Misplaced Pages

This is an old revision of this page, as edited by The Ungovernable Force (talk | contribs) at 04:07, 18 July 2006. The present address (URL) is a permanent link to this revision, which may differ significantly from the current revision.

Anarchism is a generic term describing various political philosophies and social movements that advocate the elimination of all forms of social hierarchy. In place of centralized political structures, private ownership of the means of production, and exploitative economic institutions such as rent and profit, these movements favor social relations based upon voluntary interaction and self-management, and aspire to a society characterised by autonomy and freedom. These philosophies use anarchy to mean a society based on voluntary interaction of free individuals, and the idea that communities and individuals have a say in decisions to the degree that they are affected by their outcomes.

While opposition to coercive institutions and socially constructed hierarchies are primary tenets of anarchism, anarchism is also a positive vision of how a voluntary society would work. There is considerable variation amongst anarchist philosophies. Opinions differ in various areas, such as whether violence should be employed to foster anarchism, what type of economic system should exist, questions on the environment and industrialism, and anarchists' roles in other movements.

The terms "anarchy" and "anarchism" are derived from the Greek αναρχία ("without archons (rulers)"). Thus "anarchism," in its most general meaning, is the belief that rulership is unnecessary and should be abolished. The word "anarchy", as most anarchists use it, does not imply chaos or anomie, but rather a stateless society with voluntary social relations.

Precursors of anarchism

Primitive cultures

Anarcho-primitivists assert that, for the longest period before recorded history, human society was organized on anarchist principles. They point to the egalitarian structure of hunter-gatherer bands, to the lack of division of labour and accumulated wealth, and the lack of decreed law, as indicators of such primitive anarchy.

Philosophical traces

Some anarchists have embraced Taoism, which developed in Ancient China, as a source of anarchistic attitudes . According to Murray Rothbard, Zhuangzi was "perhaps the world's first anarchist"; Zhuangzi said, the world "does not need governing; in fact it should not be governed," and, "Good order results spontaneously when things are let alone." Rothbard says Zhuangzi was the first to work out the idea of spontaneous order, before Proudhon and Hayek. Similarly, anarchistic tendencies can be traced to the philosophers of Ancient Greece, such as Zeno, the founder of the Stoic philosophy, and Aristippus, who said that the wise should not give up their liberty to the state . Later movements – such as Stregheria in the 1300s, the Free Spirit in the Middle Ages, the Anabaptists, The Diggers, and the Ranters, – have also expounded ideas that have been interpreted as anarchist.

Ancient Greece

The first known usage of the word anarchy appears in the play Seven Against Thebes by Aeschylus, dated 467 BC. There, Antigone openly refuses to abide by the rulers' decree to leave her brother Polyneices' body unburied, as punishment for his participation in the attack on Thebes, saying that "even if no one else is willing to share in burying him I will bury him alone and risk the peril of burying my own brother. Nor am I ashamed to act in defiant opposition to the rulers of the city (ekhous apiston tênd anarkhian polei)".

Ancient Greece also saw the first western instance of anarchism as a philosophical ideal, in the form of the stoic philosopher Zeno of Citium, who was, according to Kropotkin, "he best exponent of Anarchist philosophy in ancient Greece". As summarized by Kropotkin, Zeno "repudiated the omnipotence of the state, its intervention and regimentation, and proclaimed the sovereignty of the moral law of the individual". Within Greek philosophy, Zeno's vision of a free community without government is opposed to the state-Utopia of Plato's Republic. 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 (a gift economy taking the place of the exchanges). Zeno's beliefs have only reached us as fragmentary quotations.

The Anabaptists

The Anabaptists of 16th century Europe are sometimes considered to be 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 premise they arrive at communism...." The novel Q provides a fictional depiction of this movement and its revolutionary ideology. Gerrard Winstanley of The Diggers, who published a pamphlet calling for communal ownership and social and economic organization in small agrarian communities in the 17th century, is considered another of the forerunners of modern anarchism.

History of anarchism

William Godwin, in An Enquiry Concerning Political Justice" (1793) wrote what became the core anarchist critiques of government, economics, and society; though he did not use the word anarchism, some today regard him as the "founder of philosophical anarchism" . It's commonly held that 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.

Private property

See also: Anarchist communism The Florence Conference of the Federation of the International, formulated by Carlo Cafiero, Errico Malatesta, Andrea Costa and other ex-Mazzinian Republicans, in laying out the principles of anarchist communism states: "Italian Federation of the International considers the collective property of the products of labour as the necessary complement to the collectivist programme..." Cafiero notes, in Anarchie et Communisme, that private property in the product of labor will lead to unequal accumulation of capital, and therefore undesirable class distinctions. Anarchist communists advocate an egalitarian society without markets or wages, and instead, propose collectives based on direct worker control, gift economies, self-management over community institutions, and mutual aid based upon the idea of "from each according to their ability, to each according to need." Anarchist communists also propose large- and small-scale connections of communities, groups, and workplaces through federations and networks created by free association and popular affinity. Anarchist communists want direct worker control over production, and have decisions made through workers councils and assemblies. Communities would be organized through systems of direct democracy, and through various organizations and collectives to carry out various tasks.

