Building Another Politics: The Contemporary Anti-Authoritarian Current in the U.S. and Canada
Anarchist Studies - ISSN 2633-8270
Volume 20 Number 1
Building Another Politics: The Contemporary Anti-Authoritarian Current in the U.S. and Canada
Chris Dixon pages -
Abstract
Recent decades have seen the convergence of a variety of anti-authoritarian politics and broader-based movements in the US and Canada. Coming out of this convergence, a growing set of activists and organisers are developing shared politics, practices, and sensibilities based in overlapping areas of work. Those creating these politics compose a political tendency, what I call the anti-authoritarian current, which cuts across a range of left social movements. Broadly conceived, what distinguishes this current is its commitment to combining anti-authoritarian, anti-capitalist politics with grassroots organising among ordinary, non-activist people. I argue that the anti-authoritarian current, in effect, builds on the best features of the anarchist tradition while drawing on substantial contributions from other political formations and movement experiences. Based on in-depth interviews with organisers in six North American cities, this essay traces the strands that have led into the anti-authoritarian current and explores the defining principles of its politics.
To cite this article
Chris Dixon (2012) Building Another Politics: The Contemporary Anti-Authoritarian Current in the U.S. and Canada, Anarchist Studies, 20(1), -