NYMAA Reading Group

Submitted by Steve on December 4, 2006 - 1:02pm.

Hello NYMAA,

Get out your spectacles and highlighters. We are forming a NYMAA Reading Group.

Six of us met this Friday evening and had an enthusiastic and enlightening discussion of Murray Bookchin's "Post-Scarcity Anarchism". We had so much fun, we have decided to make it official: we will meet monthly for discussions based on our readings in anarchist history, theory, and practice. Anarchists and quasi-anarchists of all stripes are welcome.

Our next reading is Bookchin's "Social Anarchism or Lifestyle Anarchism: An Unbridgeable Chasm". It's only 50 pages, so we're going to try to schedule a meeting before the holidays. It's available online at:

But we're not going to be reading Bookchin forever. If you are interested in participating in the reading group, please post comments below with titles of books you would like to read with the group, and any other ideas you might have. We're interested in any advice from people who have been in this sort of study group as to what worked and what didn't in terms of structure, pace, size, etc.

Looking forward to it!
-Steve

Submitted by Steve on December 7, 2006 - 4:32pm.

Some books I'd like to read:

Kropotkin- Revolutionary Pamphlets
Rudolf Rocker-Anarcho-Syndicalism: Theory and Practice
The Political Philosophy of Bakunin
Bookchin- The Spanish Anarchists
Bookchin- Anarchism, Marxism and the Future of the Left
Guerin, Anarchism from Theory to Practice
Cracking the Movement: Squatting Beyond the Media
Antliff- Only a Beginning: An Anarchist Anthology
Avrich- Anarchists in the Russian Revolution
C.T. Butler- On Conflict and Consensus
A New World In Our Hearts: 8 Years of Writings from the Love and Rage Revolutionary Anarchist Federation
Kuwasi Balagoon- A Soldier's Story
G P Maximoff- Constructive Anarchism: The Debate on the Platform
Anton Pannekoek- Workers' Councils
Kenneth Rexroth- Communalism
Franklin Rosemont- Joe Hill: The IWW & The Making Of A Revolutionary Working Class Counterculture
Ramor Ryan- Clandestines: The Pirate Journals of an Irish Exile
Laurence R. Veysey- The Communal Experience: Anarchist and Mystical Communities in Twentieth Century America (Phoenix Book)
Colin Ward- A Decade of Anarchy

Jae-Eui Lee- Kwangju Diary: Beyond Death, Beyond the Darkness of the Age
Steve Wright- Storming Heaven
David Watson- Against the Megamachine
Raoul Vaneigem- Revolution of Everyday Life
Victor Serge- What Every Radical Should Know About State Repression: A Guide for Activists
Victor Serge- Memoirs of a Revolutionary
Kirkpatrick Sale- SDS
Bertrand Russell- Proposed roads to freedom: Socialism, anarchism and syndicalism
Walter Rodney Speaks
Retort- Afflicted Powers: Capital and Spectacle in a New Age of War
Subcomandante Marcos- Our Word is Our Weapon
Rosa Luxemburg Speaks
Steven Lukes- Power: A Radical View, Second Edition
James Koehnline -Gone to Croatan: Origins of North American Dropout Culture
George Katsiaficas- The Subversion of Politics: European Autonomous Social Movements and the Decolonization of Everyday Life
Hirschman- The Rhetoric of Reaction
Wilhelm Reich- the Mass Psychology of Fascism
Guy Debord- Society of the Spectacle
Mike Davis- Prisoners of the American Dream
Midnight Notes Collective- Auroras of the Zapatistas
Brinton- For Workers Power
Arendt- Origins of Totalitarianism

Submitted by Steve on December 14, 2006 - 6:06pm.

and new from AK:

Rebel Alliances by Benjamin Franks
and Horizontalism by Marina Sitrin

***
"Our acts of liberty are our strongest propaganda." -Paul Goodman

Submitted by jonnylocks on December 8, 2006 - 10:22pm.

I'd like to stay away from the more 'classical' early 20th century anarchist texts unless they reflect directly (relatively!) on tactics/strategy for today.

As far as 'theoretical' texts, i'd like to read:
- basically anything by vandana shiva
- autonomist stuff (anarchists are in the best position to debate/learn/teach this)
- michael albert/parecon stuff. (our knowledge and criticism concerning capitalism is as important as our moral and strictly political concerns)

Regarding the books listed by Steve below:
- 'A New World in Our Hearts' might be particularly relevant for us, though i'm not sure how good of a read it is.
- 'The Spanish Anarchists' will be relevant and also filled with plenty of debate points.
- 'George Katsiaficas- The Subversion of Politics' looks awesome!!

Submitted by Steve on December 10, 2006 - 4:03pm.

Yeah, I'd be up for "Parecon", too. Are there any particular titles on Autonomism you're interested in, Jon?
-Steve

***
"Our acts of liberty are our strongest propaganda." -Paul Goodman

Submitted by jonnylocks on December 18, 2006 - 10:33pm.

late reply! i really don't know much about the literature except for Negri stuff (empire and multitude) and paolo virno's 'grammar of the multitude.' i know some about the 70's italy and im only generally familiar with the actual movement on the ground out there within the past 10 years. reading about the contemporary autonomist strategy and tactics might help inspire some broader nymaa activity.

Submitted by moose on December 9, 2006 - 1:28pm.

Id like to study: "michael albert/parecon stuff. (our knowledge and criticism concerning capitalism is as important as our moral and strictly political concerns)"

Submitted by John C on December 10, 2006 - 1:39am.

I'd definitely be down for the the albert/parecon. I actually might be organizind and taking part in a Parecon forum with SDS.

I've also heard that the George Katsiaficas book is really good.

Also, from the list that Steve posted, Reich's works on fascism and the authoritarian family and such are very important.