Peter Kropotkin, Emma Goldman, Alexander Berkman, and most recently, groups like NEFAC (North Eastern Federation of Anarcho-Communists), have advocated various forms of anarchist communism. Historically, anarchist communism is believed to have been put into practice by millions of people in the anarchist collectives and communes of the anarchist-controlled region of Ukraine during the Russian Revolution, and during the Spanish Civil War in the Aragon and Catalonia regions of Spain.

Anarchist communists are split generally on the platform, or the "Organizational Platform of Libertarian Communists", written by Ukrainian anarchist militant, Nestor Makhno. The platform calls for various forms of structures within the anarchist movement, and has been accepted by some anarchists and scorned by others.

Anarchist communists today are involved in various broad labor and community issues; generally revolving around housing, labor struggles/strikes, anti-racism, and building the anarchist movement. Anarchist communists have generally called for more cohesive groups and structures of anarchist groups and thereby garnered criticism from other anarchist sects. Various large-scale groups of anarchist communists exist today with the larger groups existing throughout various countries.

(Kropotkin and the origin of Anarchist communism, "scientific socialism")

Later in the 19th century, anarchist theorists like Mikhail Bakunin and Anarchist communists like Peter Kropotkin paralleled the Marxist critique of capitalism and synthesized it with their own critique of the state, emphasizing the importance of a communal perspective to maintain individual liberty in a social context, and the critical role of workers self-managed organs of production and creation. The International Workingmen's Association, at its founding, was an alliance of socialist groups, including both anarchists and Marxists. Both sides had a common aim (stateless communism) and common political opponents (conservatives and other right-wing elements). But each was critical of the other, and the inherent conflict between the two groups soon embodied itself in an ongoing argument between Mikhail Bakunin, representative of anarchist ideas, and Karl Marx himself. Generally Marx wanted to work within the system, use hierarchical organizational structures, and run people in elections. Bakunin hated these ideas, and predicted that if a revolution were won under a Marxist revolutionary party, they would end up being as bad as the ruling class that they fought against. In 1872, the conflict in the First International climaxed with the expulsion of Bakunin and those who had become known as the "Bakuninists" when they were outvoted by the Marx party at the Hague Congress. This is often cited as the origins of the conflict between anarchists and Marxists.

Mikhail Bakunin saw a need to defend the working class against oppression and overthrow the ruling class as a means to dissolve the state. Bakunin saw the Jews as significant component of this ruling class, calling the Jews an "organic collective parasite." Peter Kropotkin's anarchist communism developed from his scientific theory based on evolution in which co-operation equaled or surpassed competition in importance, as illustrated in Mutual Aid: A Factor in Evolution (1897).

Capitalism vs. free markets

See also: Individualist anarchism, mutualism, Anarchism and capitalism, Anarchist economics

Individualists, taking much from the writings of Max Stirner, among others, demanded the utmost respect for the liberty of the individual. While some individualists looked to natural law to justify individualism, Stirner's "Egoism" held that self-interest is the only legitimate justification for action. While its roots include William Godwin, Pierre-Joseph Proudhon, and Max Stirner, it is most often associated with the American tradition of individualist anarchism, which advocates private possession (individual ownership of the "full produce" of one's labor) and a market economy where this property may be bought and sold.

In the early United States, anarchist thoughts were expressed in the writings of Josiah Warren, Benjamin Tucker, and Lysander Spooner. They espouse a labor theory of value, and, as a result, they regard profit (and thus capitalism), as being exploitative. Wage labor is supported as long as wages adhere to the labor theory of value, hence, traditional individualists tend to advocate, and practice, an economic system called mutualism as an alternative to capitalism and communism. The major tenets of mutualism are free association, mutualist credit, contract (or federation), and gradualism (or dual-power). Individualists oppose property titles to unused land, arguing that land must be possessed to be legitimate property. Individualism contrasts with collectivist forms of anarchism (anarcho-communism and anarcho-syndicalism), and the relationships between these groups of been characterized by varying degrees of antagonism and harmony throughout their history.

Many also consider Henry David Thoreau as an individualist anarchist due to his position that individuals should not be governed and his belief that all should be free to withdraw themselves from "any incorporated body." Noteworthy anarchist writer and poet John Henry Mackay is also considered an individualist anarchist. Contemporary individualist anarchists include Robert Anton Wilson, and Joe Peacott.

Violence and non-violence

Anarchists have often been portrayed as dangerous and violent, due mainly to a number of high-profile violent acts including riots, assassinations, and insurrections involving anarchists. The use of terrorism and assassination, however, is condemned by most anarchists, though there remains no consensus on the legitimacy or utility of violence.

Some anarchists share Leo Tolstoy's Christian anarchist belief in nonviolence. These anarcho-pacifists advocate nonviolent 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.

