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Anarchism

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Anarchism is a political theory which argues that all coercive authority is unnecessary and undesirable; anarchists advocate a society based on voluntary cooperation and free association. As Benjamin Tucker put it, anarchism is the philosophy that "all the affairs of men should be managed by individuals or voluntary associations, and that the state should be abolished." While a primary tenet of anarchism is opposition to the state, most insist that anarchism is much more than that.

Anarchism is a controversial issue, because groups with radically different views consider themselves to be anarchists and often deny that other points of view should be called anarchist. This article covers all points of view whose adherents consider themselves anarchists.


Anarchy, not chaos and disorder

One of the meanings of the English word anarchy is "a state of lawlessness or political disorder". This use of the word implies a broad definition: usually, any situation where there is no internationally recognised government is considered "anarchy". The current political situation in Somalia, for example, is often referred to as anarchy, since it has no central government.

However, anarchy in the sense of political theory means an "anarchist society", that is, a society where individuals are free and there is no government. Anarchist theories have a fundamental critique of government, a vision of a society without government, and a proposed method of reaching such a society. The details of the political, economic, and social organization of an anarchist society vary among different branches of anarchist political thought, as do the proposed means to achieve a society organized along those lines.

The anarchy sought by anarchists is not chaos or anomie — that is, an absence of order, rules, or organized structure — but instead an absence of coercion. In particular, anarchism does not advocate situations where warlords rule by force, and which may come about when a government collapses and there is a temporary power vacuum. Recent examples include Afghanistan around 1990, Somalia from the mid-1990's to the present, Bosnia around 1995, or Haiti in 2004. An example of peaceful anarchic organization after a government collapse is that of argentina in 2002-2003.

Historically, however, the word "anarchist" has been applied to political opponents as a derogatory term with the implied meaning of "advocating chaos". For instance, the Levellers of the English Civil War and the Enragés of the French Revolution were referred to as anarchists by their opponents. Still today, politicians may dismiss social movements as "anarchist" without further comment.

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William Godwin's An Enquiry Concerning Political Justice, in which he presents his vision of a free society published in 1793 alongside a critique of government, is considered by some to be the first anarchist treatise. Although Godwin never used the word anarchism, these commentators credit him with founding modern philosophical anarchism.

It wasn't until Pierre-Joseph Proudhon published What is Property? in 1840 that the term "anarchist" was adopted as a self-description. It is for this reason that some claim Proudhon as the founder of modern anarchist theory.

Later in the 19th century, theorists like Mikhail Bakunin saw a need to defend the working class against oppression and overthrow the ruling class as a means to dissolve the state. Some revolutionaries of this time encouraged acts of political violence such as bombings and the assassinations of heads of state to further anarchism. However, these actions were regarded by many anarchists as counter-productive or ineffective (see "Violence and non-violence", below).

Peter Kropotkin's anarchist communism developed from a scientific approach based on evolution in which cooperation equalled or surpassed competition in importance, as illustrated in Mutual Aid (1897).

Anarchists played a role in many of the labour movements, uprisings, and revolutions of the 19th and early 20th centuries, including the Russian Revolution (1917).

In Europe, in the first quarter of the 20th century anarchist movements achieved relative, if short-lived, successes and were violently repressed by states. However, in the 1920's and 1930's the conflict between anarchism and the state was eclipsed by the one among liberal democracy, fascism and communism, which ended with the defeat of fascism in World War II. During the Spanish Civil War (1936-9), which many consider a prelude to World War II, an anarchist movement supported by militias loyal to the republic took control of rural areas of north-east Spain in 1936-1937, being crushed in short order by the Communist-controlled republican army.

At the end of World War II Europe was mostly divided into a democratic region under United States influence and a communist region under control of the Soviet union, and the major political dichotomy became that between capitalism and communism. The philosophical influence of anarchism remained latent and it resurfaced as a political force in the 1960's.

After World War II a new political theory, known as anarcho-capitalism, developed mainly in North America. However, anarcho-capitalism is perceived by many to be more closely allied to the classical liberal position, and is disowned by many anarchists of other stripes.

A surge of popular interest in anarchism occurred during the 1970's in Britain following the birth of the punk rock movement. The band Crass is often credited for its anarchist and pacifist ideas.

Today, traditional anarchist organizations continue to exist across the globe and, in recent years, anarchism as a political philosophy has gained a higher profile as a result of the rise in protest against globalisation.

After the non-violent collapse of the Argentinian government in 2001/2002, social and economic activity briefly reorganized itself along anarchist lines until the peaceful restoration of State authority in 2003.

