Albert Meltzer

Everything you wanted to know about anarchism but were afraid to ask all contained in a new, revised and updated edition of the definitive pocket primer. From the historical background and justification of anarchism to class struggle, organisation and the role of the anarchists in an authoritarian society, this slim and easy-to-read volume walks the reader through both theory and practice providing the perfect introduction for those who wish to be better informed or are just mildly curious.

Arguments for and Against

Anarchism

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A Study of the Origins and Development of the Revolutionary Anarchist Movement in Europe 1945-73 with Particular Reference to the First of May Group

The International Revolutionary Solidarity Movement

Stuart Christie

The floodgates holding back Anarchism are constantly under strain. In confrontation with opposing liberal, totalitarian and conservative camps, Anarchism is often seen as a destructive force. But this is not necessarily so. Stuart Christie and Albert Meltzer defy the assumption that anarchism is a nihilistic force, arguing that whilst the absence of government may be alarming for those living within a democratic political system, the reality of the limitations that governments impress upon the people is equally worrying.

The Floodgates of Anarchy

Albert Meltzer (1920-whenever) has been involved actively in class struggles since the age of 15; exceptionally for his generation in having been a convinced Anarchist from the start, without any family background in such activity. I Couldn't Paint Golden Angels is a lively, witty account of what he claims would have been the commonplace life of a worker but for the fact that he spent sixty years in anarchist activism. As a result it is a unique recounting of many struggles otherwise distorted or unrecorded, including the history of the contemporary development of anarchism in Britain and other countries where he was involved, notably Spain. His story tells of many struggles, including for the first time, the Anglo-Spanish cooperation in the post-War anti-Franco resistance and provides interesting sidelights on, amongst others, the printers' and miners' strikes, fighting Blackshirts and the battle of Cable Street, the so-called Angry Brigade activities, the Anarchist Black Cross, the Cairo Mutiny and wartime German anti-Nazi resistance, the New Left of the 60s, the rise of squatting - and through individuals as varied as Kenyata, Emma Goldman, George Orwell, Guy Aldred and Frank Ridley - all of which have crowded out not only his story, but his life too.

Sixty Years of Commonplace Life and Anarchist Agitation

I Couldn't Paint Golden Angels

This tract by celebrated British anarchist Albert Meltzer attempts to answer some of the most common objections to anarchism, but also to offer a critical view of the anarchist movement itself.

The floodgates holding back anarchy are constantly under strain. The liberal would ease the pressure by diverting some of the water; the conservative would shore up the dykes, the totalitarian would construct a stronger dam. But is anarchy a destructive force? The absence of government may alarm the authoritarian, but is a liberated people really its own worst enemy—or is the true enemy of mankind, as the anarchists claim, the means by which he is governed? Without government the world could manage to end exploitation and war. Anarchy should not be confused with weak, divided or manifold government. As Christie and Meltzer point out, only with the total abolition of government can society develop in freedom.

Albert Meltzer

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