The Impossible Community: Realizing Communitarian Anarchism

In this innovative work, John P. Clark—author, lifelong activist, and one of the most fascinating anarchist luminaries of our time—skillfully argues that a free and just social order requires a radical transformation of the modes of domination exercised through social ideology, the social imaginary, the social ethos, and social institutional structures. Communitarian anarchism unites a universalist concern for social and ecological justice while recognizing the integrity and individuality of the person. The Impossible Community is a renewed examination of the anarchist principles of mutual aid and voluntary cooperation and provides convincingly lucid examples in various contexts, from the rebuilding of New Orleans after Katrina to social movements in South Asia. Ambitious in scope and compelling in its strength and imagination, The Impossible Community offers readers an accessible theoretical framework and concrete case studies to show how contemporary anarchist practice continues a long tradition of successfully synthesizing personal and communal liberation. This provocative work will appeal not only to students of anarchism and political theory but also to activists and anyone interested in making the world a better place.

John Clark is a philosopher, activist, and educator. His books include The Anarchist Moment; Anarchy, Geography, Modernity; and Between Earth and Empire. He is director of La Terre Institute for Community and Ecology.