I really wanted to give this book four stars, but...
Blazing Reader,
I'd really like to give The Conscious Resistance Trilogy, by Derrick Broze and John Vibes, four stars (I rarely rate a book five stars). The information it shares is world-altering. Unfortunately, the delivery, at times, is a bit flat.
I purchased this book while at the 2025 People's Reset, in Morelia, Mexico — an anarchist conference hosted by Derrick Broze. I started reading it on the plane ride home. However, it took me nearly ten months to complete.
Each of the 279-page book's twenty chapters reads like a self-contained essay — a real momentum killer.
Each chapter focuses not on the evils of government or the glories of anarchy. Rather, the book presents practical methods for humanity to flourish without any form of mandatory governance. I say "mandatory governance" because the authors recognize that even a hardcore communist village would be totally acceptable in a free world, as long as participation was completely voluntary.
Indeed, the book presents anarchism as granting people and communities the freedom to experiment with different ways of living. This open-mindedness, however, was partly the book's downside, as it may explore too many options, leaving the reader feeling as if they'd been grazing all day, but never having consumed a proper meal. At times, I felt more like I was reading an encyclopedia, while I would have preferred a more personal account of the authors' adventures with anarchism. Broze, for example, only briefly mentions the time he spent in jail, his run for mayor of Houston, or his escape to Mexico.
Most impressive, however, was the book's focus on what the authors call "holistic anarchism" — a state of freedom from both restrictive governments and restrictive thoughts.
As they write in their prologue: "Anarchy is the physical manifestation of freedom, and spirituality is a mental manifestation of freedom. In contrast, statism is control in the physical sense, and religion is control in the mental or physical sense."
Sadly, The Conscious Resistance Trilogy may have tried to be too holistic, taking on more than its bindings could bear. If it had offered more narrative and focused on the psychological/spiritual benefits of anarchism— a concept often lost in debates over its economic merits — I think the book would have warranted five stars.
Nonetheless, I was fascinated by two-thirds of the chapters, and came away with a clearer understanding of how humanity could thrive without the coercion, theft and violence of government. If you are willing to sift through some dry parts, you'll be well rewarded with many gems (e.g. "Chapter 14: Intersections of Islam and Anarchism").
You can find out more about The Conscious Resistance Trilogy (and read the first 34 pages for free) on the Conscious Resistance Network's website.
John C.A. Manley
P.S. For more about the book's concept of "holistic anarchism," check out my previous post: Our internal tyrants
John C. A. Manley is the author of Much Ado About Corona, All The Humans Are Sleeping and other works of philosophical fiction that are "so completely engaging that you find yourself alternately laughing, gasping, hanging on for dear life." Get free samples of his stories by becoming a Blazing Pine Cone email subscriber.
