David Berry

Dave Berry was a lecturer in French politics and history at Loughborough University for over 30 years and was a cofounder of Loughborough’s Anarchism Research Group and of the Anarchist Studies Network. His doctoral thesis led to A History of the French Anarchist Movement, 1917–1945. Besides a number of chapters and articles on various aspects of the life and politics of Daniel Guérin, other publications include New Perspectives on Anarchism, Labour and
Syndicalism: The Individual, the National and the Transnational, coedited with Constance
Bantman; Libertarian Socialism: Politics in Black and Red, coedited with Alex Prichard, Ruth Kinna, and Saku Pinta; “Anarchism in 1968,” in Carl Levy and Matt Adams (eds.), The Palgrave
Handbook of Anarchism (2019); and “An Anarchist History of ‘Our Common Mother,’” an
introduction to a new edition of Peter Kropotkin’s The Great French Revolution, 1789–1793. He
also edited and introduced a selection of Guérin’s articles, translated for the first time: For a
Libertarian Communism. His biography of Guérin, A Life in the Service of Revolution: Daniel
Guérin, 1904–1988 is nearing completion.

• Book events
• Reviews
• More from David

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Praise

“Over six decades Daniel Guérin had a record of willingness to cooperate with any section of the French left that shared his fundamental goals of proletarian self-emancipation, colonial liberation, and sexual freedom. He was a vigorous polemicist but saw no fragment of the left, however obscure, as beneath his attention. He was also typically generous, never seeking to malign his opponents, however profoundly he disagreed with them. He was always willing to challenge orthodoxy, whether Marxist or anarchist. Yet behind the varying formulations one consistent principle remained: ‘The Revolution of our age will be made from below—or not at all.’”
—Ian Birchall, author of The Spectre of Babeuf, Sartre Against Stalinism, and A Rebel’s Guide to Lenin

“Guérin provides an eloquent history of libertarian socialist practice that is not just insightful but also an exemplary display of straightforward writing, passion, and balance. The book is highly valuable as a history of thought and action, to be sure, but, even more important, as an exploration of issues and ideas directly relevant to today’s world.”
—Michael Albert, author of Parecon: Life after Capitalism

“With the continual debasing of ‘libertarian’ to mean free-market capitalist, the publication in English of Daniel Guérin’s classic For a Libertarian Communism is very welcome. It shows why Guérin was one of France’s leading libertarian thinkers and activists, for it discusses what remain the key issues for socialists of all schools. His deep knowledge of both anarchism and Marxism makes this book essential reading for all radicals: Marxists will get their false notions of anarchism challenged while those interested in anarchism will see that it is libertarian socialism rather than some incoherent lifestyle choice.”
—Iain McKay, author of An Anarchist FAQ, Property Is Theft! A Pierre-Joseph Proudhon Reader, and Direct Struggle Against Capital: A Peter Kropotkin Anthology

“Daniel Guérin is the creator of a unique synthesis between Marxism and anarchism: libertarian communism. His reflections are more than ever relevant for the 21th century.”
—Michael Löwy, author of Ecosocialism: A Radical Alternative to Capitalist Catastrophe

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Praise

“Libertarian Socialism: Politics in Black and Red is an invaluable contribution to historical scholarship and libertarian politics. The collection of essays contained in the book has the great virtue of offering both analytical perspectives on ideas, and historical perspectives on movements. The contributions examine classical themes in anarchist politics such as individual liberty, whilst also exploring more neglected thinkers and themes from a libertarian standpoint, such as C.L.R. James and race. There can be little doubt that the volume will be of major interest to historians, theorists, students and activists.”
—Darrow Schecter, reader in Italian, School of History, Art History and Philosophy, University of Sussex

“Just what we need as we move into a new phase of revolt against the obscenity of capitalism: a recovery of the richness of our different traditions of struggle, with their weavings and bumpings. Time to move on, time to redeem the struggles of the past. A valuable and welcome collection.”
—John Holloway, author of Change the World Without Taking Power and professor of sociology, Autonomous University of Puebla

“This is a welcome and essential collection that is sure to spark debates and support ongoing efforts to build a liberatory movement in which Marxists and anarchists can find common ground and practice mutual respect and humility. In this period of late-capitalism, survival itself is at stake. Theory and practice, whether Marxism or Anarchism in their many manifestations, lead to dead ends without careful assessment of the world as it is now.”
—Roxanne Dunbar-Ortiz, author of An Indigenous Peoples’ History of the United States

“An important, redemptive collection of essays that questions narratives of sectarian difference without resorting to easy answers. In exploring the productive frictions, convergences, agonisms and affinities that have created and re-created the ‘black and red,’ the contributors recover the neglected histories of a capacious Left, one that repudiated ideological rigidity and sterile orthodoxies without abandoning its socialist commons. Itself a model of such capaciousness, this is a stimulating and necessary work.”
—Raymond B. Craib, associate professor, Department of History, Cornell University

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Book Events

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Reviews

• Libertarian Socialism: Politics in Black and Red— A Review
• For a Libertarian Communism Reviewed in Anarchist Studies
• What is Libertarian Socialism? An Anarchist-Marxist Dialogue
• Libertarian Socialism: Politics in Black and Red — A Libcom review

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Interviews

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Mentions

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Blog