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| | Or, as [[Peter Kropotkin]] put it, '''anarchy''' comes from the [[Greek language|Greek]] words meaning '''"contrary to authority"'''. ['''Kropotkin's Revolutionary Pamphlets''', p. 284] | | Or, as [[Peter Kropotkin]] put it, '''anarchy''' comes from the [[Greek language|Greek]] words meaning '''"contrary to authority"'''. ['''Kropotkin's Revolutionary Pamphlets''', p. 284] |
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| − | While the Greek words '''''anarchos''''' and '''''anarchia''''' are often taken to mean ''"having no [[government]]"'' or ''"being without a [[government]]"'', as can be seen, the strict, original meaning of [[anarchism]] was not simply ''"no [[government]]"''. '''''"An-archy"''''' means ''"without a [[ruler]],"'' or more generally, ''"without [[authority]]"'', and it is in this sense that [[anarchist]]s have continually used the word. For example, we find [[Peter Kropotkin|Kropotkin]] arguing that [[anarchism]] ''"attacks not only capital, but also the main sources of the power of capitalism: law, authority, and the State"''. ['''Op. Cit.''', p. 150] For anarchists, '''anarchy''' means ''"not necessarily absence of [[order]], as is generally supposed, but an absence of [[rule]]"''. <nowiki>[</nowiki>[[Benjamin Tucker]], '''Instead of a Book''', p. 13] Hence [[David Weick]]'s excellent summary:
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| − | <blockquote>''"Anarchism can be understood as the '''generic''' social and political idea that expresses negation of '''all''' power, sovereignty, domination, and hierarchical division, and a will to their dissolution. . . Anarchism is therefore more than anti-statism . . . [even if] government (the state) . . . is, appropriately, the central focus of anarchist critique."'' ['''Reinventing Anarchy''', p. 139]</blockquote>
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| − | For this reason, rather than being purely [[anti-government]] or [[anti-state]], [[anarchism]] is primarily a [[movement]] against '''''[[hierarchy]]'''''. Why? Because [[hierarchy]] is the organizational structure that embodies [[authority]]. Since the [[state]] is the "highest" form of [[hierarchy]], [[anarchist]]s are, by definition, [[anti-state]]; but this is '''not''' a sufficient definition of anarchism. This means that real [[anarchist]]s are opposed to all forms of [[hierarchical organization]], not only the [[state]]. In the words of [[Brian Morris]]:
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| − | <blockquote>''"The term anarchy comes from the Greek, and essentially means 'no ruler.' Anarchists are people who reject all forms of government or coercive authority, all forms of hierarchy and domination. They are therefore opposed to what the Mexican anarchist Flores Magon called the 'sombre trinity' -- state, capital and the church. Anarchists are thus opposed to both capitalism and to the state, as well as to all forms of religious authority. But anarchists also seek to establish or bring about by varying means, a condition of anarchy, that is, a decentralized society without coercive institutions, a society organized through a federation of voluntary associations."'' [''"Anthropology and Anarchism"'', '''Anarchy: A Journal of Desire Armed''', no. 45, p. 38]</blockquote>
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| − | Reference to "[[hierarchy]]" in this context is a fairly recent development -- the "classical" [[anarchist]]s such as [[Pierre-Joseph Proudhon|Proudhon]], [[Mikhail Bakunin|Bakunin]] and [[Peter Kropotkin|Kropotkin]] did use the word, but rarely (they usually preferred "[[authority]]", which was used as short-hand for "[[authoritarian]]"). However, it's clear from their writings that theirs was a [[philosophy]] against [[hierarchy]], against any [[inequality]] of [[power]] or [[privileges]] between [[individual|individuals]]. [[Mikhail Bakunin|Bakunin]] spoke of this when he attacked ''"official"'' [[authority]] but defended ''"natural influence"'', and also when he said:
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| − | <blockquote>''"Do you want to make it impossible for anyone to oppress his fellow-man? Then make sure that no one shall possess power."'' ['''The Political Philosophy of Bakunin''', p. 271]</blockquote>
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| − | As [[Jeff Draughn]] notes, ''"while it has always been a latent part of the 'revolutionary project,' only recently has this broader concept of anti-hierarchy arisen for more specific scrutiny. Nonetheless, the root of this is plainly visible in the Greek roots of the word 'anarchy'"'''. ['''Between Anarchism and Libertarianism: Defining a New Movement''']
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| − | We stress that this opposition to [[hierarchy]] is, for [[anarchist]]s, not limited to just the [[state]] or government. It includes all [[authoritarian economics|authoritarian economic]] and [[authoritarian society|social relationships]] as well as political ones, particularly those associated with [[capitalism|capitalist]] [[property]] and [[wage labour]]. This can be seen from [[Pierre-Joseph Proudhon|Proudhon]]'s argument that ''"'''Capital''' . . . in the political field is analogous to '''government''' . . . The economic idea of capitalism . . . [and] the politics of government or of authority . . . [are] identical . . . [and] linked in various ways. . . What capital does to labour . . . the State [does] to liberty . . ."'' [quoted by [[Max Nettlau]], '''A Short History of Anarchism''', pp. 43-44] Thus we find [[Emma Goldman]] opposing [[capitalism]] as it involved [[people]] selling their [[labour]] and so ensuring that ''"the worker's inclination and judgment are subordinated to the will of a master".'' ['''Red Emma Speaks''', p. 36] Forty years earlier [[Mikhail Bakunin|Bakunin]] made the same point when he argued that under the current system ''"the worker sells his person and his liberty for a given time"'' to the [[capitalist]] in exchange for a wage ['''Op. Cit.''', p. 187].
