Synopses & Reviews
“The passion for destruction is a creative passion,” wrote the anarchist Mikhail Bakunin in 1842. Since then, the popular image of anarchism has been one of violence and terror. But this picture is wildly misleading, and the media has done more to obscure anarchism than to explain it. Focusing on the street fighting and confrontations with police, mainstream commentators are unable to understand what anarchism is or why a philosophy with roots in the nineteenth century has resurfaced with such power at the dawn of the new millennium. To understand anarchism, it is necessary to go beyond the caricature presented by the media. In this new biography of Mikhail Bakunin, Mark Leier traces the life and ideas of anarchisms first major thinker, and in the process revealing the origins of the movement.
There was little in Bakunins background to suggest that he would grow up to be anything other than a loyal subject of the Russian Empire. Instead, he became one the most notorious radicals of the nineteenth century, devoting his life to the destruction of the tsar and feudalism, capitalism, the state, even God. In the process, he became a historical actor and political thinker whose ideas continue to influence world events.
Bakunin is of keen interest these days, though the attention paid to his image continues to obscure the man and his ideas. Using archival sources and the most recent scholarship, Leier corrects many of the popular misconceptions about Bakunin and his ideas, offering a fresh interpretation of Bakunins life and thoughts of use to those interested in understanding anarchism and social change. Arguing for the relevance and importance of anarchism to our present world, Leier sheds light on the nineteenth century, as well as on todays headlines, as he examines a political philosophy that has inspired mass movements and contemporary social critics.
Mark Leier shows that the “passion for destruction” is a call to build a new world free of oppression, not a cult of violence. He argues that anarchism is a philosophy of morality and solidarity, based not on wishful thinking or naïve beliefs about the goodness of humanity but on a practical, radical critique of wealth and power. By studying Bakunin, we can learn a great deal about our own time and begin to recover a world of possibility and promise. It is often said that we are all anarchists at heart. This book explains why. Mark Leier teaches at Simon Fraser University, where he is the director of the Center for Labour Studies. He is the author or co-author of four books on labor history. He lives in North Vancouver, Canada.
"The passion for destruction is a creative passion," wrote the anarchist Mikhail Bakunin in 1842. Since then, the popular image of anarchism has been one of violence and terror. But this picture is wildly misleading, and the media has done more to obscure anarchism than to explain it. Focusing on the street fighting and confrontations with police, mainstream commentators are unable to understand what anarchism is or why a philosophy with roots in the nineteenth century has resurfaced with such power at the dawn of the new millennium. To understand anarchism, it is necessary to go beyond the caricature presented by the media. In this new biography of Mikhail Bakunin, Mark Leier traces the life and ideas of anarchism's first major thinker, and in the process revealing the origins of the movement. There was little in Bakunin's background to suggest that he would grow up to be anything other than a loyal subject of the Russian Empire. Instead, he became one the most notorious radicals of the nineteenth century, devoting his life to the destruction of the tsar and feudalism, capitalism, the state, even God. In the process, he became a historical actor and political thinker whose ideas continue to influence world events. Bakunin is of keen interest these days, though the attention paid to his image continues to obscure the man and his ideas. Using archival sources and the most recent scholarship, Leier corrects many of the popular misconceptions about Bakunin and his ideas, offering an interpretation of Bakunin's life and thoughts of use to those interested in understanding anarchism and social change. Arguing for the relevance and importance of anarchism to our present world, Leier sheds light on the nineteenth century, as well as on today's headlines, as he examines a political philosophy that has inspired mass movements and contemporary social critics. Mark Leier shows that the "passion for destruction" is a call to build a new world free of oppression, not a cult of violence. He argues that anarchism is a philosophy of morality and solidarity, based not on wishful thinking or naïve beliefs about the goodness of humanity but on a practical, radical critique of wealth and power. "Bakunin not only reassesses this fascinating and important character but also provides the biography of the forgotten ideology of anarchism itself."Simon Sebag Montefiore, author of Stalin: The Court of the Red Tsar "The time for Bakuninthe real one, not the caricaturehas come again, and Mark Leier has given us just the history that we need. Wonderfully written, scholarly but also packed with fascinating tales and fresh revelations, Bakunin: The Creative Passion is passion with purpose."Paul Buhle, co-editor, Encyclopedia of the American Left and Wobblies! a Graphic History "Mark Leier mounts a passionate defense of Bakunin and of his creed of anarchism. Even if you do not believe that anarchists, let alone Marxists, have the right answers, Leier's radical tract will force you to face the question posed by the millions of the world's poor who deserve a say in their fate, as they wait for the promised radiant future."Andrew Mango, author of Ataturk: The Biography of the Founder of Modern Turkey "A thorough and conversational biography that celebrates as much as it recounts."Kirkus Reviews "Unfailingly informative . . . and frequently exciting, Leier's biography reintroduces a fascinating revolutionary, knowledge of whose ideas helps one place such recent phenomena as the World Trade Organization protests in meaningful historical context."Mike Tribby, Booklist
Review
"The time for Bakunin--the real one, not the caricature--has come again, and Mark Leier has given us just the history that we need. Wonderfully written, scholarly but also packed with fascinating tales and fresh revelations,
Bakunin: The Creative Passion is passion with purpose."
