Happy Sunday, all! Lately I've been reading The Anarchist Roots of Geography by Simon Springer. It's not the easiest read, as the author uses a great deal of polysyllabic words and complex sentences, and one's reading comprehension is unaided by the fact that there's a parenthetical citation in every other sentence. But if you learn to skim over the citations and are looking to challenge your English reading comprehension skills while examining social justice issues as a symptom of the inherent evils of hierarchy and capitalism, then this is the book for you!
Springer does an excellent job of highlighting all the ways our current political and economic systems work to keep us apart and will continue to do so, stressing the need for a borderless radical democracy based on mutual aid. He does not provide examples of how such a society might organize itself, saying that this would necessarily be an ever-ongoing process in response to changing needs. While my struggle to fathom the function of a horizontally-organized society (if power is violence and vice versa, how do you address those who hurt others? How do you prevent someone from seizing power and reinventing the oppression of hierarchy?) at this time, Springer incisively tears apart the myth that governments serve the people and that capital is a net good for humanity, and makes an excellent case for a society based on the presupposition of equality.
Was that last sentence difficult to read? Keep that in mind before picking this book up. I recommend it heartily, but you have to be prepared for it. Underline and summarize like you're back in English class.
All in all, it's a challenging but valuable read that broadened my perspective on the possibilities for true equality and community that arise when people take it upon themselves to care without borders and share without reservation.
****Added Comment***
Thank you very much for being the first to submit to Share Your Book Day. This looks like a very interesting read.
-AtheistforHumanity
