Anarchism

Basic forms of Government
Source of power
Democracy (rule by many)
Oligarchy (rule by few)
Autocracy (rule by one)
Anarchism (rule by none)
Power ideology
Monarchy - Republic
Authoritarian - Libertarian
Religious - Secular
Global - Local
Power structure
Unitarism
Federalism
International relations
Administrative division

Anarchism is a political philosophy and movement that is skeptical of all justifications for authority and seeks to abolish the institutions it claims maintain unnecessary coercion and hierarchy, typically including, though not necessarily limited to, governments, nation states, and capitalism. Anarchism advocates for the replacement of the state with stateless societies or other forms of free associations. As a historically left-wing movement, usually placed on the farthest left of the political spectrum, it is usually described alongside communalism and libertarian Marxism as the libertarian wing (libertarian socialism) of the socialist movement.

Humans lived in societies without formal hierarchies long before the establishment of formal states, realms, or empires. With the rise of organised hierarchical bodies, scepticism toward authority also rose. Although traces of anarchist thought are found throughout history, modern anarchism emerged from the Enlightenment. During the latter half of the 19th and the first decades of the 20th century, the anarchist movement flourished in most parts of the world and had a significant role in workers' struggles for emancipation. Various anarchist schools of thought formed during this period. Anarchists have taken part in several revolutions, most notably in the Paris Commune, the Russian Civil War and the Spanish Civil War, whose end marked the end of the classical era of anarchism. In the last decades of the 20th and into the 21st century, the anarchist movement has been resurgent once more, growing in popularity and influence within anti-capitalist, anti-war and anti-globalisation movements.

Anarchism employs a diversity of tactics in order to meet its ideal ends which can be broadly separated into revolutionary and evolutionary tactics; there is significant overlap between the two, which are merely descriptive. Revolutionary tactics aim to bring down authority and state, having taken a violent turn in the past, while evolutionary tactics aim to prefigure what an anarchist society would be like. Anarchist thought, criticism, and praxis have played a part in diverse areas of human society. Template:Toc limit

Etymology, terminology, and definition

Wilhelm Weitling is an example of a writer who added to anarchist theory without using the exact term.

The etymological origin of anarchism is from the Ancient Greek anarkhia, meaning "without a ruler,", composed of the prefix an- ("without") and the word arkhos ("leader" or "ruler"). The suffix -ism denotes the ideological current that favors anarchy.{{#invoke:Footnotes|sfnm}} Anarchism appears in English from 1642 as anarchisme and anarchy from 1539; early English usages emphasized a sense of disorder.{{#invoke:Footnotes|sfnm}} Various factions within the French Revolution labeled their opponents as anarchists, although few such accused shared many views with later anarchists. Many revolutionaries of the 19th century such as William Godwin (1756–1836) and Wilhelm Weitling (1808–1871) would contribute to the anarchist doctrines of the next generation but did not use anarchist or anarchism in describing themselves or their beliefs.

The first political philosopher to call himself an anarchist (French: anarchiste) was Pierre-Joseph Proudhon (1809–1865), marking the formal birth of anarchism in the mid-19th century. Since the 1890s and beginning in France, libertarianism has often been used as a synonym for anarchism and its use as a synonym is still common outside the United States.{{#invoke:Footnotes|sfnm}} Some usages of libertarianism refer to individualistic free-market philosophy only, and free-market anarchism in particular is termed libertarian anarchism.

While the term libertarian has been largely synonymous with anarchism, {{#invoke:Footnotes|sfnm}} its meaning has more recently been altered by wider adoption from ideologically disparate groups, including both the New Left and libertarian Marxists, who do not associate themselves with authoritarian socialists or a vanguard party, and extreme cultural liberals, who are primarily concerned with civil liberties. Additionally, some anarchists use libertarian socialist{{#invoke:Footnotes|sfnm}} to avoid anarchism's negative connotations and emphasize its connections with socialism. Anarchism is broadly used to describe the anti-authoritarian wing of the socialist movement. Anarchism is contrasted to socialist forms which are state-oriented or from above. Scholars of anarchism generally highlight anarchism's socialist credentials and criticize attempts at creating dichotomies between the two. Some scholars describe anarchism as having many influences from liberalism, and being both liberals and socialists but "more so," while most scholars reject anarcho-capitalism as a misunderstanding of anarchist principles.{{#invoke:Footnotes|sfnm}}

While opposition to the state is central to anarchist thought, defining anarchism is not an easy task for scholars, as there is a lot of discussion among scholars and anarchists on the matter, and various currents perceive anarchism slightly differently. Major definitional elements include the will for a non-coercive society, the rejection of the state apparatus, the belief that human nature allows humans to exist in or progress toward such a non-coercive society, and a suggestion on how to act to pursue the ideal of anarchy.

