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| {{Anarchism}} | |||
| '''Anarchism''' derives from the ] '']'' ("without ]s (rulers)"). Thus anarchism, in its etymological meaning, is the belief that rulers are unnecessary and should be abolished. Anarchism refers to various ] and related ]s that advocate the elimination of authoritarian institutions and relationships, particularly the ]. In place of centralized political structures and coercive economic institutions, anarchists advocate social relations based upon ] association of autonomous individuals, cooperation, mutual aid, and ]. | |||
| While anarchism is defined by what it is against, anarchists also offer positive visions of what they believe to be a truly free society. The word "]," as anarchists use it, does not imply chaos or anomie, but rather a harmonious ] society. However, ideas about how an anarchist society might work vary considerably, especially with respect to economics. Also, there is disagreement about how a free society might be brought about. | |||
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| Many anarchists believe the term "anarchism" properly refers only to anti-capitalist movements, and most anarchists are anti-capitalist; however, this article takes no position on ''what is a true anarchist'' and uses the broad etymological meaning given above. | |||
| == Precursors of anarchism == | |||
| ===Primitive cultures=== | |||
| Many anarchists, particularly ], assert that before recorded ], human society was organized on anarchist principles. They claim hunter-gatherer bands had an egalitarian structure, citing a lack of division of labour, accumulated wealth and decreed law as indicators of such indigenous "anarchist" systems. Others, however, question this, in particular in terms of a gender based division of labour. | |||
| ===Philosophical traces=== | |||
| Some anarchists have claimed that ], which developed in ], was a source of anarchistic attitudes . Similarly, anarchistic tendencies can be traced to the philosophers of ], such as ], the founder of the ], ], who said that the wise should not give up their ] to the state , and ], the ], who claimed to be a citizen of the world. Later movements — such as ] in the 1300s, the ] in the ], | |||
| the ]s, ], and the ] | |||
| — have also expounded ideas that have been interpreted as anarchist. | |||
| ===Ancient Greece=== | |||
| The first known usage of the word ''anarchy'' appears in the play '']'' by ], dated ]. There, ] openly refuses to abide by the rulers' decree to leave her brother Polyneices' body unburied, as punishment for his participation in the attack on ], 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 European instance of anarchism as a philosophical ideal, in the form of the ] philosopher ], who was, according to ], "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 ], Zeno's vision of a free community without government or ] is opposed to the state-] of ]. Zeno argued that although the necessary instinct of self-preservation leads humans to ], nature has supplied a corrective to it by providing man with another instinct — ]. Like many modern anarchists, he believed that if people follow their instincts, they will have no need of law, ], or ], no ] and no public ], and use no ] (a ] taking the place of the exchanges). Zeno's beliefs have only reached us as fragmentary quotations. | |||
| ===Anabaptists and Diggers=== | |||
| The ]s of ] Europe are sometimes considered to be religious forerunners of modern anarchism. ], in his '']'', writes that the Anabaptists "repudiated all law, since they held that the good man will be guided at every moment by ]...rom this premise they arrive at communism...." The novel ] by ] provides a fictional depiction of this movement and its revolutionary ideology. | |||
| ] or "True Levellers" were an early anarchistic and communistic movement during the time of the ]. They are considered by some as forerunners of modern anarchism. The Diggers were engaged in the ] of ] in England until eventual supression by local landowners and ]'s men. The Diggers and the ] (a more moderate liberal movement within the parliamentary ]) benefitted from mass agitation made possible by the invention of the ]. The Diggers spokesperson ] published pamphlets calling for communal ownership and social and economic organization in small agrarian communities in the ]: | |||
| "And let all men say what they will, so long as such are rulers as call the land theirs, upholding this particular propriety of mine and thine, the common people shall never have their liberty, nor the land be ever freed from troubles, oppressions, and complainings.." From ''The New Law of Righteouness'' (1649) | |||
| "Kingly government governs the earth by that cheating art of buying and selling, and thereby becomes a man of contention his hand is against every man, and every man's hand against him. And take this government at the best, it is a diseased government and the very City Babylon, full of confusion, and if it had not a club law to support it there would be no order in it, because it is the covetous and proud will of a conqueror, enslaving the conquered people." From ''The Law of Freedom'' (1652) | |||
