Anarchism Reading Group

Anarchism Reading Group - Modular Syllabus

A modular syllabus for an extended anarchism reading group covering classical foundations, contemporary currents, and practical Appropriation

Red Anne

Version 4.0

This syllabus guides a multi-year reading group exploring anarchist theory and practice. Cycles are structured as roughly month-long units, typically with two readings over two-week periods. The group meets twice monthly for 1.5 hours.

This is a living document, changes will be posted regularly as the group decides what it wants to read. As of 1 March, the readings beyond 10 March 2026 are merely proposed.

Cycle 1 (October 2025): What is Anarchism?

Week 1

(8 October 2025)

  • Peter Gelderloos – Anarchy Works, “Introduction”
    Text | Audio (may autoplay Ch. 1, also available on podcast services from Audible Anarchist) Note: this text is published under CC0 and may be freely shared.

  • Strangers In a Tangled Wilderness – “Life Without Law” (Rev. 2024)
    Text | Audio (2013 version, differences not significant)

Week 2

(22 October 2025)

  • Errico Malatesta – Anarchy (2021, Trans. by Andy Carloff)
    Text | Audio 1 | Audio 2

  • Daniel Guérin – Anarchism: From Theory to Practice: Chapters 1 & 2
    Text (with Chomsky intro) | PDF (first edition)

  • Colin Ward – Anarchy in Action: “Introduction to the Second Edition”, “Preface”, & “Chapter X. Play as an Anarchist Parable”
    Text

Cycle 2: Classical Foundations I – Bakunin

2A: Bakunin’s Revolutionary Theory

(November 2025)

Week 1

(12 November 2025)

Week 2

(3 December 2025)

  • Peter Gelderloos – Anarchy Works, Ch. 2 “Decisions”
    Text | Audio

  • Colin Ward – Anarchy in Action, Chapter II “The Theory of Spontaneous Order”
    Text At this point we decided to stop reading Colin Ward.

2B: Bakunin on Class and Revolution

(17 December 2025)

  • Mikhail Bakunin and Karl Marx – Writings on the Paris Commune
    From Daniel Guérin’s No Gods, No Masters, pp. 198-212

  • Mikhail Bakunin – Excerpt from Statism and Anarchy
    From No Gods, No Masters, pp. 194-197

  • Supplemental: Noam Chomsky – “Who is the Most Important Anarchist Thinker?” (video, ~4 mins)
    Video

Recommended: No Gods, No Masters: A History of Anarchism (three-part documentary film)

Cycle 3: Classical Foundations II – Kropotkin

Week 1

(14 January 2026)

  • Peter Kropotkin – The Conquest of Bread
    Read “The Spine” (Chapters 1-4 together, in order):
    • Chapter 1: Our Riches (social wealth as collective product; why scarcity is artificial)
    • Chapter 2: Well-Being for All (the “right to well-being” as ethical core)
    • Chapter 3: Anarchist Communism (why distribution precedes labor accounting)
    • Chapter 4: Expropriation (why food and housing must be seized immediately) Text | Audio (all chapters)
    • Strongly recommended: Chapter 5: Food

Week 2

(3 February 2026)

  • Peter Kropotkin – The Conquest of Bread:

    • Chapter 8: Ways and Means
    • Chapter 9: The Need For Luxury
    • Chapter 13: The Collectivist Wages System
      Text | Audio (all chapters)

  • Peter Gelderloos – Anarchy Works, Ch. 3 “Economy”
    Text | Audio (Audible Anarchist)

Cycle 3B: Kropotkin on Mutual Aid

Combined Reading

  • Pëtr Kropotkin – Mutual Aid: A Factor of Evolution

    • Introduction

    • (Optional) Chapter 5: Mutual Aid in the Mediæval City

    • (Optional) Chapter 6: Mutual Aid in the Mediæval City (continued)

    • Chapter 7: Mutual Aid Amongst Ourselves

    • Chapter 8: Mutual Aid Amongst Ourselves (continued)

    • Chapter 9: Conclusion
      Text | Audio (Audible Anarchist) | Audio (Librivox)

      Note: If we do this again, I would read the entirety of Mutual Aid, chapters 1-4 are very interesting and arguably more rigorous. Chapters 1 & 2 are particularly interesting as they form the main claim that Darwinism is wrong about competition (though Darwin himself did not state the claim so strongly as many Darwinists). Kropotkin’s claim, radical at the time, has largely been vindicated in contemporary evolutionary biology.

