Scan barcode
blksheep's review
5.0
I don't usually write reviews but I find it wild that other reviewers assert there is nothing radical in this essay when the whole thing is critiquing Industrialism (Capitalism) and the American state while advocating for anarchism in 1909. Also comments like, "unsurprisingly for a white woman at the beginning of the 20th century, her argumentation in this text does not leave the realm of white male politics" is completely ignorant of de Cleyre's wider work on patriarchy and the internalization of power relations. This essay is part of a larger body of work and should be understood as such.
Nonetheless, this is a difficult essay to digest. Essentially its about the "bankruptcy of republicanism", specifically how it has failed to uphold the ideals it promised, and the anarchic roots of the American Tradition. It's a warning against the growing industrialism sweeping the United States at the time and argues that if not fought against the American Tradition of communal self-sustenance will be a thing of the past. The essay packs a lot into its short pages, such as commenting on the whitewashing of history when delivered by a State with a bias towards commercial interests. It is dense but the patient and careful reader will get a lot out of it.
Nonetheless, this is a difficult essay to digest. Essentially its about the "bankruptcy of republicanism", specifically how it has failed to uphold the ideals it promised, and the anarchic roots of the American Tradition. It's a warning against the growing industrialism sweeping the United States at the time and argues that if not fought against the American Tradition of communal self-sustenance will be a thing of the past. The essay packs a lot into its short pages, such as commenting on the whitewashing of history when delivered by a State with a bias towards commercial interests. It is dense but the patient and careful reader will get a lot out of it.
More...