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'''Anarchism''' is a [[political theory]] which aims to create [[anarchy]], '''"the absence of a master, of a sovereign."''' [[[Pierre-Joseph Proudhon]], '''What is Property''', p. 264] In other words, '''anarchism''' is a [[political theory]] which aims to create a [[society]] within which individuals freely co-operate together as [[Equality|equals]]. As such '''anarchism''' opposes all forms of [[hierarchy|hierarchical]] [[control]] - be that control by the [[state]] or a [[capitalist]] - as harmful to the individual and their individuality as well as unnecessary.
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{{anarchism}}
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'''Anarchism''' is a [[political theory]] which aims to create [[anarchy]], which is defined by [[Pierre-Joseph Proudhon|Proudhon]] as "the absence of a master, of a sovereign."<ref>[[Pierre-Joseph Proudhon]], ''What is Property'', p. 264)</ref> In other words, anarchism is a political theory which aims to create a [[society]] within which individuals freely co-operate together as equals. As such, anarchism should not be defined as a "social chaos" or a return to the "laws of the jungle."
  
In the words of [[anarchist]] [[L. Susan Brown]]:
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Anarchism holds that the state is undesirable, unnecessary, and/or harmful<ref>"Anarchism." The Shorter Routledge Encyclopedia of Philosophy. 2005. p. 14 "Anarchism is the view that a society without the state, or government, is both possible and desirable."</ref> and advocates a stateless society instead, often based on self-governed voluntary institutions or non-[[Hierarchy|hierarchical]] free associations.<ref>"In a society developed on these lines, the voluntary associations which already now begin to cover all the fields of human activity would take a still greater extension so as to substitute themselves for the state in all its functions." [http://www.theanarchistlibrary.org/HTML/Petr_Kropotkin___Anarchism__from_the_Encyclopaedia_Britannica.html Peter Kropotkin. "Anarchism" from the Encyclopædia Britannica]</ref> Anarchism rejects the state,<ref name="definition">
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{{cite journal |last=Malatesta|first=Errico|title=Towards Anarchism|journal=MAN!|publisher=International Group of San Francisco|location=Los Angeles|oclc=3930443|url=http://www.marxists.org/archive/malatesta/1930s/xx/toanarchy.htm|archiveurl=http://web.archive.org/web/20121107221404/http://marxists.org/archive/malatesta/1930s/xx/toanarchy.htm|archivedate=7 November 2012 |deadurl=no|authorlink=Errico Malatesta |ref=harv}}
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{{cite journal |url=http://www.theglobeandmail.com/servlet/story/RTGAM.20070514.wxlanarchist14/BNStory/lifeWork/home/
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|archiveurl=http://web.archive.org/web/20070516094548/http://www.theglobeandmail.com/servlet/story/RTGAM.20070514.wxlanarchist14/BNStory/lifeWork/home |archivedate=16 May 2007 |deadurl=yes |title=Working for The Man |journal=[[The Globe and Mail]] |accessdate=14 April 2008 |last=Agrell |first=Siri |date=14 May 2007 |ref=harv }}
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{{cite web |url=http://www.britannica.com/eb/article-9117285|title=Anarchism|year=2006|work=Encyclopædia Britannica|publisher=Encyclopædia Britannica Premium Service|accessdate=29 August 2006| archiveurl= http://web.archive.org/web/20061214085638/http://www.britannica.com/eb/article-9117285| archivedate= 14 December 2006<!--Added by DASHBot-->}}
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{{cite journal |year=2005|title=Anarchism|journal=The Shorter [[Routledge Encyclopedia of Philosophy]]|page=14|quote=Anarchism is the view that a society without the state, or government, is both possible and desirable. |ref=harv}}
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The following sources cite anarchism as a political philosophy:
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{{cite book | last = Mclaughlin | first = Paul | title = Anarchism and Authority | publisher = Ashgate | location = Aldershot | year = 2007 | isbn = 0-7546-6196-2 |page=59}}
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{{cite book | last = Johnston | first = R. | title = The Dictionary of Human Geography | publisher = Blackwell Publishers | location = Cambridge | year = 2000 | isbn = 0-631-20561-6 |page=24}}</ref><ref name=slevin>Slevin, Carl. "Anarchism." ''The Concise Oxford Dictionary of Politics''. Ed. Iain McLean and Alistair McMillan. Oxford University Press, 2003.</ref> [[authoritarian]]ism,<ref>"ANARCHISM, a social philosophy that rejects authoritarian government and maintains that voluntary institutions are best suited to express man's natural social tendencies." George Woodcock. "Anarchism" at The Encyclopedia of Philosophy</ref> and hierarchical organisation in general.<ref>"anarchists have stressed, it is not government as such that they find objectionable, but the hierarchical forms of government associated with the nation state." Judith Suissa. ''Anarchism and Education: a Philosophical Perspective''. Routledge. New York. 2006. p. 7</ref>
  
