Anarchism

Anarchism is a political philosophy that advocates complete freedom from the state and social hierarchy. Anarchists desire a society organized around voluntary and non-hierarchical lines, drawing ideas of legality and economics from anti-authoritarian interpretations of communism, collectivism, syndicalism, mutualism, and participatory economics.

Anarchy, is defined by Pierre-Joseph Proudhon as "the absence of a master, of a sovereign." In other words, anarchism is a political theory which aims to create a society within which individuals freely co-operate together as equals. As such, anarchism should not be defined as a "social chaos" or a return to the "laws of the jungle."

Anarchism holds that the state is undesirable, unnecessary, and/or harmful and advocates a stateless society instead, often based on self-governed voluntary institutions or non-hierarchical free associations. Anarchism rejects the state, authoritarianism, and hierarchical organisation in general.

This process of misrepresentation is not without historical parallel. For example, in countries which have considered government by one person (monarchy) necessary, the words republic or democracy have been used in a manner similar to anarchy, to imply disorder, confusion and chaos. Those with a vested interest in preserving the status quo will obviously wish to imply that opposition to the current system cannot work in practice, and that a new form of society will only lead to chaos. Or, as Errico Malatesta expresses it:

since it was thought that government was necessary and that without government there could only be disorder and confusion, it was natural and logical that anarchy, which means absence of government, should sound like absence of order.

History

Main Article: History of Anarchism

Key Concepts

Anarchy

The word "anarchy" is from the Greek, prefix an (or a), meaning "not," "the want of," "the absence of," or "the lack of", plus archos, meaning "a ruler," "director", "chief," "person in charge," or "authority".

Anarchy refers to a society, entity, group of people, or a single person that rejects hierarchy.

Anarchist theories have a fundamental critique of government, a vision of a society without government, and a proposed method of reaching such a society. The details of the political, economic, and social organization of an anarchist society vary among different branches of anarchist political thought, as do the proposed means to achieve a society organized along those lines. However, there are certain principles shared by all anarchists, most notably the basic principle of non-hierarchy (in an anarchist society there cannot be any kind of social hierarchy) and its derivatives, such as the principle of equal decision-making power (all people must have equal decision-making power in an anarchist society; if some have more power than others, then a hierarchy is formed).

Anarchy is the state of having no government. It is distinguished in political science from anarchism, the belief that anarchy, defined by them as the absence of major hierarchies such as class and the state, with power flowing from the bottom up, is the best possible system for humanity to live under. This causes confusion when self-declared anarchists protest against government cuts in public spending. Surely, as believers in the absense of the state, they'd be campaigning for government cuts in public spending. Another ideology exists, called 'anarcho-capitalism', however, some more left-leaning anarchists would consider this an oxymoron.

Many political philosophers consider anarchy the original "base state" of humanity. Some then go on to say that we are much better without it. Others consider the natural state to be great but impossible to return to.

Anarchy is also the word used to describe a state of chaos, lawlessness and disorder, frequently seemingly brought about by the lack of government. However it is important, or at least useful, to decide at any particular time which definition is being used. Otherwise all discussion and dialogue will descend into ... anarchy. Anarchists are generally careful to note that, "No rulers does not mean no rules," as 'no ruler' is the origin of the word 'anarchy'. Subsequently, many people believe that anarchy is just the removal of the current government, and not absence of all law.

Direct Action

Direct Action refers to actions and forms of organising that are unmediated by authority.

Mutual Aid

Mutual Aid refers to the voluntary cooperation and giving of resources to others without an expectation of a reward.

Tendencies

• Anarcha-Feminism
  • Anarcha-Transfeminism
• Anarchism Without Adjectives
  • Synthesis Anarchism
• Anarcho-Pacifism
• Anarcho-Transhumanism
• Anationalism
• Crypto-Anarchism
• Epistemological Anarchism
• Green/Eco-Anarchism
  • Agrarian Anarchism
  • Anarcho-Naturism
  • Anarcho-Primitivism
    • Post-Civilization Anarchism
  • Anarcho-Solarism
  • Social Ecology
  • Total Liberationism
  • Veganarchism
• Individualist Anarchism*
  • Egoist Anarchism
    • Communist Egoism
    • Illegalist Anarchism
      • Anarcho-Piratism
      • Expropriative Anarchism
  • Existentialist Anarchism
    • Anarcho-Nihilism
  • Free-Market Anarchism
    • Agorism
    • Left-Wing Market Anarchism
      • Left-Rothbardianism
    • Mutualism
      • Anarcho-Distributism
  • Philosophical Anarchism
• Insurrectionary Anarchism
• Mystical Anarchism
• Onthological Anarchism
• Panarchism
• Platformism
  • Makhnovism
  • Specifism
• Post-Anarchism
  • Analytical Anarchism
• Post-Colonial Anarchism
  • Black Anarchism
    • Anarkata
  • Independence Anarchism
  • Indigenist Anarchism
• Post-Left Anarchism
• Queer Anarchism
• Religious Anarchism
  • Buddhist Anarchism
  • Christian Anarchism
    • Catholic Workerism
    • Digger Anarchism
    • Tolstoyanism
  • Gnostic Anarchism
  • Islamic Anarchism
  • Jewish Anarchism
    • Orthodox Jewish Anarchism
  • Neopagan Anarchism
  • Taoist Anarchism
• Social Anarchism
  • Anarcho-Collectivism
  • Anarcho-Communism
    • Magonism
  • Anarcho-Syndicalism
    • Libertarian Possibilism
    • Treintism

*An additional subdivision within individualist anarchism may be the difference between its early American and European branches. Most American individualist anarchists advocated for mutualism, while European individualist anarchists were pluralists who advocated for anarchism without adjectives and synthesis anarchism, ranging from anarcho-communist to mutualist economic types.

Internal Debates and Issues

Anarchism is NOT a unified movement, and perspectives within anarchism can be so conflicting that is often leads to heated arguments and occasionally violence.