PM Press Blog

What Is Anarchism?— Ruth Kinna, Kim Kelly, William C. Anderson on 1A

By Michelle Harven
1A
October 12th, 2020

We’re hearing more about anarchy, especially where President Donald Trump is concerned. He’s repeatedly said that “professional anarchists” were responsible for the unrest and demonstrations against police brutality in cities across the country during the summer. There’s almost no evidence that’s true.

The term is popping up in other venues as well. The Trump administration also moved recently to call Democratically-led cities like New York City, Portland, Oregon and Seattle “anarchist zones.”

And following the discovery of a plot by a white supremacist militia group to kidnap Michigan Gov. Gretchen Whitmer, right-wing media outlets have moved to label its members as anarchists.

But are those groups actually anarchists?

What do anarchists believe? And how are they organized? Guests


Ruth Kinna professor of political theory at Loughborough University; author of “The Beginner’s Guide to Anarchism” and “The Government of No One”

Kim Kelly freelance journalist and labor organizer

William C. Anderson activist; co-author of “As Black as Resistance,” and author of upcoming book, “Nation On No Map”

Back to Ruth Kinna’s Author Page