Is Hardt & Negri's "Empire" relevant to anarchists?

Answer 1

You need to clarify what you mean by "relevant." From a purely intellectual standpoint, what is NOT relevant to anarchists? But if you're asking specifically about the content of "Empire" and the thesis that there nation-states are no longer the fundamental sovereign institution(s) they were 100 years ago, then sure it's relevant. If you're asking if the analytical and strategic conclusions the authors draw are relevant to anarchists, I'd have to say "not so much." They posit the maintenance of some kind of mass society still based on the usual technological divisions of labor. Their solutions to the challenges of global capitalist expansionism (Empire) is to have a smarter group of hierarchs in charge. It's pretty typical Continental Leftism, tarted up to make it appealing without needing to get into too much of a structural analysis of the interlocking hierarchies of transnational statecraft and globalized capital. If you care, "Multitude" is even worse.