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, individual anarchists assassinated numerous heads of state. Such "propaganda of the deed" was not popular among anarchists, and many in the movement condemned the tactic. For example, McKinley's assassin, Leon Czolgosz, claimed to be a disciple of Emma Goldman, but she disavowed any association with him.

Depictions in the press and popular fiction 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, Illinois.

Anarchists make a distinction between "violence" and "property destruction": they claim that violence is when a person inflicts harm to another person, while property destruction or property damage is not violence, although it can have indirect harm such as financial harm.

Nihilists - 1860s

Main article: Nihilist movement

Nihilism was not a political movement. It was a youth culture. Nevertheless, it led to the politization and radicalization of the Russian youth. Many revolutionaries like Nicholas Tchaikovsky, Sophia Perovskaya, Sergei Kravchinski, Vera Zasulich and Sergey Nechayev were adept of Nihilist values.

Nihilist political philosophy rejected all religious and political authority, social traditions, and traditional morality as standing in opposition to freedom, the ultimate ideal. In this sense, it can be seen as an extreme form of anarchism, but devoid of a revolutionary programme or political strategy.

Nihilism greatly resembled anarchism, though there are three main differences:

1. Nihilism did not see the State as absolutely bad. Reforms that would lead to fundamental changes in society were considered to be possible. This is not the case with anarchism.
2. Nihilism was more along the lines of a cultural rejection of all systems of authority and all social conventions. Anarchism is more along the lines of a political strategy which puts more emphasis on promoting and furthering a definite constructive revolutionary programme, although anarchism definitely places importance on opposing systems of authority as well.
3. As a political movement, nihilism was primarily a Russian phenomenon.

Nihilists made an impression to young radicals in Russia, such as Alexander Berkman. As he writes in his biography, Life of and Anarchist (ISBN 1583226621), Berkman was fascinated by the revolutionary zeal of the nihilists. In 1892 Berkman attempted the assassination of Henry Clay Frick, inspired by Johann Most's endorsement of propaganda of the deed.

Propaganda of the deed 1881-1901

Some revolutionaries of the late 19th century 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, and by the mid 1890s, they realized that such efforts were a failed strategy. Because international terrorism arose during this time period with the widespread distribution of dynamite, bombings were associated with anarchists, an image that remains to this day.

Insurrectionary Anarchism

Insurrectionary anarchism is critical of formal anarchist labor unions and federations. Instead, insurrectionary anarchists advocate informal organization, including small affinity groups, carrying out acts of resistance in various struggles, and mass organizations called base structures, which can include exploited individuals who are not anarchists. Here, Wolfi Landstreicher writes some of the basis points of its praxis.

Insurrectionary anarchism is not an ideological solution to all social problems, a commodity on the capitalist market of ideologies and opinions, but an on-going praxis aimed at putting an end to the domination of the state and the continuance of capitalism, which requires analysis and discussion to advance. We don’t look to some ideal society or offer an image of utopia for public consumption. Throughout history, most anarchists, except those who believed that society would evolve to the point that it would leave the state behind, have been insurrectionary anarchists. Most simply, this means that the state will not merely wither away, thus anarchists must attack, for waiting is defeat; what is needed is open mutiny and the spreading of subversion among the exploited and excluded. Here we spell out some implications that we and some other insurrectionary anarchists draw from this general problem: if the state will not disappear on its own, how then do we end its existence? It is, therefore, primarily a practice, and focuses on the organization of attack...The State of capital will not “wither away,” attack is the refusal of mediation, pacification, sacrifice, accommodation, and compromise.

Alfredo M. Bonanno, an Italian insurrectionary anarchist also had a great impact on this specific tendency, writing such works as "Armed Joy," "The Anarchist Tension," and others. In the US, Willful Disobedience, Killing King Abacus, and other magazines caused interest in insurrectionary anarchism to grow.

Organizing labor

In the late 19th century, anarcho-syndicalism developed as the industrialized 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". The Preamble to the IWW's Constitution states:

It is the historic mission of the working class to do away with capitalism. The army of production must be organized, not only for everyday struggle with capitalists, but also to carry on production when capitalism shall have been overthrown. By organizing industrially we are forming the structure of the new society within the shell of the old.

The Industrial Workers of the World, a once-powerful, still active, and again growing labor union, is considered a leading organ of the anarcho-syndicalist philosophy in the United States. The International Workers Association is an international anarcho-syndicalist federation of various labor unions from different countries. The Spanish Confederación Nacional del Trabajo played a major role in the Spanish Civil War, and today it is the third biggest union in Spain. Other major anarcho-syndicalist organizations include the Workers Solidarity Alliance, and the Solidarity Federation in the UK.

Anarcho-syndicalism is the anarchist wing of the labor union movement. Its primary aim is . It functions on principles of workers solidarity, direct action, and self-management.

Workers solidarity is the belief that all workers -- no matter what race, gender, or ethnic group -- are in a similar situation vis-à-vis their bosses. Furthermore, within capitalism, any gains or losses made by some workers in their relation to bosses will eventually impact all workers. Therefore, in order to gain liberation, all workers must support one another in their struggle against bosses.

