Classical Anarchism & Libertarian Social Re-Organisation | Saptadeepa Banerjee | PSA 2021
Channel: Anarchism Research Group Loughborough
Date: 18/03/2022

In this presentation given as part of the Anarchist Studies Network panels at the 2021 Political Studies Association conference, Saptadeepa Banerjee draws on classical anarchist thinkers Bakunin and Kropotkin to discuss libertarian alternatives to the organisation of society.

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

"Anarchy or anarchism is normally associated with the notions of lawlessness and chaos thereby leading to an incorrect understanding of what the terms actually mean. To have a clearer understanding of what anarchism essentially constitutes, one has to delve deeper into the classical anarchist thought that deals with the concepts of revolution and social organisation in the post-revolutionary anarchist society. Classical anarchists often conceived a blueprint for social organisation based on federalism, and mutualism, collectivism or anarchist-communism that could facilitate the practice of stateless socialism. Such models of post-revolutionary social organisation indicate that anarchism does not merely call for the annihilation of the state, church and capitalism but also deals with questions of constructivism, in the aftermath of the revolution.

Taking into consideration the themes of revolution and anarchy, this presentation will focus on the anarchist thought of Bakunin and Kropotkin to bring to the fore the constructive elements in the idea and practice of anarchism in the late nineteenth and early twentieth century. This presentation will attempt to emphasize Bakunin and Kropotkin’s concern with the nature of the social organisation that they sought to achieve through revolution, hoping to create a just anarchist society. The language of libertarian socialism that evolved through the anarchist ideas of Bakunin and Kropotkin manifested itself as a libertarian alternative especially in the context of the Russian Revolution and the Spanish Civil War. This libertarian alternative, as opposed to authoritarian regimes, even in the garb of communism, was encapsulated in the nature of decentralised social organisation envisaged by anarchists in the post-revolutionary period. This presentation will examine this libertarian alternative with particular reference to the question of anarchist social organisation that became pertinent in the first half of the twentieth century, tracing its origins to classical anarchism, as espoused by Bakunin and Kropotkin."

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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