Anarchism Flashcards

Question

why do anarchists reject constitutionalism?

Answer 1

it perpetuates the myth that a limited government is possible: it does not tame government power. T his is because all systems of rule, constitutional and democratic rule as well as arbitrary and dictatorial rule, are, by their nature, evil and oppressive; constitutionalism is simply a façade or a sham dressing up power in an acceptable fashion. All laws infringe on liberty, and so constitutionalism perpetuates a myth of acceptability; when it in fact tricks people into being part of their own oppression. Even with constitutionalism, political states force laws on people when there is objection and so anarchists favour small communities that utilise direct democracy or egoism - putting the individual at the centre of moral thinking

Answer 2

Peaceful education and persuasion Mass passive resistance to state Non payment of taxes Boycott of key institutions or companies strikes and industrial action meetings marches and demonstrations civil disobedience (peaceful law breaking as political protest eg Thoreau) Riots and insurrection Acts of violence and terrorism (against political judges and military leaders)

Answer 3

the theory of evolution that supports the idea that sociable and compassionate societies survive whereas selfish and atomised groups do not

Answer 4

anarcho communist tradition Kropotkin colllectivising wealth with an anarchist belief in self management and natural order communist assumptions about human nature emphasise the capacity for sociable cooperative and gregarious behaviourX key to the anarchist belief in statelessness and natural order communism creates conditions in which anarchist goals will be achieved common ownership has anarchist implications - collective wealth strengthens social bonds and fosters sympathy among people marxist idea or withering away the state highlights an anarchist preference for a stateless society

Answer 5

the state as the ultimate authority and the oppressor of individual rights and freedoms state officials (police teachers judges prison wardens) force people’s to fight wars and provide their labour for he benefit of the state rather than their own good anarchists reject social contract theory

Answer 6

The values that anarchists hold most dear anarchists go beyond liberal theory (power tends to corrupt) in viewing power in any form but especially the political power wielded by the state, as corrupting, illustrating a belief in human plasticity anyone who is placed in a position of power will thus become tyrannical and abusive - the same people who would have been cooperative sympathetic and sociable this helps to explain why devices such constitutionalism and democracy (supported by liberals) incapable of protecting citizens against state oppression

Answer 7

popular self government characterised by the direct and continuous participation of citizens in the tasks of government

Answer 8

view human nature as plastic in the sense that it is shaped by the social and political circumstances in which people live this implies a profound or unlimited capacity for human development

Answer 9

“perfectabilkty is the most important trait of the individual" Godwin it is thus compatible with order and harmony turns social contract theory on its head collectivist: humans have a capacity for sociable and cooperative behaviour "social solidarity is the first human law" Bakunin individualist: humans have enlightened reason "reason as his only absolute" Ayn Rand

Answer 10

perfectability is the most important characteristic of the individual

Answer 11

literally a brief on nothing | the rejection of all moral and political principles

Answer 12

Proudhorn Property is theft 1840 accepted limited private property imagined a system of exchange between independent craftsmen and aristans exists in society in the form of mutual banks and cooperative societies alongside profit maximising corporations eg switzerland kropotkin : mutual aid small self governing communes like in the animal kingdom

Answer 13

Murray Rothbard

Answer 14

a style of political theorising that develops a critique of the existing order by constructing a positive model of a perfect alternative or to deluded or fanciful thinking

Answer 15

collectivist

Answer 16

Complete personal authority Autonomy where the individual is the centre of his own moral universe with no objection to accept the rules and restrictions of others anarchism of the mind associated with Max Stirner

Answer 17

individuals act as egoists, self consciously pursuing their own individual interests irrespective of community needs individuals recognise they may be confronted by other powerful self interested egoists encouraging all to moderate their behaviour

Answer 18

only the individual has meaning

Answer 19

linked to a positive model of utopianism in that anarchists have a highly optimistic view of human nature and so believe that the future anarchist society will be perfect: unrestricted freedom absolute equality peace and social harmony human nature is unrealistic and it’s goal of a stateless yet harmonious society is unachievable

