DaN McKee

DaN McKee is an anarchist, atheist, punk rock teacher of philosophy and religion who lives in the West Midlands with his wife, his cat, and way too many books. He is the author of "Anarchist, Atheist, Punk Rock Teacher: A Memoir of Struggle, Grief, Philosophy and Hope" and "Authentic Democracy: An Ethical Justification of Anarchism". He teaches Philosophy and Religious Studies to 11-18 year olds in a thinly veiled attempt to subvert the system from within and nudge the next generation into becoming more critical thinkers and has published academic philosophy papers on anarchism, education, punishment, and punk. Back in the day, when he wasn't writing angry political columns for UK 'zines Scanner, Fracture, and Mass Movement, he was bassist and singer/songwriter in UK punk bands Academy Morticians and Bullet of Diplomacy. These days he releases music under the name Strangely Shaped By Fathers and saves his angry political columns for his two websites: Philosophy Unleashed and EverythingDaNMcKee.

"Dan McKee offers an engaging and accessible case for anarchism, deeply rooted in ethics and powerfully responding to conventional defences of authority. This book is an original and valuable contribution which deserves a wide audience." - Uri Gordon, author of "Anarchy Alive!"

“This is a highly readable and provocative book. Its author works within the best traditions of normative political theory, posing questions about what political structures and institutions are for and whether our current systems are the best we can come up with. The discussion combines an insightful survey of the familiar versions of contract theory that have been used to justify the state, with an account of the material conditions necessary to ensure a liveable human life, and a trenchant critique of the reality of life in contemporary capitalist societies. The conclusion, that only anarchism - as a federated, fully active and participatory democratic system - can meet the minimal ethical obligation of preventing unnecessary human suffering, will perhaps be an uncomfortable one for readers whose response to contemporary concerns about “the crisis of democracy” has been to argue for more, not less, state power. It deserves to be read, both for its challenges to conventional narratives about the normative desirability and practical inevitability of representative democratic states, and for its contribution to the project of dispelling some common misunderstandings about what anarchism means and what it can offer.” – Judith Suissa, Professor of Philosophy of Education, UCL Institute of Education, author of "Anarchism and Education"

"Standing in the analytic political philosophical tradition of Paul McLaughlin, Magda Egoumenides and Robert P. Wolff, Dan McKee's accessible, thoughtful and expansive text carefully undermines liberal justifications for state power and defends an anarchistic egalitarian ethic. This book makes a valuable contribution to this discipline, summarising and critiquing traditional arguments and providing provocative arguments for anti-capitalism and anti-statism." - Benjamin Franks, Senior Lecturer in Social and Political Philosophy, University of Glasgow, author of "Anarchisms, Postanarchisms and Ethics"