| ===Age of Enlightenment=== | |||
| The first use of the term ''anarchy'' in the ] to mean something other than chaos was by ] in his ''Nouveaux voyages dans l'Amérique septentrionale'', (1703), where he described the ] society, which had no state, laws, prisons, priests, or private property, as being in anarchy . ], a leader in the ], has repeatedly stated that he is "an anarchist, and so are all ancestors." | |||
| The one of the first ] essays explicitly advocating the absence of government was "" (1756) written anonymously by ]. There is an ongoing historical dispute about whether this essay was serious or satirical; nevertheless, it was influential among some later anarchists such as ], ], and others who praised it. However Burke is considered as a founding father of modern conservativism and indeed disavowed this early essay (his first) as he started his career as a conservative ] ]. ] pilloried him as an opportunistic bourgeois politician. | |||
| ==History of anarchism== | |||
| ''see also ]'' | |||
| ===Chart of influences=== | |||
| ] | |||
| ===Justice against the state=== | |||
| ] | |||
| The first essay explicitly advocating the absence of government was "" (1756) by ]. The first positive theory of anarchism was ]'s (]). This was a very influential tract; though he did not use the word ''anarchism'', some today regard him as the "founder of philosophical anarchism." | |||
| The themes of his work, some of which he later retracted, would become central to the future development of anarchism. But at this point no anarchist movement yet existed, and the term ''anarchiste'' was known only as an insult hurled by the ] ] at more radical elements in the revolution. (Some of whom, the ] ], are seen by many as the immediate predecessors of working-class anarchism.) | |||
| ===The first self-labelled anarchist=== | |||
| It is commonly held that it wasn't until ] published "" 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. In ''What is Property'' Proudhon answers with the famous accusation "Property is theft." In this work he opposed the institution of "property" (''propriété'') in the special sense of idle and occupied land and other natural resources bestowed and enforced by state privilege. Proudhon opposed the idea of an individual having dominion over land that he was not using, as this would enable the owner to charge rent to others and thereby be paid without laboring. Besides opposing individual ownership of land itself, he opposed the idea of social ownership (as in communism) as well: "instead of inferring from this that property should be shared by all, I demand, as a measure of general security, its entire abolition." For Proudhon, individuals may rightfully "occupy and use" land (calling this "possession" rather than "property"), but not restrict others from using land or charge rent to use land that they are not themselves putting to use. | |||
| However, Proudhon did not oppose property in the sense of individual ownership of the produce of his labor. Proudhon's vision of anarchy, which he called ] (''mutuellisme''), involved an exchange economy where individuals and groups could trade the fruits of their labor by using labor-backed money (labor notes). The use of labor notes would insure that no one purchased a good with less of his own labor than the labor undertaken to produce the good he was purchasing. Hence, with labor notes, profitless transactions would be facilitated (However, Proudhon was not the first to advocate such an economic system). Proudhon's ideas began to exert some influence within French working class movements, and his followers were active in the ]. | |||
| ===Egoism=== | |||
| ] is considered to be the first egoist of the individualist anarchists. Stirner considered the world and everything in it, including other persons, available to one's taking or use without moral constraint --that rights do not exist in regard to objects at all. Stirner is a supporter of property but holds that a ''right'' to property is an illusion, or "ghost"; property is only a matter of control --it is not based in any moral right but solely in the right of might: "Whoever knows how to take, to defend, the thing, to him belongs property." He sees no rationality in taking the interests of others into account unless doing so furthers one's self-interest, which he believed is the only legitimate reason for acting. His embrace of ] is in stark contrast to Godwin's ]. He denies society as being an actual entity, calling society a "spook" and that "the individuals are its reality" (''The Ego and Its Own''). Stirner argued that most commonly accepted social institutions - including property rights and the very notion of society itself - were mere illusions or ''ghosts'', saying rather that "the individuals are its reality." He advocated a form of amoralism, in which individuals would unite in 'associations of egoists' only when it was in their self interest to do so. | |||
