Available Formats
Associational Anarchism: Towards a Left-Libertarian Conception of Freedom
By (Author) Chris Wyatt
Manchester University Press
Manchester University Press
10th September 2025
United Kingdom
Tertiary Education
Non Fiction
Political science and theory
Far-left political ideologies and movements
335.83
Paperback
224
Width 156mm, Height 234mm
Associational anarchism presents a ground-breaking alternative to both liberal democracy and state socialism, derived from the ideas of Karl Marx and G. D. H. Cole.
Uniting the public sphere of citizenship with the private sphere of production in a system of communal ownership, the book proposes a scheme of horizontal networks held together through libertarian politics. With no role for a centralised state, the functions of coordination and administration are fulfilled through pluralist self-governance. Political intermediation proceeds via a web of functional associations, which operate within a system of revitalised communities, while management is carried out through modes of self-regulation that embody the key anarchist values of equality, solidarity and mutual-aid.
'Wyatt remains a leading theorist of anarchist political economy. [...] At a time when people increasingly search for new political directions (religious authoritarianism, escapist capitalist adventurism, egomaniacal Populism, and more), Wyatt offers potentialities rooted in freedom, decentralization, and cooperation.'
CHOICE: Recommended
Chris Wyatt is a Senior Lecturer in Politics at the University of Brighton