Bob Black (anarchist)
Bob Black | |
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Black in 2011 | |
| Born | January 4, 1951 |
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Robert Charles Black Jr. (born January 4, 1951) is an American anarchist best known for his 1985 essay "The Abolition of Work". He is often identified as a post-leftist anarchist, having coined the term itself.
Early life and education
Robert Charles Black Jr.[1] was born on January 4, 1951 in Detroit, Michigan and attended the Oak Park High School until 1969.[2] He graduated with a Bachelor of Arts from the University of Michigan in 1973, a Master of Arts (MA) in Jurisprudence and Social Policy from the University of California, Berkeley in 1984, an MA in Criminal Justice from the University at Albany, SUNY in 1992, and a Master of Laws in Criminal Law from the University at Buffalo in 2005.[3]
Writings
"The Abolition of Work" (1985)
Black is best known for his 1985 essay "The Abolition of Work"[4] which demands the abolition of work on the argument that it inherently causes suffering.[5] In this widely read and influential essay,[6] Black defines work as "forced labor, that is, compulsory production"[7] and presents an alternative social system where such work is instead turned into "play" that would generate "production of use-values" through "delightful play-activity".[8] In this book Black also advocates left-wing accelerationism.[9]
Rants and Incendiary Tracts (1989)
Alongside Adam Parfrey, Black edited the anthology volume Rants and Incendiary Tracts in 1989, published by Amok Press and Loompanics Unlimited.[10] Rants is an anthology book of "rants", with chapters sourced from numerous sources by different authors. The book includes writers of a variety of ideologies,[11] including from many left-wing and anarchist writers as well as far-right writers. By 1994, Black had denounced his co-editor Parfrey as "a pissant hustler, a liar, and a thief".[12]
Anarchy after Leftism (1997)
Black is believed to have coined the term "post-left anarchism" (or post-leftism) in his book Anarchy after Leftism,[4] which focuses primarily on critiquing the ideas of Murray Bookchin. In opposition to what Bookchin presents as "social anarchism", Black accuses him of using Marxist arguments and attempting a hierarchical system incompatible with anarchist principles.[13] Instead, Black advocates a post-leftist form of anarchism which rejects left-wing politics broadly and even ideology itself. The book is often considered a seminal work of post-leftism and Black a key defender of post-leftist anarchism.[14]
Bibliography
- Black, Bob (1986). The Abolition of Work and Other Essays. Foreword by Ed Lawrence; Introduction by Ivan Stang. Port Townsend, WA: Loompanics Unlimited. ISBN 978-0-915179-41-1.
- ——; Parfrey, Adam, eds. (1989). Rants and Incendiary Tracts. New York, NY: Amok Press/Loompanics Unlimited. ISBN 978-0-941693-03-5.
- —— (1994). Beneath the Underground. Foreword by Kirby Olson. Portland, OR: Feral House. ISBN 978-0-922915-21-7.
- —— (1997). Anarchy after Leftism. Albany, NY: Columbia Alternative Library Press. ISBN 978-1-890532-00-0.
- —— (2012). Defacing the Currency: Selected Writings 1992-2012. Berkeley, CA: LBC Books. ISBN 978-1-62049-013-6.
References
- ^ Black 1992, p. 96.
- ^ Black 1992, pp. 109–110.
- ^ Wilson & Kinna 2012, pp. 332–333.
- ^ a b Wilson & Kinna 2012, p. 333.
- ^ Forde, Elaine (October 15, 2020). Living Off-Grid in Wales: Eco-Villages in Policy and Practice. Cardiff: University of Wales Press. p. 50. ISBN 978-1-78683-659-5.
- ^ Kinna, Ruth (October 29, 2013). "Anarchism". Oxford Bibliographies Online. Oxford: Oxford University Press. doi:10.1093/obo/9780199756384-0059. ISBN 978-0-19-975638-4. Retrieved February 2, 2026.
- ^ Cholbi, Michael (2023). "Philosophical Approaches to Work and Labor". In Zalta, Edward N.; Nodelman, Uri (eds.). The Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy (Summer 2023 ed.). Metaphysics Research Lab, Stanford University. Retrieved February 2, 2026.
- ^ Sandoval 2018, p. 5.
- ^ Fedorchenko, Mikhail (2021). Maguhn, Artemiy (ed.). "Посттруд и технологии в пределах посткапитализма: реактуализируя онтологии левого акселерационизма" (PDF). Lomonosov Conference (in Russian). Lomonosov State University: 2.
- ^ Datlow, Ellen; Windling, Terri, eds. (1990). The Year's Best Fantasy and Horror: Third Annual Collection. New York: St. Martin's Press. p. xl. ISBN 978-0-312-04450-3.
- ^ Oldfield, Paul (May 20, 1989). "Immedia: Mouths Almighty". Melody Maker. Vol. 65, no. 20. London. p. 50. ISSN 0025-9012.
- ^ Sunshine, Spencer (2024). Neo-Nazi Terrorism and Countercultural Fascism: The Origins and Afterlife of James Mason's Siege. New York: Routledge. pp. 214, 226. ISBN 978-0-429-57601-0.
- ^ Firth 2019, p. 501.
- ^ Curran, G. (October 31, 2006). 21st Century Dissent: Anarchism, Anti-Globalization and Environmentalism. Springer. p. 33. ISBN 978-0-230-80084-7.
Bibliography
- Black, Bob (1992). Friendly Fire. Brooklyn, New York: Autonomedia. ISBN 978-0-936756-89-9. OCLC 1149183159. OL 8413875M.
- Levy, Carl; Adams, Matthew S., eds. (2019). The Palgrave Handbook of Anarchism. Cham: Springer International Publishing. doi:10.1007/978-3-319-75620-2. ISBN 978-3-319-75619-6.
- Firth, Rhiannon. "Utopianism and Intentional Communities". In Levy & Adams (2019), pp. 491–510.
- Sandoval, Marisol (April 2018). "From passionate labour to compassionate work: Cultural co-ops, do what you love and social change". European Journal of Cultural Studies. 21 (2): 113–129. doi:10.1177/1367549417719011. ISSN 1367-5494.
- Wilson, Matthew; Kinna, Ruth (June 28, 2012). "Key Terms". In Kinna, Ruth (ed.). The Bloomsbury Companion to Anarchism. Bloomsbury Publishing USA. ISBN 978-1-4411-4270-2.