| The philosophy of ], which he described as '']'' is considered a form of ''individualist anarchism''. Whether individualist anarchism is properly justified by self-interest (egoism) or natural law has been a subject of debate among later individualists. For example, Lysander Spooner argued that private property was based in natural law and espoused a ], while ]'s ideas on property were founded on egoism, as he believed that property could only come about by self-interested parties contracting to establish it: "the right of might and the right of contract -are the only rights that ever have been or ever can be." | |||
| ===Individualist anarchism (Liberal anarchism)=== | |||
| ''See also:'' ], ], ], ] | |||
| In the early 1800s, ] were often labeled "anarchists" by ], even though they did not generally call for the abolition of the State. Still, they did promote liberty, the idea of a minimal State, ], and the responsibility of the people to judge their governments. "" (1849) by ] is a good example of an anti-statist liberal tract. The logic of ''laissez-faire'' economics, when taken to its logical conclusion, leads to anarchism. ] proposed private defense agencies in (1849), 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, or claimed personal justice would suffice. | |||
| In 1825, the American ] had participated in a collectivist experiment headed by ] called "]" that failed in a few years amidst much internal conflict. Warren believed the failure was due to a lack of individual soveriegnty and private property. Warren also held that "by dispensing with government we shake off the greatest invader of human rights" (''Equitable Commerce''). He put his theories to practice by organizing anarchist colonies, including ] and ]. Warren emphasized "the sovereignty of the individual," a key idea in American individualist anarchism. | |||
| ]]] | |||
| In 1872 ] first met Warren and ] in Boston at the New England Labor Reform League. He became familiar with Warren's ideas on the ] (an application of the labor theory of value) and Greene's ideas on mutual banking. Tucker incorporated these ideas, as well as the market anarchism of Proudhon and ]'s egoism, ]'s "law of equal freedom," and other theorists, into what is seen as a formalized individualist anarchist theory. This form of individualist anarchism strongly supports "private property" (a right of an individual to exercise exclusive domain over the product of his labor, as opposed to this product being relegated to a collective pool shared equally by the community) and a ] where this property may be bought and sold. Wage labor is also supported, as long as wages adhere to the labor theory of value. As capitalism is commonly understood to be a system where profit-making takes place, mutualism differs from capitalism. These labor-value individualists believed that in a laissez-faire system, the ability to make a profit would be nearly non-existent due to increased competition. | |||
| Other 19th century individualists include ], ], and ]. While some individualists looked to ] to justify individualism, many, in accordance with Stirner's "Egoism" hold that ] is the only legitimate justification for action. For example, ] holds that there are natural property rights, but egoists such as ] agree with Stirner that there are no natural property rights, but rather come about by ] between individuals. The American author and ] ] (] – 1862) was a quasi-anarchist. He wrote the influential essay '']'' (available at ]) on ]. Though, early individualist anarchism is most often associated with the labor-value individualists, there were individualists who did not subscribe to the labor theory of value and therefore did not oppose profit. | |||
| Murray Bookchin notes that individualist anarchism was attacked by the anarcho-communists and anarcho-syndicalists in the early 19th century as being "petty-bourgeois exotica" and that "they often attacked it quite directly as a middle-class indulgence, rooted far more in liberalism than in anarchism." Individualist anarchism was marginalized in the 20th century due to the popularity of anarcho-communism and syndicalism. According to political historian Carl Levy, in his MS Encarta Encyclopedia (UK) ''Anarchism'' article, "Since ], this tradition has been reborn and modified in the United States as ] or ]." However, labor-value individualist anarchism is still extant today (being carried on in the philosophy of individuals such as ] and ]) in both the United States and around the world. | |||
| ===The International=== | |||
| In Europe, a period of harsh reaction followed the widespread revolutionary activity of 1848. The next major phase of revolutionary activity began almost twenty years later with the founding of the ], sometimes called the 'First International', in London in 1864.]]] | |||
| The ], at its founding, was an alliance of diverse groups, including French ], Blanquists, English ], Italian followers of ] and other socialists of various persuasions. Over its short life it grew into a major movement, with local federations in many countries developing strong bases of working class ]. ] was a constant, and leading, figure from the start - he was elected to every succeeding General Council of the association. | |||
