Anarchism Flashcards
(44 cards)
3 key points for are anarchists united on their view os society?
1) State must be abolished to achieve freedom in society
2) Disagreement on the nature of society after the abolition of the state
3) Disagreement over how useful utopian anarchist societies are.
What do anarchists fundamentally believe about society?
It should always prioritise individual liberty and hence, the state must be abolished to achieve an anarchist society in which anarchy is order.
What do all anarchists believe in terms of how the state impacts society?
Existence of the state is fundamentally incompatible with creating a society in which individuals have liberty.
What do all anarchists believe about how the state hinders liberty?
Denies individuals the freedom to make their own decisions by imposing laws which must be obeyed- and are due to threat of punishment.
What did Emma Goldman describe the state as?
A ‘cold monster’ which crushes individual liberty.
What did Goldman say about democracy?
‘If voting changed anything, they’d make it illegal’
What did Stirner say about the state?
‘I am free in no state’.
What do anarchists believe about disorder in society?
State is violent and disrupts human natural affinity for peace; anarchy is order.
Anarchist idea about human nature in a free society?
It will flourish and meet its capacity;
Collectivist: cooperative and altruistic (Kropotkin’s mutual aid)
Individualist: would allow human innate self interest to flourish.
Core difference in how anarchists envision a stateless society?
Individualist: individuals focused exclusively on their own self interest; society of minimal cooperation.
Collectivist: communal and cooperative arrangements, but differ on the structure of these.
What drives the individualist view on the nature of stateless society?
Ensuring the complete liberty of the individual so that their ability to act on self interest is never compromised.
What individualist theory underlies this importance of liberty?
Stirner’s egoism; the individual ego is the sole reality and centre of the moral universe; nothing should therefore impose on individual freedom.
What is Stirner’s vision of a stateless society?
Anarchist society as an ‘union of egoists’; temporary cooperation if it served self interest, but fundamentally individualist society.
What is anarchist society in the view of collectivists centred around?
Collectives and communes allowing people to thrive collectively.
What does Bakunin argue about liberty?
‘Liberty can only exist in solidarity’. Therefore, centrality of local communities to anarchism, where property is collectively owned; direct democracy to make decisions.
What other type of collectivist proposes a view on society? What do they believe?
Anarcho-syndicalists- liberty achieved by collective power of workers organised into autonomous trade unions.
What compromise on the nature of stateless society did Proudhon propose?
Mutualism; society similar to other collectivist visions, but with emphasis on individual autonomy.
Where is there disagreement among anarchists in terms of utopianism in society?
Whether the exercise of imagining an utopian anarchist society is useful to achieving goals.
Why do some anarchists believe the imagining of an utopian society is important?
Counters the critique that anarchism is unrealistic and unachievable. Ideas act as a blueprint to demonstrate the possibility of humans organising themselves without hierarchy or a state.
What did Proudhon contribute to the argument that anarchism is achievable?
Mutualism demonstrates a way in which society can maintain individual autonomy while being centred around small collectives; him stressing voluntary aspects shows anarchism can exist with individuality
What do individualist anarchists believe about the imaginging of utopian society?
Inherently puts collective wishes before individual interest; it can’t be determined what these interests are before the removal of a state.
What did Stirner say about imagining anarchist societies?
Risked becoming a ‘spook’- offputting and a means to control individuals by giving them a rigid ideal to strive for.
When can freedom only be achieved in Stirner’s view?
When individuals reject all external constraints, including utopian aspirations.
What did Emma Goldman criticise about utopianism?
Opposed any revolutionary ideal which put societal structure above the liberty of individuals
