Sociology of the Anarchists - Gozips.uakron.edu - The University of ...

Countermodel” by stating: “Where the hierarchy of social democracy turned movements
into parties, the anarchists' obsession with action and their allergy to organization
transformed them into a sect” (Tarrow 1998, p. 127). Tarrow curiously does not apply a
date to the “sect” transformation. In fact, anarchist organization was incredibly active up
until the First World War in the US. And it was not an allergy to organization (quite the
opposite—anarchists remain some of the most organized activists) that reduced their
influence as much as it was the Palmer Raids and similar crackdown by the American
establishment (the first “red scare”) that targeted anarchists, unionists, and immigrants
(who were often all three). 32 Also the ascendancy of the Soviet Union as a revolutionary
anti-capitalist success story helped pushed anarchism as an ideology further to the
margins as the radical Left lined up to support the “Communist” and Bolshevik label.
Even setting aside Tarrow's criticism and an overall fair treatment of the roots of
anarchism, he fails to notice contemporary anarchist (or anarchistic) influences or
movements, in the US or otherwise. Perhaps future editions of this text will bear out the
impact of “Seattle” and the rise in anti-capitalist activism—which is especially high in
Europe and South America at present. [Reference for this height?]
“Political Protest and Cultural Revolution”, Barbara Epstein. By far the best analysis of
anarchist politics. ... She focuses heavily upon anarchist-influenced and anarcha-feminism
politics in her various chapters. 33 She works together many of the more advanced peace
movements with anarchism. Most directly, there is a strong overlap with the predilection
towards nonviolent direct action, affinity groups, and consensus decision making. 34 A key
example for Epstein is the Clamshell Alliance, which she points to a strong anarchafeminist
influence. Incidentally, Epstein's conclusions are reinforced by an earlier survey
by Katz and List (1981) which found that half of all participants at the 1978 Seabrook
action identified as feminists and nearly a quarter as anarchists (more than the 18 percent
who identified as Marxists). In fact, anarchist identity out-paced both Democrat and
Republican Party affiliation combined! Forty-two percent also identified as socialist, with
sympathies likely conducive to radical feminism and anarchism. (p. 61)
“From Mobilization to Revolution”, Charles Tilly. Index references to anarchists,
anarcho-communists, and anarcho-syndicalism.
Tilly's index entry for anarchists is embarrassingly and unfortunately brief: “desertion
may, of course, consist of individual acceptance of exclusive alternative claims to control
of the government. It may also take the form of rejecting all claims, in good anarchist
fashion” (Tilly 1978, p. 214, emphasis in the original). By not expounding on the role of
anarchism in the decision to reject all governmental control, Tilly seemingly dodges the
issue of where revolutionary power comes from or “must” come from (or goes). He
rhetorically associates “Anarcho-Communists” with “the National Urban League, of the
United Sons of Vulcan” in mentioning William Gamson's list of “challenging groups”.
32 List nice references for the Palmer Raids. (... and maybe Ward Churchill's comments from Disc 2
of “In a Pig's Eye”) For instance, the world-famous anarchists Sacco and Vanzetti were (were they?)
victims of hysteria provoked by the Palmer Raids.
33 Relevant chapters in Epstein's text include “The Clamshell Alliance: Consensus and Utopian
Democracy”, “The Abalone Alliance: Anarcha-Feminism and the Politics of Prefigurative Revolution”,
and “The Livermore Action Group: Direct Action and the Arms Race”.
34 Epstein later wrote (2001) about the link between anarchism and the “anti-globalization” movement in
the US.
[ Williams 42 ] [ this is a draft. do not cite. ]