Carne Ross was a British diplomat, steeped in the corridors of power and the ideologies that sustain them. But his beliefs were shattered by what he witnessed. In his quest for something real, he made an unexpected discovery: governing ourselves, mutual aid, and the rejection of domination over others may be the only way through. This book is that journey. Often portrayed as chaos and violence, anarchism is in fact the truest form of democracy. Its destination is not chaos, but the chance to be human again.
“Something is breaking down. You can feel it. The old orders are failing. Those who look to their government for answers are searching in the wrong place.”
– Carne Ross
PRAISE:
“Carne is that rare combination: a brave and original thinker, and a man whose actions speak for his convictions.”
– JOHN LE CARRÉ – author of The Night Manager
“For the man who once rattled around in his New York penthouse, waiting for his next chance to influence global outcomes, the journey to human solidarity has been profound.”
– INDRA ADNAN – author of The Politics of Waking Up
“Carne Ross reminds us that although we are controlled by a few people who will do anything to protect their interests, they can be made irrelevant if we just have confidence in ourselves. That’s why I love what he says. He keeps it real.”
– BENJAMIN ZEPHANIAH – Poet
Carne Ross is a former British diplomat who is now a writer, diplomatic strategist, and advocate for anarchist principles. During an extensive diplomatic career, Ross served in Germany, Norway, Afghanistan, Kosovo and the UK Mission to the UN in New York, where he represented the UK on Middle East issues, above all Iraq. He was also chief speechwriter to two Foreign Secretaries, the second of whom fired him.
Ross resigned from the Foreign Office after giving secret testimony about the government’s actions that preceded the Iraq War. He then founded Independent Diplomat, the world’s first non-profit diplomatic advisory group, which has advised marginalised governments and democratic movements around the world for over twenty years.
Ross is the author of several influential books, including Independent Diplomat: Dispatches from an Unaccountable Elite and The Leaderless Revolution: How Ordinary People Will Take Power and Change Politics in the 21st Century, which articulates his evolving political philosophy. He is the subject of the BBC documentary film, Accidental Anarchist. His work and ideas have been profiled in the New York Times, The Observer and Die Zeit, among others.
Ross comments frequently about world affairs on radio and TV, and has written for the Financial Times, the New York Times, Guardian and others. He is also building a global network dedicated to “communalist” democracy—a practical application of his belief in self-government and individual autonomy. His work seeks to offer an alternative to traditional state structures, proposing a philosophy of anarchism as a constructive path to address the many crises we currently face.
