Two Cheers for Anarchism

1. Embracing Disorder: The Anarchist's Path to Freedom and Autonomy

"An anarchist squint involves a defense of politics, conflict, and debate, and the perpetual uncertainty and learning they entail."

Anarchism as a lens. The anarchist perspective offers unique insights into history, politics, and social movements. It emphasizes the value of spontaneity, cooperation without hierarchy, and skepticism towards centralized authority. This viewpoint challenges traditional notions of order and progress, suggesting that true freedom and autonomy often emerge from seemingly chaotic situations.

Practical applications. Examples like the adventure playground in Copenhagen demonstrate how embracing disorder can foster creativity, problem-solving, and social cohesion. By allowing children to create their own play environment, the playground became a microcosm of anarchist principles in action. Similarly, the author argues that many significant social and political changes throughout history have resulted from unplanned, disorderly events rather than top-down organization.

2. The Power of Insubordination: How Small Acts of Defiance Shape History

"One can well imagine how reports of fragging, whether true or not, might make officers hesitate to volunteer themselves and their men for dangerous missions."

Everyday resistance. Small acts of defiance, often invisible to traditional historical accounts, can have profound impacts on social and political systems. These actions, termed "infrapolitics," include foot-dragging, poaching, desertion, and other forms of quiet resistance. While individually insignificant, collectively they can undermine oppressive regimes and force change.

Historical examples:

• Widespread desertion contributing to the Confederacy's defeat in the American Civil War
• French peasants' resistance to conscription hampering Napoleon's military campaigns
• Workers' subtle sabotage and work slowdowns in factories

These instances highlight how seemingly minor acts of disobedience can accumulate to create significant historical shifts, often more effectively than open rebellion or organized protest.

3. Vernacular Order vs. Official Order: The Struggle for Local Knowledge

"Vernacular and official naming schemes jostle one another in many contexts."

Local vs. centralized knowledge. The tension between vernacular (local, traditional) and official (state-imposed, standardized) forms of order is a central theme in the book. Vernacular practices often embody generations of practical wisdom and adaptability to local conditions, while official systems prioritize legibility and control from a centralized perspective.

Examples of conflict:

• Traditional farming practices vs. scientific agriculture
• Local naming conventions vs. standardized addressing systems
• Indigenous land use vs. state-imposed property regimes

The author argues that while official systems may seem more efficient or rational, they often fail to capture the nuanced, context-specific knowledge embedded in vernacular practices. This oversight can lead to unintended consequences and the loss of valuable local adaptations.

4. The Perils of Standardization: How Measurement Corrupts

"When a measure becomes a target it ceases to be a good measure."

The audit society. The increasing reliance on quantitative measures to assess quality in various domains (education, healthcare, business) has led to what the author calls the "audit society." This approach, while appearing objective and efficient, often leads to perverse outcomes and gaming of the system.

Unintended consequences:

• Teaching to the test in education, narrowing curriculum
• Manipulation of performance metrics in business
• Distortion of research priorities due to citation indices

The author argues that these standardized measures, initially designed to improve performance, often end up corrupting the very processes they aim to assess. They encourage a focus on meeting narrow criteria at the expense of broader, less quantifiable goals.

5. The Petty Bourgeoisie: Unsung Heroes of Social and Economic Progress

"A society dominated by smallholders and shopkeepers comes closer to equality and to popular ownership of the means of production than any economic system yet devised."

Reevaluating the petite bourgeoisie. Contrary to Marxist dismissals, the author argues for recognizing the significant social and economic contributions of small property owners, artisans, and shopkeepers. This class, often overlooked in grand narratives of history, plays a crucial role in fostering innovation, providing social cohesion, and maintaining economic diversity.

Key contributions:

• Source of innovation and new ideas in business and technology
• Providers of essential social services and community cohesion
• Bulwark against extreme inequality and concentration of economic power

The author suggests that the petty bourgeoisie's desire for autonomy and property ownership has been a driving force behind many democratic and egalitarian movements throughout history.

6. The Fallacy of Quantitative Measures: Challenging the Audit Society

"Not everything that counts can be counted and not everything that can be counted, counts."

Critiquing the quantification obsession. The book strongly challenges the modern tendency to rely on quantitative measures as the primary means of assessing quality and making decisions. This approach, while appearing objective and scientific, often fails to capture crucial qualitative aspects and can lead to misguided policies.

Problems with quantification:

• Reduction of complex realities to simplistic metrics
• Encouragement of gaming the system
• Neglect of important but hard-to-measure factors

The author argues for a more nuanced approach that recognizes the limitations of quantitative measures and incorporates qualitative judgments and democratic debate in decision-making processes.

7. Rediscovering Particularity: The Importance of Context in Understanding History

"The confusion, flux, and tumultuous contingency experienced by the historical actors, let alone the ordinary by-standers, whose actions they are examining."

Challenging historical simplification. The book emphasizes the importance of recognizing the complexity, contingency, and particular contexts of historical events. It critiques the tendency to create neat, coherent narratives that obscure the messy reality of how events unfold.

Key points:

• Historical actors rarely have a clear understanding of the significance of their actions
• Events that seem inevitable in hindsight were often highly contingent at the time
• Official histories often serve political purposes by simplifying complex realities

The author advocates for a more nuanced approach to history that acknowledges the role of chance, individual agency, and local particularities in shaping events. This perspective challenges grand narratives and encourages a more democratic and participatory understanding of historical processes.

Last updated: November 18, 2024