Anarchy: A Journal of Desire Armed
Encyclopedia
Anarchy: A Journal of Desire Armed is a North America
n anarchist
magazine, and is one of the most popular anarchist publications in North America. It could be described as a general interest and critical, non-ideological anarchist journal. It was founded by members of the Columbia Anarchist League of Columbia, Missouri
, and continued to be published there for nearly fifteen years, eventually under the sole editorial control of Jason McQuinn
(who initially used the pseudonym "Lev Chernyi"), before briefly moving to New York City in 1995 to be published by members of the Autonomedia
collective. The demise of independent distributor Fine Print
nearly killed the magazine, necessitating its return to the Columbia collective after just two issues. It remained in Columbia from 1997 to 2006. it is published bi-annually by a group based in Berkeley, California
. The magazine accepts no advertising
. It has serially published two book-length works, The Papalagi
and Raoul Vaneigem
's The Revolution of Everyday Life
.
critique ("beyond the confines of ideology
"), as articulated by such writers as Lawrence Jarach
, John Zerzan
, Bob Black
, and Wolfi Landstreicher
(formerly Feral Faun/Feral Ranter among other noms de plume). Zerzan is now best known as the foremost proponent of anarcho-primitivism
. The magazine has been open to publishing the primitivists, which has caused leftist critics and academics like Ruth Kinna
(editor of Anarchist Studies
) to classify the magazine as primitivist, but McQuinn, Jarach and others have published critiques of primitivism there. Bob Black is best known for "The Abolition of Work
" (1985), a widely reprinted and translated essay (first widely circulated, in fact, as an insert in Anarchy in 1986), but for Anarchy he has mainly contributed critiques of leftists and anarcho-leftists such as Ward Churchill
, Fred Woodworth
, Chaz Bufe
, Murray Bookchin
, the Platformists and most recently AK Press
. Wolfi Landstreicher now writes from the "insurrectionalist" perspective of Renzo Novatore
and Alfredo Bonanno (he has translated both) which combines a sympathy for generalized, spontaneous, unmediated uprising with the egoism of Max Stirner
.
North America
North America is a continent wholly within the Northern Hemisphere and almost wholly within the Western Hemisphere. It is also considered a northern subcontinent of the Americas...
n anarchist
Anarchism
Anarchism is generally defined as the political philosophy which holds the state to be undesirable, unnecessary, and harmful, or alternatively as opposing authority in the conduct of human relations...
magazine, and is one of the most popular anarchist publications in North America. It could be described as a general interest and critical, non-ideological anarchist journal. It was founded by members of the Columbia Anarchist League of Columbia, Missouri
Columbia, Missouri
Columbia is the fifth-largest city in Missouri, and the largest city in Mid-Missouri. With a population of 108,500 as of the 2010 Census, it is the principal municipality of the Columbia Metropolitan Area, a region of 164,283 residents. The city serves as the county seat of Boone County and as the...
, and continued to be published there for nearly fifteen years, eventually under the sole editorial control of Jason McQuinn
Jason McQuinn
Jason McQuinn is an American anarchist, founder and co-editor of Alternative Press Review, and founder and former co-editor of the journal Anarchy: A Journal of Desire Armed from 1980 to 1995, when Tad Kepley took it over, and again from 1997 to 2006...
(who initially used the pseudonym "Lev Chernyi"), before briefly moving to New York City in 1995 to be published by members of the Autonomedia
Autonomedia
Autonomedia is one of the main North American publishers of radical theoretical works, especially in the anarchist tradition. For many years, it was linked with Semiotext, one of the major sources for English language translations of post-structuralist literature, especially in the 1980s...
collective. The demise of independent distributor Fine Print
Fine print
Fine print, small print, or "mouseprint" is less noticeable print smaller than the more obvious larger print it accompanies that advertises or otherwise describes or partially describes a commercial product or service...
nearly killed the magazine, necessitating its return to the Columbia collective after just two issues. It remained in Columbia from 1997 to 2006. it is published bi-annually by a group based in Berkeley, California
Berkeley, California
Berkeley is a city on the east shore of the San Francisco Bay in Northern California, United States. Its neighbors to the south are the cities of Oakland and Emeryville. To the north is the city of Albany and the unincorporated community of Kensington...
. The magazine accepts no advertising
Advertising
Advertising is a form of communication used to persuade an audience to take some action with respect to products, ideas, or services. Most commonly, the desired result is to drive consumer behavior with respect to a commercial offering, although political and ideological advertising is also common...
. It has serially published two book-length works, The Papalagi
The Papalagi
The Papalagi is a book by Erich Scheurmann published in Germany in 1920, which contains descriptions of European life, supposedly as seen through the eyes of a Samoan chief named Tuiavii...
and Raoul Vaneigem
Raoul Vaneigem
Raoul Vaneigem is a Belgian writer and philosopher. He was born in Lessines . After studying romance philology at the Free University of Brussels from 1952 to 1956, he participated in the Situationist International from 1961 to 1970...
's The Revolution of Everyday Life
The Revolution of Everyday Life
The Revolution of Everyday Life is a 1967 book by Raoul Vaneigem, Belgian author, philosopher and former member of the Situationist International . In French the title of the work was more elaborate: Traité du savoir-vivre à l’usage des jeunes générations, or Treatise on Living for the Younger...
.
