Anarchy in the Age of Dinosaurs

by Curious George Brigade

Anarchy in the Age of Dinosaurs is a book written by the Curious George Brigade, an anarchist collective in the CrimethInc. network. About their project the collective says "By dinosaurs, we mean Capitalism, The State, Hierarchy, and the countless other guises worn by Authority. What shall come after the dinosaurs! Championing decentralization, chaos, mutual aid and butterfly-wings among other things, this book brings to life the tactics and strategies for an effective resistance against the dinosaurs today."

While the Curious George Brigade articulates an expressly anarchist vision, they do not seek to promote anarchism as an ideology. Their book begins with a short preface aptly entitled, "How I forgot the Spanish Civil War and Learned to Love Anarchy". They write that the "moment anarchy becomes capital-A Anarchism, with all the requisite platforms and narrow historical baggage, it is transformed from the activity of people into yet another stale ideology for sale on the marketplace." They describe their nonsectarian, flexible, and inclusive DIY communitarian approach as "folk anarchy... a name, however arbitrary, for an infinite multitude of actions taken to erode the constraints of authority." They believe that there "is no secret for revolution, no grand dialectic, no master theory." Revolutions "are as perpetual as the changing of the seasons."

Genres: Politics, Nonfiction, Philosophy, Anarchism

150 pages, Book

First published January 1, 2003

Reviews

[Sarina · Rating 1 out of 5]

Whew, this is bad. It's funny because this, like Ishmael, was one of the very first books that ever got me into radical politics & anarchism (anarchism, culturally speaking, being something that I'm not entirely comfortable with for myriad reasons that I wont necessarily get into here), & yet I find this book to be deeply embarrassing. My story with this book goes as such: a passing friend at the time, a kind of strangely liberal normal guy with vague leanings towards joining the military (I don't get it, either) found this at a bus stop in this fucked up neighborhood in South Sac that we both grew up in (which was certainly no hotbed of political radicals, I can vouch), covered in brown paper & markered with the title "Dinosaurs". He read it & loved it & let me borrow it. I was 18, a late bloomer into political awareness & in no way politically articulate. I was frustrated with my life & my punk friends & looking to be more engaged philosophically & ideologically. So this book lands in my lap & in a lot of ways speaks to exactly what I was looking for. Again, I was young & naive & could not see how narrow & simplistic & overwhelmingly privileged a lot of these viewpoints were. Anyways, it rocked my world, if only by alerting me to a different cultural awareness (Food Not Bombs! WOW!) & getting me on a path of looking for more, always more, & leaving this book & it's simplicity of analysis behind, thank goodness. I do not recommend this book to anyone, although I guess I'm kind of grateful for the links it made from my disconnected ass to the greater world that gave a shit the way I wanted to. Maybe it would be good for anarcho-enthusiasts who want to have an encyclopedic knowledge of contemporary anarchist theory, even if that theory only gets you a few hearty LOLs.

[Dea G. · Rating 3 out of 5]

An anthology on "folk anarchy", this book manages to be both charming and intellectually evocative. Anonymous authors from across the world take on topics as diverse as factions within anarchy, 3rd world slums as inspirations for anarchic cities, attracting people of other cultures to anarchy, joy and duty as motivational forces and the reclamation of traveler punks (as messengers and networkers). The overarching theme of the book is the danger of the mass (the dinosaur metaphor is used here)- the editors believe that a multiplicity of viewpoints, affinity groups and projects are more effective than large mobilizations and coalition-building that compromises political beliefs. If anarchy recognizes that life is divergent and chaotic, it should embrace divergence and chaos (the healthy kind!) within itself. Although this book sometimes veers close to romanticizing poverty, strong awareness of class/race privilege in many of the articles pulls it back to reality.

[Tinea · Rating 3 out of 5]

A fine zine, a long book. Singing the anarchism of the traveler-kid black blocs and squats and DIY rev of the early 00s before Miami and the Green Scare and '08 crash and all. Like CrimethInc.'s Harbinger newspaper series but in book form and a little too windy and dense. I like it because Harbinger is what moved me years ago, in high school. Give it to the kid in yr life who's ready to start a mutual aid project. But also give that kid more.

[Adam J · Rating 4 out of 5]

Good introductory book with a focus on Anarchism in urban environments. Good book to have on the bathroom shelf.

[Matt · Rating 5 out of 5]

Of course, being a collection of essays from various members of a collective, this book is a bit of a mixed bag, but it makes some really important points in articulate ways. Its overall theme, if there is one, is to critique our love of "mass" in our movements, whether rightist or leftist. It is a fair warning that such a love, even in socialist movements, leads to hierarchy, the loss of distinctiveness, placing of loyalty to the organization above the cause, and the bad sort of compromise (compromising oneself). This is why so many movements for social change just exchange one form of authoritarianism for another. Instead, it calls for "folk anarchy," voluntary, small communities that share goals and skills, but are fluid and adaptable in nature.

