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Anarchism is a controversial issue, because groups with radically different views consider themselves to be anarchists and often deny that other points of view should be called anarchist. This article covers all points of view whose adherents consider themselves anarchists.
The anarchy sought by most anarchists is not chaos or anomie — that is, anarchists do not desire an absence of order, rules, and organized structure.
Although anarchists all wish to reach a stateless society, the proposed methods of political, economic, and social organisation vary immensely. William Godwin's vision of a free society published in 1793 alongside a critique of government in An Enquiry Concerning Political Justice is considered by some to be the first anarchist treatise and, though he never used the word anarchism, these individuals credit Godwin with founding modern philosophical anarchism. While the Levellers of the English Civil War and the Enragés of the French Revolution were referred to as anarchists by their opponents, it wasn't until Pierre-Joseph Proudhon published What is Property in 1840 that the term was adopted as a self-description.
Later in the 19th century, revolutionaries like Mikhail Bakunin saw a need for violence to defend the working class against oppression and overthrow the ruling class as a means to foster anarchism. Some of these revolutionaries encouraged acts of political violence such as bombings and the assassinations of heads of state, though these actions were regarded by many anarchists as counter-productive or ineffective (see "Violence and non-violence", below). Peter Kropotkin's anarchist communism developed from a scientific approach based on a view of evolution in which cooperation equalled or surpassed competition in importance, as illustrated in Mutual Aid (1897).
In early 20th century Europe, anarchist movements were largely displaced by the rise of fascism in some parts and Communism in Russia, though many argue that its philosophical influence remains. Anarchist organizations continue to exist across the globe, however, and in recent years, amid the rise in protest against globalisation, anarchism has gained a higher profile.
Anarchists played a role in many of the labour movements, uprisings, and revolutions of the 19th and early 20th centuries, including the Russian Revolution (1917) and the Spanish Civil War (1936-9). Anarchists took control of large areas of the east Spain during the civil war in the 1930's.
After World War II, a new political theory developed, mainly in North America. This ideology became known as anarcho-capitalism, though it owed more to classical liberalism than to previous anarchist traditions. Anarcho-capitalism is usually actively disowned by anarchists of differing stripes.
A surge of popular interest in anarchism occurred during the 1970's in Britain following the birth of the punk rock movement. The band Crass is often credited for its anarchist and pacifist ideas.
Feminism has always been a part of the anarchist movement, in the form of anarcha-feminism. North American anarchism also takes strong influences from the American Civil Rights Movement and the movement against the war in Vietnam. European anarchism has developed out of the labour movement, and both have incorporated animal rights activism. Globally, anarchism has also grown in popularity and influence as part of the anti-war, anti-capitalist, and anti-globalisation movements. Recently, anarchists have been known for their involvement in protests against World Trade Organization and Group of Seven meetings, and the World Economic Forum; protests which are often portrayed in the mainstream media as violent riots. Many anarchists were part of the black blocs at these protests and some engaged in rioting, vandalism, and violent confrontation with police. Others peacefully protested, upholding non-violent principles.
Andrew Heywood writes in Political Ideologies,
Overview and brief history
All anarchist theories have a fundamental critique of government; a vision of a society without government; and a proposed method of reaching such a society. Anarchist ideology
It is important to understand that though two individuals or groups might both call themselves anarchist, their ideals and arguments may differ immensely. In particular, there is a fundamental difference between libertarian socialist ideologies (the anarchist left-wing) and anarcho-capitalism (the right-wing). There is also a significant portion of the anarchist politic that dismisses the left/right dichotomy entirely (i.e. post-leftists and individualists), while many libertarian socialists argue that right-wing anarchism is a misnomer.
