Contr’un

Contr'un

Notes on the anarchist culture wars

March 30, 2017 Shawn P. Wilbur
[This is actually a social media status that took on a sprawling life of its own. It is not exactly a response to Alexander Reid Ross’ essay “The Left Overs: How Fascists Court the Post-Left,” but rather some more general thoughts on the dynamics that might be in play in all of the similar culture-wars skirmishes that periodically break out in radical circles. I’m happy to grant the best of intentions to some critiques I find less than useful, largely because there really does seem to be one of those infamous “failures to communicate” that keeps this particular pot boiling. […]
Contr'un

Anarchism: Elements of a Synthesis

October 20, 2016 Shawn P. Wilbur
In a new series of posts, under the general title Anarchism: Elements of a Synthesis, I’ll be engaging in a sort of back-to-basics exploration of anarchy, anarchism and the practice of being an anarchist. I’ll be going back through a lot of material that has appeared here, in the sometimes unfathomable order dictated by my own research, and reintroducing whatever seems most useful. At the same time, I’ll be fleshing out the outlines of two monographs, Anarchism, Plain and Simple and A Good Word, that I have sketched out. I’ll also be opening one important line of new research, as I’ll be […]
Contr'un

Anarchy and its Uses

September 23, 2016 Shawn P. Wilbur
Contr’un Revisited: What is anarchy good for? I will admit that I have been prone at times to think of anarchy as good for all purposes, at least as an antidote to the pervasive influence of authority. And there is undoubtedly something in that. But as I’ve delved deeper into the work on anarchist synthesis and into Max Nettlau’s critiques of generalizing anarchism, I’ve gained an increasing appreciation for the limits of anarchy as well. This is not exactly a new consideration for me, as you can see here, but if I was writing this post now, I expect that […]
Contr'un

A Good Word: Anarchy in All its Senses

September 13, 2016 Shawn P. Wilbur
Anarchy, understood in all its senses—I (Proudhon, introduction) Anarchy, understood in all its senses—II (Proudhon, 1839-1841) Joseph Déjacque and the First Emergence of “Anarchism” Libertarian socialist historiography (Gaston Leval, René Berthier) Eliphalet Kimball, “Law, Commerce and Religion” (1862) William J. Gorsuch, “Tags” (1891) Gaston Leval, “Libertarian Socialist! Why?” (1956) “Whatever the carpers may say, the word Anarchy is rapidly vindicating itself. No other word could have given such an impetus to the gospel of Liberty in so short a time.” — Benj. R. Tucker “Anarchy is a good word. It means, ‘without a head.’” — Eliphalet Kimball Every time I […]
Contr'un

But What About the Children? (A Note on Tutelage)

September 5, 2016 Shawn P. Wilbur
It’s a question again of “legitimate authority” and “justified hierarchy,” and specifically of the favorite example used by those who want to leave a space within anarchist theory for those things: the care of very young children. The argument I have encountered repeatedly is that parenting is, at least in the case of those very young children, a necessarily authoritarian relation: children must be ordered about in order to protect them from hazards; parents have a duty and presumably also a right to dictate to their children; and children have an obligation to obey. It’s one of those debates that […]
A Good Word

Anarchy, Understood in All its Senses—II

August 29, 2016 Shawn P. Wilbur
Anarchy, understood in all its senses—I (Proudhon, introduction) Anarchy, understood in all its senses—II (Proudhon, 1839-1841) Joseph Déjacque and the First Emergence of “Anarchism” Libertarian socialist historiography (Gaston Leval, René Berthier) Eliphalet Kimball, “Law, Commerce and Religion” (1862) William J. Gorsuch, “Tags” (1891) Gaston Leval, “Libertarian Socialist! Why?” (1956) “Whatever the carpers may say, the word Anarchy is rapidly vindicating itself. No other word could have given such an impetus to the gospel of Liberty in so short a time.” — Benj. R. Tucker “Anarchy is a good word. It means, ‘without a head.’” — Eliphalet Kimball [Contr’un, December 17, […]
Contr'un

Note on Anarchism and the Rhetoric of Democracy

August 14, 2016 Shawn P. Wilbur
The battle over the relationship between anarchism and democracy rages on, without necessarily gaining much in clarity. It shouldn’t surprise us, really. The earliest explicit proponents of anarchy had to find a way to place anarchy among a range of otherwise governmentalist possibilities, so we have inherited constructions like “the best form of government is that which does not govern,” leaving us to figure out whether anarchy is the last form of government (“pure democracy”) or the first form of something else–or whether perhaps the choice is largely rhetorical. To be clear, I think the choice is more than rhetorical, […]
Contr'un

The Stirner Question

July 28, 2016 Shawn P. Wilbur
[two_third padding=”0 0px 0 0px”] Each of the earliest pioneers of the anarchist tradition asked, I think, a question or three that still very much pertain to the problems of 21st-century life. They’re not always easy to extract or to drag into the present, and they’re not always flattering to us when applied to the culture of anarchism that has developed since the late 19th century. Working from the roots of the tradition has been a valuable experience, both in terms of focusing my analysis on key concepts and in terms of gaining tools with which to understand why the […]
announcements

New home for Working Translations

July 4, 2016 Shawn P. Wilbur
Most of my old blogs have been integrated into the new Libertarian Labyrinth site over the last couple of years, but my translations have remained scattered in various places. I’m finally starting to remedy that situation, with the launch of a new Working Translations site, attached to the Labyrinth archive. The Index page there contains a recently updated list of translations archived throughout the Labyrinth, and the blog itself features side-by-side dual-language presentations of selected works. Gradually, I’ll revise everything and pair it with the text in the original language. So if you are here and not there, you are […]
Contr'un

One for the road?

June 29, 2016 Shawn P. Wilbur
I’m contemplating a research “tour” in the fall, gathering up some missing pieces for various current projects and surveying the possibilities for some longer-term work. By that time, I will have at least Anarchy and the Sex Question to promote—and my publisher would certainly like me to take the opportunity. But as I have been thinking about what I really have to offer in the way of presentations that might themselves be taken out on tour, it strikes me that telling folks about what Emma Goldman is going to tell them in a book we hope they’ll buy might not […]