Anarchism is a gathering wilderness that continually defies the confusions and contradictions of capitalism and its current incarnation as neoliberalism. Rooting itself in the tiny forgotten cracks of our fractured order, anarchism heaves open spaces of resistance and rebellion with the energy of a thousand suns. It is the strength that comes when we recognise the beauty of our own lives by seeing ourselves reflected in the lives of others. A dagger in the heart of domination, a clarion call for mutual aid, an unyielding spirit of revolt, anarchism allows us to acknowledge our connection to the Earth, to each other and to the entirety of existence. More than mere ideology, anarchism is a way of knowing and being in a world that situates humanity as but a single flowering within the great mystery of consciousness. Anarchism above all else, as this primer makes clear, is a geography of possibilities.
Simon Springer is an anarchist, a vegan, a contrarian, a metalhead and a dad. He is also Professor of Human Geography at the University of Newcastle, Australia.