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Living at the Edges of Capitalism: Adventures in Exile and Mutual Aid
Since the earliest development of states, groups of people escaped or were exiled. As capitalism developed, people tried to escape capitalist constraints connected with state control. This powerful book gives voice to three communities living at the edges of Cossacks on the Don River in Russia; Zapatistas in Chiapas, Mexico; and prisoners in long-term isolation since the 1970s. Inspired by their experiences visiting Cossacks, living with the Zapatistas, and developing connections and relationships with prisoners and ex-prisoners, Andrej Grubacic and Denis O’Hearn present a uniquely sweeping, historical, and systematic study of exilic communities engaged in mutual aid.
Following the tradition of Peter Kropotkin, Pierre Clastres, James Scott, Fernand Braudel and Imanuel Wallerstein, this study examines the full historical and contemporary possibilities for establishing self-governing communities at the edges of the capitalist world-system, considering the historical forces that often militate against those who try to practice mutual aid in the face of state power and capitalist incursion.
Following the tradition of Peter Kropotkin, Pierre Clastres, James Scott, Fernand Braudel and Imanuel Wallerstein, this study examines the full historical and contemporary possibilities for establishing self-governing communities at the edges of the capitalist world-system, considering the historical forces that often militate against those who try to practice mutual aid in the face of state power and capitalist incursion.
336 pages, Paperback
Published April 19, 2016
620 people want to read
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Displaying 1 - 5 of 5 reviews
May 15, 2020
Grubačić and O'Hearn do a great job both in terms of the theoretical foundation of their work, in basing their analysis of exilic communities on world-systems theory and comprising viewpoints and theories from Krpotking to Polanyi to Braudel to Foucault and looking at research done by the likes of Scott, Clastres or Zibechi and also the theoretical triad of exit, voice, loyalty borrowed from Hirschman.
Furthermore, the approach to the case studies of the Cossacks, Zapatistas and prisoners in tailoring the development of mutual aid and autonomous practices to their theoretical model is well executed and flows coherently in displaying the various in-group dynamics, the relation to state and the consequences of said relationship.
Their chapter on prisoners is extremely well researched and was definitely the highlight of the book, a great display of solidarity and mutual aid in the most harshest of (artificial) surroundings and a wonderful symbolic metaphor to our society in the grips of neoliberal capitalism and the potentialities to resists and dangers of our confinement into it.
There are some parts where some elaboration and details was missing and the book could have used another hundred or so pages with more depth, likewise I was surprised Rojava was not included in the case studies, considering the conflicting role of the Syrian state and outside civil society in relation to the Kurdish struggle.
Furthermore, the approach to the case studies of the Cossacks, Zapatistas and prisoners in tailoring the development of mutual aid and autonomous practices to their theoretical model is well executed and flows coherently in displaying the various in-group dynamics, the relation to state and the consequences of said relationship.
Their chapter on prisoners is extremely well researched and was definitely the highlight of the book, a great display of solidarity and mutual aid in the most harshest of (artificial) surroundings and a wonderful symbolic metaphor to our society in the grips of neoliberal capitalism and the potentialities to resists and dangers of our confinement into it.
There are some parts where some elaboration and details was missing and the book could have used another hundred or so pages with more depth, likewise I was surprised Rojava was not included in the case studies, considering the conflicting role of the Syrian state and outside civil society in relation to the Kurdish struggle.
May 19, 2025
This is one of the most rigorous and generous examinations of radical possibility I’ve read. Not a utopian manifesto, but a grounded anthropology of how autonomy is lived, maintained, and eroded under the integrative pressures of the state-capitalist world system. It doesn’t romanticize escape; it inventories it.
Grubačić and O’Hearn refuse the usual binaries that flatten our understanding of anti-systemic space. State versus non-state, inside versus outside—these are too blunt to describe the political and social textures at play. What we get instead is a blend of anthropology and world-systems theory, offering a historicized look at communities that have resisted or sidestepped incorporation into global capitalism. It updates James C. Scott’s work while also pushing back against some of its totalizing claims. Where Scott sees the disappearance of “first contact” as the end of refuge, this book insists there are still “black holes” in world time—zones of autonomy that persist even under immense pressure.
