No Gods, No Masters

Anarchy is often used as a synonym for chaos and destruction — with anarchists seen as black-clad nihilists fomenting violence at peaceful protests. But NO GODS NO MASTERS reveals the far more complex history of a viable social system and the men and women who devoted themselves to making it a reality. Part One: The Passion for Destruction (1840—1906) Part one explores how anarchism emerged from the horrendous social conditions facing workers at a time when industrialization was, paradoxically, providing better hygiene and social standards for the upper class. Tracing the history of early anarchist thought Pierre-Joseph Proudhon, who declared that property was theft, to the official declaration of Anarchist principals at the first International, held in Switzerland in 1872. Part Two: Land and Freedom (1907—1921) LAND AND FREEDOM looks at differing strains within the anarchist movement during the peak of its popularity — when it seemed, for a time, that the dream of anarchist revolution might come to pass. Part Three: In Memory of the Vanquished (1922—1945) Part three traces the appropriation of anarchism by communists and of anarchist symbolism by European fascists. This turbulent period left anarchists in disarray, with nowhere to turn politically as WWII loomed. The old anarchism was doomed, but will a new form arise?