Happy Birthday to Murray Bookchin (14th January 1921 – 30th July 2006), one of the most important radical thinkers of the 20th century.
As a class struggle anarchist, yet with an equally strong environmental / green anarchist leaning, Murray Bookchin has been one of my personal inspirations. His interests included ecology, history, philosophy, education, urban affairs and politics. While he developed his own ideas beyond the traditional anarchist movement into what he called Communalism, an ecological libertarian socialism, he was ultimately a fiercely non-compromising anti-capitalist. Perhaps his most impressive legacy can be seen in the influence his ideas have had on Kurdish society in Rojava in the forefront against the battle against the fascist Islamic State, but his work can also be seen throughout the world in environmental and other direct action movements.
Often head on, Murray Bookchin addressed the various and often conflicting trends within the anarchist movement, and was scathing of lifestyle anarchists. Though far more radical than Chomsky, much of his work can ironically be seen as synthesising radical threads into a political theory and praxis that can make sense of the world we see, while presenting a visionary alternative. His early work identified the seeds of post-scarcity economics and he played a role in the 1960s and 1970s ‘counter culture’ movements in America. In the 1980s and 1990s, Bookchin continued to develop his theories, unafraid to be critical of deep ecology, which he had initially inspired, and the American anarchist movement, especially the lifestyle anarchists who eschewed social action for a more selfish personal rebellion. His development of Communalism involved balancing assembly democracy and self-governed communities with decentralisation of all aspects of society, based on the municipality.
Bookchin’s historical works include seminal texts on Spain, ‘The Spanish Anarchists’ and ‘To Remember Spain’, while he also wrote widely on philosophy and politics. His collection of essays in “Post-scarcity Anarchism” published in 1971 had a profound impact on anarchist thought and the wider anti-globalisation movement.
Murray Bookchin died of heart failure in Burlington at the age of 85. He is perhaps more appreciated and discussed now than in his lifetime. While he is most associated with the heroic struggle of the Kurds in Rojava, his teaching could make all our communities more sustainable, equitable, just and happy. Murray Bookchin, we remember and salute you.