| Due to the wide variety of philosophies present in the First International, there was conflict from the start. The first objections to Marx's came from the Mutualists who opposed communism and statism. However, shortly after ] and his followers (called ''Collectivists'' while in the International) joined in 1868, the First International became polarised into two camps, with Marx and Bakunin as their respective figureheads. Perhaps the clearest differences between the groups emerged over their proposed strategies for achieving their visions of socialism. The anarchists grouped around Bakunin favoured (in Kropotkin's words) "direct economical struggle against capitalism, without interfering in the political parliamentary agitation." Marxist thinking, at that time, focused on parliamentary activity. For example, when the new ] of 1871 became the first country to introduce manhood suffrage, many German socialists became active in the Marxist ]. | |||
| Bakunin characterised Marx's ideas as ], and predicted that if a Marxist party gained to power its leaders would end up as bad as the ] they had fought against (notably in his ''''.) In 1872, the conflict in the First International climaxed with a final split between the two groups at the ]. This clash is often cited as the origin of the long-running ]. From then on, the '']'' and '']'' currents of socialism had distinct organisations, at various points including rival ] | |||
| ===Anarchist Communism=== | |||
| ''Main article:'' ] | |||
| Unlike Marxism, anarchism has never had one central set of texts or authorities. But in the last three decades of the nineteenth century the anarchism of many of Bakunin's followers did gradually develop into a clearer position embracing an idea of communism. (Although Bakunin himself was not a communist - his view, sometimes called ''collectivism'', combined collective ownership of the means of production with support for private possession of the produce of labour.) | |||
| An early proponent of anarchist communism was ]. In 1857 Déjacque, who was initially a follower of Proudhon, wrote to Proudhon arguing that: "it is not the product of his or her labor that the worker has a right to, but to the satisfaction of his or her needs, whatever may be their nature." Déjacque propagated his views through his journal called ''Le Libertaire'', published in the United States from 1858-1861. Déjacque is also notable as the first person to describe himself as a "]", and the 1857 letter contains the first appearance of the term in print. | |||
| ] | |||
| The Italian federation of the ], which overwhelmingly took the Bakuninist line, was perhaps the first organisation to set out an explicit vision of communist anarchism. The Italian anarchists included ], ], ] and other ex-] Republicans. At its Florence Conference of 1876, their federation stated its principles as follows: | |||
| :''"The Italian Federation considers the collective property of the products of labour as the necessary complement to the collectivist programme, the aid of all for the satisfaction of the needs of each being the only rule of production and consumption which corresponds to the principle of solidarity."'' | |||
| In his ''Anarchie et Communisme'', Cafiero argued that private property even in the product of labor (Mutualist 'possession') will lead to unequal accumulation of capital, and therefore to class distinctions. | |||
| Perhaps the most important theorist of ] was ]. In a number of works including '']'' and '']'', Kropotkin plotted his views of what anarchist communist society might look like and how it might be achieved. Kropotkin's ] was closely linked to his ] theory based on ] in which co-operation equaled or surpassed competition in importance, as illustrated in '']'' (1897). | |||
| Subsequent figures in the theory of anarchist communism include ] and ]. The ] movements (see below) generally saw anarchist communism as their objective. ]'s 1932 ''Comunismo Libertario'' was adopted by the Spanish ] as its manifesto for an anarchist communist society. | |||
| ===Propaganda by the deed=== | |||
| ] advocated assassination and terrorism to further the cause of ]]] | |||
| Anarchists have often been portrayed as dangerous and violent, due mainly to a number of high-profile violent acts including ]s, ]s, ]s, and ] by some anarchists. Some ]aries of the late 19th century encouraged acts of political violence, such as ]ings and the ]s of ] to further anarchism. Such actions have sometimes been called ']'. | |||
| One of the more outspoken advocates of this strategy was ], who said "the existing system will be quickest and most radically overthrown by the annihilation of its exponents. Therefore, massacres of the enemies of the people must be set in motion." Most's preferred method of terrorism, dynamite, earned him the moniker "Dynamost." | |||
| However, there is no ] on the legitimacy or utility of violence in general. ] and ], for example, wrote of violence as a necessary and sometimes desirable force. At the same time, they both denounced violence and terrorist acts (Malatesta in "On Violence" and Bakunin when he refuted Nechaev). | |||
