Now and After: The ABC of Communist Anarchism

Book excerpt: Now and After: The ABC of Communist Anarchism is an introduction to the principles of anarchism and anarchist communism written by Alexander Berkman. The anarchist movement was under siege during the 1920s and, in an effort to revive the movement, the Jewish Anarchist Federation in New York asked Berkman to write an introduction to anarchism intended for the general public. By presenting the principles of anarchism in plain language, the New York anarchists hoped that readers might be swayed to support the movement or, at a minimum, that the book might improve the image of anarchism and anarchists in the public's eyes. Berkman's work explains anarchist philosophy in terms that uninitiated readers can understand. Because of its presentation of anarchist philosophy in plain language, Now and After has become one of the best-known introductions to anarchism in print.