Paradoxes of Utopia
Subtitle: Anarchist Culture and Politics in Buenos Aires 1890–1910
By: Juan Suriano
Publisher: AK Press
Published: 2010
Place of publication: Oakland, USA; Edinburgh, UK
Language: eng
Translated from: spa
Translation of: Anarquistas: Cultura y política libertaria en Buenos Aires, 1890–1910
Format: Paperback
Number of pages: 288
ISBN-13: 9781849350068
Copyright date: 2010
Description: When the Argentine economy collapsed in 2001, many were surprised by the factory takeovers and neighborhood assemblies that resulted. But workers' control and direct democracy have long histories in Argentina, where from the late nineteenth century and well into the twentieth, anarchism was the main revolutionary ideology of the labor movement and other social struggles.

Most histories of anarchism in Argentina tend toward dry analyses of labor politics, lists of union acronyms, and the like. For Juan Suriano, that's just one part of the story. *Paradoxes of Utopia* gives us an engaging look at fin de siècle Buenos Aires that brings to life the vibrant culture behind one of the world's largest anarchist movements: the radical schools, newspapers, theaters, and social clubs that made revolution a way of life. Cultural history in the best sense, *Paradoxes of Utopia* explores how a revolutionary ideology was woven into the ordinary lives of tens of thousands of people, creating a complex tapestry of symbols, rituals, and daily practices that supported-and indeed created the possibility of-the Argentine labor movement.

Without partisanship or didacticism, Suriano creates an innovative panorama that gives equal weigh to the strengths and weakness of anarchism in Argentina, effective strategies and grave mistakes, internal debates and state repression, all contextualized within the country's broader political, economic, and cultural history.

(Source: [AK Press](https://www.akpress.org/paradoxes-of-utopia-anarchist-culture-and-politics-in-buenos-aires-1890-ndash-1910.html))
Table of contents: title: Translator’s Acknowledgments
pagenum: ix; title: Dedication
pagenum: xi; title: Author’s Acknowledgments
pagenum: xiii; title: Introduction
pagenum: 1; label: I
title: The Organization of the Libertarian Movement and the Dissemination of Its Ideas
pagenum: 13; label: 1.
title: Anarchism in Buenos Aires: A Brief Historical Outline
pagenum: 14; label: 2.
title: Propaganda, an Important Tool: Groups, Circles, and Study Centers
pagenum: 16; label: 3.
title: The Importance of Having a Name
pagenum: 20; label: 4.
title: The Emergence, Peak, and Decline of the Groups and Circles
pagenum: 23; label: 5.
title: The Difficulties of Organizing Propaganda
pagenum: 32; label: II
title: The Anarchist Appeal
pagenum: 43; label: 1.
title: The Anarchist Appeal: The Working Class or The People?
pagenum: 44; label: 2.
title: Revolutionary Urgency
pagenum: 47; label: 3.
title: Pure Anarchists and Anarcho-Syndicalists
pagenum: 54; label: 4.
title: Who Is the Revolutionary Subject?
pagenum: 56; label: 5.
title: The Enlightened Vanguard
pagenum: 58; label: III
title: Pamphlets, Books, Lectures, Militants, and Disseminators
pagenum: 65; label: 1.
title: The Power of Solidarity
pagenum: 65; label: 2.
title: The Power of the Written Word: Books and Pamphlets
pagenum: 70; label: 3.
title: The Power of the Word: Lectures
pagenum: 73; label: 4.
title: The Power of the Will: Militants and Disseminators
pagenum: 82; label: IV
title: Free Time, Parties, and Theater
pagenum: 91; label: 1.
title: How to Use Free Time
pagenum: 91; label: 2.
title: Women and the Family
pagenum: 93; label: 3.
title: The Search for Healthy and Rational Entertainment
pagenum: 97; label: 4.
title: War on the Carnival
pagenum: 98; label: 5.
title: The Libertarian Cultural Model
pagenum: 101; label: 6.
title: Libertarian Theater
pagenum: 105; label: V
title: The Anarchist Press
pagenum: 115; label: 1.
title: The Context
pagenum: 116; label: 2.
title: Anarchism and the Freedom of the Press
pagenum: 117; label: 3.
title: The Libertarian Publications
pagenum: 120; label: 4.
title: A Workers’ or Anarchist Press?
pagenum: 123; label: 5.
title: A Doctrinaire and Ideological Press
pagenum: 126; label: 6.
title: Irresolvable Problems of the Anarchist Press
pagenum: 133; label: VI
title: The Educational Practices of Argentine Anarchism
pagenum: 143; label: 1.
title: Education as a Tool for Transforming the Individual
pagenum: 144; label: 2.
title: Anarchism and Public Education
pagenum: 145; label: 3.
title: Education: Before or After the Revolution?
pagenum: 148; label: 4.
title: “Get Our Children Out of Official Schools”
pagenum: 150; label: 5.
title: The First Steps of Libertarian Education
pagenum: 154; label: 6.
title: In Search of a Rational School
pagenum: 158; label: 7.
title: The Rationalist Education League
pagenum: 165; label: VII
title: The State, the Law, the Fatherland, and Argentine Anarchists’ Political Practices
pagenum: 171; label: 1.
title: The State
pagenum: 172; label: 2.
title: The Law
pagenum: 174; label: 3.
title: The Fatherland and the Barracks
pagenum: 178; label: 4.
title: The Meanings of Politics
pagenum: 184; label: 5.
title: Propaganda by Deed: Anarchism and Its Contradictory Conception of Violence
pagenum: 189; label: 6.
title: The General Revolutionary Strike
pagenum: 193; label: 7.
title: The Expansion of Political Representation and the Limits of Anarchism
pagenum: 196; label: VIII
title: Anarchist Rites and Symbols
pagenum: 201; label: 1.
title: Anarchism Invents Its Image
pagenum: 203; label: 2.
title: Red Flags of Dreams
pagenum: 206; label: 3.
title: Heroes and Martyrs of the Proletariat
pagenum: 210; label: 4.
title: Revolutionary Calendars and Almanacs
pagenum: 214; label: 5.
title: May Day: The Workers’ Easter
pagenum: 216; title: Conclusion
pagenum: 225; title: Appendix
pagenum: 232; title: Bibliography and Sources
pagenum: 237; title: Notes
pagenum: 253; title: Index
pagenum: 305