When the Argentine economy collapsed in 2001, many were surprised by the
factory takeovers and neighborhood assemblies that resulted. But
workers' control and direct democracy have long histories in Argentina,
where from the late nineteenth century and well into the twentieth,
anarchism was the main revolutionary ideology of the labor movement and
other social struggles.
Most histories of anarchism in Argentina
tend toward dry analyses of labor politics, lists of union acronyms, and
the like. For Juan Suriano, that's just one part of the story. Paradoxes of Utopia gives
us an engaging look at fin de siècle Buenos Aires that brings to life
the vibrant culture behind one of the world's largest anarchist
movements: the radical schools, newspapers, theaters, and social clubs
that made revolution a way of life. Cultural history in the best sense, Paradoxes of Utopia
explores how a revolutionary ideology was woven into the ordinary lives
of tens of thousands of people, creating a complex tapestry of symbols,
rituals, and daily practices that supported-and indeed created the
possibility of-the Argentine labor movement.
Without partisanship
or didacticism, Suriano creates an innovative panorama that gives equal
weigh to the strengths and weakness of anarchism in Argentina,
effective strategies and grave mistakes, internal debates and state
repression, all contextualized within the country's broader political,
economic, and cultural history.
Paradoxes Of Utopia : Anarchist Culture and Politics in Buenos Aires, 1890-1910 - Juan Suriano
- Product Code:New
- Availability:In Stock
-
£13.99