Cycle 4: Emma Goldman & American Anarchism

Week 1

(10 March 2025)

Week 2

(24 March 2025)

Further Goldman readings (to be determined)

Possible additional selections:

  • “The Traffic in Women”

Further Goldman readings (to be determined)

Possible additional selections:

  • “Minorities Versus Majorities”
  • “Syndicalism: Its Theory and Practice”
  • “Patriotism: A Menace to Liberty”
  • “The Traffic in Women”

Case study materials:

  • Haymarket Affair documents

Companion reading:

  • Voltairine de Cleyre – “Direct Action”
  • Peter Gelderloos – Anarchy Works, ch. “What about patriarchy?” Text | Audio (Audible Anarchist)

Cycle 5: Religious & Spiritual Anarchisms

  • Dorothy Day – selected writings on Catholic Worker movement
  • Mohamed Abdou – Islam and Anarchism (key chapters)
  • Leo Tolstoy – “On Anarchy” or excerpts from The Kingdom of God Is Within You
  • Peter Gelderloos – Anarchy Works, ch. “What about human nature?” Text | Audio (Audible Anarchist)

Cycle 6: Global Perspectives I – Black Anarchism & Postcolonial Voices

  • Ashanti Alston – “Beyond Nationalism But Not Without It”
  • Lorenzo Kom’boa Ervin – Anarchism and the Black Revolution (selections)
  • Bagby-Williams & Za Suekama – Black Anarchism and the Black Radical Tradition: Moving Beyond Racial Capitalism (excerpts or full text)
  • Indigenous horizontal organizing practices (readings TBD based on availability)
  • Peter Gelderloos – Anarchy Works, ch. “How will conflicts be resolved?”
    Text | Audio (Audible Anarchist)

Cycle 7: Anarchism & Marxist Critique

  • Wayne Price – The Value of Radical Theory: An Anarchist Introduction to Marx’s Critique of Political Economy (selected chapters)
  • Adam C. Jones – “From Apperception to Appropriation: The State as Transcendental Habit”
  • Peter Gelderloos – Anarchy Works, ch. “What about the economy?”
    Text | Audio (Audible Anarchist)

Cycle 8: Early Currents – Proudhon & Stirner

  • Pierre-Joseph Proudhon – What is Property? (introduction + key sections)
  • Pierre-Joseph Proudhon – The Principle of Federation (excerpts)
  • Max Stirner – The Ego and Its Own (introduction + “The Unique” + “My Self-Enjoyment”)
  • Peter Gelderloos – Anarchy Works, ch. “Won’t people just form new hierarchies?”

Cycle 9: Anarcho-Syndicalism

  • Rudolf Rocker – Anarcho-Syndicalism: Theory and Practice
  • Case: CNT organizing manuals
  • Peter Gelderloos – Anarchy Works, ch. “How will workplaces run?”
    Text | Audio (Audible Anarchist)

Cycle 10: Revolutions in Practice

  • Paris Commune: Karl Marx – The Civil War in France (excerpts) vs. anarchist perspectives
  • Spanish Civil War: George Orwell – Homage to Catalonia (excerpts) + José Peirats selections
  • Friends of Durruti – Towards a Fresh Revolution
  • Peter Gelderloos – Anarchy Works, ch. “How will anarchy defend itself?”
    Text | Audio (Audible Anarchist)

Cycle 11: Post-War & Contemporary Currents

  • Murray Bookchin – “Listen, Marxist!”
  • Noam Chomsky – Notes on Anarchism
  • David Graeber – Direct Action: An Ethnography (excerpts) or “On the Phenomenon of Bullshit Jobs”
  • Peter Gelderloos – Anarchy Works, ch. “How will decisions be made globally?”
    Text | Audio (Audible Anarchist)

Cycle 12: Contemporary Movements

  • Zapatista communiqués (“First Declaration of the Lacandon Jungle”)
  • Silvia Federici – Caliban and the Witch (excerpts on commons)
  • Cases: Occupy, Rojava, mutual aid networks during COVID-19
  • Peter Gelderloos – Anarchy Works, remaining chapters as integrative discussion
    Text | Audio (Audible Anarchist)

Notes on Syllabus Evolution

This syllabus is modular and adaptable. The reading group modifies cycles based on group interest, time constraints, and emerging discussions. Published versions reflect readings completed or currently planned, not the entire multi-year arc.

Revision History:

  • v4.0 (March 2025): Reflected actual readings through Cycle 4, removed Colin Ward materials, repositioned Proudhon/Stirner cycle
  • v3.3: Added religious anarchism cycle, Black anarchism emphasis, Marxist critique cycle
  • Earlier versions: Initial structure and classical foundations emphasis
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