The Anarchist Papers

J. Frank Harrison taught at St. Francis Xavier University, Antigonish, Nova Scotia.

Measured by the quality of its output, Black Rose Books is probably the major radical publisher in Canada, and even the whole of North America, if you discount the Marxists who are frequently representatives only of another authoritarian alternative. In the collection of essays here, the reader finds a representative collection of anarchist concerns presented by the best-known writers of this continuing and increasingly-popular tradition of social analysis.

The concerns of the anarchists are multifold, but tend to centre upon the authoritarian character of the state (capitalist and socialist), alternatives, organizational principles and practices, ecology, feminism, and nuclear war. Refreshingly free of jargon, these writings take us into the heart of these concerns, revealing the philosophical and sociological essentials of their undogmatic approach.

Some of the authors already possess an international reputation. To find Noam Chomsky, Murray Bookchin, George Woodcock, and Cornelius Castoriadis between the same covers is a rare treat indeed. It is also a demonstration that anarchism has an intellectual community of considerable status and ability. All of the essays, however, demonstrate the intellectual soundness and contemporaneity of this lively and humane approach to the significant questions of our time.