Anarchism |

George Walford: Letters from the Editor

November 4, 2013

(Reprinted from Ethical Record, journal of the South Place Ethical Society, October 1989) May I propose the application of some SPES rationalism to the myth of class politics as displayed, particularly, in The Unsung Heroes of the First Austrian Republic, by Gertrude Elias (ER July/August). This article repeatedly identifies the workers with the left. It… read more »

George Walford: Doing the Splits (49)

August 21, 2014

The series running under this title has a dual theme; that the eidodynamic movements tend to split while the eidostatic ones do not. The “tend” matters; it is not being suggested that all eidodynamic movements are always splitting while all eidostatic ones enjoy perpetual internecine peace Anarchists are often able to operate in small groups… read more »

George Walford: Are There Classes?

September 11, 2013

Myths will doubtless always be with us, but the influence of the one which bulks so large in Marxism, presenting class as the fundamental determinant of political affiliation, weakens almost by the day. Reviewing the Cambridge Social History of Britain, 1750-1950, David Cannadine notes that through the 1950s and 60s it flourished among the intellectuals,… read more »

George Walford: The (Anarcho-) Socialist Party (48)

September 10, 2013

This is the Second Part of a reply by Mersyside Branch, to IC‘s criticism of the Party. Part One appeared in IC47. In contrast to the “simplicity,” “contradictions” and “black and white” nature of the Socialist Party’s arguments, IC variously describes the positions that it takes on social, political and economic matters as sophisticated, complex,… read more »

DR: Review of Beyond Politics

August 12, 2013

Careful reading of this issue of IC will reveal, here and there, gentle reminders that Beyond Politics, an outline of systematic ideology, by George Walford, was published on 1 September and can now be bought. THe necessary information is set out on the back page of this issue of IC. Several copies were sent out… read more »

George Walford: Famine

August 12, 2013

So far as productive and distributive facilities go, famines are no longer unavoidable catastrophes. They are not, in that curious phrase, “acts of God,” If not deliberately caused by human agency they are least allowed to happen, and not altogether at random; in Western Europe, North America and Australasia famine no longer looks like a serious… read more »

George Walford: The (Anarcho-) Socialist Party (47)

August 5, 2013

MERSEYSIDE RESPOND (Part One of Three) Merseyside Branch of the (A-) SPGB have sent a response to some of the comments on this party made in IC . Too long to print as one item it will appear in three parts (each with a reply from IC ) of which this is the first. –… read more »

George Walford: The Two-Sided Anarchist (47)

August 5, 2013

This is not intended as propaganda either for anarchism or against it. It’s about freedom, using anarchism as a test-case because this movement is usually believed, by anarchists and others, to stand for unlimited freedom, in every sense, for everybody. One would expect anarchism to be among the biggest movements, for how can anybody reject… read more »

Mary Cole: The Systematic Supernatural / Systematic Ideology as a Framework for the Origin, Function, and Alteration of Religion

August 4, 2013

Winner, 2013 George Walford International Essay Prize. In an evolutionary context, a belief in the supernatural is costly. Evolutionary cost refers to anything that reduces an individual’s eventual reproductive success from what that individual would otherwise achieve. Such cost includes unnecessary practices that either neglect or consume resources that otherwise could be used provision oneself… read more »

Peter Cadogan: Gnostics as Anarchists of Old

August 1, 2013

A big problem in systematic ideology, and one that seems likely to be with us for a while yet, is to pin down the first appearance of each of the major ideologies. Not just their emergence as enduring political movements but their truly first appearance, first in any field. It seems probable that even the… read more »