A quote I particularly enjoyed: "Some people will try to dissuade us, pointing out these are not revolutionary times. There is no such thing as revolutionary times. Time does not rule us: we create the times, revolutionary or not. When we break free from our chains of routine and hierarchy, the times are revolutionary... One of the challenges we face is to transform a society of passive consumers into active and creative participants in their own futures, by any means necessary." (p. 133, 127)

[Ryan Mishap · Rating 4 out of 5]

Here we have a wonderful little book, and I know you’re saying, “Jeez, not another anarchist book delineating a new flavor of the month anarchy while offering yet more critiques!” Sure, I grow weary of boring books, ever more staid papers, but this book is different. Try a blurb I’ll make up right now: “Refreshing, smart, serious, humorous, and spirited—all are words that can describe this book as the Brigade gets down to the dirty living anarchy-as-a-way-of-life and tackles the politics and effectiveness or mass-based movements (left, more left, current, right, or anarchist) and argues for folk anarchy.” Well, okay , not bad, but, if you’re an anarchist, you should read this book regardless of whether you agree with every part of it. You communists, socialist, New Lefties, and those merely interested in the subject of anarchy should read it, too.

[David · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is one of my favorite books on anarchism, extolling the virtues of not an dry, dead academic theory but a vibrant "folk anarchy" arising from the mutual aid evident in daily life since before the days of nation-states. Fun, funny, practical at times and definitely thought-provoking, if you can get a copy of the book, it's worth your time.

Seized and destroyed by the FBI in 2009-- so you know it's good!

[Ruger · Rating 2 out of 5]

nice cover art-- the "SFPD paid terrorist" stencil which can be found on the back cover of this book is from a sidewalk in the north mission (approx 14th and guerrero) that passes in front of what may still be the bearded lady truckstop- the street art is the high point of this book

[Drym · Rating 2 out of 5]

I find it funny how i bought this book at some book fair i went to with my class when i was in the 9th grade when i was barely interested in politics not to mention anarchy. The word sounded hip so i was like hey maybe it's interestintg. Read it, liked it, forgot about it. And years later now that i'm interested in politics and consider myself a leftist i randomly found it in my house again and decided to re-read it. Suprisingly i i didn't like it the second time. The writing is repetitive and boring, i had to push myself through reading many parts, the text is too western oriented so it's hard for me to use it as some guide for activism or whatever (except for DIY and FNB), in general i think mostly because of the way they're worded i found the concepts and ideas the writers presented too simplistic and unrealistic. Overall, i would probably recommend it to someone who just wants to see a different point of view on modern anarchism, but for basic understanding of anarchism and its history it's not the book to-go.

[Adam · Rating 5 out of 5]

A great little book on practical wisdom for anarchists. Absolutely loved it.

[Mitchell Stern · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book’s analogies are imperfect but overall the book provides a compelling critique of modern anarchist praxis and manages to outline potential alternatives without insisting on one of them.

[LaanSiBB]

Anarchists are usually labelled as pure distrust for power while becoming the power itself. I do not deny this approach of understanding, but we must take into the core of fighting for autonomy, where many of us are ashamed to admit our effortless fight. It is still the unequal world that we live in, working as the privileged group, so my take it so creates platforms for all participations, and mock ourselves of passively mocking the intention that we do not translate.

[Stephen Kelly · Rating 3 out of 5]

There's an insistent anti-intellectualism on every page of this book that turned me off. It came across as being defensive rather than purposeful. The dinosaur metaphor is used to make some painfully bad puns, and a lot of what is advocated here seems either nebulous or lacking in nuance.

Nevertheless, there are some thoughtful and encouraging ideas scattered throughout this book, and the more concrete narratives about community and anarchy-in-action envision a positive way of reimagining the world. The illustrations are also pretty awesome.

[Chris · Rating 2 out of 5]

I picked up this book at a convention a few years ago after meeting one of the publishers during her talk on an unrelated subject. I liked the press and some of their ideas and bought a half dozen or so books from them. I started this at the time and have had the hardest time working my way through it. I have a number of friends in anarchist circles, and have a bit of an academic fascination with various more fringe political movements, particularly as they relate to identity and rethinking social structures. About 10% of the writing is great, but the bulk of it is repetitive, and spent far more justifying anarchism in a world of capitalism, or explaining why anarchist meetings aren't actually as bad as you think they are, than it does providing information about anarchy. Unfortunately the authors are almost all anonymous, because I'd love to read more by the few that seemed to have something interesting to say.

[Brimate · Rating 4 out of 5]

this is the first and only crimethinc book i've read. it's a good compilation of essays about various topics. i don't see what all the hullaballo about crimethinc is. i have friends who hate crimethinc (i think most happen to be syndicalists so go figure). and friends who like crimethinc. i didn't have a problem with this book. maybe i should read more of their stuff.

[Fellini · Rating 3 out of 5]

Я совершенно иначе думала об анархии и анархистах до прочтения этой книги. Но, кажется, основные принципы народной анархии мне близки. DIY, децентрализация, автономность, взаимовыручка... Теории прекрасны, но вопросы их практического воплощения в книжке аккуратно обходятся.

[HeavyReader · Rating 3 out of 5]

This book was published by one of the many groups using the CrimethINC moniker. It made some interesting points, but I honestly don't remember anything specific about it.

[Justin Stepney · Rating 5 out of 5]

this started off ok to me then got better and better and better. the ways they presented their ideas are just great and feel new & fresh and you wish u had more to read.

[andrea · Rating 3 out of 5]

Anarchy in the Age of Dinosaurs by the curious george brigade (2003)

[Patrick · Rating 2 out of 5]

more of the same from crimethink...everything big is evil. do your own thang. all the old "isms" are useless. at times funny but mostly just frustrating.

[ػᶈᶏϾӗ]

Classic.