Anarchism

Anarchism is the name of a political philosophy or to group of doctrines and attitudes that are centered on rejection of government, or the state, as harmful and unnecessary and support its elimination.The term "anarchism" is derived from the Greek αναρχία ("without archons" or "without rulers"). Thus "anarchism," in its most general semantic meaning, is the belief that all forms of rulership are undesirable and should be abolished. The rise of anarchism as a cohesive philosophical movement in the 19th century, with its notion of freedom as being based upon political, economic, and social equality, was a reaction to the rise of bureaucratic nation states and large-scale industrial capitalism.

On its own anarchism does not provide a world view beyond the idea that imposed authority is undesirable and unnecessary. There are a variety of types of anarchism which all emphasize their points of difference. There are dramatic differences on economic arrangements, ranging from advocates of common ownership and distribution according to need, to supporters of private property and free market competition.

Origins

Pre-Nineteenth Century

Main article: Origins of anarchism

Opposition to the state and hierarchical authority had a long history prior to the formation of the anarchist movement in Nineteenth Century Europe. Many claim that anarchist themes can be detected in works going as far back as those of the Taoist sage Lao Tzu and Zeno of Citium, the founder of stoic philosophy

Anarchism in the modern sense however has its roots in the secular political thought of the Enlightenment, particularly Rousseau's arguments for the moral centrality of freedom. The word "anarchist" was originally used as a term of abuse but by the French Revolution some groups such as the Enrages had started to use the term in a positive sense, seeing the Jacobin concept of a "revolutionary government" as a contradiction in terms. It was in this political climate that William Godwin would develop his philosophy which is considered by many to be the first expression of modern anarchist thought.[16]

William Godwin

William Godwin

Main article: William Godwin

According to Peter Kropotkin, William Godwin, in his Enquiry Concerning Political Justice (2 vols., 1793), was "the first to formulate the political and economical conceptions of anarchism, even though he did not give that name to the ideas developed in his work."

Godwin felt that the evil of man was the result of societal corruption, and his view on government slowly changed from as little interference as possible to none at all when he stated that "government by its very nature counteracts the improvement of original mind." Godwin also felt that discrimination on any grounds besides ability was intolerable. Godwin is also well known for his feminist wife, Mary Wollstonecraft, and his daughter Mary, author of Frankenstein.

Pierre-Joseph Proudhon

Main article: Pierre-Joseph Proudhon

Proudhon and his children, by Gustave Courbet, 1865

Pierre-Joseph Proudhon is commonly regarded as the first self-proclaimed anarchist, a label which he adopted in his 1840 work What is Property?. It is for this reason that some claim Proudhon as the founder of modern anarchist theory. He developed the theory of spontaneous order in society, where organization emerges without any central authority, a "positive anarchy" in which order arises from every individual "doing what he wishes and only what he wishes." He saw anarchy as:

"a form of government or constitution in which public and private consciousness, formed through the development of science and law, is alone sufficient to maintain order and guarantee all liberties. In it, as a consequence, the institutions of the police, preventive and repressive methods, officialdom, taxation, etc., are reduced to a minimum. In it, more especially, the forms of monarchy and intensive centralization disappear, to be replaced by federal institutions and a pattern of life based on the commune."

His opposition to capitalism, the state, and organised religion inspired subsequent anarchists, and made him one of the leading socialist thinkers of his time. However, he was also opposed to "communism, whether of the utopian or the Marxist variety, [the criticism being] that it destroyed freedom by taking away from the individual control over his means of production."

Schools of Anarchist Thought

Mutualism

Main article: Mutualism (economic theory)

Mutualism is a school of anarchism mostly associated with Pierre-Joseph Proudhon, the first to call himself and his politics anarchist. In his landmark book What is Property? (Qu'est-ce que la propriété?, published in 1840), he expounded an economic theory is based on a labor theory of value which states that the actual price of a thing (or the "true cost") is the amount of labor that was undertaken to produce it. Consequently no one who sells goods should charge more than the labor exerted to obtain or produce each good. According to Proudhon, "It is labor, labor alone, that produces all the elements of wealth...according to a law of variable, but certain, proportionality." He was also careful to advise, however, that "The value of labor is a figurative expression, an anticipation of effect from cause." Mutualist economics is characterised by a dedication to free association, a democratically run mutualist bank and contract/federation.

