Anarchism Without Illusions: Freedom, Authority, and the Problems of a Stateless Society

By Robert Montgrony

Anarchism Without Illusions is a clear, sceptical, and unsentimental introduction to one of the most misunderstood political traditions. Anarchism is often treated either as a romantic dream of perfect freedom or as a polite word for broken windows. This book takes it seriously enough to do something more inconvenient: examine its arguments, history, achievements, contradictions, and failures.

Beginning with the basic anarchist challenge to authority, the book traces the ideas of William Godwin, Pierre-Joseph Proudhon, Mikhail Bakunin, Peter Kropotkin, Emma Goldman, Lucy Parsons, and other influential thinkers and activists. It follows anarchism through the First International, Haymarket, revolutionary Russia, the Ukrainian Free Territory, the Spanish Civil War, Latin America, East Asia, anti-colonial struggles, feminism, ecology, Occupy, the Zapatistas, Rojava, mutual aid, digital commons, and contemporary social movements.

Along the way, it explores anarchism's complicated relationship with liberalism, socialism, Marxism, communism, nationalism, fascism, and the libertarian right. It also confronts the questions that political theories generally prefer to leave until after the revolution: Who maintains the power grid? Who investigates violence? How are large economies coordinated? What happens when consensus fails? And why does the temporary emergency committee still exist twenty years later?

Neither a manifesto nor a dismissal, Anarchism Without Illusions asks what anarchists have understood about freedom, domination, property, work, government, and human nature-and whether a society without rulers could avoid quietly inventing them again.

• Format: Paperback
• Language: English
• ISBN: B0HDG2WPHK
• ISBN13: 9798191383583
• Release Date: August 2026
• Publisher: Independently Published
• Length: 216 Pages
• Weight: 0.65 lbs.
• Dimensions: 0.5" x 6.0" x 9.0"