Colin Ward: Anarchy in Action (1973, Harper & Row)
Paperback, 192 pages
English language
Published Jan. 24, 1973 by Harper & Row.
Anarchy in Action is a book exploring anarchist thought and practice, written by Colin Ward and first published in 1973.The book is a seminal introduction to anarchism but differs considerably to others by concentrating on the possibility of an anarchism rooted in everyday experience, and not necessarily linked to industrial and political struggles. His ideas are heavily influenced by Peter Kropotkin and his concept of Mutual Aid. Ward bases his text on evidence from sociology, anthropology, cybernetics, industrial psychology, and from the experience of housing, town planning, education, work, play and social welfare. Ward argues for anarchist alternatives to the universal governmental and hierarchical systems of social organisation. This bucks a number of conventional trends of the socialist left, because he is quite critical of the welfare state.
This is a good introduction to anarchism. That said, there's a lot more left to discover once you've read it