Many mutualists believe that a market without government intervention would result in no profit because firms would be forced to compete over workers just as workers compete over firms. If government stopped intervening to protect monopolies, they argue, each laborer would naturally receive his "full product" with no deductions for profit to the employer.

Proudhon's mutualism had a large influence in American individualist anarchism, with Josiah Warren's experiments enacting in very similar economics and Benjamin Tucker translating him into English for an American audience. Proudhon does emphasise associations amongst producers, and some see mutualism as being situated somewhere between individualism and collectivism.

Collectivist Anarchism

Main article: Collectivist anarchism

Collectivist anarchism, also known as 'anarcho-collectivism', is most commonly associated with Mikhail Bakunin and the anti-authoritarian section of the First International (1864-1876). Unlike mutualists, collectivist anarchists oppose all private ownership of the means of production, instead advocating that ownership be collectivized. Workers would be compensated for their work on the basis of the amount of time they contributed to production, rather than goods being distributed "according to need" as in anarcho-communism. By the early 1880s, most of the European anarchist movement had adopted an Anarchist communism position, advocating the abolition of wage labour and distribution according to need rather than labor, although the early anarchist movement in Spain is sometimes associated with collectivism. Although the collectivist anarchists advocated compensation for labor, they held out the possibility of a post-revolutionary transition to a communist system of distribution according to need. Collective anarchism arose contemporary with Marxism but was opposed to it, despite Marxism striving for a collectivist stateless society, because of an opposition to the Marxist dictatorship of the proletariat.

Anarchist communism

Main article: Anarchist communism

Joseph Déjacque was an early anarchist communist and the first person to describe himself as "socialist libertarian". Unlike Proudhon, he argued 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." Other important anarchist communists include Peter Kropotkin, Emma Goldman, Alexander Berkman and Errico Malatesta. Many in the anarcho-syndicalist movements (see below) saw anarchist communism as their objective. Isaac Puente's 1932 El comunismo libertario was adopted by the Spanish CNT as its manifesto for a post-revolutionary society.

Anarchist communism places as its goal a society composed of a number of self-governing communes with collective ownership of the means of production, ruled by direct democracy and related to other communes through federation. One common conception of anarchist communism holds that it would be a society where people forego material incentives for labour, in contrast to the immediate self-interest of the individualists. Another conception, expounded at length by Kropotkin and later by Murray Bookchin, holds that the members of such a society will spontaneously perform all necessary labour because of a recognition of its necessity as well as the benefits of communal enterprise and mutual aid, therefore out of sublimated self-interest. It is often characterised as Utopianism, a claim some do not deny, but anarchist communism is portrayed by its supporters as an achievable goal rather than an impossible ideal.

Anarcho-syndicalism

Main article: Anarcho-syndicalism

Flag used by Anarcho-syndicalists.

The early twentieth century saw the rise of Anarcho-syndicalism as a distinct school of thought within the anarchist tradition. More heavily focused on the labour movement than previous forms of anarchism, syndicalism posits trade unions as a potential force for revolutionary social change, replacing capitalism and the State with a new society democratically self-managed by workers. Anarcho-syndicalists seek to abolish the wage system and private ownership of the means of production, which they believe lead to class divisions. Three important principles of syndicalism are workers' solidarity, direct action and workers' self-management. They are also proponents of the general strike. Rudolf Rocker was one of the most popular voices in the anarcho-syndicalist movement. He outlined a view of the origins of the movement, what it sought, and why it was important to the future of labour in his 1938 pamphlet Anarcho-Syndicalism. Although more frequently associated with labor struggles of the the early twentieth century (particularly in France and Spain) there are many syndicalist organisations active today. However, anarcho-syndicalism is viewed as anachronism by many contemporary anarchists.

Individualist anarchism

Main article: Individualist anarchism

Individualist anarchism is an anarchist philosophical tradition that has a strong emphasis on equality of liberty and individual sovereignty, drawing much from the tradition of classical liberalism.Individualist anarchists believe that "individual conscience and the pursuit of self-interest should not be constrained by any collective body or public authority."

