Welcome to "a libertarian labyrinth." This network of pages and links has been designed as a open-ended site for gathering, archiving, organizing and interpreting historical material related to "anarchism" in its various forms. Current historical accounts--such as the division of the anarchist movement into "social" and "lifestyle" camps--only serve to obscure both historical and present diversity among anarchists and related libertarian types. And that denial of real diversity stands in the way of the thorough mutual and self-understanding that is going to be necessary if those truly concerned with liberty are to develop the social and political networks necessary to make real changes in our societies.
A concern with the minute details of history may seem out of step with the desire to move forward and change things. The old line about "those who don't know history" may or may not be correct, but it seems clear enough that there is plenty tucked away on dusty shelves that might instruct or inspire us as we move on. What you can expect to find here is fascinating people, forgotten movements, political linkages that are simply off our current political maps, and historical facts which challenge the touted inevitability of various current affairs. The goal is not to show capital-H History--of a Hegelian, Marxian or Fukayamaian variety--in its role as foolproof indication of the Road to Revolution. Neither will you find "The Answer" to the question of the proper nature and history of anarchism. History appears to be less accomodating, and a lot more fun, than many of its promoters have claimed.
Because the project begins from a concern with what is left out of more conventional accounts, it undoubtedly suffers from its own peculiarities and blind spots. There is, perhaps, too much of the truly marginal and too little, at this stage, of the mainstream. Hopefully, time and labor will improve that balance--the same time and labor that will eventually transform this spotty collection of texts, bibliographies, notes and timelines into something more substantive.