An article attempting to explain Kropotkin’s decision to support the Allies in 1914. It shows how isolated he was within the anarchist movement as a result (the vast majority of anarchists taking a clear Internationalist position, unlike the Marxist movement). It also discusses how anarchists should approach wars between States. It first appeared in Black Flag Anarchist Review Vol. 4 No. 3 (Autumn 2024)
An article marking the 50th anniversary of the publication of Ursula Le Guin’s classic Science-Fiction novel, The Dispossessed. It discusses what anarchists can gain from it as well as defending it from critics (who seem not to have paid much attention to what it had to say). It first appeared in Black Flag Anarchist Review Vol. 4 No. 3 (Autumn 2024)
The new issue of Black Flag: Anarchist Review is now available:
The main focus is anarchism and war, using the example of Kropotkin’s support for the Allies in 1914 as its starting point. We indicate that in 1914 the anarchist movement rose to the challenge and remained overwhelming faithful to its Internationalist principles and show the flaws with Kropotkin’s position and why it failed to gather support in the movement.
An article on the life and ideas of André Léo, an early French feminist and (libertarian) socialist. A member of the First International and a leading participant in the Paris Commune. It first appeared in Black Flag Anarchist Review Vol. 4 No. 2 (Summer 2024).
A review of a book on evolutionary theory and altruism which discusses Kropotkin. Unfortunately, as shown, the account of Kropotkin’s ideas is flawed and so both “mutual aid” and his contribution to science are obscured.
An article debunking a Leninist article on Emma Goldman. It shows the dishonesty of the original article and indicates Goldman’s class struggle anarchist-communist politics and life. It first appeared in Black Flag Anarchist Review Vol. 4 No. 2 (Summer 2024).
The new issue of Black Flag: Anarchist Review is now available:
The main focus of this issue is Emma Goldman. While much, rightly, has been written about this stalwart of the movement for fifty years, it has all too often been focused on her life or her feminism. While this is understandable – her life was eventful (to say the least) and her feminism is important – this has led to a downplaying of her communist-anarchism. Here we seek to address this by means of a debunking of a deeply dishonest Leninist account of her life. This shows two things.
A review of a book by a leading Trotskyist which shows his ignorance of anarchism. It shows the flaws within his account of Bakunin and Kropotkin plus discusses the roots of a mentality which allows someone to write about a subject (anarchism) which they clearly known next to nothing about.
The Dutch-American primatologist and ethologist Frans de Waal died of stomach cancer on 14 March 2024. His research was of interest to anarchists for it centred on primate social behaviour, including conflict resolution, cooperation, inequity aversion and empathy. In other words, subjects which Peter Kropotkin pioneered in Mutual Aid and Ethics.
This first appeared in Scottish Anarchist Number 2 (1995) and was written in response to the collapse of Barings Bank. It discusses the issues associated for anarchists and labour with the increased globalisation of capitalism. Some slight changes have been made to fix typos and add references.