communalism from its First Sources to the Twentieth Century shows how a society based on common ownership and solidarity, outside of power and capital practices in Europe, tried to establish itself against the kings and the church throughout the development of Christianity in Europe; how they spread through congregations outside and beyond the mainstream Christian faith, albeit with different names and tendencies; It tells about their development, defeat and reemergence. This book is a small part of the world and tells the history of society, not the palaces, kings and lords, in a short period of time, and in this respect, it attempts to read history in reverse.

Passion for freedom and equality, a rebellious spirit that does not accept obedience, deception, defeat, resistance despite everything, grief and love, a meaningful and libertarian life... This is perhaps a poem that history has given us the responsibility of making us sing.

“In fact, the word “communism” before 1918 does not refer to the Left Social Democracy represented by the Bolsheviks, one of the radical, revolutionary forms of state socialism; on the contrary, it does not refer to the Left Social Democracy represented by the Bolsheviks, who wanted to abolish the state in one way or another, and that the main issue of socialism was not to take power, but to move away from it, the society's "It was about people who believed that it was about turning people into an organic community where non-oppressive human relations prevail."

(From the Promotional Bulletin)