“Means and Ends”: Zoe Baker on Historical Anarchist Tensions, Practice, and Action

On this episode of the It’s Going Down podcast, we again speak with anarchist historian, YouTuber, and libertarian socialist philosopher Zoe Baker about her new book, Means and Ends: The Revolutionary Practice of Anarchism in Europe and the United States, published by AK Press.

In many ways, the book takes off from our previous discussion on anarchist history, and talks about how anarchism became a mass movement in the late 1800s, faced repression from the State, and worked to participate in social movements and struggles that reflected its anti-authoritarian and anti-capitalist principles.

During our discussion we talk about how the historical anarchist movement approached questions of organization, action, reform, movement building, distributing ideas, State socialism, trade unions, and beyond. Note, the scope of this historical overview is limited, and we encourage readers to check out Non-Western Anarchisms: Rethinking the Global Context.

More Info: Zoe Baker on Youtube, Means and Ends on AK Press, “Lessons from Anarchist History” podcast with IGD.

Music: Lee Brickley, Anna’s Song