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The definition of anarchism is hotly debated. A social movement which regards itself as representing anarchism considers opposition to capitalism as a major, essential point in addition to opposing the state. This article is here. Others, particularly anarcho-capitalists, disagree. See Anarchism (disambiguation) for more meanings of anarchism and anarchy..

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Schools of Anarchism


"Property is Liberty" - Pierre Proudhon


"Anarchism is a word without meaning, unless it includes the liberty of the individual to control his product or whatever his product has brought him through exchange in a free market—that is, private property. Whoever denies private property is of necessity an Archist." - Benjamin Tucker


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 the State is an unnecessary evil 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 harmony.

An advocacy of voluntary human interaction and opposition to the State are the unvarying principles of anarchism. However, disputes arise over what type of interaction is actually voluntary, over which school of anarchism promises the most freedom, as well as over which philosophies are, or are not, forms of anarchism. Contentious issues also include the degree of organization desirable to effect social change, the role of high-tech, and especially the transition problem of how to achieve a stateless society.

History of anarchism

Precursors of anarchism

Some say that primitive hunter-gatherer societies were organized on anarchist principles. They point to the tribes with "chiefs" having no power to make law, and the universal developement of customary law.

Some anarchists have embraced Taoism, which developed in Ancient China, as a source of anarchistic attitudes . 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 1300's, the Free Spirit in the Middle Ages, the Anabaptists, and The Diggers – have also expounded ideas that have been interpreted as anarchist.

The first known usage of the word anarchy appears in the play Seven Against Thebes by Aeschylus, dated 467 BC. 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.

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." In the 17th century, the Diggers, and later the Levelers attempted to gain land ownership rights for the masses. They are also considered forerunners of modern anarchism.

Modern anarchism

Timeline of Modern Anarchism
1756 First anarchist essay. Edmund Burke A Vindication of Natural Society
1793 First anarchist treatise. William Godwin An Enquiry Concerning Political Justice
1840 First self-described anarchist. Pierre Proudhon What is Property?
1841 First individualist anarchist. Josiah Warren Manifesto
1844 First egoist anarchist. Max Stirner The Ego and Its Own
1849 First anarcho-capitalist. Gustave de Molinari The Production of Security
1866 First anarcho-socialist. Michael Bakunin Revolutionary Catechism
1886 Individualist anarchist publisher. Benjamin Tucker State Socialism and Anarchism: How far they agree, & wherein they differ
1902 First anarcho-communist. Peter Kropotkin Mutual Aid

The first modern author to have published an essay explicitly advocating the absence of government was Edmund Burke in "A Vindication of Natural Society" (1756). In 1793 William Godwin published An Enquiry Concerning Political Justice, in which he presented his vision of a free society alongside a critique of government. Some consider this the first anarchist treatise, calling Godwin the "founder of philosophical anarchism". Godwin advocated an extreme type of individualism opposing every kind of cooperation among individuals. The term "anarchist" was used during the French Revolution as an insult against anti-monarchists, but Pierre-Joseph Proudhon, adopted the term to describe his own political philosophy in the 1840s. Since Proudhon was the first to adopt the term "anarchist" as a self-description, some claim Proudhon as the founder of modern anarchist theory.

Liberals were often labeled "anarchists" by monarchists, even though they did not call for the abolition of the State. Still, they did promote the idea of a minimal State, individual rights, and the responsibility of the people to judge their governments, which provided a groundwork for the development of anarchist thought. "The Law" (1849) by Frederic Bastiat is a good example of an anti-statist liberal tract. A clear precursor of anarcho-capitalism was Gustave de Molinari, who wrote about private defense agencies in The Production of Security (1849). This was the first attempt to solve the problem of security in a stateless manner. Previous thinkers had generally either assumed that statelessness would lead to a quick change in human nature, claimed personal justice would suffice, or simply avoided the issue. In the United States, anarchist thoughts were expressed in the writings of Henry David Thoreau (Civil Disobedience), Josiah Warren, and Benjamin Tucker. Individualist anarchists such as Tucker were influenced by the writings of Herbert Spencer and Max Stirner, among others.

