Reading
this collection of essays, it’s clear David Van Deusen has lived an
interesting life. To start, Van Deusen takes us on an exciting
history of his involvement in The Green Mountain Anarchist
Collective. He writes about efforts against racist group The
Minutemen, daily struggles of organization and introduces the
question of violence and non-violence used as a tactic and strategy,
a topic he goes in to in more detail later in the book. Reading the
first chapter on the history of Van Deusen and the collective he was
part of does intrigue the reader to get stuck in to the book. It
intrigues as you build a mental image of the man in your head and
after the opening stories, you want to know what else he has been
part of. Although the title may suggest more enjoyment for people
familiar with the northeast of the USA, the book still has lots to
offer those who are not. The second set of essays focuses on Theory,
including two great reads The Rise of Capitalism and
Authoritarian Communism as An Incomplete Resistance. These two
essays are written with pace and vigor sometimes lacking in other
parts of the book. Some of the essays are so crammed with theories
and ideas, I needed a rest between them to let it sink in. A nice
touch here: Van Deusen intersperses the theories with song lyrics
from the Who, the Clash, Public Enemy and many others; this helps the
reader to digest the previous essay and get ready for the next.
Van
Deusen describes some comprehensive tactics he has used in
demonstrations; this chapter is extreme and makes you wish there were
more Anarchists organizing themselves as he suggests. Although this
section was first published in 2000, it’s still relevant and
hopefully some folk will take note. He even compares the tactics of
the US Army to what can be used on the streets. For your information,
if there are over 1000 of you hitting the streets, keep a reserve of
about 300. This chapter has over 20 essays and ends with an account
of a huge organized demonstration being postponed when the World
Trade Center was attacked in September 2001.
The
forth chapter has essays under the heading Organization. There are
more stories from Van Deusen’s experiences; by this point you
realize the guy has done a fair bit. He explores workers’ councils
and unions and looks at the difference between talking about them
being valuable and the reality of starting one. Reading about bosses
intimidating workers and capitalism generally making lives unhappy
rings all too true of struggles around the world today.
These
ideas roll over to the following chapter, ‘Workers’. Van Deusen
writes about starting a union and strategies to help workers. This is
met with backlash from bosses who try to intimidate their workers who
join. They use different tactics to respond, claiming some victories.
It takes place in a small New England City, but the stories feel like
a microcosm of larger systems. Tactics like filling diners with
people only drinking coffee during peak dinner time do get a message
across. It doesn’t feel like this is being mirrored around the
world and, on the grander scale, if only a few people boycott
companies like Nestle, Amazon etc., the bosses will continue to
exploit. But without a few people like Van Deusen getting things
going, of course it would be even worse.
The
final chapters of this book talk about the 2007 secession from
Vermont and a story about a road trip to New Orleans. Van Deusen
visits to assist/witness the aftermath of Katrina’s destruction in
2005. A nice end to the book, a good one to read if you need to
refresh the idea that ACAB.
Anarchists
need to communicate and organize themselves, this book is a healthy
read to assist in communication across countries. What has happened
and been tried in Vermont can help someone in China. Anarchists will
certainly find interest in some of these essays and groups can learn
from what has worked and what hasn’t for Van Deusen. There are many
points which can lead to interesting discussion in established
groups, organizers of radical events and new budding Anarchists. If
completely new to Anarchism, this book may not be an ideal starting
point; in parts it is quite heavy. To someone well read on the topic,
there are certainly many essays that can coax progressive ways of
thinking about Anarchy.
Although
Van Deusen is yet to have influenced as many as Bernie Sanders in
Vermont; let's hope this book encourages a few more in to direct
action. Now the planet is on the verge of collapse, politicians have
lost their people's faith more than ever before and the Alt-right are
gaining a voice, maybe it’s time to learn from Van Deusen more than
ever.
Hopefully
this quote from Jeff Jones, writer of the foreword, will give you an
idea about the author and how the book is written:
“David
[Van Deusen] identifies as a revolutionary: that is, he believes in
and works for a complete transformation of our society as presently
constituted. What's more, he believes this transformation is
possible.”
Let’s
do it!■
Nik Ray occasionally reviews books for magazines. He lives in South East Asia with his partner and kids, working when he has to. He reads too.
On Anarchism: Dispatches from the People’s Republic of Vermont by David Van Deusen / Algora Publishing, 2017