John Rapp's new book is structured around three central claims: that the core principle of anarchism is opposition to the existence of the state, that this anarchist ideological orientation can be found (though often without the label) in many non-Western societies, and that certain key moments in Chinese history provide relevant examples of this orientation in radical Daoist philosophy and literature and in various radical dissident “Marxist” texts from the 1960s, ‘70s, and ‘80s. Rapp also suggests to Chinese activists that the time is now ripe for similar anarchist critiques of an increasingly vulnerable and unsteady Chinese state (p. 218).
Rapp's brief “prelude” introduces readers to his main thesis, his definition of anarchism, major stated or potential objections by China scholars and proponents of anarchism, and his own basic responses to such critiques. The rest of the book elaborates on each of these, before concluding with a cursory discussion of...
