Anarchism is generally defined as the political
philosophy which holds the state to be undesirable,
unnecessary and harmful, or alternatively
as opposing authority and hierarchical organization
in the conduct of human relations.
Proponents of anarchism, known as anarchists,
advocate stateless societies based on non-hierarchical
voluntary associations.There are many philosophical
differences among anarchists concerning questions
of ideology, values and strategy.
Ideas about how anarchist societies should
work vary considerably, especially with respect
to economics.
There are also disagreements about how such
a society might be brought about—with some
anarchists being committed to a strategy of
nonviolence, while others advocate armed struggle.
== Definitional concerns ==
Anarchist schools of thought encompass not
only a range of individual schools, but also
a considerable divergence in the use of some
key terms.
Some terms, such as "socialism", have been
subject to multiple definitions and ideological
struggle throughout the period of the development
of anarchism.
Others, such as "capitalism", are used in
divergent and often contradictory ways by
different schools within the tradition.
In addition, the meanings of terms such as
"mutualism" have changed over time, sometimes
without spawning new schools.
All of these terminological difficulties contribute
to misunderstandings within and about anarchism.
A central concern is whether the term "anarchism"
is defined in opposition to hierarchy, authority,
the state or state and capitalism.
Debates over the meaning of the term emerge
from the fact that it refers to both an abstract
philosophical position and to intellectual,
political and institutional traditions, all
of which have been fraught with conflict.
Some minimal, abstract definitions encourage
the inclusion of figures, movements and philosophical
positions which have historically positioned
themselves outside, or even in opposition
to, individuals and traditions that have identified
themselves as "anarchist".
Anti-capitalism is considered a necessary
element of anarchism by most anarchists.q
Usages in political circles have varied considerably.
In 1894, Richard T. Ely noted that the term
had "already acquired a variety of meanings".
In its most general sense, these included
the view that society is "a living, growing
organism, the laws of which are something
different from the laws of individual action".
Several years earlier (1888), the individualist
anarchist Benjamin Tucker included the full
text of a "Socialistic Letter" by Ernest Lesigne
in his essay on "State Socialism and Anarchism".
According to Lesigne, there are two socialisms:
"One is dictatorial, the other libertarian".
== Ends and means ==
Among anarchists, there is no consensus on
the legitimacy or utility of violence in revolutionary
struggle.
For example, Mikhail Bakunin, Peter Kropotkin,
Emma Goldman and Errico Malatesta wrote of
violence as a necessary and sometimes desirable
force in revolutionary settings.
At the same time, they denounced acts of individual
terrorism, see Bakunin's "The Program of the
International Brotherhood" (1869) and Malatesta's
"Violence as a Social Factor" (1895).
Other anarchists such as Leo Tolstoy, Dorothy
Day and Mahatma Gandhi have been advocates
of pacifism.
Anarchists have often been portrayed as dangerous
and violent, possibly due to a number of high-profile
violent actions, including riots, assassinations,
insurrections and terrorism committed by some
anarchists as well as persistently negative
media portrayals.
Late 19th-century revolutionaries encouraged
acts of political violence, called "propaganda
of the deed", such as bombings and the assassinations
of heads of state to further anarchism.
However, the term originally referred to exemplary
forms of direct action meant to inspire the
masses to revolution.
Propaganda of the deed may be violent or nonviolent.
While all anarchists consider antimilitarism
(opposition to war) to be inherent to their
philosophy, anarcho-pacifists take this further,
following Tolstoy's belief in pacifism.
Although numerous anarchist-related initiatives
have been based on the tactic of nonviolence
(see Earth First! and Food Not Bombs), many
anarchists reject pacifism as an ideology,
instead supporting a "diversity of tactics".
Authors Ward Churchill (Pacifism as Pathology,
1986) and Peter Gelderloos (How Nonviolence
Protects the State, 2005; "The Failure of
Nonviolence", 2013) have published influential
books critical of pacifist doctrine, which
they view as ineffectual and hypocritical.
In a 2010 article, author Randall Amster argued
for the development of a "complementarity
of tactics" to bridge the pacifist and more
militant aspects of anarchism.
As a result of anarchism's critical view of
certain types of private property, many anarchists
see the destruction of property as an acceptable
form of violence or argue that it is not in
fact violence at all.
In her widely cited 1912 essay Direct Action,
Voltairine de Cleyre drew on American historical
events, including the destroying of revenue
stamps and the Boston Tea Party as a defense
of such activities.Many anarchists participate
in subversive organizations as a means to
undermine the establishment, such as Food
Not Bombs, radical labor unions, alternative
media and radical social centers.