Answer 20

William Godwin Free market and minimal state Argued that man was rational and so individuals should have liberty to persuade their own path to progress The state was an obstruction but it’s gradual abolition was preferred to revolution that stirs up passion, not reason

Answer 21

that humans have a naturally social core and that social groups whether social classes, nations, races are meaningful political entities

Answer 22

provides the basis for a belief in a stateless society strrsseee the human capacity for social solidarity or what kropotkin termed mutual aid human beings are fundamentally sociable gregarious and cooperative, the relationship between and amongst them being one of sympathy affection and harmony when people are linked together by the recognition of a common humanity, they have no need to be regulated or controlled by government not only is government unneccesary but in replacing freedom with oppression, it also makes social solidarity impossible collectivism: mutualism, anarcho syndicalism and anarcho communism

Answer 23

Anarcho communists admire small, self-managing communities along the lines of the medieval city state or the peasant commune Kropotkin envisaged an anarchic society that would consist of a collection of largely self-sufficient communes, owning wealth in common society is based on the principles of sharing and collective endeavor, they strengthen the bonds of compassion and solidarity, and help to keep greed and selfishness at bay. Within these communes, decisions should be made through the process of direct democracy, guaranteeing more popular participation and political equality – the only form of government acceptable to anarchists. Communes that are small scale allow people to manage their own affairs through face to face interaction; centralization is always associated with depersonalized and bureaucratic social processes.

Answer 24

it is a denial of individual liberty

Answer 25

created inequality gives rise to oppressive laws denial of the natural right of the fruits of the earth BUT minority, Proudhon saw it as a neccesary evil

Answer 26

individual enjoying the widest possible realm of freedom: autonomous individuals live and work with one another without the danger of conflict or disorder. libertarians emphasize human rationality, suggesting conflict can be resolved by reasoned discussion (Godwin who believed that truth will always displace falsehood) . Also, there could be a mechanism through which the independent actions of free individuals could be brought into harmony with one another. Extreme individualists such as Warren and Tucker believed this could be achieved through a system of market exchange. Warren thought that individuals have a sovereign right to property they themselves produce but are also forced by economic logic to work with others in order to gain the advantages of the divisions of labour. Therefore, he suggested a system of ‘labour for labour’ exchange, with ‘time stores’ in which one person’s labour could be exchanged for the promise to return labour in kind.

Answer 27

moral and socially absence of law systems and rule individuals enjoy absolute freedom voluntary social institutions that regulate society and encourage positive human attributes of state utopian human nature no requirement for law and order

Answer 28

generally anarcho syndicalists refusing to engage in conventional representative politics exerting direct pressure on employers by boycotting products sabotaging organised strikes advocated because public discontent is not managed by politics s new politics - innovative and theatrical

Answer 29

godwin proudhon favour pacifism abhor violence eg Ghadi campaigning against racial discrimination and led to India’s independence form UK based on Tolstoy’s teachings and Hindu religion advantages- respect for humans as moral and autonomous so should be treated with compassion and respect non violence demonstrates strength and moral purity of conviction

Answer 30

the government is symbolised by “the club the gun the handcuff or the prison”

Answer 31

people who would otherwise cooperative sympathetic and sociable become tyrannical and abusive when in power “psychology of power” - dominance and submission human plasticity - shaped by society and institutions which they live in

Answer 32

the best of men the most intelligent unselfish and pure will be inevitably be corrupted in this pursuit

Answer 33

freedom is a birth right abandoning it in support of the state is not true to human nature as they are coerced free anarchist society allows human nature to be fully expressed all states whether constitutional or abritary democratic or dictatorial are an offence to freedom

Answer 34

enquiry concerning political justice 1793 “perfectibility is the most important characteristic of the individual” human nature means people look after eachother and work together without the state there is no need for the state to allocate resources as people can commonly own things, communication cooperating and sharing faith in natural order

Answer 35

civil disobedience: individual conscience above the demands of political obligation didn’t pay tax as he thought the us gjvernment was immoral by upholding slavery and going to war

Answer 36

proudhon distinguished between possessions and property said it could be tolerated provided the explotative aspect of capitalism was illuminated

