Anarchism and Anarchists: Essays by George Woodcock

Eric L. Swanick is the New Brunswick Legislative Librarian.

This book is a collection of 19 essays, written primarily from the 1940s
through to the 1970s; all were previously published, save for one on
Peter Kropotkin. The first 10 essays consider the philosophy and
evolution of anarchism as well as its contributions to society. This
section begins with an essay on the 1848 revolutions and concludes with
the 1990 essay “The Prospects for Anarchism,” which draws heavily on
Kropotkin’s writings and contributions, and recommends that his
Conquest of Bread be rewritten for the 1990s.

This reviewer particularly liked ”Anarchism Revisited,” which
describes the modifications and adjustments anarchism has made over the
years. In this regard, it would be interesting to know Woodcock’s
thoughts on the possible relationship between the new technology and
anarchism. Another particularly informative essay concerns ecology, and
shows that anarchist thinking was well ahead of its time.

The second part of the book consists of nine chapters, each of which is
devoted to an individual anarchist (Proudhon, Bakunin, Herzen,
Kropotkin, Thoreau, Read, Chomsky, Goodman, and Michael Archange).
Woodcock summarizes these figures in a clear and concise manner, placing
their respective contributions in the context of an evolving anarchist
philosophy.

Fetherling, who wrote the introduction to A George Woodcock Reader
(1980), has provided another fine introduction. Despite the lack of an
index, this book is highly recommended.