One of these illustrations shows the masses constituting the state, personified in the figure of the monarch. The other shows them constituting a power which smashes the state, personified in a member of what is commonly called the ruling class. They are separated by three centuries which have seen the introduction of universal franchise, general… read more »
The vast mass of non-political people set the limits within which society is able to operate, anything they refuse to accept being “politically impossible.” Effective prohibition of alcohol is one example of this, effective prohibition of abortion another. The people rarely try to argue a case for drinking or abortion, they just carry on with… read more »
Dear [redacted] Your response to my letter rather takes me aback; I’m just not accustomed to having the ideas picked up and returned immediately in phrasing that improves on my own efforts. Speaking of those I called non- politicals you say: Most people, it turns out, favour neither control nor freedom in either intellectual or… read more »
Conrad Hopman, The Book of Future Changes – living in balance in the electronic age. London: Institute for Social Inventions 1988. A4, 153 pages, perfect bound in glossy wrappers. The edition said to be limited but the number of copies issued not given. £9.95 (£14.95 libraries and institutions). Conrad Hopman’s title echoes that of the… read more »
With this issue we present the new, improved IC, itself to be improved in future numbers. The reduced number of pages contains rather more than the former amount of material. The (A-)SPGB have been squeezed out of this issue, but it is an omission we shall try hard not to repeat: “My fires are banked,… read more »
Judy Greenway recently addressed an anarchist discussion group on the subject: INVISIBLE WOMEN: PROBLEMS IN ANARCHIST-FEMINIST HISTORY. Her theme was that although the anarchist movement could hardly have functioned without the women selling literature, writing, taking printed sheets from the press and performing other unsung tasks, most of them remain unmentioned in the histories. Using… read more »
Anarchists commonly claim that their movement relies upon co-operation, but a glance at a few issues of FREEDOM or BLACK FLAG will confirm that they spend much time and energy criticising and opposing each other. This tendency is strong enough to prevent them operating as a united movement and it sometimes provokes the assertion that… read more »
The following ideas represent our own current views on anarcho-capitalism. Other anarcho-capitalist libertarians would disagree with some of what follows, and minimal-statist libertarians would disagree with much more. Anyone interested in finding out more can write to the Libertarian Alliance at [address]. Anarcho-capitalism (or market-anarchism) is the view is that a self-regulating market is possible… read more »
IC seeks to encourage responsible discussion. It does not make statements it knows to be false, misleading or inaccurate, and it does its best to avoid printing such statements by other people, even (perhaps especially) when they are about things said in IC. If you are sending a letter intended for publication, please be careful… read more »
Would you rather be alive or equal? The right wing tend to think it an achievement that five thousand million people should be alive, regarding equality as certainly unattainable and probably undesirable. The reformers and revolutionaries tend to pursue equality (or the suppression of socially-imposed inequality), taking the maintenance of the population for granted. In… read more »