ANARCHISM AND ANARCHO-SYNDICALISM

In 1936, with the outbreak of the Spanish Civil War and Revolution, the idea of anarchism and anarcho-syndicalism was revived for the first time since World War One and the Russian Revolution. Widespread interest in the philosophy that had inspired this mass movement of revolutionary workers and militant anarchists in Spain led to the respected German anarchist Rudolf Rocker being asked to write a ‘quick, short book’ to explain the ideas. Within just four months he had written Anarcho-Syndicalism.

It was well received internationally and was his most accessible work, but was a full-length book, much of which dealt with the history of the labour and syndicalist movements. After World War Two Rocker realised that a shorter, more succinct  version was needed and the result, which he retitled Anarchism and Anarcho-Syndicalism, is the current book. It is both more relevant and more concise, while still retaining such essential sections as The History of Anarchism From Lao-Tse to Kropotkin. This edition has a new Introduction by Nicholas Walter.