Feminism has always been a part of the anarchist movement, in the form of anarcha-feminism. North American anarchism also takes strong influences from the American Civil Rights Movement and the movement against the war in Vietnam. European anarchism has developed out of the labour movement, and both have incorporated animal rights activism. Globally, anarchism has also grown in popularity and influence as part of the anti-war, anti-capitalist, and anti-globalisation movements. Recently, anarchists have been known for their involvement in protests against World Trade Organization and Group of Seven meetings, and the World Economic Forum; protests which are often portrayed in the mainstream media as violent riots. Many anarchists were part of the black blocs at these protests and some engaged in rioting, vandalism, and violent confrontation with police. Others peacefully protested, upholding non-violent principles.

Andrew Heywood writes in Political Ideologies,

Anarchists have highlighted the coercive and destructive nature of political power, and in so doing have countered statist tendencies within other ideologies... anarchism has had a growing influence on modern political thought. Both the new left and the new right , for instance, have exhibited libertarian tendencies, which bear the imprint of anarchist ideas. (Political Ideologies (second edition, 1998) p.210-211.)

Anarchist schools of thought

From Pierre-Joseph Proudhon's mutualism, to Max Stirner's egoism, to Peter Kropotkin's anarchist communism the roots of anarchist thought were always varied, with many different views of what a society without government should be like. Individualists, taking much from the writings of Stirner, among others, demanded the utmost respect for the liberty of the individual. Anarchist communists like Mikhail Bakunin and Peter Kropotkin built on the Marxist critique of capitalism and synthesised it with their own critique of the state, emphasizing the importance of a communal perspective to maintain individual liberty in a social context.

Anarcho-syndicalism developed as the industrialised form of libertarian communism, emphasizing industrial actions, especially the general strike, as the primary strategy to achieve anarchist revolution, and "build the new society in the shell of the old".

In the latter half of the twentieth century, two new schools of thought developed in North America: namely, anarcho-capitalism and primitivism. Anarcho-capitalism built on the classical liberal tradition, taking the distrust of government further than liberalism and claiming that free markets could provide justice and security. The state, they argued, was not only unnecessary to maintain these market driven institutions, its intervention was harmful to them. From a very different perspective primitivists like John Zerzan proclaimed that civilisation — not just the state — would need to be abolished to foster liberty and a just social order. A rejection of modern Technology is also prominant in the views of many primitivists, such as Theodore Kaczynski (the Unabomber).

Pacifism, referring to opposition to the practice of war, is considered by most anarchists to be inherent in their philosophy. Some anarchists take it further and follow Leo Tolstoy's belief in non-violence (note, however, that these anarcho-pacifists are not necessarily Christian anarchists as Tolstoy was), advocating non-violent resistance as the only method of achieving a truly anarchist revolution.


Anarchies functioning today

The free city of Christiania is a quarter of Copenhagen that became semi-independent and self-governing in the 1970's after an anarchist commune took over army barracks in the center of the city. While in principle governed by the laws of Denmark, it is usually left alone by the authorities.

The wikiwiki paradigm, and Misplaced Pages in particular, is considered by many to be anarchy working positively in practice, albeit operating within the constraints of the internet and non-anarchist societies. However, some would dispute that these are anarchic, noting that most wikis are privately owned, with the owner having (in principle) near-absolute power and others (such as administrators) being delegated certain privileges, while yet others doubt the long-term viability of these projects precisely because of their anarchic nature (see Meatball:WikiLifeCycle). Other candidate anarchies functioning during the first decade of the 21st century include Usenet, Indymedia, the GNU/Linux community, and other sub-societies which are generally networked using the internet.

Violence and non-violence

Anarchists have sometimes been portrayed in the media as dangerous and violent, due mainly to a number of high-profile violent acts including riots, assassinations, and insurrections involving anarchists. Since the 1970s, the punk image of irresponsible youths has also been associated with anarchist symbolism, so furthering the association with violence.

The use of terrorism and assassination, however, is condemned by most anarchists, though there remains no consensus on the legitimacy or utility of violence. The Tolstoian tradition of non-violent resistance is prevalent among some anarchists, though others see self-defense as a right. Some anarchists believe that violence is justified as a way to provoke social upheaval which could lead to a social revolution.

The writer J. R. R. Tolkien, in a letter to his son, briefly described anarchy as "philosophically understood, meaning abolition of control not whiskered men with bombs" (our emphasis).

Pacifism

Pacifism, referring to opposition to the practice of war, is considered by the vast majority of anarchists to be inherent in their philosophy. Wars are often portrayed in anarchist literature as an activity of the state in which the state seeks to gain and consolidate power, both domestically and in foriegn lands. Many anarchists subscribe to the view expressed by Randolph Bourne that "war is the health of the state". Anarchists believe that if they were to support a war they would, by default, be strengthening the state — indeed, Peter Kropotkin was alienated from other anarchists when he expressed support for the British side in World War I.


