by M. Velli
The Seizure of State Power first appeared in 1972 as part of Manual for Revolutionary Leaders.
This was Fredy’s attempt to discredit manipulative political organizers… When someone shouted “All Power to the People” Fredy heard “All Power to the Leader.”
This is the pseudonymously penned satire of the New Left—and leftists generally—by beloved anarchist Fredy Perlman. Michael Velli, the author’s pen name for this book, was chosen deliberately to show the similarities in form and content between Machiavelli’s naked drive for total power and those of the leftists of his day; a critique that still holds today.
The satire juxtaposes quotes from revolutionary Marxist leaders and leaders of the new left with quotes from maniacal despots such as Hitler, Mussolini, Ho or Lenin. Revealing the similarities in all of their thought and the practices involved in realising their respective political programs, as judged from the outsider anarchist position Fredy Perlman came to occupy later in his life.
After too many people took this book seriously, a second edition was published with a chapter ‘The Sources of M. Velli’s Thought’ where the unattributed quotes of the first edition now receive proper citation, exposing the satire and the machinations of organisationally minded “revolutionary leaders.”