<blockquote>''"While the popular understanding of anarchism is of a violent, anti-State movement, anarchism is a much more subtle and nuanced tradition then a simple opposition to government power. Anarchists oppose the idea that power and domination are necessary for society, and instead advocate more co-operative, anti-hierarchical forms of social, political and economic organisation."'' ['''The Politics of Individualism''', p. 106]</blockquote>
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This process of misrepresentation is not without historical parallel. For example, in countries which have considered government by one person ([[monarchy]]) necessary, the words ''[[republic]]'' or ''[[democracy]]'' have been used in a manner similar to ''[[anarchy]]'', to imply disorder, confusion and chaos. Those with a vested interest in preserving the status quo will obviously wish to imply that opposition to the current system cannot work in practice, and that a new form of society will only lead to chaos. Or, as [[Errico Malatesta]] expresses it:
  
However, "'''anarchism'''" and "[[anarchy]]" are undoubtedly the most misrepresented ideas in [[political theory]]. Generally, the words are used to mean "[[chaos]]" or "without order," and so, by implication, [[anarchist|anarchists]] desire social chaos and a return to the "laws of the jungle."
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<blockquote>since it was thought that government was necessary and that without government there could only be disorder and confusion, it was natural and logical that anarchy, which means absence of government, should sound like absence of order.<ref name="Anarchy">''Anarchy'', pp. 12-13.</ref></blockquote>
  
This process of misrepresentation is not without historical parallel. For example, in countries which have considered government by one person ([[monarchy]]) necessary, the words "[[republic]]" or "[[democracy]]" have been used precisely like "[[anarchy]]", to imply [[disorder]] and [[confusion]]. Those with a vested interest in preserving the status quo will obviously wish to imply that opposition to the current system cannot work in practice, and that a new form of society will only lead to chaos. Or, as [[Errico Malatesta]] expresses it:  
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Anarchists want to change this "common-sense" idea of anarchy, so people will see that government and other hierarchical social relationships are both harmful and unnecessary:
  
<blockquote>''"since it was thought that government was necessary and that without government there could only be disorder and confusion, it was natural and logical that anarchy, which means absence of government, should sound like absence of order."'' ['''Anarchy''', p. 12].</blockquote>
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<blockquote>Change opinion, convince the public that government is not only unnecessary, but extremely harmful, and then the word anarchy, just because it means absence of government, will come to mean for everybody: natural order, unity of human needs and the interests of all, complete freedom within complete solidarity.<ref name="Anarchy" /></blockquote>
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{{popular tag|anarchism}}
  
[[anarchist|Anarchists]] want to change this "common-sense" idea of "[[anarchy]]", so people will see that government and other hierarchical social relationships are both harmful '''and''' unnecessary:
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== The meaning of anarchism ==
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{{Echo of Freedom|77116|Hello, World! Anarchism, and I}}
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[[Peter Kropotkin|Kropotkin]] defines anarchism as "the no-government system of [[socialism]]."<ref>''Kropotkin's Revolutionary Pamphlets'', p. 46.</ref> [[Errico Malatesta]] elaborates on this point, stating that "the abolition of exploitation and oppression of man by man, that is the abolition of private property [capitalism] and government." <ref>Errico Malatesta, '"Towards Anarchism,"' in ''Man!'', M. Graham (Ed), p. 75</ref>
  
<blockquote>''"Change opinion, convince the public that government is not only unnecessary, but extremely harmful, and then the word anarchy, just because it means absence of government, will come to mean for everybody: natural order, unity of human needs and the interests of all, complete freedom within complete solidarity."'' ['''Ibid.''', pp. 12-13].</blockquote>
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Anarchism, therefore, is a [[political theory]] that aims to create a [[society]] which is without [[political science|political]], economic or [[society|social]] [[hierarchy|hierarchies]]. [[anarchist|Anarchists]] maintain that anarchy, the absence of rulers, is a viable form of social system and so work for the maximisation of individual liberty and [[social equality]]. They see the goals of [[liberty]] and equality as mutually self-supporting. As [[Mikhail Bakunin|Bakunin]] famously said:
  
