| 50-5863 | HX826 | 2012-15029 CIP | | Social & Behavioral Sciences Political Science Political Theory | | Scott, James C. Two cheers for anarchism: six easy pieces on autonomy, dignity, and meaningful work and play. Princeton, 2012. 169p index afp; ISBN 9780691155296, $24.95. Reviewed in 2013jun CHOICE. | | In the wake of the Occupy movement and G20 protests, many scholars have been rethinking what political action means, how to perform it, and how to understand these newly emerging political movements. While Scott (Yale Univ.) does not engage the Occupy movement or G20 protests directly, his new book can be thought of as a part of this rethinking. Written in a highly engaging series of what he calls “fragments,” Scott’s work links together a series of brief reflections on social cooperation in the absence of (or despite opposition from) hierarchy, tying such cooperation to a sense of autonomy, freedom, and human flourishing. Scott wants not to eliminate the state but rather to think around it, toward what he calls “anarchist calisthenics.” By this he means individual or collective activities that undermine, sidestep, or in other ways defamiliarize the hierarchical and norming patterns that surround people in everyday life. Scott covers a lot of ground here. Readers will find fragments on architecture, traffic patterns, and educational reform, in addition to pieces on more traditional forms of political protest and action. There is much of value in this short book and, hopefully, much that is inspirational. Summing Up: Highly recommended. General readers, undergraduate students, graduate students, and research faculty. — J. L. Miller, SUNY College at New Paltz |
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