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Laurence Davis and Ruth Kinna (eds.)
Manchester University Press, Manchester, 2009, xvi+285pp., £60.00/$90.00, ISBN:
978-0719079344
This volume collects 14 essays that, in various (and very diverse) ways, explore the relationship between the terms of the title. As one of the editors (Davis) states in the introduction, the essays fall generically into two categories: first, broadly philosophical papers that explore the historical trajectory of the relationship between the two concepts, and second chapters that examine cases where the traditions are configured in a particular fashion. The volume itself is divided up rather differently, with five thematic sections of varying length.
What is the collection intended to achieve? Davis tells us that the book is not intended to be comprehensive, but the hope is that it will stimulate 'further reflection and informed dialogue' (5) about the subject. Both this editor and a number of the contributors hold that anarchist politics have been given added impetus in recent years with the rise of the alter-globalisation movement and what they see as a growing disenchantment with liberal-democratic capitalist systems around the world.
A number of common themes emerge through the chapters, despite the variety of topics covered. One of the most persistent is the view that there are different types of utopian politics, and that one element that marks contemporary anarchist politics is its rejection of 'bad' forms of utopia. While Clark in his synoptic chapter identifies five variants of utopianism, most of the authors who make a distinction operate with a broad dichotomy...