*[[Anarchy]]
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<blockquote>We are convinced that freedom without Socialism is privilege and injustice, and that Socialism without freedom is slavery and brutality. <ref>''The Political Philosophy of Bakunin'', p. 269</ref></blockquote>
*[[History of anarchism]]
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*[[Schools of anarchist thought]]
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*[[Conceptions of an anarchist society]]
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*[[Anarchism and Marxism]]
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*[[Anarchism and the arts]]
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*[[Major conflicts within anarchist thought]]
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==See also==
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== References ==
* For a dictionary definition, see [[wiktionary:anarchism]]
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{{Reflist|2}}
* [[Anarchist symbolism]]
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* [[Anarcho-punk]]
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* [[Anarcho-syndicalism]]
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* [[Christian anarchism]]
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* [[List of anarchists]]
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* [[List of anarchist organizations]]
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* [[List of creative works about anarchism]]
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* [[Past and present anarchist communities]]
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* [[Situationist]]
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* [[Syndicalism]]
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* [[Temporary Autonomous Zone]]
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===Historical events===
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== See also ==
*[[Paris Commune]] ([[1871]])
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*[[Wikipedia:Anarchism|Wikipedia article on Anarchism]]
*[[Haymarket Riot]] ([[1886]])
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*[http://directory.google.com/Top/Society/Politics/Anarchism/Opposing_Views/ Collection of critical articles]
*[[Spanish Revolution]] ([[1936]]) (see [[Anarchism in Spain]])
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*[http://tmh.floonet.net/articles/object_i.html ''Objections to Anarchism''] Objections and rebuttals, from ''The Dandelion'' 1977-79
*[[May 1968]], France ([[1968]])
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*[[WTO Meeting of 1999|WTO Meeting in Seattle]] ([[1999]])
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===Books===
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==Film==
'''Classics'''
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*[[Living Utopia]] - Vivir la utopía about Anarchy in Action in Spain, Documentary by Juan Gamero
*[[Mikhail Bakunin]], ''[[God and the State]]''
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*[[William Godwin]],  ''[[An Enquiry Concerning Political Justice]]''
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*[[Daniel Guérin]], ''[[Anarchism (book)|Anarchism]]''
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*[[Peter Kropotkin]], ''[[Mutual Aid]]'' and ''[[The Conquest of Bread]]''
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*[[Robert Nozick]], ''[[Anarchy, State, and Utopia]]''
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*[[Pierre-Joseph Proudhon]], ''[[What is Property?]]''
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*[[Robert Paul Wolff]], ''[[In Defense of Anarchism]]''
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===Publications===
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===Freenet links===
*Journals: ''[[Anarchy: A Journal of Desire Armed]]'', ''[[The Raven (journal)|The Raven]]'', ''[[Fifth Estate]]'', ''[[Green Anarchist]]'', ''Anarcho-Syndicalist Review'', ''Social Anarchism'', ''Northeastern Anarchist'', ''The Match!''
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{{Freenet links}}
*News publications: ''[[Black Flag (newspaper)|Black Flag]] (Organ Of The [[Anarchist Black Cross]])'', ''[[Class War]]'', ''[[Freedom newspaper|Freedom]]'', ''[http://inform.motkraft.net/ INFOrm]''
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* [http://localhost:8888/SSK@uX4gHtN7ybTr0jTmH4kMny69jycPAgM/anarchistfaq/1// An Anarchist FAQ]  
*Other magazines and zines: Anarchist Panther, Harbinger (CrimethInc), Practical Anarchy, Species Traitor, Profane Existence, Alternative Press Review, Communicating Vessels, Killing King Abacus, Willful Disobedience, Do or Die, In Ya Face, Anarchy and Community, Anchorage Anarchy, Black Badger.
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* [http://localhost:8888/SSK@azSCSs~ZYd~qagHKQYqvSd3SGjQPAgM/anarchism// Anarchism] Everything you ever wanted to know about Anarchy.
*Collections: [[Spunk Library]]
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===Theoretical concepts===
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{{afaq}}
*[[Intellectual worker]]
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{{wikipedia|Anarchism}}
*[[Direct democracy]]
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*[[Media democracy]]
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*[[Monopoly on violence]]
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*[[Sovereignty of the individual]]
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===Anarchist organizations===
 
*[[AK Press]]
 
*[[Anarchist Black Cross]]
 
*[[Anarchist Communitarian Network]]
 
*[[Anarchist Federation]]
 
*[[Anarchist Football Network]]
 
*[[Anarchist Party of Canada]]
 
*[[Anarchist People of Color]]
 
*[[Animal Liberation Front]]
 
*[[Biotic Baking Brigade]]
 
*[[CrimethInc.]]
 