The case studies—Don Cossacks, Zapatistas, 1970s IRA prisoners—are not portrayed as flawless heroes. They are subjects caught in real tensions, navigating the political and material costs of exile. The book asks the serious questions: What opened the door to escape? What closed it? What pressures led to collapse or endurance? Nothing is flattened or idealized.
Subjectivity is treated as contested ground too. As political conditions shift, so do the ways people imagine themselves and their possibilities. Some subjectivities move toward solidarity and mutual aid. Others drift toward individualism and isolation. These shifts aren’t static. They’re as fluid and contingent as the world-system itself.
The brilliance of the book lies in its refusal to flinch. It names the resource traps, the structural flaws of autonomous formations, the ways states use welfare as counter-insurgency, how globalization reshapes domestic priorities. It doesn’t shy away from complexity. It insists on it. The book is steeped in the messy, historically specific conditions that both enable and foreclose the work of refusal.
This isn’t a speculative text. It’s a serious exploration of what actually exists, what’s been tried, what’s endured, and what’s collapsed. It’s one of the most intellectually honest accounts of spatial rebellion I’ve come across. The framework in the opening chapter alone is worth the price.
Grubačić and O’Hearn refuse the usual binaries that flatten our understanding of anti-systemic space. State versus non-state, inside versus outside—these are too blunt to describe the political and social textures at play. What we get instead is a blend of anthropology and world-systems theory, offering a historicized look at communities that have resisted or sidestepped incorporation into global capitalism. It updates James C. Scott’s work while also pushing back against some of its totalizing claims. Where Scott sees the disappearance of “first contact” as the end of refuge, this book insists there are still “black holes” in world time—zones of autonomy that persist even under immense pressure.
The case studies—Don Cossacks, Zapatistas, 1970s IRA prisoners—are not portrayed as flawless heroes. They are subjects caught in real tensions, navigating the political and material costs of exile. The book asks the serious questions: What opened the door to escape? What closed it? What pressures led to collapse or endurance? Nothing is flattened or idealized.
Subjectivity is treated as contested ground too. As political conditions shift, so do the ways people imagine themselves and their possibilities. Some subjectivities move toward solidarity and mutual aid. Others drift toward individualism and isolation. These shifts aren’t static. They’re as fluid and contingent as the world-system itself.
The brilliance of the book lies in its refusal to flinch. It names the resource traps, the structural flaws of autonomous formations, the ways states use welfare as counter-insurgency, how globalization reshapes domestic priorities. It doesn’t shy away from complexity. It insists on it. The book is steeped in the messy, historically specific conditions that both enable and foreclose the work of refusal.
This isn’t a speculative text. It’s a serious exploration of what actually exists, what’s been tried, what’s endured, and what’s collapsed. It’s one of the most intellectually honest accounts of spatial rebellion I’ve come across. The framework in the opening chapter alone is worth the price.
September 2, 2016
This book is awesome! The theoretical framework regarding exilic, non-state spaces was very compelling, and the case studies on the Cossacks, Zapatistas, and prisoners very excellent! Extremely highly recommended!
January 9, 2021
Critical and hopeful 🙂
July 6, 2016
Andrej and Denis have managed to accomplish something spectacular here - they propose a new means of understanding societies that live outside and against hegemonic systems in a way that opens up new possibilities for understanding anarchist or revolutionary futures. Some of the language is accessible to those outside the academy, yet it is also deeply embedded in sociological theory and practice.
I would especially recommend this book to anthropology, history, and sociology students from upper division undergraduate to the graduate level with an interest in social justice. As well, it would be a useful text for practicing social scientists to expand their perspective on the possibilities of antisystemic movements and mutual aid.
I would especially recommend this book to anthropology, history, and sociology students from upper division undergraduate to the graduate level with an interest in social justice. As well, it would be a useful text for practicing social scientists to expand their perspective on the possibilities of antisystemic movements and mutual aid.
Displaying 1 - 5 of 5 reviews