Later in the 19th century, Anarcho-socialist theorists like Mikhail Bakunin and Peter Kropotkin paralleled the Marxist critique of capitalism and synthesized it with their own critique of the state. 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 was 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."

Mikhail Bakunin saw a need to defend the working class against oppression and overthrow the ruling class as a means to dissolve the state. Peter Kropotkin's anarcho-communism derived from his evolution-based theory that co-operation equaled or surpassed competition in importance, as illustrated in Mutual Aid: A Factor in Evolution (1897). 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).

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". Anarchists played a role in many of the labour movements, uprisings, and revolutions of the late 19th and early 20th centuries, including the Russian Revolution (1917). In the United States, many new immigrants were anarchists; an especially notable group was the large number of Jewish immigrants who had left Russia and Eastern Europe during the late 19th and early 20th centuries. These groups were disrupted by the Red Scare of 1919. Emma Goldman was a very influential anarchist and feminist during this period.

In Europe, in the first quarter of the 20th century, anarcho-socialist movements achieved some relative, if short-lived, success. However, in the 1920s and 1930s the conflict between anarchism and the state was eclipsed by the rise of fascism. During the Spanish Civil War (1936-1939), a popular anarchist movement supported by militias took control of rural areas of northeast Spain and collectivized the land, but was crushed in short order by the Communist-controlled republican army.

In the 1950's, the anti-war, anti-state Old Right defected from the new Cold War big-government Republicans, and alligned with segments of the New Left and radical Objectivists. Eventually this alliance evolved into the US Libertarian party and various anarcho-capitalist movements, sparked by the minarchist writings of Ayn Rand and the philosophical guidance and activism of Murray Rothbard ("The Libertarian Manifesto"). A surge of popular interest in socialist 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.

Some 20th century anarchists were involved in the labour, animal-rights, radical ecology, and feminist movements. Since the mid-1960s, anarchists have been involved in student protest movements, peace movements, squatter movements, and the globalization or anti-globalization movement (depending on whether they were anarcho-capitalist or anarcho-socialist.) In the 21st century, the global growth and interest in anti-statist and secessionist beliefs have given anarchism a new life. Many anarchists believe that the internet and strong cryptography provide a technological advantage for freedom over statism.

Anarchism today

Anarchism is not constrained to political protest. Anarchists also engage in building parallel structures and organizations, such as Food Not Bombs, radical labor unions, infoshop and radical social centers, alternatives to statist education systems such as home schooling and private schools, media in various forms, organizing around housing and land issues (e.g. Habatat for Humanity), 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 "building freedom" or creating "dual-power." The idea is to create voluntary alternatives to services currently provided by the State.

Some have said that recent technological developments have made the anarchist cause both easier to advance and more conceivable to people. Many people use cell phones or the Internet to form loose communities which 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, without economic incentive, and even with a certain amount of risk. There are also open source programming communities, who donate their time, and offer their product freely as well. Examples include Usenet, the free software movement (including the GNU/Linux community and the wiki paradigm), and Indymedia. A book analyzing how this new "anarchic" mode of production is possible is Eric S. Raymond's The Cathedral and the Bazaar. Pro-capitalist anarchists are also excited about new technology. Digital anonymous currency provide non-statist money and a defense against State extortion (taxation.) Strong cryptography allows private communication and the ability to verify identity of trading partners. A non-statist infrastructure for trade is being created in cyberspace.

Historical examples

Various examples of societies which have been organized by anarchist principles, examples of societies which have been created in the event of anarchist revolution, and also uprisings, revolts and attempted revolutions that have involved anarchist and anti-authoritarians which have proved successful.

See Past and present anarchist communities

Schools of anarchist thought

Political ideology diagram, showing anarcho-socialism at the upper left and anarcho-capitalism at the upper right. The up-down dimension represents the extent of government; the left-right dimension represents the outward appearance (legal fiction) of property ownership. In theory, both socialism and capitalism have statist and anti-statist variants. The placement of persons and parties on this graph are only approximate, and suject to debate.

