Peter Gelderloos

Anarchist author and activist known for writings on direct action and critiques of nonviolence; author of books including How Nonviolence Protects the State and Anarchy Works.

This list of books are ONLY the books that have been ranked on the lists that are aggregated on this site. This is not a comprehensive list of all books by this author.

  1. 1. Anarchy Works

    This book argues that anarchist principles are not utopian fantasies but practical, working methods for organizing society: decentralized, non-hierarchical institutions based on mutual aid, voluntary association, direct democracy and locally rooted self-management can meet social needs more effectively than the state and capitalism. It surveys historical and contemporary examples and practices—worker cooperatives, community defense, mutual aid networks and popular movements—to show how people have successfully organized everyday life, economy and conflict resolution without centralized authority. The author systematically answers common critiques about disorder, inefficiency and violence, and outlines how scalable, pragmatic anarchist strategies could address problems of governance, inequality and social solidarity.

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