This is in accordance with the anarchist ideal
that governments are intrinsically evil: only
by destroying the power of governments can
individual freedoms and liberties be preserved.
However, some anarchist schools in theory
adopt the concept of dual power: creating
the structures for a new anti-authoritarian
society in the shell of the old, hierarchical
one.
=== Participation in statist democracy ===
While most anarchists firmly oppose voting,
or otherwise participating in the state institution,
there are a few that disagree.
The prominent anarchist Pierre-Joseph Proudhon
stood for election to the French Constituent
Assembly twice in 1848.
Paul Brousse developed the concept of libertarian
municipalism in Switzerland in the 1890s which
involved participating in local elections.
Anarchists have opposed voting for multiple
reasons.
Taking part in elections has historically
resulted in radicals becoming part of the
system they oppose rather than ending it.
Voting acknowledges the state's legitimacy.During
the 2004 U.S. presidential election, the anarchist
collective CrimethInc.
launched "Don't Just Vote, Get Active", a
campaign promoting the importance of direct
action rather than electoral change.
Anarchists in other countries often engage
in similar anti-voting campaigns.
Others advocate a more pragmatic approach,
including voting in referenda, while other
prominent anarchists like Howard Zinn and
Noam Chomsky have pledged their support for
progressive candidates such as Ralph Nader.
In addition to merely voting, some anarchists
such as Proudhon and more recently Icelandic
activist Smari McCarthy have stood for and
won elections to national legislative bodies.
The individualist anarchist Lysander Spooner
argued that voting was a legitimate means
of self-defense against the state and noted
that many supporters of the state consider
both voting and abstention to be acknowledgments
of the state's legitimacy.
Spooner's essay "No Treason" offers an individualist
anarchist rebuttal to the argument that existing
democratic governments are justified by majority
consent.
During the 2014 Scottish independence referendum
there was debate within anarchist circles
about whether to take an abstentionist position,
vote for independence or to vote to remain
in the United Kingdom and anarchists rarely
fitted into the easy binary of Yes/No voters
of the referendum, with all seeking to go
beyond the choices offered at the ballot box.
There was also a debate about what Scottish
independence would mean for the anarchist
movement and social struggle.
Groups like The Anarchist Federation in Scotland
(mainly in Edinburgh and Glasgow) took a critical
stance skeptical of the benefits of Scottish
independence.In 2016 within the United Kingdom,
there was considerable debate around the Brexit
vote.
Anarchists are traditionally opposed to the
European Union, yet the vote was seen as one
imposed by two factions of the right-wing.
Yet again there was debate about whether to
vote to Remain in the European Union, abstain
(some left communists argued for abstaining)
or vote to Leave since the United Kingdom
government (the Conservative Party) was mostly
in favour of remain while UK Independence
Party and far-right parties favoured Leave.
There was also debate within the left amongst
anarchists and those who considered themselves
to have a Lexit (Left Exit position) The victory
of the Leave side united anarchists whether
voters or abstainers against the racist incidents
and rise of fascism and nationalism which
was considered to have happened following
the result of the vote.
Many anarchists and anti-authoritarian leftists
argue Brexit was negative for social struggles
and migrants in particular and considerable
efforts were made to analyze why the Leave
result happened.
=== Democracy in anarchism ===
For individualist anarchists, "the system
of democracy, of majority decision, is held
null and void.
Any impingement upon the natural rights of
the person is unjust and a symbol of majority
tyranny".
Libertarian municipalist Murray Bookchin criticized
individualist anarchists for opposing democracy
and said "majority rule" is consistent with
anarchism, but he also preferred the term
assembly rather than democracy.
Bookchin has in turn been accused of "municipal
statism", i.e. non-anarchism.
Later, Bookchin renounced anarchism to identify
himself as an advocate of Communalism.
=== Violence and non-violence ===
Anarchists have often been portrayed as dangerous
and violent, due mainly to a number of high-profile
violent acts including riots, assassinations
and insurrections involving anarchists.
However, the use of terrorism and assassination
is condemned by most anarchist ideology, though
there remains no consensus on the legitimacy
or utility of violence.
Some anarchists have opposed coercion while
others have supported it, particularly in
the form of violent revolution on the path
to anarchy or utopia.Some anarchists share
Leo Tolstoy's Christian anarchist belief in
nonviolence.
These anarcho-pacifists advocate nonviolent
resistance as the only method of achieving
a truly anarchist revolution.
They often see violence as the basis of government
and coercion and argue that as such violence
is illegitimate, no matter who is the target.
Some of Proudhon's French followers even saw
strike action as coercive and refused to take
part in such traditional socialist tactics.