Anarcho-syndicalists believe in using direct action — that is, action directly designed to confront a problem. Direct action can range from traditional strike action to active sabotage.

Furthermore, anarcho-syndicalists believe that workers' organizations — the organizations struggling against the wage system who, in anarcho-syndicalist theory, will eventually form the basis of a new society – should be self-managing. They should not have bosses or "business agents"; rather, the workers should be able to make decisions that affect them amongst themselves.

Some critics of anarcho-syndicalism contend that its focus on proletarian class struggle overlooks the needs of segments of society such as parents or others occupied with child-rearing or domestic labor, although some anarcho-syndicalist thought attempts to address other sectors of economic life. Some primitivist authors, notably Bob Black, contend that an anarcho-syndicalist revolution would leave in place social systems they find oppressive (work and workplaces, for example), although anarcho-syndicalists contend that worker self-management would render those systems fundamentally more humane.

The anarcho-syndicalist orientation of many early American labor unions played a large part in the formation of the American political spectrum. The United States is the only industrialized former British colony to not have a labor-based political party. In Mexico, anarcho-syndicalists like Ricardo Flores Magón led various revolts and uprisings that would help overthrow the dictator Diaz, lead the way for the growth of anarchism in Latin America, and also go on to influence the modern day Zapatista rebellion.

Anarchism and feminism

See also: Anarcha-Feminism

(Emma Goldman's feminist activism, patriarchy, anarcha-feminism, etc.)

Anarcha-feminism is a kind of radical feminism that espouses the belief that patriarchy is a fundamental problem in some societies. Feminist anarchism, or anarcha-feminism (a term allegedly created during the 1960s' second-wave feminism), views patriarchy as the first manifestation of hierarchy in human history; thus, the first form of oppression occurred in the dominance of male over female. Anarcha-feminists then conclude that if feminists are against patriarchy, they must also be against all forms of hierarchy, and therefore must reject the authoritarian nature of the state and capitalism.

Anarcho-primitivists see the creation of gender roles and patriarchy a creation of the start of civilization, and therefore consider primitivism to also be an anarchist school of thought that addresses feminist concerns. Eco-feminism is often considered a feminist variant of green anarchist feminist thought.

Anarcha-feminism is most often associated with early 20th-century authors and theorists such as Emma Goldman and Voltairine de Cleyre, although even early first-wave feminist Mary Wollstonecraft held proto-anarchist views. In the Spanish Civil War, an anarcha-feminist group, "Free Women", organized to defend both anarchist and feminist ideas.

In the modern day anarchist movement, many anarchists, male or female, consider themselves feminists, and anarcha-feminist ideas are growing. The publishing of Quiet Rumors, an anarcha-feminist reader, has helped to spread various kinds of anti-authoritarian and anarchist feminist ideas to the broader movement.

Religion

See also: Christian anarchism, Anarchism and religion

Christian anarchism is the belief that there is only one source of authority to which Christians are ultimately answerable, the authority of God as embodied in the teachings of Jesus. Christian anarchists therefore feel that earthly authority such as government, or indeed the established church do not and should not have power over them. Christian anarchists are pacifists and oppose the use of all physical force, both proactive and reactive. Traditionally, Christian anarchists were not tax resisters. However, some choose not to fund violent government activities or armed forces through nonviolent tax resistance. Many Christian anarchists are vegetarian or vegan.

Christian anarchists believe that freedom from earthly authority will only be guided by the grace of God if individuals display compassion for others and turn the other cheek when confronted by violence. Its adherents believe this quest for freedom is justified spiritually and quote the teachings of Jesus, some of whom are critical of the existing establishment and church. They believe all individuals can directly communicate with God and will eventually unify in peace under this one God.

The most famous advocate of Christian anarchism was Leo Tolstoy, author of The Kingdom of God is Within You, who called for a society based on compassion, nonviolent principles and freedom.

Spiritual Anarchism, or Divine Anarchy, was originally expressed by the political revolutionary, poet and yogi Sri Aurobindo during the First World War in a series of articles published in the Arya, and later made available in two books, The Human Cycle and The Ideal of Human Unity. The exaggerations of both individualistic and communistic streams of anarchist thought are harmonized by going beyond the vital and intellectual foundations of most other schools of anarchism and rooting itself firmly in the spiritual realization and dynamic perfection of the individual and universal godhead in the race.

A spiritual anarchist holds that a perfect form of social organization can only be achieved by governing our individual and collective life by a higher light than the intellectual reason, a deeper law of solidarity and oneness than emotional or mental bonds of association.

Although it has deviated significantly from its course, the international township of Auroville was originally intended to be organized as a Divine Anarchy, and may well one day fulfill its purpose.

The fight against fascism

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 1920s and 1930s the conflict between anarchism and the state was eclipsed by the one between liberal democracy, fascism and communism, which ended with the defeat of fascism in World War II. During the Spanish Civil War (1936-1939), a widely popular anarchist movement supported by militias loyal to the republic took control of rural areas of northeast Spain in 1936-1937 and collectivized the land. They were eventually suppressed by the Communist-controlled republican army.

