anarchism, superheroes, childcare, radical jazz
PLUGGIN’ AWAY BY MARK CONNERY
Anarchism: A Very Short Introduction by Colin Ward (Oxford 2004) is a very nice and very short introduction to anarchist history and ideology. Ward, himself an anarchist, makes a number of very important points about anarchism which are frequently ignored by non-anarchists. He draws attention to the roles of its founders – Proudhon, Bakunin, and Kropotkin – and to their particular accomplishments. It also stresses the inherent internationalism or pan-globalism of anarchist ideas, finding particular examples in movements in Germany, Spain, Portugal, Japan, China, Korea and India. Ward points to the importance of local control as a means of achieving human liberation. He discusses anarchist involvement in the revolutionary upheavals of the 19th and 20th century, with a rather pessimistic balance sheet being drawn from them. He also poses some rather simplistic binaries like bureaucratic welfare states against spontaneous mutual aid. He does draw important lessons from the failure of secular political parties suppressing religious belief (witness Afghanistan or Iraq!). His model is one of decentralization, friendly federalisms, and the importance of organizations being voluntary, useful, temporary, and small. While the spirit of this is alright, it’s hard to see where it’s heading. My reading of Ward’s other writings have always suggested a rather ethereal well-wishing without a lot of strategy. As a hundred page book, with readable text and type as well as many illustrations, I’d recommend this for English-language readers wanting to learn more about the anarchist tradition.
Tales to Astonish by Ronin Ro (Bloomsbury 2004) is a fascinating account of the birth and crises of Marvel Comics-dominated era of the 1960s, 70s and early 80s. Ro, a writer for Vanity Fair and Rolling Stone, gives a very straightforward journalistic account of the creative and commercial origins of Spiderman, the Incredible Hulk and the Fantastic Four. It’s also an account of the shift from smallish family-based publishing enterprises of the 40s and 50s to the cut-throat corporatism of the 70s, 80s and 90s. The hero of Ro’s book is Jack Kirby, a brilliant cartoonist and creator of many of the most important of Marvel’s superheroes. Kirby was a highly prolific and widely known craftsperson taken advantage of by managers, publishers, lawyers, and other opportunists. The main problem with the book is the total lack of illustrations – a bit of a problem when you’re documenting a culture of illustration.
For those trying to understand the deadly combination of US free enterprise and art, Tales to Astonish would make a fine companion volume to Basquiat: A Quick Killing in Art by Phoebe Hoban. Kirby represents the hard-working World War II vet trying to make a decent living for himself and his family while Basquiat was spun out of control by the decadence of neoliberalism.
One of the biggest fights we have at the moment is against the Harper government’s attack on publicly funded childcare. This is an assault on children’s, women’s and workers’ rights. The single best resource is the Childcare Resource and Research Unit (CRRU) http://www.childcarecanada.org/ It describes itself as “focus[sing] on research and policy resources in the context of a high quality system of early childhood education and child care in Canada.” The site is a wonderful source of information, debate, and research material for advocacy and action on this front. There are up to date news stories as well as longer-term research projects! And free of charge! Hopefully readers will bookmark this page and refer people to it who want more information and engagement with these issues. As a childcare worker, I find a great division between frontline workers, families, and the intellectual experts on these issues. CRRU is a step in breaking in these divisions down.
Recommended listening: Impulsive: Revolutionary Jazz Reworked (Impulse) is a double CD set of original Impulse jazz releases, like Charles Mingus, Pharoah Saunders and Archie Shepp and remixes by contemporary hiphoppers like Prefuse 73, RZA, and Kid Koala. Dizzy Gillespie’s “Swing Low Sweet Cadillac” is freakin’ great!