| Other anarchists, sometimes identified as ], share a belief in ]. ], whose philosophy is often viewed as a form of ], believed that ] was the only method to achieve any lasting social change. For Tolstoy and other pacifists all violence is illegitimate, irrespective of whether it is perpetrated by the state or by its opponents. Some of Proudhon's ] followers took a similar position: some saw ] as coercive and refused to take part in such traditional socialist tactics. ''(citation needed)'' In addition, the ]s were opposed to "propaganda by the deed," which was being advocated and committed in the name of communist anarchism; they sought to distinguish their philosophy as "the only school of modern sociologists who are in the line of true peace, progress, and good order." (). | |||
| ===Anarchism at work=== | |||
| {{seealso|Anarcho-syndicalism}} | |||
| ] | |||
| Anarcho-syndicalism and Industrial Unionism are two early 20th century working class industrial movements which sought to overthrow capitalism, states and institute a worker controlled society. | |||
| In the late 19th century, ] developed as a movement pursuing ]s, especially the ], as the primary strategy to achieve anarchist revolution, and "build the new society in the shell of the old". Most anarcho-syndicalists shared a belief in ] as the best form of the future society, although not all anarchist communists agreed with syndicalism. | |||
| After the ] French anarchism began to resurface and influenced the ''Bourses de Travails'' of autonomous workers groups and trade unions. From this movement the ] (General Confederation of Work, CGT) was formed in 1895 as the first major anarcho-syndicalist movement. ] and ]'s writing for the CGT saw ] developing from a ]. After 1914 the CGT moved away from anarcho-syndicalism due to the appeal of ]. French-style syndicalism was a significant movement in Europe prior to 1921, and remained a significant movement in Spain until the mid 1940s. | |||
| The Industrial Workers of the World (IWW) was founded in 1905 in the United States. It espoused ], and sought to use the ] to usher in an ] (a stateless society). At its peak in 1923 the organization claimed some 100,000 members in good standing, and could marshal the support of perhaps 300,000 workers, the IWW's influence extended to Australia, New Zealand and Canada. While not explicitly syndicalist or anarchist, the IWW organised using working class rank and file democracy, and embodied a spirit of resistance and freedom which has inspired many Anglophone syndicalists. | |||
| Spanish anarchist trade union federations were formed in the 1870's, 1900 and 1910. The most successful was the ] (National Confederation of Labour: CNT), was founded in 1910. Prior to the 1940s the CNT was the major force in Spanish working class politics. It had a membership of 1.58 million in 1934. The CNT played a major role in the ]. ''See also:'' ]. | |||
| In the 1910-1917 ] anarcho-syndicalists like ] were key figures. This success has been influential for ] anarchism. This influence extends to the ] rebellion and the ] in Argentina and elsewhere. | |||
| In Berlin in 1922 the CNT was amongst trade unions who joined together to form the ], an anarcho-syndicalist successor to the ]. | |||
| Contemporary anarcho-syndicalism continues as a minor force in many socities; much smaller than in the 1910s, 20s and 30s. Anarcho-syndicalists in general uphold principles of ''workers solidarity'', '']'', and ''self-management''. | |||
| ===The Russian Revolution=== | |||
| ''(Add platformism stuff in this section.)'' | |||
| The ] was a seismic event in the development of anarchism as a movement and as a philosophy. | |||
| Anarchists participated alongside the ] in both February and October revolutions, many anarchists initially supporting the Bolshevik coup. However the Bolsheviks soon turned against the anarchists and other left-wing opposition, a conflict which culminated in the 1918 ]. Anarchists in central Russia were imprisoned or driven underground, or joined the victorious Bolsheviks. In ] anarchists fought in the ] against both Whites and Bolsheviks within the Makhnovshchina peasant army led by ]). | |||
| Expelled American anarchists ] and ] before leaving Russia were amongst those agitating in response to Bolshevik policy and the suppression of the Kronstadt uprising. Both wrote classic accounts of their experiences in Russia, aiming to expose the reality of Bolshevik control. For them, ]'s predictions about the consequences of Marxist rule had proved all too true. | |||
| The victory of the Bolsheviks in the October Revolution and the resulting Russian Civil War did serious damage to anarchist movements internationally. Many workers and activists saw Bolshevik success as setting an example; Communist parties grew at the expense of anarchism and other socialist movements. In France and the US for example, the major syndicalist movements of the ] and ] began to realign themselves away from anarchism and towards the ]. | |||
| In Paris, a group of Russian anarchist exiles around ] concluded that anarchists needed to develop new forms of organisation in response to the structures of Bolshevism. Their manifesto known as the ], or the "Organizational Platform of Libertarian Communists", was supported by some Anarchist Communists, but opposed by many others. | |||
| ===The fight against fascism=== | |||
