Two Cheers for Anarchism

What Hacker News says

1. scarecrowbobJan 2026
   There's an excellent author named James C Scott who in (IIRC) "Two Cheers for Anarchism" explores the idea that people who are speaking to crowds understand that fundamentally they aren't "in charge" and must respond to what the crowd will accept. So he looks at how folks like MLK (in a positive manner) try different rhetorical directions while speaking with a crowd."

   I believe that it's helpful for understand what Trump and his admin do isn't merely goofin off, but rather "testing" how folks respond.

   You're correct Trump is a scoundrel (he's no friend of mine), but it's helpful to understand that this mode of wanting things both ways is a specific tool being used in specific ways.

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2. scarecrowbobJan 2025
   Well, if you want some really odd stuff, the anarchist texts "Desert" and "Against His-Tory, Against Leviathan" both point... in a way.

   James Scott will, by contrast, sound a bit more moderate. "Two Cheers for Anarchism" and "Seeing Like a State" are interesting (to me) texts.

   But really, I'd suggest more direct volunteering. I am gonna go do the 10:30p-2:30a shift at my local warming shelter tonight. Food Not Bombs has a lot of jerks in it, but a lot of those same folks are really helping people who need help.

   Doing that kind of direct work can teach you a lot, I think. More than reading, at least. You have to approach it as if you know little about the world, though.

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3. recursivedoubtsJul 2024
   Two Cheers For Anarchism was a book that challenged my priors:

   https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Two_Cheers_for_Anarchism

   I'm not an anarchist, but it's a wonderful read and includes a quote that has shaped my life ever since:

   > “One need not have an actual conspiracy to achieve the practical effects of a conspiracy. More regimes have been brought, piecemeal, to their knees by what was once called ‘Irish Democracy,’ the silent, dogged resistance, withdrawal and truculence of millions of ordinary people, than by revolutionary vanguards or rioting mobs.”

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4. AndyNemmityDec 2023
   I started reading two cheers for anarchism, and it's wonderfully written. Just wanted to say thanks for the recommendation.
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5. tgrassMay 2013
   I recommend: Two Cheers for Anarchism (Scott) and Why Things Fail (Ormerod)
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6. scarecrowbobMar 2026
   You might find it useful to distinguish between right and left libertarians.

   All my anarchist (left libertarian) friends are pretty consistently opposed to state and corporate surveillance. There is plenty of theory in a canon of literature that goes back to the mid 19th century, even as there are many subgroups and spurs off that general line of thought all with their own sets of (usually somewhat) consistent lines.

   If you want something short and brutal, I am a fan of "Desert" by anonymous, but "A Utopia of Rules" by David Graeber is not a bad thing to read and probably closer to a popular line. Or the CIA-Coded Yale academic James Scott has a lot to say, "Two Cheers for Anarchism" and "Seeing Like a State" both seem to have influenced a lot of people.

   Historically "right libertarians" (the US Libertarian political party, for instance) have been, uh, "less consistent" in their thinking, so you might have a hard time finding anything that looks like a "philosophy" in that branch of "thought". Plenty of goofy-ass ideas, but little consistency except a strange ability to begrudgingly conform to GOP politics at the end of the day.

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