Perspective and contributors
The magazine is noted for spearheading the Post-left anarchyPost-left anarchy
Post-left anarchy is a recent current in anarchist thought that promotes a critique of anarchism's relationship to traditional leftism. Some post-leftists seek to escape the confines of ideology in general also presenting a critique of organizations and morality...
critique ("beyond the confines of ideology
Ideology
An ideology is a set of ideas that constitutes one's goals, expectations, and actions. An ideology can be thought of as a comprehensive vision, as a way of looking at things , as in common sense and several philosophical tendencies , or a set of ideas proposed by the dominant class of a society to...
"), as articulated by such writers as Lawrence Jarach
Lawrence Jarach
- External links :* official website.Publications*"" by Lawrence Jarach at the Berkeley Daily Planet...
, John Zerzan
John Zerzan
John Zerzan is an American anarchist and primitivist philosopher and author. His works criticize agricultural civilization as inherently oppressive, and advocate drawing upon the ways of life of prehistoric humans as an inspiration for what a free society should look like...
, Bob Black
Bob Black
Bob Black is an American anarchist. He is the author of The Abolition of Work and Other Essays, Beneath the Underground, Friendly Fire, Anarchy After Leftism, and numerous political essays.-Writing:Some of his work from the early 1980s includes...
, and Wolfi Landstreicher
Wolfi Landstreicher
Wolfi Landstreicher is the former nom de plume of a contemporary anarchist philosopher involved in theoretical and practical activity...
(formerly Feral Faun/Feral Ranter among other noms de plume). Zerzan is now best known as the foremost proponent of anarcho-primitivism
Anarcho-primitivism
Anarcho-primitivism is an anarchist critique of the origins and progress of civilization. According to anarcho-primitivism, the shift from hunter-gatherer to agricultural subsistence gave rise to social stratification, coercion, and alienation...
. The magazine has been open to publishing the primitivists, which has caused leftist critics and academics like Ruth Kinna
Ruth Kinna
Ruth Ellen Kinna is a politics lecturer at Loughborough University, working in the Department of Politics, History and International Relations where she specialises in political philosophy. Since 2007 she has been the editor of the journal Anarchist Studies....
(editor of Anarchist Studies
Anarchist Studies
Anarchist Studies is a biannual academic journal on anarchism. It takes an interdisciplinary approach, examining the history, culture, and theory of anarchism...
) to classify the magazine as primitivist, but McQuinn, Jarach and others have published critiques of primitivism there. Bob Black is best known for "The Abolition of Work
The Abolition of Work
"The Abolition of Work" is an essay written by Bob Black in 1985. The essay was part of Black's first book, an anthology of essays entitled The Abolition of Work and Other Essays published by Loompanics Unlimited. It is an exposition of Black's "type 3 anarchism" – a blend of post-Situationist...
" (1985), a widely reprinted and translated essay (first widely circulated, in fact, as an insert in Anarchy in 1986), but for Anarchy he has mainly contributed critiques of leftists and anarcho-leftists such as Ward Churchill
Ward Churchill
Ward LeRoy Churchill is an author and political activist. He was a professor of ethnic studies at the University of Colorado at Boulder from 1990 to 2007. The primary focus of his work is on the historical treatment of political dissenters and Native Americans by the United States government...
, Fred Woodworth
Fred Woodworth
Fred Woodworth is an anarchist and atheist writer based in the United States. He is an anarchist without adjectives, saying: "I have no prefix or adjective for my anarchism. I think syndicalism can work, as can free-market anarcho-capitalism, anarcho-communism, even anarcho-hermits, depending on...
, Chaz Bufe
Chaz Bufe
Charles Bufe, better known as Chaz Bufe, is a contemporary American Anarchist author.Bufe writes most notably on the problems faced by the modern anarchist movement...
, Murray Bookchin
Murray Bookchin
Murray Bookchin was an American libertarian socialist author, orator, and philosopher. A pioneer in the ecology movement, Bookchin was the founder of the social ecology movement within anarchist, libertarian socialist and ecological thought. He was the author of two dozen books on politics,...
, the Platformists and most recently AK Press
AK Press
AK Press is a worker-managed independent publisher and book distributor that specialises in radical left and anarchist literature. It is collectively owned and operated.-History:...
. Wolfi Landstreicher now writes from the "insurrectionalist" perspective of Renzo Novatore
Renzo Novatore
- Life :Abele Ricieri Ferrari was born in Arcola, Liguria, Italy on May 12, 1890 in a poor peasant family. He did not adjust to school discipline and quit in the first year never coming back after that. While he worked in his father's farm, he self educated himself with an emphasis in poetry and...
and Alfredo Bonanno (he has translated both) which combines a sympathy for generalized, spontaneous, unmediated uprising with the egoism of Max Stirner
Max Stirner
Johann Kaspar Schmidt , better known as Max Stirner , was a German philosopher, who ranks as one of the literary fathers of nihilism, existentialism, post-modernism and anarchism, especially of individualist anarchism...
.
External links
- Anarchy magazine's official website.
- North American Anarchist Thought Since 1960
- Institute for Anarchist Studies: Post-Left Anarchy: Leaving the Left Behind
- "The Life and times of Anarchy: A Journal of Desire Armed: 25 years of critical anarchist publishing" by Jason McQuinnJason McQuinnJason McQuinn is an American anarchist, founder and co-editor of Alternative Press Review, and founder and former co-editor of the journal Anarchy: A Journal of Desire Armed from 1980 to 1995, when Tad Kepley took it over, and again from 1997 to 2006...