Book Review - Anarchism: A Very Short Introduction by Colin Ward
The following is a book review that appears in aargh! (issue 2, Sept 2014): THE Chief Librarian at Wellington City Library, Tomasi Lilalia recently said, “ When it comes to political stuff, we just don’t know what to do with all these introductory books about anarchism we have bulging out of our shelves. Frankly, the sooner a revolution comes and makes them unnecessary, the sooner we can get on with stocking books about making your own icecream or whatever ”. Yeah OK, that quote is a fake. Truth is, there are few books published in the past decade by mainstream publishers that introduce anarchism in a knowledgeable, sympathetic and accessible way. Veteran (and now sadly deceased) anarchist Colin Ward has compensated for this dearth of material here, in slightly over one hundred pages. He sets out to explain anarchist theory and practice in just enough words to gain the reader’s interest and whet their appetite for further inquiry. Ward’s task is difficult but overall he succeeds. In t