Answer 37

as the process could occur gradually as increasing forms of social activity are transferred to the private sector

Answer 38

adopted an optimism based not he enlightenment view of human nature rational and perfectible based on education and social conditioning enquiry conceding political justice

Answer 39

individualist anarchist sovereignty of the individual advocated a system of equitable commerce, recognised labour as the only legitimate capital promised to banish poverty and excessive luxury

Answer 40

extreme form of individualism based on egoism, condemning all checks on personal autonomy sterner emphasised sole the owness of the human individual, thereby placing the individual at the centre of the moral universe contrast to other anarchists support for justice, reason, community The Ego and His Own

Answer 41

What is Property Attacked both traditional property rights and collective ownership argued that instead of mutualism a cooperative productive system geared towards need rather than profit organised within self governing communities

Answer 42

collectivist anarchist political power is intrinsically oppressive and placing his faith in human sociability he instead proposed that freedom could only be achieved through collectivism this is done by means of self-governing communes based on voluntary cooperation absence of private property rewards reflecting contributions "SACRED INSTINCT OF REVOLT"

Answer 43

individualist anarchist two year experiment in simple living emphasises the virtue of self reliance contemplation and a closeless to nature he defended the validity of conscientious objection to unjust laws emphasising that government should never conflict with individual conscience

Answer 44

Reworked Darwins theory mutual aid as the principle means of human and animal development he claimed to provide an empirical basis for both anarchism and communism looking to reconstruct society on the basis of self management and decentralisation

Answer 45

economist and libertarian thinker advocated anarcho-capitalism based on extreme Lockean liberalism with Austrian School free market economics Right to self ownership is a "UNIVERSAL ETHIC" economic freedom is incompatible with the power of government fierce enemy of the welfare-warfare state no intervention in domestic and foreign affairs

Answer 46

Sorel embraced the idea of turning trade unions into revolutionary instruments of the working class, eventually making workers organisations, rather than local communes, the basic units of collectivist order. This revolution would occur in the form of a mass general strike (something Lenin criticised as adventurism).

Answer 47

Liberals argue it can be achieved via laws of an 'enabling state'. For example, the Human Rights Act (1998) guarantees freedoms for individuals so improves personal liberty an anarchist wold argue that if absolute freedom was granted, such legal provisions would be unnecessary as individuals would be guided by ‘private judgement’ admit

Answer 48

anarchists believe the state is evil as it is ultimately corrupting and infringes on people’s freedom, forcing them to act a certain way due the threat of punishment. classical liberals agree that the state is corrupting (as they believe egoism with power makes corruption); as warned by Lord Acton ‘power tends to corrupt an absolute power corrupts absolutely’. whilst anarchists argue it is jut evil, liberals argue it is a necessary evil and so satisfy this by checks and balances, not the abolition of the state

Answer 49

economic freedom opposed to the 1945 western countries collectivist : state intervention props up a system of class exploitation and gives capitalism a human face individualist: intervention distorts competitive markets and creates economics dominated by both public and private monopolies

Answer 50

individualist object to the violating of property right and individual freedom that occurs in a planned economy collectivist state socialism is a contradiction state replaced capitalist class as a source of exploitation

Answer 51

“The abolition of the Church and the State must be the first and indispensable condition of the true liberation of society”

Answer 52

the alleged right of one person to influence the behaviour of others (enslaves, oppresses and limits human life). damages and corrupts those who are subject to authority and those who are in authority since human beings are free and autonomous creatures; to be subject to authority means to be diminished, have ones essential nature suppressed to be in authority gives rise to the psychology of power: dominance and submission in society

Answer 53

exercises supreme authority over all individuals and associations it has authority that is absolute and unlimited law can restrict public behaviour, limit political activity, regulate economic life, interfere with morality

Answer 54

anarchists reject the social contract, instead arguing that individuals become subject to authority either by being born in a particular country or conquest

Answer 55

"war is the health of the state" Randolph Bourne individuals are required to fight, kill and die in wars that are invariably precipitated by a quest for territorial expansion, plunder or national glory by one state at the expense of others

Answer 56

the assumption that state oppression stems from the corruption of individuals by their social and political circumstances is circular, that is unable to explain how political authority arose in the first place