*[[Critical Mass]]
 
*[[Earth Liberation Front]]
 
*[[Food Not Bombs]]
 
*[[FRAC]]
 
*[[Homes Not Jails]]
 
*[[Industrial Workers of the World]]
 
*[[Indymedia]]
 
*[[Institute for Anarchist Studies]]
 
*[[IWA-AIT]]
 
*[[NEFAC]]
 
*[[Peoples' Global Action]]
 
*[[Red and Anarchist Action Network]]
 
*[[Red and Anarchist Skinheads]]
 
*[[Workers Solidarity Movement]]
 
 
While all of these [[organizations]] have anarchists as members, many are inclusive beyond anarchist and include [[anti-authoritarianism|anti-authoritarians]] and [[greens]].
 
 
===Anarchism by region/culture===
 
*[[Anarchism in Phoenix]]
 
*[[Anarchism in Spain]]
 
*[[Anarchism in the English tradition]]
 
 
==External links==
 
*[http://www.infoshop.org Infoshop.org]
 
*An [http://www.infoshop.org/faq/index.html Anarchist FAQ] from a [[libertarian socialism|libertarian socialist]] perspective
 
*An [http://www.gmu.edu/departments/economics/bcaplan/anarfaq.htm Anarchist FAQ] from an [[anarcho-capitalism|anarcho-capitalist]] perspective
 
*Hundreds of anarchists are listed, with short bios, links & dedicated pages [http://recollectionbooks.com/bleed/gallery/galleryindex.htm at the Daily Bleed&#8217;s Anarchist Encyclopedia]
 
*[http://dwardmac.pitzer.edu/Anarchist_Archives/ Anarchy Archives]
 
*[http://www.takver.com/history/melb/maa01.htm Melbourne Anarchist Archives 1966-1973]
 
*[http://www.iwa-ait.org/  International Workers Association (IWA-AIT) website]
 
 
==Credits==
 
*Original text is compilation of two texts: (1) Definition from [http://en.wikipedia.org/ Wikipedia] and (2) [http://www.infoshop.org/faq/ An Anarchist FAQ].
 
 
[[Category:Anarchism|*]]
 
[[Category:Anarchism|*]]
 
[[Category:Political theories]]
 
[[Category:Political theories]]
 
[[Category:Social philosophy]]
 
[[Category:Social philosophy]]
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Latest revision as of 22:42, 5 February 2015

Anarchism

Traditions

anarcha-feminism
anarcho-communism
anarcho-primitivism
anarcho-syndicalism
anarcho-tribalism
Christian anarchism
collectivist anarchism
eco-anarchism
egoist anarchism
green anarchism
individualist anarchism
Post-anarchism

Anarchism in culture

anarchism and religion
anarchism and society
anarchism and the arts
criticisms of anarchism
history of anarchism

Anarchist theory

origins of anarchism
anarchist economics
anarchism and capitalism
anarchism and Marxism
anarchism w/o adjectives
anarchist symbolism
propaganda of the deed
post-left anarchy

Anarchism by region

anarchism in Africa
anarchism in Americas
anarchism in Asia
anarchism in Europe
anarchism in Oceania

Associated concepts

alter-globalization
anomie, anti-racist action
autonomism, black blocs
Copwatch, Consensus
Diggers, DIY
direct democracy
freeganism
Indymedia, infoshops
squatting, wikis

Relevant lists

Anarchists | Books
Communities | Concepts
Organizations

Anarchism is a political theory which aims to create anarchy, which is defined by Proudhon as "the absence of a master, of a sovereign."[1] In other words, anarchism is a political theory which aims to create a society within which individuals freely co-operate together as equals. As such, anarchism should not be defined as a "social chaos" or a return to the "laws of the jungle."

