Anarchism
Anarchism is a political ideology that advocates for the abolition of hierarchical systems of power, such as the state and capitalism, in favor of voluntary cooperation and decentralized forms of organization. Anarchists seek to create a society based on principles of mutual aid, direct democracy, and individual freedom, often through non-violent means such as civil disobedience and grassroots activism.
6 Key excerpts on "Anarchism"
eBook - ePub- Gregory Claeys(Author)
- 2013(Publication Date)
- CQ Press(Publisher)
...Ruth Kinna Ruth Kinna Anarchism Anarchism 30 33 Anarchism Anarchism is a worldwide movement that has its ideological origins in the French Revolution, though the principles that inspire the political ideology are frequently identified in a range of earlier and not exclusively European schools of thought. Anarchism also describes a way of thinking or a set of attitudes, linking political movements narrowly understood, to creative currents in literature, science, the arts and humanities. Pierre-Joseph Proudhon was the first writer to use the term anarchy to describe his political ideal, knowing that it was already associated with chaos, social disorder, and violence. Anarchists have had cause to regret his decision ever since because for them, anarchy conjures images of precisely the opposite conditions; the familiar graffiti that places the A inside the O symbolizes the integral relationship they identify in anarchy and order. One of the hallmarks of Anarchism is the celebration of diversity and the reluctance on the part of many (though not all) to define its theoretical principles. Anarchists tend to be resistant to the idea that Anarchism might be attached to one concept or ideal (e.g., the priority of liberty, classlessness), and their reluctance has encouraged a proliferation of labels within the movement. It is not unusual to find reference in anarchist literatures to social Anarchism, anarcho-communism, anarcho-syndicalism, class-struggle Anarchism, or anarcha-feminism, and sometimes more contentious forms such as market-Anarchism or anarcho-capitalism. The ideological parameters of these different forms, their interrelationship and the definitional role that any might claim to have had in the construction of the anarchist tradition, still generate considerable debate. In contemporary Anarchism, these debates have been deepened by the appearance of two further currents...
eBook - ePubPolitical Ideologies
An Introduction
- Robert Eccleshall, Vincent Geoghegan, Richard Jay, Michael Keeny, Ian MacKenzie, Richard Wilford, Vincent Geoghegan, Rick Wilford, Vincent Geoghegan, Rick Wilford(Authors)
- 2014(Publication Date)
- Routledge(Publisher)
...In short, anarchists desire a decentralised society, based on the principle of free association, in which people will manage and govern themselves. Such a society, anarchists contend, is the one best suited to maximising the values of liberty, equality and solidarity. Consider, by way of illustration, the following three quotations. The first comes from Peter Kropotkin: Anarchism …, the name given to a principle or theory of life and conduct under which society is conceived without government – harmony in such a society being obtained, not by submission to law, or by obedience to any authority, but by free agreements concluded between the various groups, territorial and professional, freely constituted for the sake of production and consumption, as also for the satisfaction of the infinite variety of needs and aspirations of a civilized being. (Kropotkin, 1910) The second comes from Emma Goldman: Anarchism, then, really stands for the liberation of the human mind from the dominion of religion; the liberation of the human body from the dominion of property; liberation from the shackles and restraint of government. Anarchism stands for a social order based on the free grouping of individuals for the purpose of producing real social wealth; an order that will guarantee to every human being free access to the earth and full enjoyment of the necessities of life, according to individual desires, tastes, and inclinations. (Goldman, 1927) The author of the third is Rudolf Rocker: Anarchism is a definite intellectual current of social thought, whose adherents advocate the abolition of economic monopolies and of all political and social coercive institutions within society. In place of the capitalist economic order, Anarchists would have a free association of all productive forces based upon cooperative labour, which would have for its sole purpose the satisfying of the necessary requirements of every member of society...
eBook - ePubPolitical Ideologies
Their Origins and Impact
- Leon P. Baradat, John A. Phillips(Authors)
- 2019(Publication Date)
- Routledge(Publisher)
...CHAPTER 7 Anarchism Preview Arising from a reaction to the growing power of government and the increasing influence of capitalism, Anarchism developed among a small but highly motivated number of people. Poorly understood in our society, Anarchism is the purest expression of individualism in political thought. Anarchists of all sorts see institutional government as an impediment to human progress and wish to eliminate it in part or even completely. Agreeing that government should be limited, anarchists tend to disagree on matters of substance and on tactics. Social anarchists—those on the left—wish to free individuals from governmental restraint so that individuals can do the greatest good possible for society as a whole. By contrast, individualist anarchists—those on the right of the political spectrum—seek to limit government so that individuals can accomplish the greatest good for themselves alone. Anarchists can be left-wingers or right-wingers, pacifistic or violent, devout or atheistic, socialist or capitalist. Indeed, except for the reduction or elimination of institutional government, there are few things on which anarchists agree. Currently, Anarchism is becoming fashionable among certain elements in the American public and others. The militant right-wing groups threaten insurrection in defense of their individual liberties, some extreme Tea Party enthusiasts as well as some extremist libertarians want to severely curtail government in protection of individual liberties, and some leftists are also drawn to Anarchism in an effort to combat what they regard as the emergence of a super-government controlled by international corporations. Development of Anarchism Even as the imperatives of the Industrial Revolution motivated some people to seek more popular participation in government, others agitated for social organization without institutional government...
