The Encyclopedia of Strikes in American History. Ed by Aaron Brenner, Benjamin Day, and Immanuel Ness. M.E. Sharpe, Armonk, New York [etc.] 2009. xxxix, 750 pp. Ill. $175.00

Content Provider	Semantic Scholar
Author	Brenner, Athalya Day, Benjamin
Copyright Year	2010
Abstract	theory, questions about the institutionalization of rules, the internalization of norms, and self-censorship are not just unresolved, they are sidestepped and the authors turn to history to bolster their position. It seems that there is no evidence that syndicalism was ever troubled with problems of dissent, coercion or internal oppression. ‘‘Abstract’’ thinkers like Voline who suggested otherwise were simply mistaken and anyway lacked a sense of social responsibility (p. 261). A similar strategy is used in the discussion of feminism. Distancing themselves from ‘‘anarchist’’ and ‘‘anarcha-feminism’’, Schmidt and Van der Walt resurrect the idea of class–gender priority which became the mainstay of socialist/Marxist feminism in the 1970s. The ‘‘struggle for women’s rights was part of the larger class struggle’’ (p. 298). In this frame, Proudhon’s misogyny is only another indication that he fell outside the broad tradition, and although there is no discussion of patriarchy or radical feminism and gender is treated in narrowly heterosexual terms, movement history indicates a consistent commitment to feminism. Black Flame is an important book which brilliantly synthesizes the histories of a set of movements which are still largely neglected. The disappointment of the book is the rigidity of the claims it makes about those movements: the equally rich history of cultural experimentation, disobedience, and protest is unreasonably and unnecessarily marginalized. The book formalizes a boundary between anarchists and others which is troubling. At one point the authors consider the problems that Tolstoyans might pose for syndicalist organizations (!). To extend membership to these non-anarchists, they argue, would compromise and undermine the class struggle (p. 246). Perhaps. But this worry points to a peculiar idea of prefiguration or an overly optimistic view about social homogeneity and the unwillingness to regard anyone but fellow syndicalists as anarchist looks sectarian. Schmidt and Van der Walt say there are not dismissive of non-syndicalist antiauthoritarian traditions and that their purpose is better to understand them (p. 19). Yet having first defined the outside, they end up recommending bone fide anarchist organizations to exclude and ignore it. There is seemingly no need to negotiate disagreements. This sets up a political problem which is unlikely to be resolved except by declarations of heresy and the use of force. Whilst the history of the movements that the authors outline is inspiring and empowering, their positioning creates a palpable sense of powerlessness for those who don’t tick the right definitional boxes. Schmidt and Van der Walt say that they want to encourage debate (p. 27), but this requires that the arguments of opponents are taken seriously and engaged with – not sidelined. In seeking to recover a forgotten history, they seem to have lost sight of this.
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