Other anarchists advocate Marshall Rosenberg's
Nonviolent Communication that relates to peoples
fundamental needs and feelings using strategies
of requests, observations and empathy yet
providing for the use of protective force
while rejecting pacifism as a compromising
strategy of the left that just perpetuates
violence.
Other anarchists, such as Mikhail Bakunin
and Errico Malatesta, saw violence as a necessary
and sometimes desirable force.
Malatesta took the view that it is "necessary
to destroy with violence, since one cannot
do otherwise, the violence which denies [the
means of life and for development] to the
workers" (Umanità Nova, number 125, 6 September
1921).Between 1894 and 1901, individual anarchists
assassinated numerous heads of state, including:
French President Sadi Carnot (1894)
Empress consort Elisabeth of Austria (1898)
King Umberto I of Italy (1900)
United States President William McKinley (1901)Such
"propaganda of the deed" was not popular among
anarchists and many in the movement condemned
the tactic.
President William McKinley's assassin Leon
Czolgosz claimed to be a disciple of Emma
Goldman.
Goldman disavowed the act, although she did
not condemn Czolgosz's motivations in doing
it.
Goldman included in her definition of anarchism
the observation that all governments rest
on violence and this is one of the many reasons
they should be opposed.
Goldman herself did not oppose tactics like
assassination until she went to Russia, where
she witnessed the violence of the Russian
state and the Red Army.
From then on, she condemned the use of terrorism,
especially by the state, but Goldman still
supported most other forms of revolutionary
violence throughout her life.
In a debate with a pacifist five years before
her death, she countered that "the organized
force used against the followers of Gandhi
has finally forced them to use violence, much
to the distress of Gandhi" and concluded that
"as a method of combating the complex social
injustices and inequalities, non-resistance
cannot be a decisive factor" ("non-resistance"
was the term for nonviolence used by Tolstoy
and other early 20th century pacifists).
Goldman at this time was an information officer
for the anarchist militias of the Spanish
Revolution, which were committed to armed
struggle.Depictions in the press and popular
fiction (for example, a malevolent bomb-throwing
anarchist in Joseph Conrad's The Secret Agent)
helped create a lasting public impression
that anarchists are violent terrorists.
This perception was enhanced by events such
as the Haymarket riot, where anarchists were
blamed for throwing a bomb at police who came
to break up a public meeting in Chicago.
More recently, anarchists have been involved
in protests against World Trade Organization
(WTO) and International Monetary Fund (IMF)
meetings across the globe, which the media
has described as violent or riots.
Traditionally, May Day in London has also
been a day of marching, but in recent years
the Metropolitan Police have warned that a
"hardcore of anarchists" are intent on causing
violence.
Anarchists often respond that it is the police
who initiate violence at these demonstrations,
with anarchists who are otherwise peaceful
sometimes forced to defend themselves.
The anarchists involved in such protests often
formed black blocs at these protests and some
engaged in property destruction, vandalism,
or in violent conflicts with police, though
others stuck to non-violent principles.
Those participating in black blocs distinguish
between "violence" and "property destruction":
they claim that violence is when a person
inflicts harm to another person while property
destruction or property damage is not violence,
although it can have indirect harm such as
financial harm.
Most anarchists do not consider the destruction
of property to be violent as do most activists
who believe in non-violence.
==== Pacifism ====
Most anarchists consider opposition to militarism
to be inherent in their philosophy.
Some anarchists take it further and follow
Leo Tolstoy's belief in non-violence (note
that these anarcho-pacifists are not necessarily
Christian anarchists as Tolstoy was), advocating
non-violent resistance as the only method
of achieving a truly anarchist revolution.
Anarchist literature often portrays war as
an activity in which the state seeks to gain
and consolidate power, both domestically and
in foreign lands.
Many anarchists subscribe to Randolph Bourne's
view that "war is the health of the state".
Anarchists believe that if they were to support
a war they would be strengthening the state—indeed,
Peter Kropotkin was alienated from other anarchists
when he expressed support for the British
in World War I.
=== Individualism vs. collectivism ===
While some anarchists favour collective property
or no property, others such as some individualist
anarchists of historical note (e.g. Benjamin
Tucker and Lysander Spooner) support private
property.
Tucker argues that collectivism in property
is absurd: "That there is an entity known
as the community which is the rightful owner
of all land, Anarchists deny...I...maintain
that 'the community' is a non-entity, that
it has no existence" and he was particularly
adamant in his opposition to "communism",
even to the point of asserting that those
who opposed private property were not anarchists:
"Anarchism is a word without meaning, unless
it includes the liberty of the individual
to control his product or whatever his product
has brought him through exchange in a free
market– that is, private property.