Contemporary anarchism

Punk rock

A surge of popular interest in anarchism occurred during the 1960s and 1970s. In the UK this was associated with the punk rock movement; the band Crass is celebrated for its anarchist and pacifist ideas. In Denmark, the Freetown Christiania was created in downtown Copenhagen. The housing and employment crisis in most of Western Europe led to the formation of communes and squatter movements like the one still thriving in Barcelona, in Catalonia. Militant resistance to neo-Nazi groups in places like Germany, and the uprisings of autonomous Marxism, situationist, and Autonomist groups in France and Italy also helped to give popularity to anti-authoritarian, non-capitalist ideas.

For further details, see anarcho-punk

Environmentalism

See also: Green anarchism

Eco-anarchism generally is a belief in deep ecology, direct action against earth destroying institutions and systems, and generally a critique of industrial capitalism, although generally not against civilization per se.

There is a significant anarchist element to the environmental movement, including those that are known as eco-anarchists and green-anarchists. Eco-anarchism is generally a broad term that broadly refers to anarchists engaged in the earth liberation movement. The largest segment of 'eco-anarchists' is the Earth First! movement, a network of various collectives formed along anarchist principles. Earth First! generally engages in direct action and eco-defense, such as tree sitting and 'locking down'. In the modern anarchist movement, eco-anarchists generally adhere to deep ecology, which is a worldview that embraces biodiversity and sustainability. Eco-feminism is also sometimes considered the form of eco-anarchist feminism.

Civil rights

See also: black anarchism, APOC, ARA

(what about the '60s through '80s?)

Anti-Racist Action is a loose federation of groups that focus on confronting (sometimes violently) racist agitators, such as the Klu Klux Klan or neo-Nazis when they appear in public.

Black anarchism opposes the existence of a state, capitalism, and subjugation and domination of people of color, and favors a non-hierarchical organization of society. Black anarchists, recognizing that anarchism has traditionally been European or white-based, seek to forge their own movement that represents their own identity and tailored to their own unique situation. Theorists include Ashanti Alston, Lorenzo Komboa Ervin, and Sam Mbah.

Not so much an organization as a mailing list, Anarchist People of Color was created as a forum for non-caucasian anarchists to express their thoughts about racial issues within the anarchist movement, particularly within the United States.

Globalization of capitalism

Globally, anarchism has also grown in popularity and influence as part of the anti-war, anti-capitalist, and anti-globalization movements. Since the late 1990s, anarchists have been known for their involvement in protests against World Trade Organization and Group of Eight meetings, and the World Economic Forum -- protests that are generally portrayed in mainstream media coverage as violent riots. Some anarchists form black blocs at protests, in which members of the bloc wear black and cover their faces to avoid police identification and to create one large solid mass. Bloc members confront and defend other protesters from the police, set up barricades, and sometimes engage in the destruction of corporate property.

Although black bloc anarchists are often the only visible anarchists at large protests, large-scale protests are often constructed and organized through anarchist structures. Affinity groupings, spokescouncils, and networking all have led to the success of various large-scale anti-war and anti-globalization mobilizations, most notably at the protests against the WTO Meeting of 1999 in Seattle. Anarchists have also been involved heavily with underground direct action movements such as the Animal Liberation Front, and the Earth Liberation Front, which are considered "eco-terrorist" by federal authorities and some liberal organizations. Anarchism (or at least anarchist systems of organizing) is now largely seen to have about the same sway in modern revolutionary movements as Marxism had in the 1960s.

The question of civilization

See also: anarcho-primitivism

Beginning in the later part of the 20th century anarchist John Zerzan wrote in Elements of Refusal, and later, Future Primitive that civilization — not just the state — would need to fall for anarchy to be achieved. A rejection of industrial technology is also prominent in the views of many green anarchists. This worldview was associated with the growth of the anti-roads movement in the UK, Earth First! and the Earth Liberation Front in the US, and the actions of Theodore Kaczynski (aka the "Unabomber").

Primitivism is a philosophy advocating a return to a pre-industrial and usually pre-agricultural society, and a critique of industrial civilization, and the alienation that technology, progress, etc, have created between people and the natural world. Primitivism believes that industrial society inevitably produces oppressive structures through specialization of tasks or division of labor, and that technology has similar negative implications. Most forms of primitivism question civilization itself. Primitivism generally sees that by the birth of agriculture, and the birth of cities and the creating of production surplus, gave rise to structures of hierarchy, and later statism. Anarcho-primitivists point to the anti-authoritarian nature of many 'primitive' or hunter-gatherer societies throughout the world's history, as examples of anarchist societies.

The primitivist movement has connections to radical environmentalism movements such as the Earth Liberation Front and Earth First!.

