Anarchism Flashcards
(25 cards)
What are the core principles of anarchism?
Rejection of the state
Liberty
Anarchy is order
Economic freedom
Utopian
What is the core principle of rejection of the state?
The state is immoral as it rules by physical coercion and deceit, unjust in its defence of economic inequality and must be rejected due to its impact on human nature
For anarchists, what are the three reasons to reject the state?
It is commanding
It is corrupting
It is controlling
What are the different anarchist methods of bringing about change in relation to rejection of the state?
Direct action
Acts of violence
Emerging revolution
Creating new institutions
Insurrection
What is direct action?
A range of political actions, both violent and non-violent that are taken outside the legal and constitutional framework
Advantages: Clear message, get people involved, immediate attention, makes people feel good for doing something
Disadvantages: Can be ineffective, may cause damage economically or socially
What are acts of violence?
Violent actions and acts of terror to convey a message
Advantages: forces attention to the issue
Disadvantages: face prison/death, counterproductive as you may harm innocent people
What is emerging revolution?
Revolution will emerge out of a process of direct action and DIY politics that exposes and undermines the nature of the state
Advantages: complete change
Disadvantage: may take time
What is creating new institutions?
Change won by an evolutionary process of creating new institutions within the current cracks of the state to replace the existing ones e.g. syndicates, neighbourhood watch
Advantage: removes the hold the state has
Disadvantages: could still maintain toots and influence of previous institutions, and potentially unstable
What is insurrection?
A rising up of individuals who elevate themselves above the established institutions through self-liberation, leaving the establishment to decay and die rather than be overthrown e.g. by stopping paying taxes
What is the misconception surrounding anarchy?
The key concept of anarchy is order stands as a direct rebuttal of the myth that ‘anarchy is chaos’ by instead promoting the view that ‘anarchy is order’. Anarchists believe that an ordered society can be fostered quite naturally
Why do anarchists believe that an anarchist society will bring about order?
Collectivist: Altruism is undermined by the competitive, divisive nature of the capitalist state. Common ownership and mutualists institutions will help grow altruistic and cooperative behaviour, which will sustain natural order
Egoistic: the removal of the state will nurture rationalism, autonomy and self-interest which are the best guarantors of social order
What did Max Stirner believe about anarchy is order?
- Union of Egoists; free society living in the interests of all individuals, based on voluntary agreements as they serve the individuals own personal interest
- Society will have order as everyone acts in their own interests and does so voluntarily
What did Peter Kropotkin believe about anarchy is order?
- Argues that humans have always been cooperative and altruistic and that if the state were removed, humans would act in line with their true nature of altruism
- Where there are high levels of cooperation, there is order, and this high levels of evolutionary success
What did Proudhon mean by ‘property is theft’?
- Economic inequality is built into the state which emerged when society began to produce a surplus, which was taken by the few. The state exists to protect private property (Land enclosures act of 18th century which gathered up common land and turned it over to private ownership, creating a landless class)
- Also calls private property ‘the right to own without the need to occupy’. This means the ability to earn income without doing any productive work: by exploiting the labour of others, through rent, interest and wage labour. If the masses do not cooperate in this system, they suffer starvation and misery
What is the collectivist objection to capitalism?
Capitalism is a system based upon inequality and exploitation so poverty cannot exist. Neo-liberalism is seen as widening inequality and increasing exploitation
What is the collectivist objection to communism?
The state has replaced the ruling elite as the exploiting power so there is no liberty
What is the individualist objection to capitalism?
State intervention distorts the market and creates both public and private monopolies that restrict competition and choice, and therefore liberty
What is the individualist objection to communism?
State socialism based on state planning and ownership of production is an attack on property rights and liberty
What is anarcho-communism?
- Theory behind it holds that communism will be the best way to realise liberty, economic freedom and natural order
- View all forms of private property as they and think that land, means of production and the product of individuals’ labour should be held in common too
- Principle of ‘from each according to their ability, to each according to their need’ which is the best basis to nurture the human capacity for mutual aid and altruism
- Focuses on the commune rather than the collective, communes would be small, allowing for direct democracy and wealth would be held in common
- Individuals would be part of these communes based on voluntary agreement and communes would be connected in voluntary federations that would work on all levels
What is anarchy-capitalism?
- Seeks to dismantle the government, viewing it as inherently exploitative
- Believes that taxation violates individual property rights
- Opposes state intervention in the market, claiming it creates monopolies and restricts freedom
- Advocates all contracts be voluntary and regulated only by market forces
- Proposes all current government services be privatised
- Believes that market competition would lead to more efficient, cost effective services which reflect consumer needs
- Belief in the invisible hand and private property as core principles
- Retains a profit motive and wage system as essential parts of society
- Criticised by traditional anarchists for lacking commitment to equality
- Critics argue it allows only the rich to be truly ‘free’, undermining broader anarchist ideas
Why do collectivist anarchists describe liberty under capitalism as a ‘cruel joke’?
It means nothing more than the ability for the wage slave to choose their own boss - liberty is only possible where there is equality and is achieved by the overthrow of the class-based hierarchal society based on inequalities of wealth, power and privilege
Where do collectivists and individualists agree on liberty?
Liberty is limited by state intervention and authority
Liberty is freedom to be autonomous
What was Proudhon’s view on liberty?
Critical of the obsession with individuality
Balance between individuality and individuals coming together to create a force to secure liberty
What is the relation between anarchism and the punk movement?
- Punk was a cultural and musical phenomenon that emerged in the mid-1970s as a reaction against mainstream music and social norms
- It has a raw anti-establishment attitude and a rejection of commercialism and corporate culture
- Punk and anarchism both opposed top-down control and punks’ DIY culture mirrored anarchist principles of self-organisation and mutual aid
- Sex pistols’ song ‘Anarchy in the UK’ was a rejection of British order and identity and introduced anarchist and revolutionary ideas to the mainstream
- Sex pistols song ‘God save the Queen’ criticised the monarchy as outdated, oppressive and a symbol of a decaying Britain - it was banned by the BBC but still reached number 2 on the charts