Whoever denies private property is of necessity
an Archist".
However, some of these individuals opposed
property titles to unused land.
== Identity politics ==
=== 
Gender ===
Early French feminists such as Jenny d'Héricourt
and Juliette Adam criticised the misogyny
in the anarchism of Proudhon during the 1850s.
Anarcha-feminism is a kind of radical feminism
that espouses the belief that patriarchy is
a fundamental problem in society.
However, it was not explicitly formulated
as anarcha-feminism until the early 1970s
during the second-wave feminist movement.Early
first-wave feminist Mary Wollstonecraft held
proto-anarchist views and William Godwin is
often considered a feminist anarchist precursor.
While most anarchists of the period did not
take these ideas seriously, others such as
Florence Finch Kelly and Moses Harman held
gender equality as a topic of significant
importance.
Anarcha-feminism garnered further attention
through the work of early 20th-century authors
and theorists including Emma Goldman and Voltairine
de Cleyre.
In the Spanish Civil War, an anarcha-feminist
group, Mujeres Libres (English: Free Women),
organized to defend both anarchist and feminist
ideas.
=== Ethnicity ===
Black anarchism opposes the existence of a
state, capitalism and subjugation and domination
of people of color and favors a non-hierarchical
organization of society.
Theorists include Ashanti Alston, Lorenzo
Komboa Ervin and Sam Mbah.
Some of these theorists have had past experiences
with the Black Panther Party and came to anarchism
after they became critical of the Black Panther
Party's brand of Marxist–Leninism.
Anarchist People of Color (APOC) was created
as a forum for non-Caucasian anarchists to
express their thoughts about racial issues
within the anarchist movement, particularly
within the United States.
Anti-Racist Action is not an anarchist group,
but many anarchists are involved.
It focuses on publicly confronting antisemites,
racists, supremacists and others, such as
the Ku Klux Klan, neo-Nazi groups and the
like.
Most modern and historical anarchists describe
themselves as anti-racists.
Many early anarchists, notably Lucy Parsons
(a person of color and formerly an enslaved
American) viewed racism as one of many negative
side-effects of capitalism and expected that
it would vanish in a post-capitalist world.
However, among modern anarchists anti-racism
plays a more prominent role and racism is
typically viewed as one of several forms of
social hierarchy and stratification which
must be destroyed.
No anarchist organizations has ever included
racism as part of its platform and many—particularly
modern formations—include explicit anti-racism.
For instance, American anarchists were alone
in opposing racism against Chinese and Mexican
workers in the late 19th century and early
20th century.
Since the late 1970s, anarchists have been
involved in fighting the rise of neo-fascist
groups.
In Germany and the United Kingdom, some anarchists
worked within militant anti-fascist groups
alongside members of the Marxist left.
They advocated directly combating fascists
with physical force rather than relying on
the state.
Since the late 1990s, a similar tendency has
developed within anarchism in the United States.
Anti-Racist Action is one of the largest grassroots
anti-fascist and anti-racist organizations
in North America today and counts many anarchists
among its members.
Their tactics, centered around directly confronting
neo-fascist and white-supremacist groups,
are considered controversial both within the
anarchist movement (where they are sometimes
portrayed as well-intentioned but ineffective)
and in mainstream society (where they are
often portrayed as violent and disruptive).
Many anarchists also oppose the concept of
race itself, arguing that it has no biological
basis in science and is a social construction
designed to divide the working class and preserve
capitalism.
Black anarchism opposes the existence of a
state, capitalism and subjugation and domination
of people of African descent and favours a
non-hierarchical organization of society.
Theorists include Ashanti Alston, Lorenzo
Komboa Ervin, Sam Mbah, Aragorn! and Martin
Sostre.
APOC emerged in the United States as a tendency
which theorized anarchism in the broader context
of race.
Founded by writer and organizer Ernesto Aguilar,
an APOC email list became the basis for collectives
composed of people of colour to form in several
American cities.
APOC held a conference in Detroit, Michigan
in 2003.
In 2005, the first APOC journal (Wildfire)
was launched, but folded a few months later.
In 2007, Roger White and the Oakland, California
APOC group founded the Jailbreak Press blog.A
minority of historically prominent anarchists
have been accused of racism, e.g. Proudhon
and Bakunin.
=== Religion ===
From Proudhon and Bakunin to the Spanish anarcho-syndicalists,
most anarchists have questioned or opposed
organized religion, believing that most organized
religions are hierarchical or authoritarian
and more often than not aligned with contemporary
power structures like the state and capital.
