Anarchism
Anarchism is a generic name given to theories and movements which call for the abolition of government and other forms of authority - the simplest possible civics. In the view of anarchists, the complexity of civics is inversely related to its potential for fairness - thus simpler is better.
Anarchists also argue that ethical relationships can be based only upon voluntary association. A central political principle for some anarchists is 'the sovereignty of the individual'.
Anarchism first achieved mass media attention during the Second Industrial Revolution, when anarchists assassinated rulers of Russia (1881); in the French Republic (1894); in Italy (1900); and in the United States (1901). Although anarchists are divided on whether, or not, to accept violence as a political tool, most anarchists reject such "propaganda by deed" as ineffectual at best and counterproductive at worst. Although some are pacifists, most would accept the need for a robust self defence of a revolution by the working class.
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2 Diversity of Anarchism 3 Thematic articles 4 See also 5 Terms of Anarchist Theory 6 Anarchist Organizations 7 External links |
In contrast to common misconceptions, 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.
Anarchists oppose hierarchy, power and authority, which they argue to be immoral, oppressive, and detrimental to society. They philosophise on the distinctions between order and hierarchy, rules and authority, organised structure and power.
Some critics of anarchism suggest that it is a rhetorical form, whereby individuals can cloak the pursuit of their own interests behind an interlocking web of abstract concepts. Some anarchists speculate that freedom is unconstrained desire. Marx suggested that this desire was the material basis of the Anarchy of the market. Both Marxism and some forms of anarchism use the fluid manipulation of concepts through historical materialism, which links ideas with their social basis. Hence these historical materialists dismiss the idea of freedom as unconstrained desire, arguing that it is a politics for those who do not know what they want. The prominance of the idea that freedom is unconstrained desire in the English-speaking world may explain the development of anarchism in the West into an identity politics, albeit with a dissident White identity.
For a dictionary definition, see wiktionary:anarchism
Anyone who wishes to abolish the state without replacing it with another form of government is usually considered an anarchist, so there are some vastly different views under the umbrella term "anarchism". On first approximation, we can distinguish two main trends in anarchist traditions:
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.
Anarchism: the basics
Diversity of Anarchism
These trends are not always mutually exclusive and do not cover all the nuances of anarchist movements that may or may not be loosely attached to them.Thematic articles
See also
Terms of Anarchist Theory
Anarchist Organizations
External links
