Tags: anarchy | freedom | philosophy

Written in a style that fuses poetry with historical essay and provocative posturing, Hakim Bey's onslaught of 'poetic terrorism' dissects and rejects dogmatic belief systems of conventional religion and politics.

Replacement ideologies are similarly denounced; for example atheism is proclaimed to be 'nothing but the opiate of the masses and not a very colourful or sexy drug'. In the absence of the old historical dialectic between capitalism and communism, this updated second edition finds the scope for the reign of chaos increasingly constricted by hegemonic globalisation and a progressively more conformist world than when TAZ first appeared in the 80s.

This world is seen by Bey as one where anarchism 'lacks a present'. Bey discusses the dominance of capitalist globalisation in geographical as well as political and ideological terms. The purchase of the last piece of unclaimed land in 1899 is referred to as 'the closure of the map'. The extension of land ownership to the moon and planets is termed 'territorial gangsterism'. However, Bey retains belief in the potential for our ability to create our own autonomous zones (TAZ) given the right mix of circumstances.

Familial breakdown in the West for example is seen as an excellent opportunity for better familial societies to be created away from the 'miserly patriarchal traps' of yesteryear. The internet is also cited as providing opportunities for rebellion and undermining the control of information through piracy and hacking.

Bey does not fall short of promoting illegal methods to circumvent authority and at times his polemic is extreme. However if the author seeks to shock, it is not as an empty gesture, but rather to provoke thought. TAZ does not chart the history of anarchism in a chronological way, but refers to unrelated and spontaneous times when chaos has reigned; among 'pirate utopias', amid bands of runaway slaves such as the Maroons, or with early settlers of the New World, who instead of fulfiling their objective to conquer the wild Indians, went native, or Croatan to be precise as that was the name of the tribe.

Reference is also made to countercultural American movements, the communes of Paris, Lyons and Marseilles, and spontaneous urban happenings such as break-dancing and graffiti art. However, movements are not restricted by historical or geographical boundaries, as Bey states that TAZ is also a 'psycho-spiritual state or even an existential condition'.

Bey prefers uprisings to revolution as these temporary autonomous zones give momentary freedom to individuals outside the constrictions of the hegemonic order of the time. By socialist or utopian standards such uprisings are failures, which is why we know so little about them.

But the beauty of such uprisings is cited to be not in their characteristics of permanence, but in their spirit. Anarchic states have by definition to be temporary as revolutions are inevitably followed by a reaction, which imposes a new order and inevitable constrictions to freedom. Alongside denouncements of everything anti TAZ is a commendation for all things beautiful, hedonistic and free. At times this polemic sounds selfish but in some ways is all the better for it. Its value is not necessarily in being right about everything, but in daring to offer opportunities for boundless thought.

Essentially the book promotes uncovering our true-as opposed to conditioned-wants, needs and desires. The author clearly believes that the potential for this is constricted within the current global climate, asking 'Can we evade or even oppose the Final Enclosure and learn to create our own Outside?'