General Strike New Hampshire Solidarity. Community. Action.
Education • Strategy • Liberation

A brief introduction to liberatory thought and action.

A general strike is not an isolated protest event; it is an organized act of economic non-cooperation backed by deep political clarity and material resilience. This curated syllabus brings together the foundational history, theoretical frameworks, and tactical manuals required to build a new world in the shell of the old.

Welcome to the Curriculum

This reading list is a structured starting point for working people, community organizers, and comrades across New Hampshire seeking to understand the mechanisms of systemic exploitation and collective emancipation. Our objective is to build a shared vocabulary, critical historical consciousness, and a disciplined regional movement prepared for unified resistance.

🏛️ The Foundations: Why Do We Strike?

To grasp why a general strike remains the most formidable economic weapon available to the working class, we must first analyze the structural realities of capital accumulation, wage extraction, and the origins of systemic inequality.

Introductory Video

What is Socialism?

For those seeking a visual and accessible primer on fundamental political economy, this video breaks down the distinctions between private and social ownership, cooperative labor, and the social relation of capital.

Watch the Video on YouTube →
Our Economic System

The Communist Manifesto • Karl Marx & Friedrich Engels

The foundational historical materialist analysis of class conflict, detailing the rise of the industrial bourgeoisie, the creation of the working class, and the inevitability of collective labor struggles.

Read the Gutenberg Ebook →
Labor and Value

Wage Labor & Capital • Karl Marx

An indispensable breakdown of the mechanical relationship between labor power, wages, and the accumulation of surplus value. This text demystifies why rising productivity under private capital constantly impoverishes the worker.

Access on Marxists Internet Archive →
Historical Origins

Debt: The First 5,000 Years • David Graeber

Anthropologist David Graeber traces the ancient origins of markets, money, and violence, proving that debt has historically served as a violent weapon of social subjugation and political domination rather than a neutral accounting tool.

Read on The Anarchist Library →

⛓️ Deeper Critiques: What Are We Fighting?

Exploitation is not confined solely to factory floors or office cubicles. Building an uncompromising liberatory movement requires recognizing how capitalism interlocks with patriarchy, carceral policing, and institutional state power to enforce daily compliance.

Limits of Reform

The Master's Tools Will Never Dismantle the Master's House • Audre Lorde

Audre Lorde delivers an essential warning against attempting to reform oppressive structures from within their own narrow frameworks, showing why genuine liberation demands establishing our own independent institutions and collective methods.

Read on The Anarchist Library →
Social Control

Understanding Patriarchy • bell hooks

bell hooks offers a lucid and compassionate dissection of patriarchal socialization, examining how patriarchal violence and hierarchy alienate individuals and maintain authoritarian dynamics across all sectors of society.

Read on The Anarchist Library →
Structural Power

The Pillars of Power • The Commons Social Change Library

State authority is not an indivisible monolith; it depends on an interlocking series of compliant institutions, including courts, commercial banks, police forces, and civic media. This framework illustrates how strategic boycotts, civil disobedience, and non-cooperation pull these pillars down.

Read on Commons Library →

✨ Anarchist Vision: What Are We Building?

Anarchism rejects both corporate domination and coercive state bureaucracies, proposing instead a cooperative federation of voluntary associations, direct democracy, and federated regional assemblies where communities directly steward the resources they rely on.

Philosophical Roots

Anarchism and Other Essays • Emma Goldman

Emma Goldman’s impassioned essays establish the moral and political foundation of anarchist philosophy, challenging the legitimacy of prisons, militarism, puritanical social control, and the illusions of liberal parliamentary voting.

Read on The Anarchist Library →
Practical Precedents

Anarchy Works • Peter Gelderloos

Addressing common skepticism regarding stateless organization, Gelderloos gathers empirical, anthropological, and historical case studies from across five continents demonstrating non-hierarchical conflict resolution, collaborative ecological stewardship, and mutual aid in practice.

Read on The Anarchist Library →
Post-Scarcity Economics

The Conquest of Bread • Petr Kropotkin

Kropotkin demonstrates that modern technological and agricultural capacity is already more than sufficient to guarantee comfortable subsistence and well-being for all, provided production is freed from artificial scarcity, wage slavery, and landlordism.

Read on The Anarchist Library →

🛠️ The Strategy: How Do We Get There?

Theoretical analysis provides direction, but victory requires disciplined tactical methodology. These materials outline the operational models, empirical patterns, and field manuals developed through centuries of militant resistance and popular rebellion.

Empirical Research

Why Civil Resistance Works • Erica Chenoweth & Maria J. Stephan

A rigorous study evaluating over three hundred major mass campaigns between 1900 and 2006, documenting that nonviolent civil resistance mobilizes broader, more diverse coalitions and succeeds more than twice as often as armed insurgencies.

Read the Academic Study (PDF) →
Action Framework

Revolt Guide • Black Flag Catalyst

A focused organizing manual that outlines tactical coordination, security culture, and operational readiness for affinity groups preparing for regional unrest, street mobilization, and sustained resistance.

Read on The Anarchist Library →
Field Tactics

Recipes for Disaster: An Anarchist Cookbook • CrimethInc.

A practical handbook compiling instructions for autonomous direct action, ranging from establishing community bicycle workshops and conducting banner drops to staging economic blockades and municipal street defenses.

Explore the Manual on CrimethInc →

🤝 The Practice: Building the New World Now

A general strike isn't just about stopping the old system; it's about starting a new one. This is where the concept of "Dual Power" comes in: building the institutions of the world we want to live in, right here and now.

What is Mutual Aid? • Dean Spade

Dean Spade's guide is the essential text on mutual aid: a form of political participation where people take responsibility for caring for one another and changing political conditions, not just through symbolic acts but by building new social relations.

Read Dean Spade's Mutual Aid on The Anarchist Library →

🎥 Further Learning & Education Channels

The learning never stops! These YouTube channels provide ongoing education, commentary, and analysis from a variety of leftist and anarchist perspectives.

Prince Shakur

Anarchist analyzing Black history, anti-capitalism, queer culture, writing, and grassroots community organizing.

Watch on YouTube →

RE-EDUCATION

Offers accessible animated videos that break down complex political, economic, and historical topics.

Watch on YouTube →

Anark

Provides deep-dive video essays on anarchist theory, history, and strategy, particularly focusing on concepts like dual power.

Watch on YouTube →

Andrewism

Explores the optimistic, eco-socialist aesthetic and political vision of Solarpunk, helping us visualize the world we are fighting for.

Watch on YouTube →

SquidTips

Delivers sharp, thoroughly researched commentary on current events, electoral limitations, and political theory from a leftist perspective.

Watch on YouTube →

📚 Resource Directories & Libraries

These additional resources link out to extensive articles and databases of theories, tactics, and strategies, all focused on people power and bringing about real social change.

Commons Library

A comprehensive educational repository covering activism, campaign strategy, grassroots organizing, and community defense.

Explore Commons Library →

Beautiful Trouble

A modular toolbox assembling creative tactics, organizing principles, and theoretical models for nonviolent direct action.

Access Strike Toolbox →

CrimethInc.

A decentralized anarchist collective providing news, frontline analysis, historical essays, and agitational materials.

Visit CrimethInc →

The Anarchist Library

An open digital archive hosting thousands of books, pamphlets, and articles spanning centuries of anti-authoritarian thought.

Search Archive →

Put Theory into Practice

Political theory only fulfills its purpose when applied through real-world organizing. Join our local mutual aid working groups, participate in neighborhood assemblies, and coordinate within our encrypted communication network.

Get in Touch