Max Stirner's egoism

Main articles: Max Stirner and Ethical egoism

Max Stirner was the author of a form of individualist anarchism called "Egoism." Stirner's "name appears with familiar regularity in historically-orientated surveys of anarchist thought as one of the earliest and best-known exponents of individualist anarchism." In 1844, Max Stirner's The Ego and Its Own (sometimes translated as "The Individual and His Property") was published, which is considered to be "a founding text in the tradition of individualist anarchism." Stirner believed that most commonly accepted social institutions - including the notion of State, property as a right, natural rights in general, and the very notion of society - were mere illusions or ghosts in the mind, saying of society that "the individuals are its reality." He advocated egoism and a form of amoralism, in which individuals would unite in 'associations of egoists' only when it was in their self interest to do so. For him, property simply comes about through might: "Whoever knows how to take, to defend, the thing, to him belongs property." And, "What I have in my power, that is my own. So long as I assert myself as holder, I am the proprietor of the thing."

Stirner never called himself an anarchist - he accepted only the label 'egoist'. Nevertheless, he is considered by most to be an anarchist because of his rejection of the state, law and government, and his ideas influenced many anarchists, although interpretations of his thought are diverse. Anarchists including Benjamin Tucker, Federica Montseny and the Bonnot Gang claimed him as an influence, and Emma Goldman gave lectures on his thought.

American individualist anarchism

Main article: Individualist anarchism § Individualist anarchism in the United States

Main article: Anarchism in the United States

Benjamin Tucker

American individualist anarchists believe individuals should only receive property through labor and trade and that provision of defense of liberty and property should be provided by the free market. This form of individualist anarchism originated in the United States with Josiah Warren as its author. In 1825 Josiah Warren had participated in a utopian socialism experiment at New Harmony, which failed in a few years amidst much internal conflict. Warren attributed the community's failure on a lack of individual sovereignty and dedicated himself to promoting economic cooperation on the basis of individual liberty and self-ownership. Other prominent nineteenth century individualists included Lysander Spooner, Benjamin Tucker, Stephen Pearl Andrews, and Victor Yarros.

These thinkers held that the state was the foremost source of inequality and oppression. They argued that provision of protection of liberty and property should be provided by businesses in a free market rather than by the state . They believed the state prevents true free competition in the market and that government intervention results in prices that don't reflect the amount of labor invested in them. They supported a truly free market which they thought would eliminate profit, which, as the adherents of the labor theory of value, they viewed as exploitative.

Benjamin Tucker opposed what he called four "monopolies": the money monopoly of control over currency and credit by state restrictions on who is allowed to operate a bank; the land monopoly of land-titles for absentee owners; patents, prohibiting competition; tariffs, restricting competition in favor of established firms. He believed the banking monopoly was the main enemy. His commitment to individual sovereignty led him to strongly support the individual's rights to own private property and to trade it in a free market economy, both of which he saw as inseparable from anarchism. Tucker said he supports individuals "carrying on business for themselves or from assuming relations between themselves as employer and employee if they prefer.". It should be noted that there was not agreement among the early American individualists on all issues. For instance, Lysander Spooner supports intellectual property rights and disagreed with Benjamin Tucker's requirement that land remain in use to retain ownership.

Since early 20th century, Tucker's form of individualist anarchism has sometimes been attacked by social anarchists as a "middle-class indulgence, rooted far more in liberalism than in anarchism." Some social anarchists claim that this is not a legitimate form of anarchism.

Anarcho-capitalism (disputed)

Main article: Anarcho-capitalism

Further information: Anarchism and anarcho-capitalism

File:Murray Rothbard.JPG

Murray Rothbard

Anarcho-capitalism is referred to as a form of individualist anarchism lying outside the mainstream of anti-capitalistic anarchism, mainly by academics (including anti-capitalist anarchists). Anarchist, and scholar of anarchism, Richard Sylvan asserts it to a "recognized" form of anarchism, however notable anarchist writers, as well as most activists, do not accept it as a legitimate form of anarchism and point out that "few anarchists would accept anarcho-capitalism into the anarchist camp."