From William Godwin's utilitarian anarchism to Pierre-Joseph Proudhon's mutualism, to Max Stirner's egoism, to Benjamin Tucker's radical individualism, to Peter Kropotkin's anarchist communism, the roots of anarchist thought in modern political philosophy are varied, with many different views of what a society without government should be like. Primitivism, advocating the dissolution of civilization, is reminiscent of, if not inspired by, the early 19th century Luddite movement. There are also a number of feminist anarchist theories, including anarcha-feminism, eco-feminism, and individualist feminism. Another tradition in anarchism follows from individuals like Errico Malatesta and Voltairine de Cleyre in claiming no adjective. These "anarchists without adjectives" seek to unify all anarchists around the basic shared principles of being anti-state, arguing that the diverse forms of anarchism can work together in relative harmony.

See the sidebar for articles about particular schools.


Conceptions of an anarchist society

Main article: 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 do 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 protects the elite's interests. Much effort has been dedicated to explaining how anarchist societies would handle criminality. While some anarchists reject organized defense of liberty outright, many have proposed forms of polycentric law. Traditional individualist anarchists, as well as anarcho-capitalists advocate private defense agencies and courts to protect private property and enforce contracts.

Anarchist economic organization

Main article: Anarchist economics

The modern state is deeply involved in society's economic activities, ranging from monopolized protection of property, to the regulation of markets, the plunder (taxation) of productive people, and the redistribution of goods. Most anarchists would agree that radical restructuring of existing economic systems is necessary. Collectivist anarchists or Anarcho-socialists believe that wage-labor must end, markets must be abolished, and labor exchange must be destroyed. Traditional individualist anarchists do not oppose wage-labor as long as wages paid adhere to the labor theory of value, whereas anarcho-capitalists, believing that value is subjective, do not oppose profit in wages. Both traditional individualist anarchists and Anarcho-capitalists believe that people should not be prevented from producing, trading, and interacting as they choose, so long as it is voluntary. They consider it right and natural that some are able to create and save wealth better than others, and consider the division of labor to be a boon to mankind. For a classification of government interventions in the market, see "Power and Market" by Murray Rothbard.

Conflicts within anarchist thought

Tolerance vs. Expansionism

Since any belief consistent with anti-statism is anarchist, there are vastly different and often opposing ideas about: what constitutes aggression, what is valid property, and what forms and conventions societies should adopt. As a result, there is difference of opinion within each school about how to react to, or interact with, those with opposing ideologies. E.g. How should an anarcho-socialist commune react to an anarcho-capitalist firm next door? (And vice-versa.)

The tolerant attitude is to live with it - let reality be the judge. One should not use force to promote your program. Those who take this panarchist approach to 'foreign policy' generally predict that, since their system is better, it will attract more people in the long run. Benjamin Tucker is a good example of this tolerant approach.

The intolerant (evangelical or expansionist may be more descriptive) attitude considers the other system aggressive and/or authoritarian by its very nature. Thus it is permissable, perhaps even a moral imperitive, to use force against the perceived criminals. This attitude occurs among anarcho-capitalists, particularly those who cannot conceive of an anti-statist form of socialism. Indeed, "socialism" in colloquial speech is generally understood as "statist socialism." This attitude also occurs among anarcho-socialists, particularly those who cannot conceive of an anti-statist form of propertarianism. Indeed, conventional socialist theory deems capitalism as necessarily authoritarian and exploitative.

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 anarchist ideology, 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.

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.

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.

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 a 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.

Critique

See Criticisms of Socialism for a general critique of socialism, some of which may apply. There are also some specific criticisms of anarchism.

Violence

Some critics claim that lack of police and military would leave the anarchist communities defenseless against organized internal and external aggressors like pirates, terrorists, or military imperialism. The criticism about lack of police only applies to those schools of 'anarchism' that would deny people's freedom to organize voluntarily for defense.

Anarcho-capitalist theory allows PDAs (private defense agencies), i.e. private arbitration and police associations, which it is argued would be more moral and efficient than monopoly statist police. In other words, anarchists are not against police, courts, and laws per se, simply the monopoly provision of such by a coercive organization - the State. Advantages over statist legal systems are: 1) less likelihood of victimless crime laws, 2) people may choose what rules to live by, and 3) competition for customers favors liberty compared to monopoly statist police. Since people can choose their preferred security product, this allows for e.g. the Happy Hippie Defense Association which allows ganja and public nudity, and the God's Own Security, Inc. that stones adulterers and has mandatory church attendence. Such different legal products may exist peacefully side-by-side, since they are voluntary and people can opt out or switch at any time. (Presumably not to avoid prosecution.) Cf: "The Market for Liberty" by Morris and Linda Tannahill, "The Ethics of Liberty" by Murray Rothbard, and articles on "polycentric law."

