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ABSTRACT:
In ordinary language, a ghost writer is someone who stands behind or writes on behalf of a named author. In dubbing George Woodcock the ghost writer of anarchism we instead want to suggest that Woodcock identified anarchism's 'essence' or, as Stirner has it, 'the spirit that walks in everything'.2 After considering the evolution of Anarchism in the context of Woodcock's political activism we discuss Woodcock's contribution to the construction of the anarchist canon and his treatment of anarchism's 'essence'.
Keywords: Woodcock, anarchism, canon,
INTRODUCTION
Anarchists have never been backwards in coming forwards with accounts of their doctrines. Notable contributions include Wilson's Anarchism (1884), Malatesta's A Talk About Anarchist Communism Between Two Workers, Voltairine de Cleyre's Why I am an Anarchist, Berkman's The ABC of Anarchism (1929), Rocker's Anarchism and Anarcho-Syndicalism (1948) Goldman's Anarchism: What it Really Stands For (1911) Guérin's Anarchism (1965), Walter's About Anarchism (1969), Meltzer and Christie's The Floodgates of Anarchy (1970), Milstein's Anarchism and Its Aspirations (2010). Yet Woodcock's book, first published in March 1962 has endured. Nicolas Walter believed that Anarchism was 'the most widely read book on the subject' guessing that it had 'introduced more people to anarchism than any single publication.'3 In the foreword to his own introductory text, Colin Ward similarly described Anarchism as 'probably the most widely read book on the subject in the world'.4
That Anarchism eclipsed all the alternative introductions is perhaps not surprising. Woodcock's literary connections helped him secure Penguin's interest, even before the American edition had had time to establish a reputation. Taken under Penguin's wing the book found an international readership and a global distribution network. Translated into countless languages, it remains in the (bottom half) of top 100 book on anarchism, according to Amazon UK rankings, and notwithstanding anarchism's rich literary heritage it was for many years the standard reference for anarchist scholarship.5 Its significance for both '60s radicals, and for the generations who followed is neatly summarised by Jeremy Jennings. He also provides what was - at least until recently - a familar categorisation of key texts. There is Anarchism 'the standard text on the history of anarchism' and then there are other works. Jennings mentions Peter Marshall, James Joll and others.6
Text-book introductions to anarchism not only...