Anarcho-capitalism

See also: Anarcho-capitalism

Anarcho-capitalism envisions a stateless society where private ownership of the means of production is permissible, and economic decisions are made privately through the operation of a free market. Anarcho-capitalists espouse a subjective theory of value rather than an intrinsic or modified labor theory of value; therefore, they have no opposition to profit. Though anarcho-capitalist ideas derive from classical liberalism and form American individualist anarchism, much of the credit for the foundations of anarcho-capitalist theory goes to Murray Rothbard who formally synthesized these with Austrian economics. Other important anarcho-capitalists include David Friedman, Jan Narveson, Hans-Hermann Hoppe, and Lew Rockwell. Early influences on anarcho-capitalism include Gustave de Molinari, Lysander Spooner, Benjamin Tucker, and Herbert Spencer.

Traditional anarchists tend to deny that anarcho-capitalism is a form of anarchism, often based upon the argument that anarchism entails opposition to coercive authority necessary for capitalism. The debate between the mainstream, anti-capitalist anarchism and anarcho-capitalism is covered further under Anarchism and capitalism and under the main Anarcho-Capitalism article. Anarcho-capitalism is compared and contrasted with individualist anarchism in the article Individualist anarchism and anarcho-capitalism.

Parallel structures

See also: anarchist economics, dual-power networks (dual-power networks, shadow economies, collectives,

Anarchists engage in building parallel structures and organizations, such as Food Not Bombs, radical labor unions, infoshop and radical social centers, new sets of schooling systems, media in various forms, organizing around housing and land issues, and work toward accountability with police and other institutions through such tools as consensus decision-making. This is in line with the general anarchist concept of creating "dual-power", the idea of creating the structures for a new anti-authoritarian society in the shell of the old, hierarchical one.

Technology

See also: Crypto-anarchism and Cypherpunk.

Some have said that recent technological developments have made the anarchist cause both easier to advance and more conceivable to people. Public key cryptography and the Internet have made anonymous digital currencies such as e-gold an alternative to statist fiat money. Many people use cell phones or the Internet to form loose communities that could be said to be organized along anarchist lines. Some of these communities have as their purpose the production of information in a non-commodified or use-value format, a goal made attainable by the availability of personal computing, desktop publishing, and digital media. These things have made it possible for individuals to share music files over the Internet. There are also open source programming communities, who donate their time and offer their product for free. Examples include Usenet, the free software movement (including the GNU/Linux community and the wiki paradigm), and Indymedia.

Some anarchists see information technology as the way to replace hierarchy, defeat monopoly, and prevent war, and support culture jamming in particular as a way to do so. Some writers — particularly Iain M. Banks, who has written quite extensively in the science fiction genre about The Culture, a futuristic society which has disposed of government — have theorised that anarchism would be inevitable with the technological advances that would make travelling and living in space plausible . The Electro-anarchy Collective poses a similar theory that technological power will naturally overthrow human government (although some question their anarchist credentials, claiming that technological governance is no less oppressive than human governance).

It has also been argued that the free software movement is an example of anarchic organization, this being an example not of hierarchical business, but of voluntary association for the production of a good.

Post-structuralism

See also: Post-anarchism

The term post-anarchism was originated by Saul Newman in his book "From Bakunin to Lacan: Antiauthoritarianism and the Dislocation of Power" to refer to a theoretical move towards a synthesis of classical anarchist theory and poststructuralist thought. In this sense it has similarities with post-Marxism associated with Ernesto Laclau and Chantal Mouffee. Subsequent to Newman's use of the term, however, it has taken on a life of its own and a wide range of ideas including autonomism, post-left anarchy, situationism, post-colonialism and Zapatismo have been suggested for inclusion under the rubric. Others have argued that the term "poststructuralist anarchism" is preferable in order to maintain an unbroken link with the anarchist heritage.

By its very nature post-anarchism rejects the idea that it should be a coherent set of doctrines and beliefs. As such it is difficult, if not impossible, to state with any degree of certainty who should or shouldn't be grouped under the rubric. Nonetheless key thinkers associated with post-anarchism include Saul Newman, Todd May, Gilles Deleuze and Félix Guattari.

External reference: Postanarchism Clearinghouse

Against ideology

See also: Post-left anarchy

Post-left anarchy seeks to distance itself from the traditional "left" - communists, liberals, social democrats, etc. - and to escape the confines of ideology in general. It has rapidly developed since the fall of the Soviet Union, which many view as the death of authoritarian leftism; however, its roots are clearly visible in the ideas of the 1960s Situationists. It is not an independent "movement" as such but rather a critical way of thinking about anarchist ideas.

Post-leftists argue that anarchism has been weakened by its long attachment to contrary "leftist" movements and single issue causes (anti-war, anti-nuclear, etc.). It calls for a synthesis of anarchist thought and a specifically anti-authoritarian revolutionary movement outside of the leftist milieu. It often focuses on the individual rather than speaking in terms of class or other broad generalizations and shuns organizational tendencies in favor of the complete absence of hierarchy. Total individual liberation is a key focus, rather than merely economic liberation.