Answer 57

it exacerbates the myth that being ruled is in the public interest; they are recruited into their own oppression. It promotes subservience among the masses and recruit citizens into their own oppression as they invest government with bogus legitimacy. Anarchists argue that the state is compulsory, and so reject the liberal notion that political authority arises from voluntary agreement. They instead argue that individuals become subject to state authority either by being born in a particular country, or by conquest and so you never consent. Furthermore, to consent to government is to give up your own liberty, and be untrue to your real nature: Liberty is a birth right and can’t be conceded, its abandonment is a denial of humanity.

Answer 58

Consent is the principle that government should be based on the will of the people, expressed in practice in regular and democratic elections.

Answer 59

the imposition of checks on the exercise of government power by either the establishment of formal rules (usually through a codified constitution) or institutional fragmentation of government power

Answer 60

``` Marxists believe a “dictatorship of the proletariat” is necessary. During the transition from the worker’s revolution to socialism, the working class take control of the state to prevent a bourgeoisie counter-revolution. Marxists believe inequality is so deeply rooted in favour of the ruling class in society, that without a strong state they will inevitably re-emerge. ``` Also, the proliteriat state can establish the appropriate conditions for socialism to emerge. Anarchists argue against this, stating such a state would not wither away, but would endure in the form of a new ruling class.

Answer 61

Marxists agree with this to the extent of the BOURGEOISIE state under capitalism. This is because it is viewed as an agent of class oppression yielded by the economically dominant class. However, after the socialist revolution the state is a benevolent figure, acting to protect the interests of the proliteriat and help to establish full communism.

Answer 62

it is a repository of sovereign, compulsory and coercive authority

Answer 63

human beings are essentially rational: inclined by education and enlightened judgement to live in accordance with truth and universal moral laws thus people have a natural propensity to organise their own lives in a harmonious and peaceful fashion the corruption of humans comes from government and unnatural law, NOT original sin government is cause of the problem of social order, not the solution

Answer 64

they acknowledge the rival potentialities within the human soul accepting that human beings can be selfish and competitive as well as socially cooperative whilst the human core may be morally and intellectually enlightened a capacity for corruption lurks within each and every individual

Answer 65

if selfish or negative impulses are basic to human nature (conservatives, liberals) and not merely evidence of corruption, then the prospect of natural order is simply a delusion

Answer 66

in the collectivist strand it is the most pronounced | a lot less prominent in individualist strand with some anarcho-capitalists rejecting it altogether

Answer 67

marx saw it as those who own the means of production anarchists see it as those who command privilege and power in society: kings, priests, industrialists, bankers

Answer 68

they all oppose managed capitalism post-war collectivists argue that is merely props up a system of class exploitation and gives capitalism a human face individualist argue that intervention distorts the competitive market, creating economies dominated by public and private monopolies

Answer 69

``` individualist anarchists object to the violation of property rights and individual freedom that occurs in a planned economy collectivist anarchists argue it is a contradiction in terms, as the state merely replaces the capitalist class as the main source of exploitation ```

Answer 70

A society based largely on individual craft workers who work on their own account and exchange goods with each-other on the basis of the value of labour, rather than market labor: PROUDHON

Answer 71

State should be replaced by a series of trade union based socialist organizations, constructed on the basis of common ownership and shared rewards: SOREL

Answer 72

There are no social organizations at all, individuals become largely self-sufficient and cooperate only when strictly necessary: THOREAU

Answer 73

A society where all individuals operate in an independent manner and seek to pursue their own interests, the balance of self-interests forms a kind of harmony: STIRNER (cooperation based on egoism)

Answer 74

liberals believe that government power can be tamed or controlled by the development of constitutional and representative institutions. Constitutions claim to protect the individual by limiting the power of the government and creating checks and balances among its various institutions. Regular elections are designed to force government to be accountable to the general public or the majority of the electorate.

Answer 75

Anarchists dismiss the idea of limited, constitutional or representative government. They regard constitutionalism and democracy as facades, behind with naked political oppression operates. All laws infringe individual liberty, whether the government that enacts there is constitutional or arbitrary, democratic or dictorial. All states are a offence against individual liberty.

