Now and After

Now and After: The ABC of Communist Anarchism is an introduction to the principles of anarchism and anarchist communism written by Alexander Berkman. The anarchist movement was under siege during the 1920s and, in an effort to revive the movement, the Jewish Anarchist Federation in New York asked Berkman to write an introduction to anarchism intended for the general public. By presenting the principles of anarchism in plain language, the New York anarchists hoped that readers might be swayed to support the movement or, at a minimum, that the book might improve the image of anarchism and anarchists in the public's eyes. Berkman's work explains anarchist philosophy in terms that uninitiated readers can understand. Because of its presentation of anarchist philosophy in plain language, Now and After has become one of the best-known introductions to anarchism in print.

Alexander Berkman (1870-1936) was a leading member of the anarchist movement in the early 20th century, famous for both his political activism and his writing. Berkman was born in Lithuania and immigrated to the United States in 1888, where he became involved in the anarchist movement. He spent time in prison for murder attempt and for conspiracy; he was deported to Russia where he lived during the Bolshevik revolution; finally, he moved to France, where he continued his work in support of the anarchist movement, producing the classic exposition of anarchist principles, Now and After: The ABC of Communist Anarchism.