Anarchist schools of thought
From Pierre-Joseph Proudhon's mutualism, to Max Stirner's egoism, to Peter Kropotkin's anarchist communism the roots of anarchist thought were always varied, with many different views of what a society without government should be like. Individualists, taking much from the writings of Stirner, among others, demanded the utmost respect for the liberty of the individual. Anarchist communistss like Mikhail Bakunin and Peter Kropotkin built on the Marxist critique of capitalism and synthesised it with their own critique of the state, emphasizing the importance of a communal perspective to maintain individual liberty in a social context.
Anarcho-syndicalism developed as the industrialised form of libertarian communism, emphasizing industrial actions, especially the general strike, as the primary strategy to achieve anarchist revolution, and "build the new society in the shell of the old".
In the latter half of the twentieth century, two new schools of thought developed in North America: namely, anarcho-capitalism and primitivism. Anarcho-capitalism built on the classical liberal tradition, taking the distrust of government further than liberalism and claiming that free markets could provide justice and security. The state, they argued, was not only unnecessary to maintain these market driven institutions, its intervention was harmful to them. From a very different perspective primitivists like John Zerzan proclaimed that civilisation — not just the state — would need to be abolished to foster liberty and a just social order. A rejection of modern Technology is also prominant in the views of many primitivists, such as Theodore Kaczynski (the Unabomber).
Pacifism, referring to opposition to the practice of war, is considered by most anarchists to be inherent in their philosophy. Some anarchists take it further and follow Leo Tolstoy's belief in non-violence (note, however, that these anarcho-pacifists are not necessarily Christian anarchists as Tolstoy was), advocating non-violent resistance as the only method of achieving a truly anarchist revolution.
Anarchy, not chaos and disorder
The English word anarchy also has the meaning of lawless and chaotic political situations where, for instance, warlords rule by virtue of military force or there is a temporary power vacuum. The current political situation in Somalia, for example, is often referred to as anarchy, since it has no central government.
This use of the word implies a broad definition: usually, any situation where there is no internationally recognised form of government can be considered "anarchy". However, anarchy in the political theory sense has a narrower definition, that of an anarchist society: that is, a society organised on the principles of anarchism, though exactly what these principles are differs from anarchist to anarchist.
Wikipedia itself is considered by some to be an anarchy working positively in practice.
Violence and non-violence
Anarchists have sometimes been portrayed in the media as dangerous and violent, due mainly to a number of high-profile violent acts including riots, assassinations, and insurrections involving anarchists. Since the 1970s, the punk image of irresponsible youths has also been associated with anarchist symbolism, so furthering the association with violence.
The use of terrorism and assassination, however, is condemned by most anarchists, though there remains no consensus on the legitimacy or utility of violence. The Tolstoian tradition of non-violent resistance is prevalent among some anarchists, though others see self-defense as a right. Some anarchists believe that violence is justified as a way to provoke social upheaval which could lead to a social revolution.
The writer J. R. R. Tolkien, in a letter to his son, briefly described anarchy as "philosophically understood, meaning abolition of control not whiskered men with bombs"[1] (our emphasis).
Pacifism
Pacifism, referring to opposition to the practice of war, is considered by the vast majority of anarchists to be inherent in their philosophy. Wars are often portrayed in anarchist literature as an activity of the state in which the state seeks to gain and consolidate power, both domestically and in foriegn lands. Many anarchists subscribe to the view expressed by Randolph Bourne that "war is the health of the state"[1]. Anarchists believe that if they were to support a war they would, by default, be strengthening the state — indeed, Peter Kropotkin was alienated from other anarchists when he expressed support for the British side in World War I.
Just as they are very critical and distrustful of most government endeavours, anarchists often view the stated reasons for war with a cynical eye. Since the Vietnam War protests in North America and, most recently, the mass protests against the war in Iraq, much anarchist activity has been anti-war based.
Non-violence
Some anarchists share Leo Tolstoy's Christian anarchist belief in non-violence. These anarcho-pacifists (not necessarily Christians) advocate non-violent resistance as the only method of achieving a truly anarchist revolution. They often see violence as the basis of government and coercion and argue that, as such, violence is illegitimate, no matter who is the target. Some of Proudhon's French followers even saw strike action as coercive and refused to take part in such traditional socialist tactics.