eBook - ePubAnarchism and Ecological Economics
A Transformative Approach to a Sustainable Future
- Ove Daniel Jakobsen(Author)
- 2018(Publication Date)
- Routledge(Publisher)
...5 History of anarchist philosophy Introduction The anarchists present a political and economic framework that could be characterized as utopian because it represents a standpoint that is distanced from what we find today. This brief overview of the history of anarchist philosophy ranges from Goodwin to Chomsky. Anarchism distances itself from both liberalism and Marxism by arguing that liberalism is too focused on the individual and forgets the collective, while the Marxists are too focused on the collective and forget the individual. Anarchism gives priority to individual freedom in solidarity. In other words, the good life in solidarity with the collective. In 1909 Kropotkin formulated the question that Anarchism asks in the following way: “What forms of social life assure to a given society, and then to mankind generally, the greatest amount of happiness, and hence also vitality?” (Kropotkin 1909, p. xx) One hundred years later, in 2008, Marshall stated that “If there is no joy, imagination, spontaneity, conviviality and fun, it isn’t my free society” (Marshall 2008, p. xx). Anarchy is far from being a new position in political philosophy. The word itself is of ancient origin. Anarchy is derived from Greek, “anarchos”. The pronoun “an” means, in this context, “without”, and the following word “archos” denotes ruler or authority. Hence, anarchy means “without ruler”, or more precisely, alternatives to and absence of such types of governance based on leaders and followers, i.e., the absence of hierarchy and authority. It is the condition of a people governing themselves without a constituted authority. Classical Anarchism According to Marshall, it would be difficult to offer an exact definition of Anarchism, since by its very nature it is a complex and subtle philosophy, embracing many different ideas and thoughts. At first sight it seems a hopeless task to incorporate anarchist theory into one general ideology...
- Gary Chartier, Chad Van Schoelandt, Gary Chartier, Chad Van Schoelandt(Authors)
- 2020(Publication Date)
- Routledge(Publisher)
...Moreover, many political philosophers have been concerned with understanding problems that individuals within anarchic arrangements would face in order to understand the role, justification, and appropriate limits of the state. This book is designed to deepen understanding of anarchy—among both scholars and thoughtful non-academic readers—at a time when anarchist ideas have attracted considerable attention. Discussions of anarchy as an analytical model in economics, political science, and international relations theory and as a normative model in legal and political philosophy have been matched by growing interest in anarchist ideas in the political sphere. In the United States, for instance, the Ron Paul movement propelled many of those who originally embraced it beyond electoral politics and into support for anarchy. Opposition to corporate-led globalization during the Seattle protests against the World Trade Organization embraced anarchist symbols and values. The Occupy movement embraced a self-consciously anarchist flavor, drawing inspiration from anarchist anthropologist David Graeber and praise, indeed, from Ron Paul. And less dramatic anti-authoritarian attitudes find expression in increasingly vocal challenges to the drug war and to state policing. Globally, the policies embraced by many governments to the Sars-Cov-2 pandemic have prompted theoretical anarchist critiques and practical anarchist responses—involving the development of alternatives to state service provision and push-backs against restraints on civil and economic liberties. 4 In the United States, the renewed attention to police violence prompted by the murder of George Floyd has also led to on-the-ground activism and critiques of state provision of security services, both with anarchist undertones or explicit anarchist content. At the same time, libertarian ideas of various sorts are gaining increasing exposure in academe...
eBook - ePubAnarchy, Order and Power in World Politics
A Comparative Analysis
- Seifudein Adem(Author)
- 2017(Publication Date)
- Routledge(Publisher)
...Chapter Four Anarchy in Domestic Politics International life is nourished and shaped by developments within nation-states as well as by relations among them. (J.N. Rosenau, 1964) 1 In comparison to the nature of states which make up the international system, we have touched upon in the previous chapter the relevance of some features of individual members, or citizens, of contemporary states to social disorder in domestics politics. Here we shift our level of analysis and primarily examine collectivities of individuals within contemporary states in relations to the dynamics of domestic anarchy. Although domestic politics has, as we shall substantiate shortly, always been potentially more anarchic than its international counterpart, it was after the end of the Cold War that the fear of a wave of such phenomena assumed a global dimension. 2 The international situation in the last decade seemed also to have borne out such a fear, although authoritative voices that claim that 'ethnic warfare is on the wane', 3 or that 'ethnic war essentially does not exist' 4 are now beginning to be heard. However, in a number of places different groups still challenge the state and defy its authority. 5 Examples include, some Andean countries, South East Turkey, Egypt, Algeria, Sri Lanka and India. 6 In fact, a varying degree of similar challenges are observable in most of'the post-colonial states', which G. Sorensen has defined as: '.....