Answer 76

s "the concept of man as a heroic being, with his own happiness as the moral purpose of his life" "the virtue of selfishness" ethical egoism is the guiding moral principle

Answer 77

Rothbard recognized that in an anarchist society indiviudals will seek protection from one another, but argued this protection could be delibered competively by privately owned ‘protection assoications’ and ‘privae courts’ without the need for police force or a state court system. These profit making protection agencies offer a better service than the present police force because competition provides consumers with a choice, ensuring agencies are cheap, efficient an respond to consumer needs. Also, private courts would have to develop a reputation for fairness in order to attract custom from individuals wishing to resolve conflict. In practice, the USA several states have already used private prisons, experiments with private courts and arbitration services are well established.

Answer 78

libertarians emphasize human rationality, suggesting conflict can be resolved by reasoned discussion

Answer 79

a system of property ownership that avoids exploitation and promotes social harmony. a system of fair and equitable exchange, in which small groups of craftsmen and artisans exchange goods with each other, without profiteering or exploitation. based off of Proudhon’s admiration for the independence and initiative of small communities of peasants, craftsmen and artisans – e.g. watchmakers of Switzerland, who had traditionally managed their affairs base on cooperation social interaction is voluntary, mutually beneficial and harmonious, requiring no regulation or interference from government. Proudhon’s followers put these ideas into practice by setting up the mutual credit banks in Switzerland and France, providing cheap loans for investors and charged interest only high enough to cover the cost of running the bank.

Answer 80

the individual is free to act as he or she chooses, without any consideration for law, social convention, religion or moral principle As Stirner proposed, the individual is at the center of the moral universe Balance and equilibrium is found as individuals are aware that they may be confronted by together, more powerful self-interested egoists In Ayn Rand’s theory of objectivism, she envisaged a society in which man is a “heroic being, with his own happiness as the moral purpose in life” These individuals exist for their own sake, not sacrificing themselves to others or others to themselves.

Answer 81

a belief that stems from the view that human nature is naturally cooperative and gregarious. Mutualist Kropotkin asserted this, stating “the ants and the termites have renounced the Hobbesian war and are the better for it”. Marxism interprets this in the principle of ‘fraternity’ – the idea that no man is an island (John Donne), people are tied together in social bonds between comrades. makes economic sense as when individuals work together in bonds of sympathy, care and affection, the energies of an entire community can be harnessed, as opposed to those of a single individual. Kropotkin echoed this in the idea of ‘mutual aid’ – the reason human species has survived for so long is as they can be motivated by moral incentives not just material incentives.

Answer 82

Marxists favor the “politics of ownership”; absolutely rejecting private property as morally unacceptable. Collectivist anarchist notably share this distaste, particularly anarcho communist who argue all property is theft. Both schools of thought agree private property encourages selfish behavior, breeding acquisitiveness and materialism, and the view that property ownership encourages division in society, promoting conflict and social disharmony. Particularly concerning for anarcho-communists is the fostering of greedy, envious, resentful traits in the individual, due to their plasticity. Therefore, an anarchist utopia, free of conflict and disorder would require the abolition of private property.

Answer 83

socialist collectivism is not market by the rejection of the state: Marxists support a system of comprehensive collectivization through a strong state; favoring the utilization of a command economy geared to human needs, not profitability. For example, the USSR collectivized the agricultural sector, out of a belief collectivism would increase the food supply. This was achieved by powerful intervention by the state – a clear conflict to the markedly anti-statist anarchist tradition. Therefore, anarcho-communists favor economic collectivism on a much smaller scale. They advocate small, self-managing communities where wealth is shared, and collective endeavor is harnessed. Anarchism is arguably not an extreme form of socialist collectivism, as it significantly reinterprets the practical meaning of this.