Anarchism holds that the state is undesirable, unnecessary, and/or harmful[2] and advocates a stateless society instead, often based on self-governed voluntary institutions or non-hierarchical free associations.[3] Anarchism rejects the state,[4][5] authoritarianism,[6] and hierarchical organisation in general.[7]

This process of misrepresentation is not without historical parallel. For example, in countries which have considered government by one person (monarchy) necessary, the words republic or democracy have been used in a manner similar to anarchy, to imply disorder, confusion and chaos. Those with a vested interest in preserving the status quo will obviously wish to imply that opposition to the current system cannot work in practice, and that a new form of society will only lead to chaos. Or, as Errico Malatesta expresses it:

since it was thought that government was necessary and that without government there could only be disorder and confusion, it was natural and logical that anarchy, which means absence of government, should sound like absence of order.[8]

Anarchists want to change this "common-sense" idea of anarchy, so people will see that government and other hierarchical social relationships are both harmful and unnecessary:

Change opinion, convince the public that government is not only unnecessary, but extremely harmful, and then the word anarchy, just because it means absence of government, will come to mean for everybody: natural order, unity of human needs and the interests of all, complete freedom within complete solidarity.[8]
  anarchism is a popular tag and you can find media on this topic on Tag

The meaning of anarchism[edit]

Voice of Freedom Radical Podcast logo only.png Echo of Freedom, Radical Podcast has a podcast related to this aticle
Hello, World! Anarchism, and I
EoF
Kropotkin defines anarchism as "the no-government system of socialism."[9] Errico Malatesta elaborates on this point, stating that "the abolition of exploitation and oppression of man by man, that is the abolition of private property [capitalism] and government." [10]

Anarchism, therefore, is a political theory that aims to create a society which is without political, economic or social hierarchies. Anarchists maintain that anarchy, the absence of rulers, is a viable form of social system and so work for the maximisation of individual liberty and social equality. They see the goals of liberty and equality as mutually self-supporting. As Bakunin famously said:

We are convinced that freedom without Socialism is privilege and injustice, and that Socialism without freedom is slavery and brutality. [11]

References[edit]

  1. Pierre-Joseph Proudhon, What is Property, p. 264)
  2. "Anarchism." The Shorter Routledge Encyclopedia of Philosophy. 2005. p. 14 "Anarchism is the view that a society without the state, or government, is both possible and desirable."
  3. "In a society developed on these lines, the voluntary associations which already now begin to cover all the fields of human activity would take a still greater extension so as to substitute themselves for the state in all its functions." Peter Kropotkin. "Anarchism" from the Encyclopædia Britannica
  4. Errico, ({{{year}}}). "Towards Anarchism," MAN!, {{{volume}}}, . Siri, ({{{year}}}). "Working for The Man," The Globe and Mail, {{{volume}}}, . (2006). Anarchism. Encyclopædia Britannica. Encyclopædia Britannica Premium Service. Archived from source 14 December 2006. URL accessed on 29 August 2006. , (2005). "Anarchism," The Shorter Routledge Encyclopedia of Philosophy, {{{volume}}}, 14. The following sources cite anarchism as a political philosophy: Mclaughlin, Paul (2007). Anarchism and Authority, Aldershot: Ashgate. Johnston, R. (2000). The Dictionary of Human Geography, Cambridge: Blackwell Publishers.
  5. Slevin, Carl. "Anarchism." The Concise Oxford Dictionary of Politics. Ed. Iain McLean and Alistair McMillan. Oxford University Press, 2003.
  6. "ANARCHISM, a social philosophy that rejects authoritarian government and maintains that voluntary institutions are best suited to express man's natural social tendencies." George Woodcock. "Anarchism" at The Encyclopedia of Philosophy
  7. "anarchists have stressed, it is not government as such that they find objectionable, but the hierarchical forms of government associated with the nation state." Judith Suissa. Anarchism and Education: a Philosophical Perspective. Routledge. New York. 2006. p. 7
  8. 8.0 8.1 Anarchy, pp. 12-13.
  9. Kropotkin's Revolutionary Pamphlets, p. 46.
  10. Errico Malatesta, '"Towards Anarchism,"' in Man!, M. Graham (Ed), p. 75
  11. The Political Philosophy of Bakunin, p. 269

See also[edit]

Film[edit]

  • Living Utopia - Vivir la utopía about Anarchy in Action in Spain, Documentary by Juan Gamero

Freenet links[edit]

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chisme]]