| In the 1920s and 1930s the familiar dynamics of anarchism's conflict with the state were transformed by the rise of ] in Europe. In many cases, European anarchists faced difficult choices - should they join in ]s with reformist democrats and Soviet-led ] against a common fascist enemy? Luigi Fabbri, an exile from Italian fascism, was amongst those arguing that fascism was something different: | |||
| :''Fascism is not just another form of government which, like all others, uses violence. It is the most authoritarian and the most violent form of government imaginable. It represents the utmost glorification of the theory and practice of the principle of authority.'' | |||
| In France, where the fascists came close to insurrection in the February 1934 riots, anarchists divided over a 'united front' policy. In Spain, the ] initially refused to join a popular front electoral alliance, and abstention by CNT supporters led to a right wing election victory. But in 1936, the CNT changed its policy and anarchist votes helped bring the popular front back to power. Months later, the right responded with an attempted coup, and the ] was underway. | |||
| In ], years of social, political and religious turmoil coupled with decades of anarchist ] and organisation led to class conflict. The old ] (church, army and monarchy) and capitalists were horrified by the new freedoms and social changes within the ]. So an army rebellion or ] was initiated so as to regain control of the country. The ] (1936-1939) as it became known, pitched the ruling class and fascists against the middle-class liberals and politicised workers. In reponse to the army rebellion ] peasant and workers movement (supported by militias initially tolerated by the republic) took control of huge areas of urban and rural Spain (including most major ]) in ]-] and ] the land. | |||
| However, some express disapproval at the methods of the anarchists, such as killing those who disagreed with them. Burnett Bolloten, in ''The Spanish Civil War'', notes that "Thousands of members of the clergy and religious orders as well as of the properties classes were killed, but others, fearing arrest of execution, fled abroard, including many prominent liberal and moderate Republicans." | |||
| But even before the eventual fascist victory, the anarchists were losing ground in a bitter struggle with the ]. The CNT leadership often appeared confused and divided, with some members entering the government. Stalinist-led troops suppressed the collectives, and persecuted both ] and anarchists. Along with the ], they were eventually suppressed by the Stalinist-controlled republican army, which later lost to ]'s army in ]. In the ] from ] and in Europe during the World War, thousands of anarchists were killed or sent to prisons and concentration camps. | |||
| === Anarcho-capitalism === | |||
| ''See also:'' ] | |||
| ] (1926-1995)]] | |||
| Anarcho-capitalism envisions a stateless society where private ownership of the means of production is supported, and economic decisions are made privately through the operation of a ]. They believe that all voluntary (non-coerced) transactions between consenting adults should be legal, so have no opposition to employment or interest. Anarcho-capitalism is an anti-state form of liberalism derived from classical liberal and ], abolitionism and some topics from 19th century American individualist anarchism. Rather than adhering to a labor theory of value as many anarchists do, anarcho-capitalists tend to hold to the ], and as a consequence, do not oppose ]. | |||
| Much of the credit for the foundations of anarcho-capitalist theory has been granted to ] who formally synthesized ] with ]. Rothbard defines anarchism in terms of the ]: "an anarchist society one where there is no legal possibility for coercive aggression against the person or property of any individual." However, individualist anarchism with no opposition to profit preceeded Rothbard but had not yet been termed "anarcho-capitalism." For example, Rothbard said that ], in the 19th century, was the first to theorize anarcho-capitalism. ] is another 18th century individualist who has been called an anarcho-capitalist. ] advocated anarcho-capitalism in the 19th century, calling it "]." While Rothbard based his anarchism on ], ] ("The Machinery of Freedom") based it on ], and ] on ]. Other important anarcho-capitalists include ], ], and ]. Some ], such as ], ], and ], have also contributed to the theory or popularity of anarcho-capitalism. Early influences on anarcho-capitalism include ], ], ], and ]. | |||
| Many anarchists, social and individualist, deny that anarcho-capitalism is a form of anarchism, arguing that authoritarian institutions are integral to and are inevitable in any capitalist system thus negating its claims of aspiration to statelessness. On the other hand, there are ] that do regard it as a form of anarchism. Moreoever, anarcho-capitalists Wendy McElroy and Guglielmo Piombini regard their philosophy as "individualist anarchism." Anarcho-capitalism is compared and contrasted with classical individualist anarchism in the article '']''. | |||
| ==Issues== | |||
| ===Interest Groups=== | |||