Anarcho-capitalism was influenced by Tucker and Spooner, but rejects their distrust of capitalism (they supported private ownership of the means of production but thought profit was exploitation) as well as rejecting the labor theory of value which regards profit to be exploitative and caused by state intervention. Adhering instead to the marginalist theory of value, it does not believe that the absence of a state would cause profit to disappear, nor does it consider profit, rent, or interest to be exploitative, but natural and beneficial. In an anarcho-capitalist society, no authority would prohibit anyone from providing, through the free market, any service; even those services traditionally provided by state monopoly such as police, courts, and defense. Anarcho-capitalism also rejects the view of other anarchists that capitalism is itself a system of violent repression. It would thus allow individuals to be self-employed or volunteer to work for others for wages. Anarcho-capitalism has a theory of legitimacy that supports private property as long as it is not attained by coercion. It is discussed mainly in academic circles in the United States, and has never had a social presence. Colin Ward points out that it is a "different form of libertarianism" than the kind held by 19th and 20th century anti-capitalist individualist anarchists; the term 'libertarian', he notes, was appropriated by anarcho-capitalists in the late 20th century to refer to their own philosophy. Anarcho-capitalism's leading proponents are Murray Rothbard and David Friedman, and it has been influenced by libertarians such as Frederic Bastiat, Ayn Rand and Robert Nozick.

Anarchism as a Social Movement

Individualist anarchism does not represent the majority of anarchists, as most anarchists favor some form of communitarianism or collectivism. Belief in collectivism and social revolution dominated mainstream anarchism from the days of the First International until the destruction of anarchism as a mass movement at the end of the Spanish Civil War.

The First International

Mikhail Bakunin 1814-1876

Main articles: International Workingmen's Association and Anarchism and Marxism

In Europe, harsh reaction followed the revolutions of 1848. Twenty years later in 1864 the International Workingmen's Association, sometimes called the 'First International', united some diverse European revolutionary currents, including French followers of Proudhon, Blanquists, English trade unionists, socialists and social democrats. Due to its genuine links to active workers movements the International became a significant organization and marked a break with the conspiratorial politics developed by such groups as the Philadelphians.

The Masonic "level in a circle" as used by the Federal Council of Spain of the International Workingmen's Association. Note the inclusion of the Plumb, one of the working tools of a operative masonry, and a symbol of rectitude of conduct

Following the expulsion of the Philadelphians, Karl Marx became a leading figure in the International and a member of its General Council. Proudhon's followers, the Mutualists, opposed Marx's state socialism, advocating political abstentionism and small property holdings. Mikhail Bakunin joined in 1868, allying with the anti-authoritarian socialist sections of the International, who advocated the revolutionary overthrow of the state, the collectivization of property and a return to conspiratorial politics. At first, the collectivists worked with the Marxists to push the First International towards a more revolutionary socialist direction. The anarchists were particularly involved in developing the International in Spain, where Giuseppe Fanelli used freemasonry as a means of organising. . The anarchist use of the A in a Circle dates from this time. Subsequently, the International became polarized into two camps, with Marx and Bakunin as their respective figureheads.

Bakunin characterised Marx's ideas as authoritarian, and predicted that if a Marxist party came to power its leaders would simply take the place of the ruling class they had fought against. In 1872 the conflict climaxed with a final split between the two groups, when at the Hague Congress Marx engineered the expulsion of Bakunin and James Guillaume from the International and had its headquarters transferred to New York. In response, the anti-authoritarian sections formed their own International at the St. Imier Congress, adopting a revolutionary anarchist program.

Anarchism and organized labor

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CNT poster from April 2004. Reads: Don't let the politicians rule our lives/ You vote and they decide/ Don't allow it/ Unity, Action, Self-management.

Main articles: Anarcho-syndicalism and Anarchism in Spain

The anti-authoritarian sections of the First International were the precursors of the anarcho-syndicalists, seeking to "replace the privilege and authority of the State" with the "free and spontaneous organization of labor."

The Confédération Générale du Travail (General Confederation of Labour, CGT), formed in France in 1895, was the first major anarcho-syndicalist movement, but it had been preceded by the Spanish Workers Federation in 1881. Anarchist trade union federations were of special importance in Spain. The most successful was the Confederación Nacional del Trabajo (National Confederation of Labour: CNT), founded in 1910. Before the 1940s the CNT was the major force in Spanish working class politics, and played a major role in the Spanish Civil War. The CNT was affiliated with the International Workers Association, a federation of anarcho-syndicalist trade unions founded in 1922, with delegates representing two million workers from 15 countries in Europe and Latin America.

