De Eric Fleischmann. Artículo original publicado el 17 de noviembre de 2022 con el título A Critical Consideration of my Critical Consideration. Traducido al español por Camila Figueroa. Se me ha explicado que todo escritor, ya sea de novelas de alto nivel o de discursos en Internet, siempre tiene una o dos cosas que ha…

It’s been explained to me that every writer—whether of highbrow novels or online internet discourse—always has one or two things they’ve written that they dislike and which haunts them. For me that piece is “A Critical Consideration of Hensley’s Appalachian Anarchism,” which is a response to Dakota Hensley’s article “Appalachian Anarchism: What the Voting Record…

Pode um anarquista ser socialmente conservador? Sim. Não vejo qualquer razão pela qual alguém que seja anti-aborto ou tenha uma perspectiva fundamentalista sobre o sexo ou as drogas não possa ser anarquista. O anarquismo tem a ver com a construção de uma sociedade na qual ninguém force as suas crenças sobre terceiros. Desde que respeitemos…

Individualism, community, self-sufficiency, self-reliance, and faith are the values of the people of Appalachia. It is in these values that we find an anarchism that has existed in the cities and rural communities for decades. However, most Appalachians don’t refer to their culture as such, but it carries many of the same attitudes and beliefs…

Can an anarchist be socially conservative? Yes. I see no reason why someone who is anti-abortion or has fundamentalist views on sex or drugs can’t be an anarchist. Anarchism is about building a society in which no one forces their beliefs on others. As long as you respect the views and lives of others, your…

In an age of excitement and uncertainty it is comforting to know that we live in an era of mass communication. At this point in human history communication costs are incredibly low and, with the help of the Internet, such communication is truly global in scale. Even better, information spreads with ease. The nature of…

A recent article in Kentucky’s leading paper, The Lexington Herald Leader, discusses the down-fall of coal in the Bluegrass state. The statistics reported are alarming. Overall, the industry is at a 118-year low as more than 50% of coal jobs have disappeared over the past few years. In a region laden with poverty the hits…

On May 10 West Virginia will hold its presidential primary. Contenders Bernie Sanders, Hillary Clinton and Donald Trump have all visited the state looking for working class votes. All three contenders have a vision for the future of West Virginia’s economy. Republican Trump wants to bring back “Clean Coal” and protect industry jobs. Democratic candidates…

The Sixth Mass Extinction Of all the complex, wicked problems addressed by the current environmental movement, perhaps the most urgent is the rarely discussed mass extinction. We are currently experiencing Earth’s sixth great mass extinction crisis — on par with the rate that ended the reign of the dinosaurs, thus terminating the Mesozoic. Stuart Pimm…

I recently gave a talk at Pellissippi State Community College in Knoxville, Tennessee, regarding coal, power and liberty in the Southern Appalachian Bio-Region. This talk is based off of notes from my forthcoming study for The Center for a Stateless Society: Flowers of Darkness: Coal, Power and Liberty in the Southern Appalachian Bio-Region. This serves…

Don Blankenship, longtime Chief Executive Officer of coal giant Massey Energy, was indicted November 13 on charges that he consistently violated federal mine safety rules at the company’s Upper Big Branch Mine until an April 2010 explosion that killed 29 of 31 miners. The Charleston, West Virginia Gazette reports that a federal grand jury charges Blankenship with…

The temperate, deciduous, mountain rain-forests of Central and Southern Appalachia are recognized as a biodiversity hotspot of global significance. In Eastern Kentucky stands Pine Mountain, among the most beautiful and biologically diverse mountains in the region — equipped with gentle views, waterfalls, endemic flora and fauna and undisturbed forests. In June the mountain was also home…

Of all the complex wicked problems addressed by the current environmental movement, perhaps the most urgent is climate change.  The scientific community overwhelmingly agrees that ecosystems are rather vulnerable to changing climates, with a large number of species (upwards of 40%) at risk of extinction if current warming trends continue. It is well noted in…

C4SS Media presents Grant Mincy‘s “Which Side Are You On?” read by James Tuttle and edited by Nick Ford. “The challenges that face Appalachia are indeed great. To solve them, one must question why our “national interest” still lies in an “above all” energy policy. One must question how so much wealth has been extracted from the…

Humans are social beings. We organize ourselves into groups, build relationships, enjoy creative labor and seek fellowship. From childhood to adulthood, who we are greatly depends on our relationships with those closest to us. We are also heavily influenced by the social, cultural and institutional circumstances of our lives. Institutions, then, have major implications for our rights,…

On Thursday, January 9 a dangerous toxin, 4-methylcyclohexane methanol, leaked from a busted tank and into the Elk River in West Virginia. It is believed that nearly 7,500 gallons of the toxin made its way from the 40,000-gallon tank into the river. It’s unclear how much actually entered the public water supply. The busted tank is…