Social Anarchism: A Journal of Theory and Practice

Social Anarchism: A Journal of Theory and Practice is an English-language anarchist periodical associated with the United States. It presents itself as a forum for connecting anarchist political thought with practical questions of social organization, activism, education, resistance, and community life. Available reference material characterizes it as a biannual journal, although the precise publication history, founding date, current publication status, circulation, and organizational ownership are not established by the supplied sources. The journal is particularly associated with Howard J. Ehrlich, a sociologist, educator, publisher, and longtime participant in anarchist intellectual and community networks. Ehrlich moved to Baltimore in 1971, where he became active in local educational, publishing, and media projects. During the 1980s he began editing Social Anarchism, linking the periodical to his broader work through Research Group One, an organization that published pamphlets, and the alternative Baltimore School. His editorial involvement helped give the journal a sustained role in presenting anarchist arguments and movement-oriented writing to readers interested in both theory and practice. The publication’s subject area places it within the tradition of social anarchism, a broad current that emphasizes collective self-organization, voluntary association, mutual aid, opposition to coercive hierarchy, and practical experimentation in everyday institutions. Rather than treating anarchism only as an abstract political philosophy, the journal’s title and editorial orientation indicate an interest in how anarchist principles might be applied to education, social movements, anti-authoritarian organizing, cultural work, and community defense. The journal therefore functions as an intellectual and movement publication rather than as a conventional commercial magazine brand. Its work also sits within a wider body of anarchist publishing to which Ehrlich contributed. Ehrlich edited or authored books and pamphlets on anarchism, prejudice, violence, and political education, and later published The Best of Social Anarchism in 2013. That anthology indicates that the journal had accumulated a body of material considered representative or historically valuable, although the available material does not specify which issues or articles it contains. The publication’s connection with Ehrlich’s educational and anti-prejudice work also suggests an interest in the relationship between anarchist politics, social conflict, and opposition to institutionalized discrimination. The journal should not be confused with unrelated organizations or publications using the words “social anarchism.” Its canonical reference subject is the journal identified as Social Anarchism, and its appropriate classification is a periodical or publication brand in the social and political ideas field. Detailed information about editorial succession, print and digital distribution, issue frequency over time, institutional affiliations, and whether the journal remains active is not confirmed in the supplied references.

Social Anarchism emerged as a periodical within the United States anarchist publishing and educational milieu. The supplied reference material does not establish an exact founding year, original publisher, or first issue, but it records that Howard J. Ehrlich began editing the journal during the 1980s. That editorial association is central to the publication’s known history. Ehrlich was trained as a sociologist and anthropologist and held university teaching positions before relocating to Baltimore in 1971. In Baltimore he developed a range of intellectual, educational, media, and publishing activities. He hosted a radio program on WBJC for approximately two decades, established Research Group One to publish pamphlets, and opened the alternative Baltimore School. These projects created a local infrastructure for discussion and dissemination of radical, anti-authoritarian, and anti-prejudice ideas. Against this background, Ehrlich’s work editing Social Anarchism connected the journal to a broader effort to make anarchist theory accessible and relevant to practical social questions. The publication’s title expresses its central orientation: it addressed anarchism not only as a critique of the state or hierarchy, but also as a set of ideas concerning collective action, voluntary cooperation, social transformation, and everyday institutional alternatives. The available material does not provide a complete list of contributors or subjects, so the journal’s individual editorial phases cannot be reconstructed in detail here. The periodical was published on a biannual basis according to the available summary description. Its output formed part of Ehrlich’s wider publishing and educational legacy. In 2013, he published The Best of Social Anarchism, a volume that gathered selected material associated with the journal. The anthology helped preserve and consolidate the publication’s intellectual contribution, although the supplied sources do not identify its contents, publisher, sales, or distribution figures. Ehrlich continued writing and organizing in related fields until his death in Baltimore in 2015. His other work included studies of hate crime and ethnoviolence, as well as anarchist anthologies such as Reinventing Anarchy and Reinventing Anarchy, Again. These activities place Social Anarchism within a network of political education, movement publishing, and social critique rather than within a conventional corporate media group. The current status of the journal is not confirmed by the available references. Its website is identified as socialanarchism.org, but the supplied material does not verify current issue production, editorial leadership, publication frequency, ownership, or operational headquarters. Further archival or publisher documentation would be needed to establish a complete chronology.

• 2015

  Death of associated editor Howard J. Ehrlich

  [1]Howard J. Ehrlichen.wikipedia.org

  Howard J. Ehrlich died in Baltimore on February 2, 2015. The available sources do not establish the journal’s editorial or publication arrangements after his death.

• 2013

  Publication of The Best of Social Anarchism

  [1]Howard J. Ehrlichen.wikipedia.org

  Howard J. Ehrlich published an anthology titled The Best of Social Anarchism, preserving selected material associated with the journal.

• 1980

  Ehrlich begins editing Social Anarchism

  [1]Howard J. Ehrlichen.wikipedia.org

  Reference material places the beginning of Howard J. Ehrlich’s editorial work with the journal in the 1980s. An exact year is not established.

• 1971

  Howard J. Ehrlich relocates to Baltimore

  [1]Howard J. Ehrlichen.wikipedia.org

  Ehrlich moved to Baltimore, where he later developed publishing, educational, broadcasting, and anarchist community activities associated with the environment in which he edited Social Anarchism.

An independent anarchist publication positioned between political theory, social criticism, movement history, and practical organizing. Its defining editorial emphasis is the relationship between anarchist ideas and their application in social and community life.

• Political and social theory periodical

  Social Anarchism journal issues

  The journal’s principal offering is a series of biannual issues devoted to anarchist theory, social criticism, political education, and practical questions of organization. The available sources do not provide a complete issue list, print run, subscription model, or current publication schedule.

• Anthology · 2013

  The Best of Social Anarchism

  A 2013 collection associated with Howard J. Ehrlich that selected material from Social Anarchism. It represents an effort to preserve and present the journal’s broader intellectual contribution in book form. Publisher, format, and distribution details are not established by the supplied references.

1. 1Howard J. Ehrlichen.wikipedia.org
2. 2Social Anarchism journal websitesocialanarchism.org