Anarchism

Many people assume anarchism is a creed built on disorder, chaos and violence. This short introduction asks whether that picture is accurate and what anarchism actually involves. Alex Prichard approaches it as a set of lived practices with a long history, not only as an abstract doctrine.

Prichard shows how anarchist thinkers and movements have both challenged and enriched widely held ideas. Among them are freedom, participatory education and federalism, as well as urgent questions such as climate change. The book also follows anarchist ideas into science fiction and other popular culture. Its account of how these ideas emerged and spread worldwide is tied to colonialism and imperialism, connecting anarchism to freedom struggles in many parts of the world. The author argues that anarchism still has something to offer anyone thinking about what a better future might look like.

This volume belongs to Oxford University Press's Very Short Introductions series, a line of hundreds of pocket-sized books on subjects across the academic range. Each title offers a quick, accessible route into a subject the reader may be new to.