Everything you ever wanted to know about anarchism. This classic statement of anarchism was written by a diverse group of anarchists in Cardiff around 1980 and it is an interesting historical record of the optimism of mainstream anarchist thought at that time.
There is probably more rubbish talked about anarchism than any other political idea. Actually, it has nothing to do with a belief in chaos, death and destruction. Anarchists do not normally carry bombs, nor do they ascribe any virtue to beating up old ladies. It is no accident that the sinister image of the mad anarchist is so accepted. The State, the press and all the assorted authoritarian types, use every means at their disposal to present anarchy as an unthinkable state of carnage and chaos. Anarchist in the UK. Anarchism and Other Essays: Anarchism: What It Really Stands For. Emma Goldman, Anarchism and Other Essays (Third revised edition, New York: Mother Earth Publishing Association, 1917) Ever reviled, accursed, ne'er understood, Thou art the grisly terror of our age.
"Wreck of all order," cry the multitude, "Art thou, and war and murder's endless rage. " O, let them cry. To them that ne'er have striven The truth that lies behind a word to find, To them the word's right meaning was not given.