The largest organised anarchist movement today is in Spain, in the form of the Confederación General del Trabajo (CGT) and the CNT. CGT membership was estimated to be around 100,000 for the year 2003. Other active syndicalist movements include the US Workers Solidarity Alliance, and the UK Solidarity Federation. The revolutionary industrial unionist Industrial Workers of the World, claiming 2,000 paying members, and the International Workers Association, an anarcho-syndicalist successor to the First International, also remain active.

The Russian Revolution

Main article: Russian Revolution of 1917

Anarchists participated alongside the Bolsheviks 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 1921 Kronstadt rebellion. Anarchists in central Russia were imprisoned or driven underground, or joined the victorious Bolsheviks. In Ukraine anarchists fought in the civil war against both Whites and Bolsheviks within the Makhnovshchina peasant army led by Nestor Makhno.

Expelled American anarchists Emma Goldman and Alexander Berkman 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, Bakunin'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 CGT and IWW began to realign themselves away from anarchism and towards the Communist International.

In Paris, the Dielo Truda group of Russian anarchist exiles which included Nestor Makhno concluded that anarchists needed to develop new forms of organisation in response to the structures of Bolshevism. Their 1926 manifesto, known as the Organisational Platform of the Libertarian Communists , was supported by some communist anarchists, though opposed by many others. Platformist groups today include the Workers Solidarity Movement in Ireland and the North Eastern Federation of Anarchist Communists of North America.

The fight against fascism

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Spain, 1936. Members of the CNT construct armoured cars to fight against the fascists in one of the collectivised factories.

Main articles: Anti-fascism and Anarchism in Spain

In the 1920s and 1930s the familiar dynamics of anarchism's conflict with the state were transformed by the rise of fascism in Europe. Italy saw the first struggles between anarchists and fascists. Anarchists played a key role in the anti-fascist organisation Arditi del Popolo. This group was strongest in areas with anarchist traditions and marked up numerous successful victories, including driving back Blackshirts in the anarchist stronghold of Parma in August 1922. In France, where the fascists came close to insurrection in the February 1934 riots, anarchists divided over a 'united front' policy. In Spain, the CNT 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 ruling class responded with an attempted coup, and the Spanish Civil War (1936-1939) was underway.

In response to the army rebellion, an anarchist-inspired movement of peasants and workers, supported by armed militias, took control of Barcelona and of large areas of rural Spain where they collectivized the land. But even before the eventual fascist victory in 1939, the anarchists were losing ground in a bitter struggle with the Stalinists. The CNT leadership often appeared confused and divided, with some members controversially entering the government. According to George Orwell and other foreign observers, Stalinist-led troops suppressed the collectives, and persecuted both dissident Marxists and anarchists.

Issues in anarchism

Ends and means

Main articles: Propaganda of the deed and direct action

In general, anarchists advocate direct action and oppose voting in elections. Most anarchists feel that real change is not possible through voting. Further, many believe that voting amounts to condoning the state.

Direct action may be violent or non-violent. While some anarchists believe violence is justified in overthrowing existing authority, most anarchists reject terrorism as authoritarian. Mikhail Bakunin and Errico Malatesta, for example, wrote of violence as necessary in revolutionary settings but denounced terrorism as counter-revolutionary.

Anarchists have often been portrayed as dangerous and violent, due mainly to a number of high-profile violent acts, including riots, assassinations, insurrections, and terrorism by some anarchists. Many anarchists do not see the destruction of property as a violent act. Anarchists see war, however, as an activity in which the state seeks to gain and consolidate power, both domestically and in foreign lands, and subscribe to Randolph Bourne's view that "war is the health of the state."

Anarchists also engage in building parallel structures and organizations, such as Food Not Bombs, radical labor unions, and radical social centers. This is in line with the general anarchist concept of creating Dual Power, creating the structures for a new anti-authoritarian society in the shell of the old, hierarchical one.

Capitalism

Main article: Anarchism and capitalism

All anarchist traditions believe that capitalism can only be maintained by the state, and argue that it is inherently exploitative. Most anarchists not only seek rejection of the state, but also other systems which they perceive as authoritarian, such as capitalism. An anti-capitalist stance does not uniformly lead to communist beliefs: many individualist anarchists support instead individual sovereignty, free trade, free competition, and private property, like in mutualism and homesteading.

