Modern Era
Colin Ward
1924–2010 · Anarchism as practice
Anarchy is already here, in the cracks.
In their words
“The argument of this book is that an anarchist society, a society which organizes itself without authority, is always in existence, like a seed beneath the snow.”
An editor of the British journal Anarchy, Ward wrote about the things people already do without permission: allotment gardens, housing co-ops, squatted streets, the mutual aid that appears in a blackout. He argued that anarchism is not a blueprint to be imposed but a resource to be noticed, extended and defended. His Anarchy in Action remains the friendliest and least doctrinal book in the tradition.
Why it matters for freedom
He showed that freedom is a practice people are already using, not a future someone has to grant them.
Who they stood against
the welfare bureaucracy and the radicals who thought nothing was real unless the state did it