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The Accumulation of Freedom: Writings on Anarchist Economics by Deric Shannon, Anthony J. Nocella II, and John Asimakopoulos eds. AK Press, 2012. Pp. 375. $21.00 (Paperback). ISBN: 9781849350945
[Article copies available for a fee from The Transformative Studies Institute. E-mail address: [email protected] Website: http: //www, tr ans formativ estudies. ors ©2012 by The Transformative Studies Institute. All rights reserved.]
Over the past decades serious scholars of the history and practice of anarchism have taken important strides toward the refutation of a mountain of erroneous portrayals and interpretations of this chronically misunderstood doctrine. Historians such as Temma Kaplan, George Esenwein, Martha Ackelsberg, and Maxine Molyneux have worked to dispel characterizations of anarchism as 'atavistic,' 'millenarian,' 'petitbourgeois,' and 'nihilistic.'2 More recently, Michael Schmidt and Lucien van der Walt have built upon this scholarship to demonstrate the chronological and geographical continuities of what they refer to as the "broad anarchist tradition."3 By focusing on economics, a severely neglected component of anarchist thought, The Accumulation of Freedom represents one of the latest contributions to the ongoing development of anarchist studies. It seeks to refute the common misconception that Marxism encompasses the entirety of anti-capitalist economics while anarchism is an irrational dream.
Given that John Asimakopoulos and Deric Shannon are sociologists and Anthony J. Nocella II researches urban education, it is not a surprise that history is not the main focus of The Accumulation of Freedom. The primary objectives of the book are to explain the economic crisis (and thereby the flaws of capitalism), demonstrate the alternatives that anarchist economics offer, and discuss strategies and tactics to build a new economy. Nevertheless, Chris Spannos and Scott Nappalos each skillfully and concisely sketch broad outlines of historical examples of libertarian socialist ideas and experiments ranging from the Paris Commune to the 1956 Hungarian Revolution. In sections on different aspects of an economy, such as "Allocation" and "Remuneration Schemes," Spannos mobilizes examples of anarchist economic thought to argue for Participatory Economics, while Nappalos orients his analysis of historical episodes, such as the Spanish Revolution, around an argument for anarchist communism.
The other historical chapter is Iain McKay's on "Proudhon's Contributions to...