An Anarchist for the Outside World

Abstract

Colin Ward, according to an obituary, ‘lived with the title of Britain’s most famous anarchist for nearly half a century’.1 There wasn’t, of course, a lot of competition and nor was this an accolade Ward claimed or sought. But by the abundance of his writing and the originality of his work, it’s certainly a soubriquet he deserved. Ward insisted that he wasn’t a theorist but a propagandist. That’s true – but not the whole story. His achievement was in adapting and modernizing the ideas of Kropotkin in particular, and in his insistence that empowering people to craft their own responses to personal, family and community needs is more fulfilling and effective than rigid, top-down planning, housing, environmental and educational approaches. Sophie Scott-Brown’s title is well chosen. Her subject found the seeds of anarchism sprouting in allotments and adventure playgrounds, amid squatters and cotters, and in enterprises where people jointly and voluntarily pursue a common social purpose. ‘I look for day-to-day anarchist solutions’, he declared (p. 226).2 Ward’s anarchism was here and now, rather than an angry growl of disaffection or a post-revolutionary nirvana.