Important groups and individuals associated with Post-left anarchy include: CrimethInc, the magazine Anarchy: A Journal of Desire Armed and its editor Jason McQuinn, Bob Black, and others. For more information, see Infoshop.org's Anarchy After Leftism section, and the Post-left section on anarchism.ws.

Personal practice

Small 'a' anarchism is a term used in two different, but not unconnected contexts.

Dave Neal posited the term in opposition to big 'A' Anarchism in the article Anarchism: Ideology or Methodology?. While big 'A' Anarchism referred to ideological Anarchists, small 'a' anarchism was applied to their methodological counterparts; those who viewed anarchism as "a way of acting, or a historical tendency against illegitimate authority." As an anti-ideological position, small 'a' anarchism shares some similarities with post-left anarchy, while Neal's insistence that it entails a rejection of the idea that there can be an "ultimate Truth" recalls the poststructuralist turns of post-anarchism (see above).

David Graeber and Andrej Grubacic offer an alternative use of the term, applying it to groups and movements organising according to or acting in a manner consistent with anarchist principles of decentralisation, voluntary association, mutual aid, the network model, and crucially, "the rejection of any idea that the end justifies the means, let alone that the business of a revolutionary is to seize state power and then begin imposing one's vision at the point of a gun." Graeber and Grubacic do not offer a comprehensive list of groups within this rubric, but suggest that it includes the likes of autonomism, Zapatismo and radical democracy. It should be stressed that many of these groups do not describe themselves as "anarchist", perhaps deliberately, and are grouped instead on the basis of what they do, implying that the criteria for inclusion are similar to those articulated by Neal.

It is unclear how far the term has been picked up by the wider anarchist movement, but it does help to clarify and begin to explain some of the conflicts and disagreements within contemporary anarchism.

Unsorted sections

Many of these sections down here can be merged into preceding sections, esp. the "conflict" discussions. Much can be deleted as it is redundant.

Conceptions of an anarchist society

See also: Anarchism and Society

Many political philosophers justify support of the state as a means of regulating violence, so that the destruction caused by human conflict is minimized and fair relationships are established. Anarchists argue that pursuit of these ends does not justify the establishment of a state, and in fact many argue that the state is incompatible with those goals. Anarchists argue that the state helps to create a monopoly on violence, and uses force and violence to expand and protect elite interests. Much effort has been dedicated to explaining how anarchist societies would handle criminality.

Pacifism

Some anarchists consider Pacifism (opposition to war) 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.

Anarchist literature often portrays war as an activity in which the state seeks to gain and consolidate power, both domestically and in foreign lands. Many anarchists subscribe to Randolph Bourne's view that "war is the health of the state". Anarchists believe that if they were to support a war they would be strengthening the state — indeed, Peter Kropotkin was alienated from other anarchists when he expressed support for the British in World War I.

Just as they are 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 protests against the war in Iraq, much anarchist activity has been anti-war based.

Many anarchists in the current movement however, reject complete pacifism, (although groups like Earth First!, and Food Not Bombs are based on principles of non-violence), and instead are in favor of self-defense, and sometimes violence against oppressive and authoritarian forces which they in fact also consider as defensive violence. Anarchists are skeptical however of winning a direct armed conflict with the state, and instead concern themselves mostly with organizing. Most anarchists however, do not consider the destruction of property to be violent, as do most activists who believe in non-violence.

Parliamentarianism

While most anarchists firmly oppose voting, or otherwise participating in the State institution, there are a few that disagree. Even hard-core anarchists (e.g. Proudhon) have succumbed to the temptation of electoral politics - and inevitably regretted it. Voluntaryism is an anarchist school of thought which emphasizes "tending your own garden" and "neither ballets nor bullets." The anarchist case against voting is explained in The Ethics of Voting by George H. Smith.

References

1. Rothbard, Murray. Concepts of the Role of Intellectuals in Social Change Toward Laissez Faire, The Journal of Libertarian Studies, Vol IX No. 2 (Fall 1990)

See also

• Anarchism and Marxism
• Anarchism and capitalism
• Anarchist symbolism
• Anarcho-punk
• Anarcho-Skinheads
• Punk ideology
• Libertarian Socialism
• Anarcho-syndicalism
• Black cat, for a symbol of anarchism
• Christian anarchism
• Equalism
• Crimethinc
• Earth First!
• Infoshop
• Individualist anarchism
• List of anarchists
• List of anarchist organizations
• Anarchism and the arts
• Past and present anarchist communities
• Situationist
• Alternative society
• Syndicalism
• Temporary Autonomous Zone
• Free store
• Utopian Anarchism

Historical events

• Paris Commune (1871)
• Haymarket Riot (1886)
• Kronstadt rebellion (1921)
• Spanish Revolution (1936) (see Anarchism in Spain)
• May 1968, France (1968)
• WTO Meeting in Seattle (1999)