Answer 84

egoist anarchists argue that individuals do not wish to work together, for the greater good, because we are fundamentally self-seeking, only pursuing our own pleasure. Max Stiner’s idea of ‘egoism’, arguing the individual is the center of the moral universe Ayn Rand proposed the philosophy of ‘objectivism’ –individuals moral purpose in life is their own happiness envisage a society in which there would be no pooling of labour or sharing as the individual does whatever they want. In the same way socialist collectivism brings about harmony and peace in society, egoists argue that an equilibrium and balance in society is found as individuals are sufficiently rational to realize they should mediate their behavior, as they could be confronted by other powerful egoists. Collectivism suggests collaborating is natural and intrinsic to humanity, whilst egoism fundamentally argues the opposite. This is summed up by Ayn Rand, stating the individual should "exist for his own sake, neither sacrificing himself to others nor sacrificing others to himself".

Answer 85

opposed collectivism as it promotes laziness, reduces drive, and leads to many free-loading off the few. Murray Rothbard reinterpreted anarcho-collectivist Proudhon’s assertion “property is theft” to its polar opposite: “taxation is theft”. suggest that inequalities in wealth reflect differences in drive, ability, hard work and decision making – the individual is reliant on their own ability, to forge their own destiny instead of arguing for total common ownership, they argue for total private ownership:the unencumbered free market to meet all human needs and desires. For example, there need not be the employment of the Soviet-style secret police that defined socialist collectivism in the 20th century, as the free market delivers 'protection agencies' support for absolute economic freedom is a marked departure from the centrally planned economies of the USSR.

Answer 86

Individualist anarchists share a belief in unlimited human rationality with free market liberals. Classical liberalism, born out of the enlightenment, put absolute faith in rationalism strengthening their belief in individualism and freedom. Similarly, at the heart of individualist anarchism is the belief that human beings are rational creatures. Notably, Godwin argued that humans are inclined by education and enlightened judgement to live in accordance with truth and universal moral laws. humans have a natural propensity to organize their own lives in a peaceful and harmonious fashion. both free market liberals and individualist anarchists believe that individuals should be free within the market to make rational economic decisions.

Answer 87

Anarcho-capitalists draw on the ideas of free market theorist Adam Smith to argue for the absolute benevolence of the market as a self-regualting mechanism. the state is nothing but a ‘dead hand’ that interferes with the ‘invisible hand’ of the market. In an ideal anarcho-capitalist society, people would be absolutely free to enter into voluntary contracts and make rational decisions. The neoliberal revolution of the 1980s mirrors this to a certain extent – a massive rolling back of the state through the mass privatization of industry and the de-regulation of the city of London in the ‘Big Bang’ of 1986. Ultimately, both free market liberals and anarcho-capitalists believe that there is a naturally existing harmony among competing interests in society.

Answer 88

Libertarians such as Warren and Tucker advocate a system of labour-for-labour, through so-called ‘time stores’. Therefore, people are able to gain the benefits of the division of labour without profiteering and exploitation. However, it should be acknowledged that free market liberals have a far lesser concern about the pursuit of profit, constructing the idea of the ‘economic man’ who is driven by egoistical and material drives.

Answer 89

The foundation of free market liberal theory is the rationality and self-interest of human nature, whereas collectivist anarchists argue instead for a gregarious and sympathetic view. Anarcho-communist Kropotkin evidenced this theory in ‘mutual aid’ – the reason human species has survived for so long is as they can be motivated by moral incentives not just material incentives. This is starkly contrasted by the egoistical and materially acquisitive ‘economic man’ of free market liberalism. Overall, this difference is ultimately a collectivist/individualist conflict: Collectivism suggests collaborating is natural and intrinsic to humanity, whilst individualism fundamentally argues the opposite.

Answer 90

advocate common ownership – the opposite Whilst free market liberals view “property” as an absolute natural right, anarcho-communists desire the comprehensive abolition of it. They believe that due to the plasticity of human nature, if the institutions of society are created to encourage cooperation and harmony, people will adopt these traits. In addition, the virtues of common ownership strengthen bonds of social solidarity, keeping greed and selfishness at bay. Free market liberals would dismiss this on the basis it promotes laziness, reduces drive, and leads to many free-loading off the few. Therefore, Proudhon’s assertion “property is theft” is reinterpreted to its polar opposite: “taxation is theft”.