Everyday Anarchism

In this episode, I dive into the definition of anarchism. Are the street fighters of the black bloc "really" "anarchists"? Is cooperation really all it takes to be an "anarchist"? Why even bother with this dangerous term "anarchism" anyway? Was Tolstoy even an "anarchist"?If you want to skip to a specific question:01:50 - Do everyday anarchists and black bloc anarchists even believe the same thing?23:35 - Where does the word anarchism come from? Couldn't we just use "mutual aid" or even "cooperation"?28:20 - Why use the word anarchism when it's so associated with violence and chaos? Doesn't that just require lots of explanation?33:20 - Why call Tolstoy an anarchist? Wasn't he a spiritual revolutionary, not a political one?I make multiple references to Ruth Kinna's magisterial history and theory of anarchism, The Government of No One. Professor Kinna is scheduled to appear on the show in December; in the meantime, here's a link to the book: The Government of No One

Jesus of Nazareth was an anarchist. But he doesn't get talked about too much by Christians. Instead, Christians tend to focus on Jesus Christ, who was made up by the Romans more than 300 years after Jesus died. I'll talk about the anarchist Jesus of Nazareth next time; this week is all about how a visionary, anti-clerical, anti-imperial, anarcho-communist mystic became a vessel for clerical and imperial power.According to Nietzsche, our story starts with the Greek philosopher Plato and ends up in the Roman Catholic church. Plus I'll tell you how George Washington and Dwight D. Eisenhower fit into the picture!https://www.everydayanarchism.com/

In this Q&A episode, I devote most of the time to the question of vaccine mandates. Also included are:0:20 - New website, and updates about the podcast's growth and how to support it. Go to www.everydayanarchism.com!4:40 - Should anarchists support vaccine mandates?31:15 - What's the connection between anarchism and utopia (featuring quotes from Oscar Wilde)38:55 - Do states hate anarchism because they are afraid it will work (featuring quotes from Ian Forrest)

Marriage is a patriarchal, capitalistic tool of oppression. But John Milton, the man who made Satan a revolutionary hero, suggested that marriage could be rendered empowering, not oppressive. By divorce! Join me for the everyday anarchism of divorce - as well as a brief history of patriarcho-capitalistic marriage and Emma Goldman's scathing condemnation of it. Also briefly discussed are the castle doctrine and its relationship to marriage, Frederick Douglass's condemnation of chattel slavery, and Michael Warner's critique of gay marriage.

Tolkien expert and fellow podcaster Sam Brock joins me for a discussion of Tolkien's anarchism! In my attempts to convince Sam that anarchism is the true hero of The Lord of the Rings, we discuss Ents as eco-terrorists, the Shire as a conservative anarchist utopia, Aragorn as a monarch who never governs, and power as the true villain.Check out Sam's podcast, Quenya Questions in Quarantine, if you want to go deep into the backstory of The Lord of the Rings with Sam and his cohost Raleigh: https://open.spotify.com/show/2AOvC2rYiJjK9yUGpNYxA7

I answer a question about Tolkien's anarchism, then a series of questions about anarchism, everyday anarchism, and why they matter! Featuring Tolkien's environmentalism, a conventional definition of libertarianism and an anarchist definition of libertarianism, discussion of Robert Nozick and Abdullah Öcalan, Kurdistan, the Paris Commune, the Spanish Civil War, and more!

Tolkien was an anarchist. So was Gandalf. In fact, anarchism is the hero of The Lord of the Rings - or at least, I think so.

In this episode, I answer listener questions, like: Would anarchism actually work? Do we have rights under anarchism? If everything is anarchism, doesn't that mean nothing is anarchism? My examples come from the Iliad, Shakespeare, and Hannah Arendt. Keep the questions coming to everydayanarchismpodcast@gmail.com!

In this episode, I introduce the idea that anarchism is all around you and you're using it every day. In fact, there's nothing more everyday - more normal, decent, and regular - than anarchism. Cooperation, or mutual aid, is how we structure our lives. And when we find alternatives to cooperation (like competition, commercialism, or coercion), we see that those alternatives are actually versions of cooperation, not alternatives to it.Not convinced? Give it a listen. And share your thoughts with me at everydayanarchismpodcast@gmail.com !