Through a focus on control (self-organisation) and communication (alternative social media platforms), Anarchist Cybernetics explores the structures and functions of radically participatory and democratic organisation. Discussing some of the structures that organisations can build that allow their members to directly control how the organisation behaves, the book takes inspiration from an often-misunderstood concept: cybernetics. Building of the work of cybernetician Stafford Beer and providing a radical reading of his Viable System Model, Anarchist Cybernetics makes a unique and timely contri ... More

Through a focus on control (self-organisation) and communication (alternative social media platforms), Anarchist Cybernetics explores the structures and functions of radically participatory and democratic organisation. Discussing some of the structures that organisations can build that allow their members to directly control how the organisation behaves, the book takes inspiration from an often-misunderstood concept: cybernetics. Building of the work of cybernetician Stafford Beer and providing a radical reading of his Viable System Model, Anarchist Cybernetics makes a unique and timely contribution both to academic debates around anarchist organisation and radical politics more generally and to broader public debates about how organisations can be democratised to allow for more participation by their members. With continuing discussions around the world about popular sovereignty and ‘taking back control’, the book outlines a clear set of proposals for how organisations can function effectively in radically democratic ways. While other contributions to these discussions often priorities one side of the communication-organisation relationship over the other, Anarchist Cybernetics addresses both and show how they are interrelated and that effective organisation demands a consideration of both.