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| ===Conceptions of an anarchist society=== | |||
| ''See also:'' ] | |||
| 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 ], and uses force and violence to expand and protect elite interests. Much effort has been dedicated to explaining how anarchist societies would handle criminality. | |||
| ===Neo-imperialism and Globalization=== | |||
| ] refers to the process of persuading rulers of (generally) lesser developed countries (LDCs) to alter political and economic policies in exchange for receiving loans from other states or, more commonly, through loans by state cartels such as the World Bank. In effect, third world rulers give concessions and ] to foreign corporations in return for monetary bribes that they often use to consolidate their own power. In most cases, much of the money loaned to these LDCs is returned to the privileged foreign corporations. Thus, these foreign loans amount to subsidies to crony corporations favored by the loaner nation's rulers. This collusion is sometimes referred to as the ]. All anarchists oppose neo-imperialism and the state cartels which carry it out, including the ], ] and ], and the ]. | |||
| Since the late 1990s, anarchists have been known for their involvement in ]s against World Trade Organization and other cartels listed above. One of the more successful anti-globalization mobilizations was the protest against the ] in ]. At these large protests, anarchist organizing of various activist and collective organizations has taken place, often with tens of thousands of people. This organization without any central hierarchy or leadership, takes place through the use of ], and ], which work using delegates to speak for larger collectives. Anarchists also engage in medical teams, ] work, and are most known however for the ]. | |||
| Anarchists have also been active in protesting and organizing against the ], and most importantally the ]. Anarchists have been largely at the forefront of the counter recruiting movement, which works to teach the realities of military recruiting to those interested in joining the military. | |||
| ===Technology=== | |||
| ''See also'': ] and ]. | |||
| Some have said that recent technological developments have made the anarchist cause both easier to advance and more conceivable to people. ] and the ] have made anonymous digital currencies such as ] an alternative to statist ]. Many people use ]s 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 ] format, a goal made attainable by the availability of ], ], and ]. These things have made it possible for individuals to ] over the Internet. There are also ] programming communities, who donate their time and offer their product for free. Examples include ], the ] (including the ]/] community and the ] paradigm), and ]. | |||
| Some anarchists see ] as the way to replace hierarchy, defeat monopoly, and prevent war, and support ] in particular as a way to do so. Some writers — particularly ], who has written quite extensively in the ] genre about ], a futuristic society which has disposed of government — have theorised that anarchism would be inevitable with the technological advances that would make ] and living in space plausible . The ] 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 ] is an example of anarchic organization, this being an example not of hierarchical business, but of voluntary association for the production of a good. | |||
| ===Pacifism=== | |||
| Some anarchists consider ] (opposition to ]) to be inherent in their philosophy. Some anarchists take it further and follow ]'s belief in ] (note, however, that these ] are not necessarily ] as Tolstoy was), advocating ] as the only method of achieving a truly anarchist ]. | |||
| 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 ]'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, ] was alienated from other anarchists when he expressed support for the British in ]. | |||
| Just as they are critical and distrustful of most government endeavours, an*archists often view the stated reasons for war with a ] eye. Since the ] protests in ] and, most recently, the protests against the ], much anarchist activity has been ] based. | |||
| Many anarchists in the current movement however, reject complete pacifism, (although groups like Earth First!, and ] 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. | |||
| In contrast, many in the anarchist movement see non-violence as only a tactical issue for each specific action, which relies on the nature and actions of your opponent and the context of the goal which they strive for. Relying on the critique of pacifism put forward by ], they recognize almost all successful liberation struggles have had armed or violent components, including the ], the United States Civil Rights Movement, the South African Civil Rights Movement, or the ]. In contrast, those without significant armed struggle factions when facing an oppressor willing to crush or annihiliate the rebelling faction fail horribly, such as Jewish pacifist resistance to the ]. | |||
| ===Parliamentarianism=== | |||
