Science, Expertise & the Environmental History of Anarchism | Adam Quinn | PSA 2021
Channel: Anarchism Research Group Loughborough
Date: 2022-03-18

In this presentation given as part of the Anarchist Studies Network panels at the 2021 Political Studies Association conference, Adam Quinn talks about science, expertise, and environment in progressive era anarchism.

The Anarchist Studies Network is a specialist group of the Political Studies Association: https://anarchiststudiesnetwork.org/

"Do anarchists reject all authority? In the words of Mikhail Bakunin, no, as “In the matter of boots, I refer to the authority of the bootmaker.” While this understanding of “legitimate authority” is widely recognized in anarchist political thought, the topic of authority within historical anarchist social movements remains under-examined. Anarchists in the Progressive Era United States, though they posed a revolutionary challenge to the progressive movement’s reform-minded assumptions, still exemplified progressives' emphatic belief in scientific expertise and authority. Similar to their progressive, reformist counterparts, these anarchists were deeply influenced by transatlantic developments in social politics and science. This presentation examines how anarchists in the Progressive Era drew their politics from transnational authorities in science, using scientific authority to both inform their thought and propagandize. Exploring the relationship between science and anarchist praxis reveals a form of environmental politics, as anarchists adapted the teachings of natural sciences in particular to address issues surrounding the body, space, and work. In some respects, science helped anarchists broaden the scope of their politics, as they organized to protect contraceptive freedoms and workers’ health and used the natural environment to argue for a more cooperative and equal society. In other respects, this faith in turn-of-the-century science was limiting, as some anarchists adopted, rather than challenged, key concepts from fields like eugenics and physiognomy. Ultimately, this presentation aims to show how natural sciences and politics (even radical politics) informed one another, and what this emphasis on scientific authority meant for the anarchist movement in the United States."

This video is brought to you by Loughborough University's Anarchism Research Group. For more information on the ARG, visit https://www.lboro.ac.uk/subjects/politics-international-studies/research/arg/ . You can follow us on Twitter https://www.twitter.com/arglboro

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#anarchism #science #environment #history