Books

• Alexander Berkman, What is Anarchism?, Prison Memoirs of an Anarchist, others
• Mikhail Bakunin, God and the State, The Paris Commune and the Idea of the State, others
• Emma Goldman, Anarchism and Other Essays, Living My Life, others
• Daniel Guérin, Anarchism
• Peter Kropotkin, Mutual Aid, The Conquest of Bread, others
• Pierre-Joseph Proudhon, What is Property?
• Rudolf Rocker, Anarcho-Syndicalism
• Voline, The Unknown Revolution
• Robert Paul Wolff, In Defense of Anarchism
• William Godwin, An Enquiry Concerning Political Justice
• Max Stirner, The Ego And Its Own Contractarian (as opposed to Natural Law or utilitarian) anarchism
• Leo Tolstoy, The Kingdom of God is Within You - Christian pacifist anarchism
• Guy Debord, The Society of the Spectacle
• Hakim Bey, Temporary Autonomous Zones Ontological anarchism

Concepts

Main article: List of anarchist concepts

• Anarchist economics
• Anti-Capitalism
• Animal Liberation
• Anti-Authoritarianism
• Antifa
• Animal Liberation Front
• Anarchist People of Color
• Black bloc
• Consensus Democracy
• Deep Ecology
• Direct action
• Direct democracy
• Dual Power
• Earth First!
• Earth Liberation Front
• Ecofeminism
• Free Association
• General Strike
• Gift economy
• Indymedia
• Intellectual worker
• Media democracy
• Mutual aid
• Monopoly on violence
• Parecon
• Radical Feminism
• Revolution
• Self-ownership
• Sovereignty of the individual
• Squatting
• Syndicalism
• Self-Management
• Voluntary association
• Workers' council

Anarchist organizations

Main article: List of anarchist organizations

• AK Press
• Alternative Media Project
• Anarchist Black Cross
• Anarchist Federation
• Anarchist Football Network
• Anarchist People of Color
• Animal Liberation Front
• Biotic Baking Brigade
• CrimethInc.
• Critical Mass
• Earth Liberation Front
• Food Not Bombs
• Freedom Press
• Green Anarchy
• Homes Not Jails
• Industrial Workers of the World
• Indymedia
• Institute for Anarchist Studies
• Midwest Unrest
• NEFAC
• Peoples' Global Action
• Red and Anarchist Action Network
• Red and Anarchist Skinheads
• Workers Solidarity Movement
• Zabalaza Anarchist Communist Federation

While all of these organizations have anarchists as members, many are inclusive beyond anarchist and include anti-authoritarians and greens.

Anarchism by region/culture

• African Anarchism
• Anarchism in Spain
• Anarchism in the English tradition

External links

• Anarchism, Capitalism, and Anarcho-Capitalism from anarchism.net
• Manifesto by Josiah Warren, the first in the American tradition of individualist anarchism
• American Liberal-Anarchism from The Conquest of Power by Albert Weisbord, on individualist anarchism in America
• Collectivist-Anarchism from The Conquest of Power by Albert Weisbord
• The Schism Between Individualist and Communist Anarchism
• A IDEIA - Revista Libertaria - Portugal
• An Anarchist FAQ is written from the perspective of the traditional anarchist movement.
• Peter Kropotkin's article on anarchism for the 11th edition Encyclopedia Britannica (1911).
• Fake Anarchists and Libertarians
• Hundreds of anarchists are listed, with short bios, links & dedicated pages at the Daily Bleed's Anarchist Encyclopedia
• Rebel Alliance Forums, also harbours a few communists and socialists.
• African Anarchism: The History of a Movement
• Anarchoblogs Blogs by Anarchists.
• Anarchopedia intends to be an anarchist encyclopedia using the MediaWiki engine.
• Anarchy Archives extensively archives information relating to famous anarchists. This includes many of their books and other publications.
• Antflip.com | Anarchism Page A selection of websites, books, and online articles that explore social anarchism.
• Anarchist Direct Actions: A Challenge for Law Enforcement (pdf) is an article from a law enforcement perspective that includes a look at tactics, philosophy and a history of the Anarchist movement in the United States.
• Infoshop.org
• International Workers Association (IWA-AIT)
• Melbourne Anarchist Archives 1966-1973
• The Inefficient Utopia - an analysis of anarchist use of consensus, by the Curious George Brigade.
• Jura Books (Sydney, Australia)
• North Eastern Federation of Anarcho-Communists - (NEFAC)
• Autonome
• Industrial Workers of the World
• IWW Retail Workers
• Crimethinc.com
• Crimethinc.net
• Earth Liberation Front (ELF)
• Animal Liberation Front (ALF)
• Anarchist People of Color
• Anarcha-feminism
• Earth First!
• Towards an another anarchism by Andrej Grubacic at the World Social Forum
• Libertari.org Italian anarchist site
• ROAD Collective Ontario Anarchist Networking
• Objections to Anarchism Objections and rebuttals, from The Dandelion 1977-79
• A-Infos: Anarchist News Service

Opposing views

• Collection of critical articles
• Anarcho-Capitalism

Category:Anarchism Category:Forms of government Category:Political ideology entry points Category:Political theories Category:Social philosophy