Social anarchism or lifestyle anarchism : the unbridgeable chasm

Bookchin's observations and concerns ring true today more than ever, in a era where many young people have fallen in love with the anarchist "lifestyle" but also disturbingly see anarchism as individualistic, anti-organizational, and anti-political. Recognizing the troubling implications of this trend for the future of class struggle, Bookchin advocates embracing direct-democracy and workers' self-management as elements of core anarchist belief. While many have over-emphasized his distant Marxist past, Bookchin never advocates a return to Marxism. Rather, he challenges anarchists to dedicate themselves to social revolution and not simply lifestyle rebellion. An outstanding and principled polemic, recommended for all students of anarchism.

Murray Bookchin is definitely more of an anarcho-communist, though part of the battle he fights in this book is fragmented nature of anarchist theory. He tackles head-on the theories he encompasses under the umbrella of "lifestyle anarchism": bohemianism, primitivism, individualism, and some postmodern aesthetics. Concluding that "lifestyle anarchism" has little to do with "social anarchism" (i.e., anarchist theories of mobilizing discontented masses suffering under capitalism), Bookchin then spends only a few pages outlining what exactly "social anarchism" is, what it hopes to achieve, how it hopes to achieve it, and how it could be preferable to "lifestyle anarchism". It's a pretty short read, I read it in a couple of hours. It's good show more to clear away the dust of anarchist theories that are intensely individualistic and detached from material conditions of many people. Though, before reading this book, I would recommend the essay "Your Politics are Bourgeois as F*ck", available here:http://www.anarkismo.net/newswire.php?story_id=3664. It's a polemic against CrimeThinc and their hippie/dropout nonsense. This is essentially a sprawling book review, as Bookchin examines the writing of several authors and critiques their thoughts, though generally only dipping into one of two of their works. Not bad, though, show less

Murray Bookchin is definitely more of an anarcho-communist, though part of the battle he fights in this book is fragmented nature of anarchist theory. He tackles head-on the theories he encompasses under the umbrella of "lifestyle anarchism": bohemianism, primitivism, individualism, and some postmodern aesthetics. Concluding that "lifestyle anarchism" has little to do with "social anarchism" (i.e., anarchist theories of mobilizing discontented masses suffering under capitalism), Bookchin then spends only a few pages outlining what exactly "social anarchism" is, what it hopes to achieve, how it hopes to achieve it, and how it could be preferable to "lifestyle anarchism". It's a pretty short read, I read it in a couple of hours. It's good show more to clear away the dust of anarchist theories that are intensely individualistic and detached from material conditions of many people. Though, before reading this book, I would recommend the essay "Your Politics are Bourgeois as F*ck", available here:http://www.anarkismo.net/newswire.php?story_id=3664. It's a polemic against CrimeThinc and their hippie/dropout nonsense. This is essentially a sprawling book review, as Bookchin examines the writing of several authors and critiques their thoughts, though generally only dipping into one of two of their works. Not bad, though, show less

Bookchin content exemplary, the format hortible

Here you can read a thorough critique Bookchin makes of "lifestyle" anarchism which is exemplary in all respects.

The quality and formatting of this book is sad at best and clearly was posted for sale with zero quality control.

Almost unreadable the formatting is poor, lots of mistakes and true crap too be honest.

If I wasn't so interested in Bookchins content I would have returned for a refund.

Al hilo de uno de los debates más recurrentes en el seno del anarquismo (como indica Ruymán Rodríguez en el prólogo a este libro, el conflicto entre anarquismo individualista y anarquismo societario cuenta con más de un siglo de vida), Murray Bookchin aborda en este texto lo que considera algunas debilidades, contradicciones y contraindicaciones de las corrientes más influyentes en los ámbitos libertarios durante las últimas décadas.

Acentuando uno de los aspectos más afilados de su personalidad intelectual, polemiza con las tesis primitivistas, informalistas o antitecnológicas —diferenciando estas últimas de la crítica antidesarrollista— y concluye que resultan inofensivas como herramientas tanto teóricas como show more prácticas, a la hora de subvertir la sociedad capitalista.

Con el cuestionamiento de figuras de referencia como John Zerzan, David Watson o Hakim Bey, Bookchin denuncia lo que entiende como un anarquismo posmoderno de retraimiento a la experiencia individual, para reivindicar un anarquismo social sustentado en los vínculos colectivos, sociales y organizativos. show less