-- Paul Buhle, co-editor, Encyclopedia of the American Left and Wobblies! a Graphic History
"Mark Leier mounts a passionate defense of Bakunin and of his creed of anarchism. Even if you do not believe that anarchists, let alone Marxists, have the right answers, Leier's radical tract will force you to face the question posed by the millions of the world's poor who deserve a say in their fate, as they wait for the promised radiant future." - Andrew Mango, author of ATATURK: The Biography of the Founder of Modern Turkey
Review
"The time for Bakunin--the real one, not the caricature--has come again, and Mark Leier has given us just the history that we need. Wonderfully written, scholarly but also packed with fascinating tales and fresh revelations,
Bakunin: The Creative Passion is passion with purpose."
-- Paul Buhle, co-editor, Encyclopedia of the American Left and Wobblies! a Graphic History
“Mark Leier mounts a passionate defense of Bakunin and of his creed of anarchism. Even if you do not believe that anarchists, let alone Marxists, have the right answers, Leiers radical tract will force you to face the question posed by the millions of the worlds poor who deserve a say in their fate, as they wait for the promised radiant future." – Andrew Mango, author of ATATURK: The Biography of the Founder of Modern Turkey
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Review
Leier (director, Center of Labour Studies/ Simon Frasier Univ.) traces the experiences, politics and ideas that influenced Mikhail Bakunin, the founder of modern anarchism.
This intellectual portrait is overwhelmingly sympathetic. Criticisms from Bakunin's contemporaries and later historians are often debunked before they are fully explained. The argument that Bakunin's ideology was informed by sexual dysfunction is raised, only to be dismissed out of hand. The author describes Bakunin's writings in breathless prose, as if his subject's pamphlets were clearly destined for greatness. Yet the anarchist's vision of a just, stateless communal society is not clearest in soliloquoy; it emerges more sharply in the chapters devoted to his recurring feuds with Karl Marx. Leier laments that anarchists are often misinterpreted and derided, and communism provides a sharp contrast. Bakunin detested communism as the "negation of liberty," and rather than granting even more power to the state, he ca Kirkus
Synopsis
"The passion for destruction is a creative passion," wrote the anarchist Mikhail Bakunin in 1842. Since then, the popular image of anarchism has been one of violence and terror. But this picture is wildly misleading, and the media has done more to obscure anarchism than to explain it. Focusing on the street fighting and confrontations with police, mainstream commentators are unable to understand what anarchism is or why a philosophy with roots in the nineteenth century has resurfaced with such power at the dawn of the new millennium. To understand anarchism, it is necessary to go beyond the caricature presented by the media. In this new biography of Mikhail Bakunin, Mark Leier traces the life and ideas of anarchism's first major thinker, and in the process revealing the origins of the movement.
There was little in Bakunin's background to suggest that he would grow up to be anything other than a loyal subject of the Russian Empire. Instead, he became one the most notorious radicals of the nineteenth century, devoting his life to the destruction of the tsar and feudalism, capitalism, the state, even God. In the process, he became a historical actor and political thinker whose ideas continue to influence world events.
Bakunin is of keen interest these days, though the attention paid to his image continues to obscure the man and his ideas. Using archival sources and the most recent scholarship, Leier corrects many of the popular misconceptions about Bakunin and his ideas, offering a fresh interpretation of Bakunin's life and thoughts of use to those interested in understanding anarchism and social change. Arguing for the relevance and importance of anarchism to our present world, Leier sheds light on the nineteenth century, as well as on today's headlines, as he examines a political philosophy that has inspired mass movements and contemporary social critics.
Mark Leier shows that the "passion for destruction" is a call to build a new world free of oppression, not a cult of violence. He argues that anarchism is a philosophy of morality and solidarity, based not on wishful thinking or naïve beliefs about the goodness of humanity but on a practical, radical critique of wealth and power. By studying Bakunin, we can learn a great deal about our own time and begin to recover a world of possibility and promise. It is often said that we are all anarchists at heart. This book explains why.
Synopsis
"
Bakunin not only reassesses this fascinating and important character but also provides the biography of the forgotten ideology of anarchism itself."
--Simon Sebag Montefiore, author of Stalin: The Court of the Red Tsar
About the Author
MARK LEIER teaches at Simon Fraser University, where he is the director of the Center for Labour Studies. He is the author or co-author of four books on labor history.
He lives in North Vancouver, Canada.