Post-Scarcity Anarchism
 Cover of the first edition | |
| Author | Murray Bookchin |
|---|---|
| Language | English |
| Subject | Anarchism |
| Publisher | Ramparts Press |
Publication date | 1971 |
| Publication place | United States |
| Media type | Print (HardcoverandPaperback) |
| Pages | 288 |
| ISBN | 0-87867-005-X |
| OCLC | 159676 |
| 335/.83 | |
| LC Class | HX833.B63 |
| This article is part ofa serieson |
| Anarchism in the United States |
|---|
Post-Scarcity Anarchismis a collection ofessaysbyMurray Bookchin,first published in 1971 byRamparts Press.[1]In it, Bookchin outlines the possible formanarchismmight take under conditions ofpost-scarcity.One of Bookchin's major works,[2]its author's radical thesis provoked controversy for beingutopianin its faith in the liberatory potential oftechnology.[3]
Summary[edit]
Bookchin's "post-scarcity anarchism" is an economic system based onsocial ecology,libertarian municipalism,and an abundance of fundamental resources. Bookchin argues thatpost-industrial societieshave the potential to be developed into post-scarcity societies, and can thus imagine "the fulfillment of the social and cultural potentialities latent in a technology of abundance".[3]The self-administration of society is now made possible by technological advancement and, when technology is used in an ecologically sensitive manner, the revolutionary potential of society will be much changed.[4]
Bookchin claims that the expandedproductionmade possible by the technological advances of the twentieth century were in the pursuit of marketprofitand at the expense of the needs of humans and of ecologicalsustainability.Theaccumulation of capitalcan no longer be considered a prerequisite for liberation, and the notion that obstructions such as thestate,social hierarchy,andvanguard political partiesare necessary in the struggle for freedom of theworking classescan be dispelled as a myth.[4]
Reception[edit]
Bookchin's thesis has been seen as a form of anarchism more radical than that ofNoam Chomsky;while both concur thatinformation technology,being controlled by thebourgeoisie,is not necessarily liberatory, Bookchin does not refrain from countering this control by developing new, innovative and radical technologies of the self.[3]PostanarchistscholarLewis Callcompares Bookchin's language to that ofMarcel Mauss,Georges BatailleandHerbert Marcuse,and notes that Bookchin anticipates the importance ofcybernetic technologyto the development of human potential over a decade before the origin ofcyberpunk.[3]The collection has been cited favourably by Marius de Geus as presenting "inspiring sketches" of the future,[5]and as "an insightful analysis" and "a discussion of revolutionary potential in a technological society" byPeggy Korneggerin her essay "Anarchism: The Feminist Connection".[6]
See also[edit]
- Counterrevolution and Revolt
- The Dispossessed
- Abundance (economics)
- Nanosocialism
- Post-scarcity economy
- Social ecology
- List of books about anarchism
References[edit]
- ^ Post-scarcity anarchism, [WorldCat.org].WorldCat.org.OCLC159676.
- ^Smith, Mark (1999).Thinking through the Environment.New York: Routledge.ISBN0-415-21172-7.
- ^abcdCall, Lewis(2002).Postmodern Anarchism.Lexington: Lexington Books.ISBN0-7391-0522-1.
- ^ab "Post-Scarcity Anarchism".AK Press.Retrieved2016-08-01.
- ^Geus, Marius (1998).Ecological Utopias.Utrecht: International Books.ISBN90-5727-019-6.
- ^Kornegger, Peggy(2003). "Anarchism: The Feminist Connection". In Roxanne Dunbar-Ortiz (ed.).Quiet Rumours.Stirling:AK Press.ISBN1-902593-40-5.
Further reading[edit]
- Battersby, Mark (1973). "Review of Post-Scarcity Anarchism".Alternatives.3(1): 8–9.ISSN0002-6638.JSTOR45029923.
- Gitlin, Todd (March 6, 1972). "To the Far Side of the Abyss".The Nation.p. 309.
- Perlin, Terry M. (1972). "Radical Mavericks".Dissent.pp. 538–539.
- Book Review Digest1972
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