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Facing off against the violent forces of the state during street protests, we form bonds and clear space for a vision of a new world. But what happens after? How can we perpetuate social revolution in our daily lives? Ingrained state logic erases ways of organizing our lives with ease and limits our horizons of resistance. It doesn’t matter if we smash the state but can’t take care of ourselves or one another. Scott Branson, author of 'Practical Anarchism: A Daily Guide', and Vicky Osterweil, author of 'In Defense of Looting', will discuss how to prepare ourselves for liberation.
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About the Speakers:
Scott Branson is a writer, teacher, organizer, and artist, author of Practical Anarchism: A Daily Guide (Pluto Press), editor of Surviving the Future: Abolitionist Queer Strategies (PM Press), translator of Guy Hocquenghem's Gay Liberation After May 68 (Duke), and co-host on The Final Straw Radio.
Vicky Osterweil is a writer and worker based in so-called Philadelphia. Her book In Defense of Looting was released in 2020, and she's working on a new book called The Extended Universe, 2024 from Haymarket.
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About the Books:
Practical Anarchism: A Daily Guide
You may not realize it, but you are probably already practicing anarchism in your daily life. From relationships to school, work, art, and even the way you organize your time, anarchism can help you find fulfillment, empathy, and liberation in the everyday. From the small questions such as 'Why should I steal?' to the big ones like 'How do I love?', Scott Branson shows that anarchism isn't only something we do when we react to the news, protest, or even riot. With practical examples enriched by history and theory, these tips will empower you to break free from the consumerist trappings of our world.
Anarchism is not just for white men, but for everyone. In reading this book, you can detach from patriarchal masculinity, norms of family, gender, sexuality, racialization, individual responsibility, and the destruction of our planet, and replace them with ideas of sustainable living, with ties of mutual aid, and the horizon of collective liberation.
In Defense of Looting: A Riotous History of Uncivil Action
A fresh argument for rioting and looting as our most powerful tools for dismantling white supremacy.
Looting — a crowd of people publicly, openly, and directly seizing goods — is one of the more extreme actions that can take place in the midst of social unrest. Even self-identified radicals distance themselves from looters, fearing that violent tactics reflect badly on the broader movement. But Vicky Osterweil argues that stealing goods and destroying property are direct, pragmatic strategies of wealth redistribution and improving life for the working class — not to mention the brazen messages these methods send to the police and the state. All our beliefs about the innate righteousness of property and ownership, Osterweil explains, are built on the history of anti-Black, anti-Indigenous oppression.
From slave revolts to labor strikes to the modern-day movements for climate change, Black lives, and police abolition, Osterweil makes a convincing case for rioting and looting as weapons that bludgeon the status quo while uplifting the poor and marginalized. In Defense of Looting is a history of violent protest sparking social change, a compelling reframing of revolutionary activism, and a practical vision for a dramatically restructured society.