The politics of postanarchism

209 Pages·2010·2.63 MB·English

by  Newman

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The Politics of Postanarchism
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Saul Newman P
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‘Saul Newman is one of the pioneers in redeeming the promise of anarchist thought i
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with the resources of contemporary continental philosophy. In this work, at once
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philosophical and political, Newman engages such thinkers as Foucault, Badiou c
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and Rancière alongside classical and contemporary anarchist thought as well as

struggles such as the anti-globalization movement. The Politics of Postanarchism o
offers a compelling framework for progressive political thought and intervention.’ f
Todd May, Class of 1941 Memorial Professor of Humanities, Clemson University
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‘In this book, Saul Newman announces postanarchism as a lively, vital and highly s
pertinent perspective for our times. With a brilliant grasp of the anarchist tradition, t
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of continental theory and the political challenges of the contemporary world,
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Newman unpacks the meaning and relevance of postanarchism to readers at all
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levels of experience. That he manages to do so in a readable and confident style,
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pays testimony to his own growing reputation as a highly original thinker with a c
great deal to offer us in terms of showing the link between political theory and h
political practice. Highly recommended.’ i
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Simon Tormey, Professor and Head of School, Social and Political Sciences, m
University of Sydney
What is the relevance of anarchism for politics and political theory today? While
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many have in the past dismissed anarchism, the author contends that anarchism’s
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heretical critique of authority, and its insistence on full equality and liberty, places u
it at the forefront of the radical political imagination today. With the unprecedented l

expansion of state power in the name of security, the current ‘crisis of capitalism’, N
and the terminal decline of Marxist and social democratic projects, it is time to e
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reconsider anarchism as a form of politics. This book seeks to renew anarchist
thought through the concept of postanarchism. m
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Saul Newman is Reader in Political Theory at Goldsmiths, University of London. He
is author of From Bakunin to Lacan (2001), Power and Politics in Poststructuralist
Thought (2005), Unstable Universalities: Poststructuralism and Radical Politics
(2006) and Politics Most Unusual (2009).
Jacket image: Kazimir Malevich. Painterly Realism. Boy with Knapsack – Color Masses in the Fourth Dimension (1915).
The Museum of Modern Art, New York.
The Politics of
ISBN 978 0 7486 3495 8
Postanarchism
Edinburgh University Press
22 George Square
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Edinburgh EH8 9LF in Saul Newman
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www.euppublishing.com u
Cover design: clareturner.co.uk rg
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THE POLITICS
OF POSTANARCHISM
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THE POLITICS OF
POSTANARCHISM
Saul Newman
Edinburgh University Press
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© Saul Newman, 2010
Edinburgh University Press Ltd
22 George Square, Edinburgh
www.euppublishing.com
Typeset in 11/13pt Palatino by
Servis Filmsetting Ltd, Stockport, Cheshire, and
printed and bound in Great Britain by
CPI Antony Rowe, Chippenham and Eastbourne
A CIP record for this book is available from the British
Library
ISBN 978 0 7486 3495 8 (hardback)
The right of Saul Newman to be identifi ed as author
of this work has been asserted in accordance with the
Copyright, Designs and Patents Act 1988.
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CONTENTS
Acknowledgements vi
Introduction 1
1 The Euthanasia of Government: Classical Anarchism
Reconsidered 16
2 Crowned Anarchy: Towards a Postanarchist Ontology 46
3 An Infantile Disorder: Anarchism and Marxism 74
4 The Horizon of Anarchy: Radical Politics in the Wake of Marx 103
5 Debating Postanarchism: Ontology, Ethics and Utopia 138
6 Conclusion: Postanarchism and Radical Politics Today 167
Bibliography 186
Index 195
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ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS
There are several people that I would like to thank, and whose help in
formulating ideas, and in preparing the manuscript, was invaluable.
These include James Martin, Benjamin Noys, Todd May, Nicola
Montagna, Stephanie Koerner, Carl Levy, Bernadette Buckley, and
especially Zuzana Schmidtova, for whose support and encouragement
throughout I am eternally grateful.
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Disobedience in the eyes of anyone who has read history, is man’s
original virtue. It is through disobedience that progress has been made,
through disobedience and rebellion.
Oscar Wilde, The Soul of Man Under Socialism
The seven degrees of human happiness. First, to die fi ghting for liberty;
second, love and friendship; third, art and science; fourth, smoking;
fi fth, drinking; sixth, eating; seventh, sleeping.
Mikhail Bakunin
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INTRODUCTION
Why be interested in anarchism today? Why be interested in this
most heretical of political traditions, whose shadowy existence on the
margins of revolutionary politics has lead many to dismiss it as a form
of ideological mental illness? The central claim of anarchism – that life
can be lived without a state, without centralised authority – has been
an anathema not only to more mainstream understandings of politics,
which bear the legacy of the sovereign tradition, but also to other radical
and revolutionary forms of politics, which see the state as a useful tool
for transforming society.
Furthermore, anarchism has often lacked the ideological and politi-
cal coherence of other political traditions. While there is a certain body
of thought that is unifi ed around principles of anti- authoritarianism
and egalitarianism, anarchism has always been heterodox and diffuse;
while it has had its key exponents, anarchism is not constituted around
a particular name, unlike Marxism. Indeed, despite the startling origi-
nality of some classical anarchist thinkers – and it is my intention in
this book to bring this theoretical innovation to light – anarchists have
usually been more concerned with revolutionary practice than with
theory.1 Moreover, while anarchism has historically had a certain infl u-
ence on workers’ movements, as well as on other radical struggles, it
has not been as politically hegemonic as Marxism. Anarchism has fl ared
up in brilliant fl ashes of insurrection – revolts and autonomous projects
throughout the nineteenth and twentieth centuries – but these have
just as quickly died down again, or have been savagely repressed.
Yet, despite these defeats, and despite anarchism’s marginality, we
can perhaps point to what might be called an ‘anarchist invariant’:2 the
recurring desire for life without government that haunts the political
imagination. The rejection of political authority in the name of equality
1
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