History

Pre-modern era

Zeno of Citium (c. 334 – c. 262 B.C.E.), whose Republic inspired Peter Kropotkin

Before the creation of towns and cities, established authority did not exist. It was after the institution of authority that anarchistic ideas were espoused as a reaction. The most notable precursors to anarchism in the ancient world were in China and Greece. In China, philosophical anarchism (the discussion on the legitimacy of the state) was delineated by Taoist philosophers Zhuang Zhou and Laozi.{{#invoke:Footnotes|sfnm}} Alongside Stoicism, Taoism has been said to have had "significant anticipations" of anarchism.

Anarchic attitudes were also articulated by tragedians and philosophers in Greece. Aeschylus and Sophocles used the myth of Antigone to illustrate the conflict between laws imposed by the state and personal autonomy. Socrates questioned Athenian authorities constantly and insisted on the right of individual freedom of conscience. Cynics dismissed human law (nomos) and associated authorities while trying to live according to nature (physis). Stoics were supportive of a society based on unofficial and friendly relations among its citizens without the presence of a state.

In medieval Europe, there was no anarchistic activity except some ascetic religious movements. These, and other Muslim movements, later gave birth to religious anarchism. In the Sasanian Empire, Mazdak called for an egalitarian society and the abolition of monarchy, only to be soon executed by Emperor Kavad I.

In Basra, religious sects preached against the state. In Europe, various sects developed anti-state and libertarian tendencies. Renewed interest in antiquity during the Renaissance and in private judgment during the Reformation restored elements of anti-authoritarian secularism, particularly in France. Enlightenment challenges to intellectual authority (secular and religious) and the revolutions of the 1790s and 1848 all spurred the ideological development of what became the era of classical anarchism.

Modern era

During the French Revolution, partisan groups such as the Enragés and the sans-culottes saw a turning point in the fermentation of anti-state and federalist sentiments. The first anarchist currents developed throughout the 18th century as William Godwin espoused philosophical anarchism in England, morally delegitimising the state, Max Stirner's thinking paved the way to individualism and Pierre-Joseph Proudhon's theory of mutualism found fertile soil in France. By the late 1870s, various anarchist schools of thought had become well-defined and a wave of then unprecedented globalisation occurred from 1880 to 1914. This era of classical anarchism lasted until the end of the Spanish Civil War and is considered the golden age of anarchism.

Mikhail Bakunin opposed the Marxist aim of dictatorship of the proletariat and allied himself with the federalists in the First International before his expulsion by the Marxists.

Drawing from mutualism, Mikhail Bakunin founded collectivist anarchism and entered the International Workingmen's Association, a class worker union later known as the First International that formed in 1864 to unite diverse revolutionary currents. The International became a significant political force, with Karl Marx being a leading figure and a member of its General Council. Bakunin's faction (the Jura Federation) and Proudhon's followers (the mutualists) opposed state socialism, advocating political abstentionism and small property holdings.{{#invoke:Footnotes|sfnm}} After bitter disputes, the Bakuninists were expelled from the International by the Marxists at the 1872 Hague Congress.{{#invoke:Footnotes|sfnm}}

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Further reading

• Barclay, Harold B. (1990). People Without Government: An Anthropology of Anarchy. Kahn & Averill. ISBN 978-0-939306-09-1. 
• Edmundson, William A. (2007). Three Anarchical Fallacies: An Essay on Political Authority. Cambridge University Press. ISBN 978-0-521-03751-8.  Criticism of philosophical anarchism.
• Harper, Clifford (1987). Anarchy: A Graphic Guide. Camden Press. ISBN 978-0-948491-22-1. 
• Huemer, Michael (2012). The Problem of Political Authority: An Examination of the Right to Coerce and the Duty to Obey. London: Palgrave Macmillan. ISBN 978-1-137-28164-7.  A defence of philosophical anarchism, stating that "both kinds of 'anarchism' [i.e. philosophical and political anarchism] are philosophical and political claims." (p. 137)
• Le Guin, Ursula K. (2009). The Dispossessed. HarperCollins.  Anarchistic popular fiction novel.
• Kinna, Ruth (2005). Anarchism: A Beginners Guide. Oneworld. ISBN 978-1-85168-370-3. 
• Sartwell, Crispin (2008). Against the State: An Introduction to Anarchist Political Theory. SUNY Press. ISBN 978-0-7914-7447-1. 
• Scott, James C. (2012). Two Cheers for Anarchism: Six Easy Pieces on Autonomy, Dignity, and Meaningful Work and Play. Princeton, New Jersey: Princeton University Press. ISBN 978-0-691-15529-6. 
• Wolff, Robert Paul (1998). In Defense of Anarchism. University of California Press. ISBN 978-0-520-21573-3.  An argument for philosophical anarchism.
• Woodcock, George (January 1962). Anarchism in Spain. History Today 12 (1): 22–32.

External links

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• Anarchism at Curlie
• Anarchy Archives. Anarchy Archives is an online research center on the history and theory of anarchism.

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