Globalization

The majority of anarchists oppose neoliberal globalization as an attempt to use coercion on a global scale, carried out through institutions such as the World Bank, World Trade Organization, Group of Eight and the World Economic Forum. Anarchist groups, such as Reclaim the Streets, were among the instigators of the so-called anti-globalisation movement. The Carnival Against Capitalism on 18 June 1999, is generally regarded as the first of the major anti-globalisation protests. Anarchists, such as the WOMBLES, often played a major role in planning, organising and participating in the subsequent protests. The protests tended to be organised on anarchist direct action principles with a general tolerance for a range of different activities ranging from those who engage in tactical frivolity to the black blocs.

Communism

Individualist anarchists oppose communism in all its forms. Individualist such as Benjamin Tucker, Victor Yarros, and Henry Appleton have denied that anarcho-communism is a genuine form of anarchism. They rejected its violent strategies and believed that its inherently authoritarian. The socialist Proudhon also opposed communism, "whether of the utopian or the Marxist variety, [the criticism being] that it destroyed freedom by taking away from the individual control over his means of production."

Feminism and anti-racism

Main articles: Anarcha-feminism and Antifa

Anarcha-feminism is a kind of radical feminism that espouses the belief that patriarchy is a fundamental problem in society. However, it was not explicitly formulated as anarcha-feminism until early 1970s, during the second-wave feminist movement. Anarcha-feminism views patriarchy as the first manifestation of hierarchy in human history; thus, the first form of oppression occurred in the dominance of male over female.

Black anarchism opposes the existence of a state, capitalism, and subjugation and domination of people of color, and favors a non-hierarchical organization of society. Theorists include Ashanti Alston, Lorenzo Komboa Ervin, and Sam Mbah.

Since the late 1970s anarchists have been involved in fighting the rise of neo-fascist groups. In Germany and the United Kingdom some anarchists worked within militant anti-fascist groups alongside members of the Marxist left. They advocated directly combating fascists with physical force rather than relying on the state. Since the late 1990s, a similar tendency has developed within US anarchism.

The environment

See also: Green anarchism, Eco-anarchism, Social ecology, Anarcho-primitivism, Ecofeminism, and Green syndicalism

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The Anarcho-primitivist John Zerzan

The environment and sustainability have been an issue for anarchists from at least as far back as Kropotkin's 'Fields, Factories and Workshops, but since the late 1970s anarchists in Anglosphere and European countries have been agitating for the natural environment. Eco-anarchists or green anarchists believe in deep ecology. This is a worldview that embraces biodiversity and sustainability. Eco-anarchists often use direct action against what they see as earth-destroying institutions. Of particular importance is the Earth First! movement, that takes action such as tree sitting. The more militant Earth Liberation Front, which grew out of Earth First!, also has connections with the anarchist movement. Another important component is ecofeminism, which sees the domination of nature as a metaphor for the domination of women.

Anarcho-Primitivism is a predominantly Western philosophy that advocates a return to a pre-industrial and usually pre-agricultural society. It develops a critique of industrial civilization. In this critique technology and development have alienated people from the natural world. This philosophy develops themes present in the political action of the Luddites and the writings of Jean-Jacques Rousseau. Some primitivists advocate a complete process of 'rewilding' and a return to nomadic hunter-gatherer lifestyles while others only wish to see an end to industrial society and do not oppose domestication or agriculture. Key theorists in the former category include Derrick Jensen and John Zerzan while the 'Unabomber' Theodore Kaczynski belongs in the latter. Today there is much conflict between primitivists and followers of more traditional forms of class struggle anarchism, such as the social ecology of Murray Bookchin.

Religion

The novelist and Christian anarchist Leo Tolstoy

Main articles: Anarchism and religion, Buddhist anarchism, Christian anarchism, and Islam and anarchism

From Proudhon and Bakunin to the Spanish anarcho-syndicalists, Anarchists have traditionally been skeptical about and opposed to organized religion, believing that most organized religions are hierarchical in nature and, more often than not, aligned with contemporary power structures like state and capital. Nonetheless, there are those who reconcile anarchism with religion.

