Paperback, 296 pages
English language
Published Jan. 16, 2007 by Kessinger Publishing, LLC.
Peter Kropotkin's "The Conquest of Bread", along with his "Fields Factories and Workshops" was the result of his extensive research into industrial and agricultural production; originally published by G. P. Putnam's Sons, New York and and London, 1906
Whereas Marx's main contribution to economics was his analysis of the commodity relationship in Capital - capitalism rather than communism - Kropotkin assesses what would need to be done, and most importantly how, in a communist society.
Now, almost 100 years later, technology and society has changed enormously, but the practical consideration Kropotkin gives to the question of production and distribution in a revolutionary society has taken on a new importance in the context of our globalised, interdependent, and resource intensive economic system.
Reread for the (sad) 100th anniversary of Kropotkin's death.
Required reading for anyone exchanging labor for wages.
I found the book quite sharp and still thought-provoking for something written a century ago. Its message is relevant as ever, as we're plunged into the dystopia of corporatism and decay by those at the top exploiting the labor force. It is radical and revolutionary and I would heartily recommend it for anyone interested in the actual meaning and nature of work and its dynamics and how societies organize and form around both labor and culture.
A classic, of course. Clear-eyed and practical, yet visionary; a a re-envisioning of a post-revolutionary society serving the needs of people from the bottom (of Maslow’s) up: first food, then shelter, then clothing, then everything else. Without the twin coercive expropriators of the capitalist and the state, there will be more than enough to create a pleasant society for all with minimal work and maximal leisure and pleasure. As a bonus, the lure of the above expropriators will be castrated because you can’t coerce and subjugate a populace whose needs are met.
Basically the introduction to anarcho-communism. A relatively short and digestible read that presents many interesting ideas but be prepared to struggle your way through pages of calculations that aim to show you that an anarchist society is possible in the late 19th century.