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| − | Thus '''"anarchy"''' means more than just "[[no government]]", it means opposition to all forms of [[authoritarian organization]] and [[hierarchy]]. In [[Peter Kropotkin|Kropotkin]]'s words, ''"the origin of the [[anarchist]] inception of society . . . [lies in] the criticism . . . of the [[hierarchical organization]]s and the [[authoritarian conceptions of society]]; and . . . the analysis of the tendencies that are seen in the progressive movements of mankind."'' ['''Kropotkin's Revolutionary Pamphlets''', p. 158] Thus any attempt to assert that '''anarchy''' is purely [[anti-state]] is a misrepresentation of the word and the way it has been used by the [[anarchist movement]]. As [[Brian Morris]] argues, ''"when one examines the writings of classical anarchists. . . as well as the character of anarchist movements. . . it is clearly evident that it has never had this limited vision [of just being against the state]. It has always challenged all forms of authority and exploitation, and has been equally critical of capitalism and religion as it has been of the state"''. ['''Op. Cit.''', p. 40]
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| | And, just to [[state]] the obvious, '''anarchy''' does not mean [[chaos]] nor do [[anarchist]]s seek to create [[chaos]] or [[disorder]]. Instead, we wish to create a [[society]] based upon [[individual freedom]] and [[voluntary co-operation]]. In other words, order from the bottom up, not disorder imposed from the top down by authorities. | | And, just to [[state]] the obvious, '''anarchy''' does not mean [[chaos]] nor do [[anarchist]]s seek to create [[chaos]] or [[disorder]]. Instead, we wish to create a [[society]] based upon [[individual freedom]] and [[voluntary co-operation]]. In other words, order from the bottom up, not disorder imposed from the top down by authorities. |
Revision as of 22:22, 17 April 2009
The word "anarchy" is from the Greek, prefix an (or a), meaning "not," "the want of," "the absence of," or "the lack of", plus archos, meaning "a ruler," "director", "chief," "person in charge," or "authority".
Or, as Peter Kropotkin put it, anarchy comes from the Greek words meaning "contrary to authority". [Kropotkin's Revolutionary Pamphlets, p. 284]
And, just to state the obvious, anarchy does not mean chaos nor do anarchists seek to create chaos or disorder. Instead, we wish to create a society based upon individual freedom and voluntary co-operation. In other words, order from the bottom up, not disorder imposed from the top down by authorities.
However, in anarchist philosophies, anarchy means an "anarchist society", that is, a society where individuals are free from coercion. Anarchists do not believe, as Jean-Francois Revel wrote in Democracy against Itself, that "... anarchy leads to despotism ... despotism leads to anarchy ..." [1] – that may or may not be true of "anarchy" in the sense of disorder, but anarchists do not believe that it is true of "anarchy" in the sense of anarchism.
Anarchist theories have a fundamental critique of government, a vision of a society without government, and a proposed method of reaching such a society. The details of the political, economic, and social organization of an anarchist society vary among different branches of anarchist political thought, as do the proposed means to achieve a society organized along those lines. However, there are certain principles shared by all anarchists, most notably the basic principle of non-hierarchy (in an anarchist society there cannot be any kind of social hierarchy) and its derivatives, such as the principle of equal decision-making power (all people must have equal decision-making power in an anarchist society; if some have more power than others, then a hierarchy is formed).
See also
External links
World Wide Web links
See also: list of anarchist web resources
- Anarchist FAQ — large site includes many questions and answers on anarchy and anarchism.
- Anarkismo - Anarchist News Forum
- Libcom - Anarchist News and Forum
- A-Infos - International Anarchist News Service
- Riot-Folk! — resource for free anarchist music
Freenet links
- Note: These freesite links cannot be viewed without prior set up. For explanation on how to set up a connection see ways to view a freesite.
- localhost is assumed as the base for the freesite
- SSK Anarchy Freesite allowing everybody to publish new editions.
- Anarchy Freesite allowing everybody to edit the current edition.
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