Christian anarchists believe that there is no higher authority than God, and oppose earthly authority such as government and established churches. They believe that Jesus' teachings and the practice of the early church were clearly anarchistic, but were corrupted when "Christianity" was declared the official religion of Rome. The most famous Christian anarchist was the Russian novelist Leo Tolstoy whose 'The Kingdom of God Is Within You' is considered a key christian anarchist text. The Catholic Worker Movement is a modern Christian anarchist organisation.

Chinese anarchism was most influential in the 1920s. Strands of Chinese anarchism included Taixu's Buddhist anarchism which was influenced by Tolstoy and the well-field system.

Recent Developments within Anarchism

Anarchism generates many eclectic and syncretic philosophies and movements. Since the Western social ferment in the 1960's and 1970's a number of new movements and schools have appeared. Most of these stances are limited to even smaller numbers than the schools and movements listed above.

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Peter Lamborn Wilson

• Post-left anarchy - Post-left anarchy seeks to distance itself from the traditional "left" - communists, socialists, social democrats, etc. - and to escape the confines of ideology in general. Post-leftists argue that anarchism has been weakened by its long attachment to contrary "leftist" movements and single issue causes (anti-war, anti-nuclear, etc.). It calls for a synthesis of anarchist thought and a specifically anti-authoritarian revolutionary movement outside of the leftist milieu. Important groups and individuals associated with Post-left anarchy include: CrimethInc, the magazine Anarchy: A Journal of Desire Armed and its editor Jason McQuinn, Bob Black, Hakim Bey and others.
• Post-Anarchism - The term post-anarchism was originated by Saul Newman, first receiving popular attention in his book From Bakunin to Lacan to refer to a theoretical move towards a synthesis of classical anarchist theory and poststructuralist thought. Subsequent to Newman's use of the term, however, it has taken on a life of its own and a wide range of ideas including autonomism, post-left anarchy, situationism, post-colonialism and Zapatismo. By its very nature post-anarchism rejects the idea that it should be a coherent set of doctrines and beliefs. As such it is difficult, if not impossible, to state with any degree of certainty who should or should not be grouped under the rubric. Nonetheless key thinkers associated with post-anarchism include Saul Newman, Todd May, Gilles Deleuze and Félix Guattari.
• Insurrectionary anarchism - Insurrectionary anarchism is a form of revolutionary anarchism critical of formal anarchist labor unions and federations. Insurrectionary anarchists advocate informal organization, including small affinity groups, carrying out acts of resistance in various struggles, and mass organizations called base structures, which can include exploited individuals who are not anarchists. Proponents include Wolfi Landstreicher and Alfredo M. Bonanno, author of works including "Armed Joy" and "The Anarchist Tension". This tendency is represented in the US in magazines such as Willful Disobedience and Killing King Abacus.
• Small 'a' anarchism - Small 'a' anarchism is a term used in two different, but not unconnected contexts. Dave Neal posited the term in opposition to big 'A' Anarchism in the article Anarchism: Ideology or Methodology?. While big 'A' Anarchism referred to ideological Anarchists, small 'a' anarchism was applied to their methodological counterparts; those who viewed anarchism as "a way of acting, or a historical tendency against illegitimate authority." As an anti-ideological position, small 'a' anarchism shares some similarities with post-left anarchy. David Graeber and Andrej Grubacic offer an alternative use of the term, applying it to groups and movements organising according to or acting in a manner consistent with anarchist principles of decentralisation, voluntary association, mutual aid, the network model, and crucially, "the rejection of any idea that the end justifies the means, let alone that the business of a revolutionary is to seize state power and then begin imposing one's vision at the point of a gun."

Criticisms of anarchism

Main article: Criticisms of anarchism

The theory and practice of anarchism has been controversial since it came to prominence in the 19th century. Some of the criticisms made of anarchism come from the interests it opposes, such as governments. Other criticisms have been made internally of other anarchists or by political movements that appear to share similar goals, such as Marxism. Many question the idealist nature of anarchism, and have misgivings about its practical application in the real world. Some point to anarchism's inability to establish a viable anti-state. Social scientists note that hierarchies appear to be synonymous with human civilization.

