bolo'bolo

This is an admirable attempt to do something that can't be done--that is, describe a future anarchist society in detail. The ambitious level of specificity is the book's weakness but also what makes it significant. In its thoroughness and complexity, it sets the bar extremely high for any future attempts at such an outline. And as a sort of landmark, I think it might serve well as a standard template for utopian/revolutionary thinkers to modify, critique, or completely refute.

Unfortunately, while very simple, the writing is pretty dry, and to me it has very little aesthetic value. I expected it to be presented in a fictional format, and that would probably have been far more effective, but it reads more like a instruction manual. If show more only society could be built like Ikea furniture. (Or maybe that's not such a great idea...)

There were two central ideas that stood out as particularly unique to me:

1. The society is grounded in full recognition of the existential dilemma, human life is acknowledged to be absurd, and in consequence, everyone keeps a suicide pill in his/her possession at all times, in order always to be free to opt out of this "dream" of existence.

2. Though this is a less compelling idea, it is refreshingly concrete: each person's possessions (if any) must fit inside a small box/suitcase, which is provided to everyone. Everything else in the world belongs to no one.

For more, see:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/P.M._(author) and
http://www.spunk.org/texts/misc/sp000137.txt show less

We are wildly excited to be able to offer this book again (it's been out of print for far too long)!

bolo'bolo was originally printed in Germany in 1983, half as a joke. Fittingly for some of us, it is still the best anarchist utopian vision we have ever read, since it gives full reign to both people's individual autonomy and to our need to be part of a group.

If you find the word "imagination" or "creativity" coming up in your conversations (or, conversely, if you find yourself thinking a lot about being bored or stifled), if you like science fiction, if you don't think Parecon would work because of something other than the economics of it, this is a book to check out. As always, there are weak points in this book, but the good parts so show more far outweigh them that it's hard to even remember what the bad parts are.

This edition comes with a new 30th anniversary introduction, acknowledging some of the changes (and lack of them :( ) that have occurred and is a joint publication with Ardent and Autonomedia. show less