| In general terms, the anarchist ethos opposes voting in elections, because voting amounts to condoning the state. However, there have been some anarchists who have run for office or advocated voting. The general opinion among anarchists is a general disrespect for the electoral process. Some individualist anarchists have been completely opposed to voting under all circumstances. Wendy McElroy, anarcho-feminist writer, expounded this view in her essay . | |||
| ] is an anarchist school of thought which emphasizes "tending your own garden" and "neither ballots nor bullets." The anarchist case against voting is explained in by George H. Smith. (Also see "Voting Anarchists: An Oxymoron or What?" by ], and writings by ]). | |||
| ==Cultural phenomena== | |||
| ] (1928–)]] | |||
| The kind of anarchism that is most easily encountered in popular culture is represented by celebrities who publicly identify themselves as anarchists. Although some anarchists reject any focus on such famous living individuals as inherently élitist, the following figures are examples of prominent publicly self-avowed anarchists: | |||
| * the ] professor of ] ] | |||
| * the ] author ] | |||
| * the social historian ] | |||
| * entertainer and author ] | |||
| * the ] artist ] | |||
| In ], the ] was created in downtown ]. The housing and employment crisis in most of ] led to the formation of ] and squatter movements like the one still thriving in ], in ]. Militant ] in places like Germany, and the uprisings of ], ], and ] groups in France and Italy also helped to give popularity to anti-authoritarian, non-capitalist ideas. | |||
| In various musical styles, anarchism rose in popularity. Most famous for the linking of anarchist ideas and music has been punk rock, although in the modern age, hip hop, and folk music are also becoming important mediums for the spreading of the anarchist message. In the ] this was associated with the ] movement; the band ] is celebrated for its anarchist and ] ideas. The ] punk band ] further exemplifies this expression. | |||
| ''For further details, see ]'' | |||
| ==See also== | |||
| <!-- (Please take care in adding to this list that it not grow excessively large, consider adding to the list of anarchist concepts page) --> | |||
| There are many concepts relevant to the topic of anarchism, this is a brief summary. There is also a more extensive ]. | |||
| * ] | |||
| * ] | |||
| * ] | |||
| * ] | |||
| * ] | |||
| ===Historical events=== | |||
| *] (]) | |||
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| *] (]) (see ]) | |||
| *], France (1968) | |||
| *] (]) | |||
| ===Books=== | |||
| *], '''' Radical classical liberalism | |||
| *Davidson & Rees-Mogg, ''The Sovereign Individual'' Historians look at technology & implications | |||
| *], '']'' Classic utilitarian defense of anarchism | |||
| *], '''' | |||
| *], '''' Oppenheimer's thesis applied to early US history | |||
| *], '''' Analysis of State; political means vs. economic means | |||
| *] Father of modern anarcho-capitalism: | |||
| **'''' The ultimate Austrian economics book, | |||
| **'''' Classification of State economic interventions, | |||
| **'''' Moral justification of a free society | |||
| *], ''Anarchy, State, and Utopia'' Academic philosopher on libertarianism | |||
| *], '''' Includes the essay "The Right to Ignore the State" | |||
| *Morris & Linda Tannahill, ''The Market for Liberty'' Classic on PDAs (private defense agencies) | |||
| *], '''', ''Prison Memoirs of an Anarchist'', others | |||
| *], '''', ''The Paris Commune and the Idea of the State'', '''', '''', '''' | |||
| *], '''' Ontological anarchism | |||
| *], ''Post-Scarcity Anarchism'' | |||
| *], ''Chomsky on Anarchism'' | |||
| *], '''' | |||
| *], ''The Society of the Spectacle'' | |||
| *], '''' | |||
| *], '''', ''Living My Life'', others | |||
| *] "Anarchism. A Documentary History of Libertarian Ideas." Volume 1:From Anarchy to Anarchism (300CE to 1939). 536 pages, 24 chapter; 131 article. Black Rose Books, Montreal 2005. ISBN 1-55164-250-6 | |||
| *], '']'' | |||
| *], '']'', '']'', others | |||
| *], '''' | |||
| *] "] ISBN 0-00-686245-4 | |||
| *], ''Anarcho-Syndicalism'' | |||
| *], '']'' | |||
| *], '']'' | |||
| *], '']'' Contractarian (as opposed to Natural Law or utilitarian) anarchism | |||
| *], ''The Kingdon of God is Within You'' - Christian pacifist anarchism | |||
| *], ''The Unknown Revolution'' | |||
| *], '']'' | |||
| ===Anarchism by region/culture=== | |||
| * ] | |||
| * ] | |||
| * ] | |||
| <!-- Attention! The external link portion of this article regularly grows far beyond manageable size. Please only list an outside link if it applies to anarchism in general and is somewhat noteworthy. Links to lesser known sites or submovements will be routinely moved to the list page to keep this article free of clutter --> | |||
| ==External links== | |||
| The overwhelming diversity and number of links relating to anarchism is extensively covered on the ]. | |||
| * Blogs by Anarchists. | |||
| * extensively archives information relating to famous anarchists. This includes many of their books and other publications. | |||
| *Hundreds of anarchists are listed, with short bios, links & dedicated pages | |||
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