Cultural phenomena

Noam Chomsky (1928–)

The kind of anarchism that is most easily encountered in popular culture is represented by well-known figures who publicly identify themselves as anarchists. The following figures are examples of prominent publicly self-avowed anarchists:

• the MIT professor of linguistics Noam Chomsky
• the social historian Howard Zinn
• author Edward Abbey
• author and speaker Murray Bookchin
• EZLN spokesperson Subcomandante Marcos
• author Robert Anton Wilson
• graphic novelist Alan Moore
• UFC fighter and champion Jeff Monson
• feminist, author and critic Germaine Greer
• Hans Alfredson, actor, film director, writer and comedian.

In Denmark, the Freetown Christiania was created in downtown Copenhagen. The housing and employment crisis in most of Western Europe led to the formation of communes and squatter movements like the one still thriving in Barcelona, in Catalonia. Although not always explicitly anarchist, militant resistance to neo-Nazi groups in places like Germany, and the uprisings of autonomous Marxism, situationist, and Autonomist groups in France and Italy also helped to give popularity to anti-authoritarian, non-capitalist ideas.

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 UK this was associated with the punk movement; the band Crass is celebrated for its anarchist and pacifist ideas. For further details, see anarcho-punk and list of anarchist musicians.

Recent technological developments have made the anarchist cause both easier to advance and more conceivable to people. Many people use the Internet to form on-line communities. Intellectual property has been undermined to some extent and a gift-culture supported by sharing music files, collaborative software development, and free software (also called open-source software) has arisen. These cyber-communities include those that support GNU, Linux, Indymedia, and Wikis. Others use technology to remain anonymous, communicate securely using public key cryptography, and maintain financial privacy through digital currency. See also: Crypto-anarchism and Cypherpunk.

See also

There are many concepts relevant to the topic of anarchism, this is a brief summary. There is also a more extensive list of anarchist concepts.

• individualist anarchism, anarcho-communism, anarcho-syndicalism, anarcho-capitalism, mutualism, Christian anarchism, anarcha-feminism, green anarchism, nihilist anarchism, black anarchism, post-anarchism, post-left anarchism
• Libertarian socialism
• Anarchist symbolism
• List of anarchists
• List of anarchist organizations
• Major conflicts within anarchist thought
• Criticisms of anarchism
• Past and present anarchist communities
• Anarchism/historical
• Origins of anarchism

Historical events

• Paris Commune (1871)
• Haymarket Riot (1886)
• High Treason Incident (1910)
• Ukrainian Revolution (1918-1922) (see also The Free Territory)
• Kronstadt rebellion (1921)
• Amakasu Incident (1923)
• Shinmin Free Province (1929-1931)
• Spanish Revolution (1936) (see also Anarchism in Spain)
• May 1968, France (1968)
• WTO Meeting in Seattle (1999)
• Argentine riots (2001)

Anarchism by region

Main article: Anarchism by country

• Anarchism in Africa
• Anarchism in China
• Anarchism in France
• Anarchism in Mexico
• Anarchism in Spain
• Anarchism in the United States

Anarchism by culture

• Anarchism in the English tradition
• Chinese anarchism
• Buddhist anarchism
• Islam and anarchism
• Jewish anarchism
• Russian anarchism

Books

Main article: List of anarchist books

• Mikhail Bakunin, God and the State [17]
• Emma Goldman, Anarchism & Other Essays [18]
• Peter Kropotkin, Mutual Aid [19]
• Pierre-Joseph Proudhon, What is Property? [20]
• Rudolf Rocker, Anarcho-Syndicalism [21]
• Murray Rothbard, Man, Economy, and State [22]
• Max Stirner, The Ego And Its Own [23]
• Leo Tolstoy, The Kingdom of God is Within You [24]
• John Zerzan, Future Primitive

External links

An overwhelming diversity and number of links relating to anarchism exist. Below are but a few.

• "An Anarchist FAQ" version 11.7 at Infoshop.org - "An Anarchist FAQ" written by a group of anarchists.
• "Anarchist Theory FAQ" - a FAQ written by anarcho-capitalist economics professor Bryan Caplan.
• Anarchy Archives extensively archives information relating to famous anarchists. This includes many of their books and other publications.
• 1,500+ anarchists listed, with short bios, links & dedicated pages at the Daily Bleed's Anarchist Encyclopedia

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