Peter Gelderloos Books

The book critiques the effectiveness of governmental responses to the climate crisis, asserting they are fundamentally flawed. It highlights grassroots movements worldwide that challenge destructive megaprojects and promote sustainable alternatives. Through interviews with activists in Venezuela, Brazil, and Indonesia, the author showcases efforts against environmental racism and for food sovereignty. These communities are actively transforming their environments, opposing harmful policies, and striving for justice, dignity, and survival in the face of systemic challenges.

In the years since the end of the Cold War many new social movements have started peacefully, only to adopt a diversity of tactics as they grew in strength and collective experiences. The last ten years have revealed more clearly than ever the role of nonviolence. Propped up by the media, funded by the government, and managed by NGOs, nonviolent campaigns around the world have helped oppressive regimes change their masks, and have helped police to limit the growth of rebellious social movements. Repeatedly losing the debate within the movements themselves, proponents of nonviolence have increasingly turned to the mainstream media and to government and institutional funding to drown out critical voices. The Failure of Nonviolence examines most of the major social upheavals following the Cold War to reveal the limits of nonviolence and uncover what a diverse, unruly, non-pacified movement can accomplish. Critical of how a diversity of tactics has functioned so far, this book discusses how movements for social change can win ground and open the spaces necessary to plant the seeds of a new world.

As the climate crisis worsens, we must look to revolutionary strategy for justice

Exploring the limitations of nonviolent strategies, this book critically examines how such approaches can hinder social movements. It delves into historical examples, highlighting instances where nonviolence may have fallen short in achieving meaningful change. By analyzing the dynamics of power and resistance, the author encourages a re-evaluation of tactics used in activism, suggesting that a more nuanced understanding of conflict is essential for effective social justice efforts. The work aims to inspire activists to consider alternative methods for creating impactful movements.

In a new study of politogenesis state formation that will shake up the status quo, Peter Gelderloos cuts through inadequate theories of state-formation on both the right and the left to offer a new and innovative analysis that is as useful to academic theorists as it is to anarchists seeking to dismantle the institution. Where did the state come from? Where is it going? Worshiping Power discusses the answers given by historical materialism, geographical determinism and primitivism, showing that there are major problems with all of them.

Peter Gelderloos argumentiert, dass internationale Regierungen strukturell unfähig sind, die Klimakrise zu bewältigen. Er zeigt jedoch Hoffnung durch globale Graswurzelbewegungen, die sich gegen neokoloniale Projekte und für eine ökologische Wende einsetzen. Gelderloos interviewt Aktivist*innen aus verschiedenen Ländern, die erfolgreiche ökologische Kämpfe führen.

„Něco takového by nikdy nefungovalo,“ namítají lidé, když slyší o anarchistickém pojetí společnosti. Anarchie je pro ně utopický ideál, který nemá šanci přežít; často si ji představují jako chaos, kde jedinec uspokojuje své potřeby násilím. Peter Gelderloos ve své knize tvrdí, že se mýlí. Přináší desítky příkladů z historie i současnosti, z různých koutů světa, a ukazuje, že anarchie, tedy uspořádání bez autorit a hierarchií, je funkční a přirozené. Anarchie je systém, z něhož lidstvo vzešlo a ve kterém by dnes mohlo prosperovat, kdyby nebylo násilím nebo podvodem připraveno. Tento systém se také nejlépe vypořádává s dnešními problémy, jako jsou chudoba, nerovnost a devastace životního prostředí. Kniha je historickým exkurzem po různých podobách anarchie a slouží jako praktický návod pro ty, kteří si uvědomují neudržitelný stav světa a chtějí s tím něco dělat. Gelderloos povzbuzuje čtenáře, aby se za své zoufalství a vztek nestyděli – naopak, mají právo usilovat o to, co je pro člověka přirozené a co bylo bezostyšně ukradeno.