The utility of violence
Famous anarchists of the nineteenth century such as Mikhail Bakunin and Errico Malatesta saw violence as a necessary and sometimes desirable force. Malatesta took the view that it is "necessary to destroy with violence, since one cannot do otherwise, the violence which denies [the means of life and for development] to the workers" (Umanità Nova, number 125, September 6, 1921[1]).
Between 1894 and 1901, anarchists assassinated numerous heads of state, including:
Goldman included in her definition of anarchism the observation that all governments rest on violence, and this is one of the many reasons they should be opposed. Goldman herself didn't oppose tactics like assassination until she went to Russia, where she witnessed the violence of the Russian state and the Red Army. From then on she condemned the use of terrorism, especially by the state, and advocated violence only as a means of self-defense.
Depictions in the press and popular fiction (for example, a malevolent bomb-throwing anarchist in Joseph Conrad's The Secret Agent) helped create a lasting public impression that anarchists are violent terrorists. This perception was enhanced by events such as the Haymarket Riot, where anarchists were blamed for throwing a bomb at police who came to break up a public meeting in Chicago.
More recently, anarchists have been involved in protests against World Trade Organisation (WTO) and International Monetary Fund (IMF) meetings across the globe, which have often turned violent (being described by some as "riots"). Traditionally, Mayday in London has been a day of marching, but in recent years the Metropolitan Police have warned that a "hardcore of anarchists" are intent on causing violence. Anarchists often respond that it is the police who initiate violence at these demonstrations, with the anarchist intent being only to defend themselves. The anarchists involved in such protests often formed black blocs at these protests and some engaged in property destruction or in direct conflict with police, though others stuck to non-violent principles.
Development of anarchism
Anarcho-primitivists assert that for the longest period of human history, human society was organised on anarchist principles. However, there is debate over the anthropological evidence to support this. Anarchist ideas are generally held to go back as far as Ancient Greece, where Zeno of Citium was, according to Kropotkin, "[t]he best exponent of Anarchist philosophy in ancient Greece" and the philosopher Aristippus said that "the wise should not give up their liberty to the state".
Zeno distinctly opposed his vision of a free community without government to the state-Utopia of Plato. "He repudiated the omnipotence of the state, its intervention and regimentation, and proclaimed the sovereignty of the moral law of the individual." Zeno argued that although the necessary instinct of self-preservation leads humans to egotism, nature has supplied a corrective to it by providing man with another instinct — sociability. Like many modern anarchists, he believed that if people follow their instincts, they will have no need of law courts or police, no temples and no public worship, and use no money (free giftss taking the place of the exchanges). Zeno's beliefs, unfortunately, have only reached us as fragmentary quotations.[1]
Some alternatively interpret the Ancient Chinese philosophy of Taoism as the oldest example of anarchist doctrine[1].
Gerrard Winstanley, who published a pamphlet calling for communal ownership and social and economic organisation in small agrarian communites in the 17th century, is considered one of the forerunners of modern anarchism. The first modern author to have published a treatise explicitly advocating the absence of government was William Godwin in An Enquiry Concerning Political Justice (1793); though he did not use the word anarchism, he is today regarded by some as the "founder of philosophical anarchism"[1]. The term "anarchist" is thought to have first come into use during the French Revolution as a derogatory term against the left, but Pierre-Joseph Proudhon, in the 1840s, adopted the term to describe his political philosophy.
Thematic articles
Anarchism is a vast subject that touches a lot of topics. Below are links to articles that discuss and argue various aspects of anarchism with reference to different anarchist strands of thought.
See also
For a dictionary definition, see wiktionary:anarchismBiographies
Historical events
Books
Periodicals
Theoretical concepts
Anarchist organizations
External links