Just as they are very critical and distrustful of most government endeavours, anarchists often view the stated reasons for war with a cynical eye. Since the Vietnam War protests in North America and, most recently, the mass protests against the war in Iraq, much anarchist activity has been anti-war based.

Non-violence

Some anarchists share Leo Tolstoy's Christian anarchist belief in non-violence. These anarcho-pacifists (not necessarily Christians) advocate non-violent resistance as the only method of achieving a truly anarchist revolution. They often see violence as the basis of government and coercion and argue that, as such, violence is illegitimate, no matter who is the target. Some of Proudhon's French followers even saw strike action as coercive and refused to take part in such traditional socialist tactics.

The utility of violence

Famous anarchists of the nineteenth century such as Mikhail Bakunin and Errico Malatesta saw violence as a necessary and sometimes desirable force. Malatesta took the view that it is "necessary to destroy with violence, since one cannot do otherwise, the violence which denies to the workers" (Umanità Nova, number 125, September 6, 1921).

Between 1894 and 1901, anarchists assassinated numerous heads of state, including:

Such "propaganda of the deed" was not a popular tactic among anarchists, however, and the tactic was condemned by others in the movement. For example, McKinley's assassin, Leon Czolgosz, claimed to be a disciple of Emma Goldman, but she disavowed any association with the Czolgosz.

Goldman included in her definition of anarchism the observation that all governments rest on violence, and this is one of the many reasons they should be opposed. Goldman herself didn't oppose tactics like assassination until she went to Russia, where she witnessed the violence of the Russian state and the Red Army. From then on she condemned the use of terrorism, especially by the state, and advocated violence only as a means of self-defense.

Depictions in the press and popular fiction (for example, a malevolent bomb-throwing anarchist in Joseph Conrad's The Secret Agent) helped create a lasting public impression that anarchists are violent terrorists. This perception was enhanced by events such as the Haymarket Riot, where anarchists were blamed for throwing a bomb at police who came to break up a public meeting in Chicago.

More recently, anarchists have been involved in protests against World Trade Organisation (WTO) and International Monetary Fund (IMF) meetings across the globe, which have often turned violent (being described by some as "riots"). Traditionally, Mayday in London has been a day of marching, but in recent years the Metropolitan Police have warned that a "hardcore of anarchists" are intent on causing violence. Anarchists often respond that it is the police who initiate violence at these demonstrations, with the anarchist intent being only to defend themselves. The anarchists involved in such protests often formed black blocs at these protests and some engaged in property destruction or in direct conflict with police, though others stuck to non-violent principles.

Development of anarchism

Anarcho-primitivists assert that for the longest period of human history, human society was organised on anarchist principles. However, there is debate over the anthropological evidence to support this. Anarchist ideas are generally held to go back as far as Ancient Greece, where Zeno of Citium was, according to Kropotkin, "he best exponent of Anarchist philosophy in ancient Greece" and the philosopher Aristippus said that "the wise should not give up their liberty to the state".

Zeno distinctly opposed his vision of a free community without government to the state-Utopia of Plato. "He repudiated the omnipotence of the state, its intervention and regimentation, and proclaimed the sovereignty of the moral law of the individual." Zeno argued that although the necessary instinct of self-preservation leads humans to egotism, nature has supplied a corrective to it by providing man with another instinct — sociability. Like many modern anarchists, he believed that if people follow their instincts, they will have no need of law courts or police, no temples and no public worship, and use no money (free gifts taking the place of the exchanges). Zeno's beliefs, unfortunately, have only reached us as fragmentary quotations.

Some alternatively interpret the Ancient Chinese philosophy of Taoism as the oldest example of anarchist doctrine.

The Anabaptists of 16th century Europe are considered by some as religious forerunners of modern anarchism. Bertrand Russell, in his History of Western Philosophy, writes that the Anabaptists "repudiated all law, since they held that the good man will be guided at every moment by the Holy Spirit...rom this premiss they arrive at communism...."

Gerrard Winstanley, who published a pamphlet calling for communal ownership and social and economic organisation in small agrarian communites in the 17th century, is considered one of the forerunners of modern anarchism. The first modern author to have published a treatise explicitly advocating the absence of government was William Godwin in An Enquiry Concerning Political Justice (1793); though he did not use the word anarchism, he is today regarded by some as the "founder of philosophical anarchism". The term "anarchist" is thought to have first come into use during the French Revolution as a derogatory term against the left, but Pierre-Joseph Proudhon, in the 1840s, adopted the term to describe his political philosophy.

Thematic articles

Anarchism is a vast subject that touches a lot of topics. Below are links to articles that discuss and argue various aspects of anarchism with reference to different anarchist strands of thought.

See also

For a dictionary definition, see wiktionary:anarchism

Biographies

Historical events

Books

Periodicals

Theoretical concepts

Anarchist organizations

External links