Fred Woodworth
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Fred Woodworth is an anarchist and atheist writer based in the United States. In his writings he has championed individualism[citation needed] and criticized government intrusions on individual liberty, but he has also called unethical certain ideas and actions in the global anarchist movement.
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[edit] The Match!
Since 1969 Woodworth has published the internationally-known anarchist zine, The Match! from his home in Tucson, Arizona. The Match!, with about 2,000 readers, has consistently questioned authoritarian government, society, and religion since the magazine’s inception. Computers, organized religion, the police, the U.S. Census, jury duty, and the bookselling industry are just a few of the institutions regularly disparaged in its pages. Woodworth is a collector of antique printing machinery and prints each issue himself.
The Match! is known not only for its non-digital typography and graphics, but also for its extensive letters section.
Woodworth is specifically interested in the Varityper machine, which he uses for publishing.
[edit] Ethical Anarchism
Woodworth is a proponent of the philosophy of ethical anarchism (what some might call treating the means as the end in progress).
Woodworth is often seen as American individualist anarchism's ethical counter-weight to writers such as Bob Black, Tad Kepley, John Zerzan, Feral Faun and organizations such as Crimethinc, Killing King Abacus, and Venomous Butterfly Publications that support theft and violence as an expression of egoist and individualist political activism (primarily of the illegalist and insurrectionist type). Woodworth has criticized these individuals and groups in articles within The Match! and even sparred with some them in the very extensive letters pages on occasion.
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[edit] Recent Health and Financial Situation
Woodworth recently had to undergo major surgery. A plea went out throughout the zine and anarchist communities to help him out with donations since he's never had healthcare coverage. Woodworth can be contacted care of:
- The Match!
- Box 3012
- Tucson, AZ 85702
- USA
[edit] Quotes
“ | Government is an unnecessary evil. Human beings, when accustomed to taking responsibility for their own behavior, can cooperate on a basis of mutual trust and helpfulness.[1] | ” |
“ | It seems like such a terrible shame that innocent civilians have to get hurt in wars, otherwise combat would be such a wonderfully healthy way to rid the human race of unneeded trash.[2] | ” |
“ | If human beings are fundamentally good, no government is necessary; if they are fundamentally bad, any government, being composed of human beings, would be bad also.[3] | ” |
“ | Fundamentalists never wonder why, if herpes is sent by "god" to scourge "adulterers," whooping cough and measles weren't purposely created to lambaste children.[4] | ” |
“ | The very god who, according to those who believe in him, made every last electron spin in its orbit everywhere throughout the universe, still cannot write a clear, unmistakable volume of instructions to human beings who are supposed to follow his wisdom.[5] | ” |
[edit] Some Writing Available On-Line
Articles and Essays
- How to Smash the State, by Fred Woodworth
- Definition of Anarchism, by Fred Woodworth
- Religion Scores Another Hit (from Sept. 11, 2001 issue of The Match!), by Fred Woodworth
- The Koran: A Review (from Sept. 11, 2001 issue of The Match!), by Fred Woodworth
- A Few Reasons Not to Serve on Juries, by Fred Woodworth
- It Rests on You!, by Fred Woodworth
- Fingerprint Evidence: The Opening Salvo, by Fred Woodworth
- A Printer Looks at Fingerprints, by Fred Woodworth
Letters
- Letter to the Editor of Port Of Call, by Fred Woodworth
- Second Letter to the Editor of Port Of Call, by Fred Woodworth
[edit] Books
- Pulling the strings: How Businesses and Institutions Attempt to Control the Small Press, by Fred Woodworth
- The Koran, by Fred Woodworth
- The Match! Historic Reprint Series: The Retort, 1942-51: Special Anthology Issue, by Fred Woodworth
- Anarchism: What is it? Is it Practical or Utopian? Is Government Necessary? (The Match Pamphlet Series), by Fred Woodworth
- There Is No God, by Fred Woodworth
- The Atheist Cult, by Fred Woodworth
- Dream World, by Kent Winslow
[edit] External links
Miscellaneous Information
- Fred Woodworth Needs Your Help, by Anarchist News
- Varityper Information, at The Classic Typewriter Page