Similarly, anarcho-capitalists would allow private defense associations to organize against foreign invasion. Local private militias are seen as likely, while interventionist military actions would become more difficult compared to statist military policy. Since they depend on voluntary funding, private militaries would not have taxpayers to plunder or subjects to conscript. Thus interventionism becomes an expense to bear that more peaceful competitors don't have. Peaceful defense firms therefore have a competitive advantage over warmonger firms. Furthermore, unlike States, PDAs are not necessarily territorially based. Thus the use of weapons of mass destruction is less likely for private militaries than statist militaries. E.g. Coke doesn't bomb Pepsi because they have bottling plant and customers in the same cities and towns, whereas statist militaries and ideology allows mass-murder of everyone on the enemy State's 'turf.'

Some express doubts concerning the effectiveness of a voluntary militia against a ruthless modern military using weapons of mass destruction and hierarchical structure. Critics also argue that historical examples, like the Spanish Civil War, do not support the theory that anarchist communities can defend themselves. Also, critics see violence among hunter-gatherers as evidence that anarchist societies will be violent. Yet examples like Hong Kong, a near free market virtually defenseless from Mao's China not only wasn't attacked, but thrived. Anarchists argue that free trade makes attack unlikely. E.g. Since China owned the biggest bank in Hong Kong, and Hong Kong provided much needed trade and financial services to China, it would have been irrational for China to attack. Similar experience in other merchant cities supports this view. As Fredric Bastiat wrote, "When goods don't cross borders, soldiers will." Anarcho-capitalists believe that converse is also true: when goods do cross borders, war is less likely. As for hunter gatherers, many such societies did get along peacefully. Again, it depended largely on whether freedom of trade was allowed and property rights were respected. A study of the Yurok Indians of northern California showed that they got along peacibly with neighboring tribes, and even allowed people from other tribes to own property in their jurisdiction. Cf: Enforcement of Private Property Rights in Primitive Societies: Law without Government Also, the Xeer of Somaliland has a peaceful record, especially compared to the chaos of the statist system (and its breakdown) in neighboring Somalia.

Production

Some critics of Anarchism claim that production in an unorganized society will suffer and dwindle to a primitive state. This critique assumes that order can only result from central planning, as opposed to decentralized/pluralistic decision-making or some other form of emergent order.

In a stateless society where one community has no formal relationship with another, as some anarcho-socialists envision, production would be localized, eliminating the benefits of Economies of Scale and regional specialization. Even if it is cheaper to produce goods in one geographic location over another, anarchism could mean that people farther away cannot benefit from this efficient production because safe, organized production and transportation is prevented. Of course, this objection doesn't apply at all to the anarcho-capitalist vision of free trade and open markets. On the contrary, without government regulation, barriers to trade, and plunder, production would be expected to compare favorably to statist neo-mercantilism.

Another critique of the anarcho-socialist position is that business relationships between organizations/firms/individuals will be limited to inefficient contracts. Without a government and judicial system to enforce a contract, organizations will be forced to use black market schemes and other paralegal methods to enforce contract negotiations. In particular, firms may feel safer doing businesses with other groups that they have a long-term relationship with. A newer organization will be viewed with distrust because it could renege on its contract obligations and forgo payment or delivery. This creates a formidable barrier to entry for new organizations and limits the profitable relationships organized producers can engage in. Again, this critique does not apply to anarcho-capitalism, which allows private polycentric law protecting contracts - law which is likely to be more efficient (and more moral) than the monopoly law of the State. The fact that new businesses have to build up a reputation for honesty and quality is seen as a good consequence from the consumers' point of view, and a natural (as opposed to coercive) barrier to entry.

See also

Books

Anarcho-capitalist

Anarcho-socialist

General/Other

External links

Category:Anarchism Category:Forms of government Category:Political theories Category:Social philosophy

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