Nonetheless, others reconcile anarchism with
religion.
Christian anarchists believe that there is
no higher authority than God and oppose earthly
authority such as government and established
churches.
They believe that Jesus' teachings and the
practice of the early Church were clearly
anarchistic.
Some of them feel that the teachings of the
Nazarenes and other early groups of followers
were corrupted by contemporary religious views,
most notably when Theodosius I declared Nicene
Christianity the official religion of the
Roman Empire.
Christian anarchists, who follow Jesus' directive
to "turn the other cheek", are usually strict
pacifists, although some believe in a limited
justification of defense, especially defense
of others.
The most famous advocate of Christian anarchism
was Leo Tolstoy, author of The Kingdom of
God Is Within You, who called for a society
based on compassion, nonviolent principles
and freedom.
Christian anarchists tend to form experimental
communities (such as the Catholic Worker).
They also occasionally resist taxation.
Buddhist anarchism originated in the influential
Chinese anarchist movement of the 1920s.
Taixu, one of the leading thinkers and writers
of this school, was deeply influenced by the
work of Christian anarchists like Tolstoy
and by the ancient Chinese well-field system.
In the late 19th century, the Ghadar movement
in India (see Har Dayal), influenced by Buddhist
thought and by Swami Dayananda Saraswati (founder
of Arya Samaj), saw anarchism as a way of
propagating the ancient culture of the Arya
(not to be confused with the much later appropriation
of "Aryan" identity by Nazism).
Buddhist anarchism was later revived in the
1960s by writers such as Gary Snyder; an incarnation
of this school of thought was popularized
by Jack Kerouac in his book The Dharma Bums.
With its focus on the environment and equality,
along with its often decentralized nature,
neopaganism, has led to a number of neopagan
anarchists.
One of the most prominent is Starhawk, who
writes extensively about both spirituality
and activism.
Discussing the anarchist movement in Britain
in 2002, Adam K. has argued that it "has an
especially ignorant and hegemonistic perception
of the Muslim community", which he attributed
to "the anglo-centric nature of the movement".
Quoting the statement that "Islam is an enemy
of all freedom loving people" from an anarchist
magazine, he argues that this is "no different
to the bigoted rhetoric of George Bush or
even BNP leader Nick Griffin".
== Capitalism ==
Throughout most of its history, anarchism
has been defined by its proponents in opposition
to capitalism, which they believe can be maintained
only by state violence.
Most non-capitalist anarchists follow Proudhon
in opposing ownership of workplaces by capitalists
and aim to replace wage labour with workers'
associations.
These anarchists agree with Kropotkin's comment
that "the origin of the anarchist inception
of society…
[lies in] the criticism… of the hierarchical
organisations and the authoritarian conceptions
of society" rather than in simple opposition
to the state or government.
They argue that the wage system is hierarchical
and authoritarian in nature and consequently
capitalism cannot be anarchist.Most early
individualist anarchists considered themselves
"fervent anti-capitalists… [who see] no
contradiction between their individualist
stance and their rejection of capitalism".
Many defined themselves as socialists.
These early individualist-anarchists defined
"capitalism" in various ways, but often it
was discussed in terms of usury: "There are
three forms of usury, interest on money, rent
on land and houses, and profit in exchange.
Whoever is in receipt of any of these is a
usurer".Excluding these, they tended to support
free trade, free competition and varying levels
of private property such as mutualism and
homesteading.
It is this distinction which has led to the
rift between anarchism and anarcho-capitalism.
Historically, anarchists considered themselves
socialists and opposed to capitalism, thus
anarcho-capitalism is considered by many anarchists
today as not being true anarchism.Anarchist
organisations, for example the Confederación
Nacional del Trabajo (Spain) and the Anarchist
Federation (Britain and Ireland), generally
take an explicitly anti-capitalist stance.
In the 20th century, several economists began
to formulate a form of radical American libertarianism
known as anarcho-capitalism.
This has met resistance from those who hold
that capitalism is inherently oppressive or
statist and many anarchists and scholars do
not consider anarcho-capitalism to properly
cohere with the spirit, principles, or history
of anarchism.
However, other anarchists and scholars regard
anarchism as referring only to opposition
to the non-privatisation of all aspects of
the state and thus do consider anarcho-capitalism
to be a form of anarchism.
=== Globalization ===
Many anarchists are actively involved in the
anti-globalization movement, seeing corporate
globalization as a neocolonialist attempt
to use economic coercion on a global scale,
carried out through state institutions such
as the World Bank, World Trade Organization,
Group of Eight and the World Economic Forum.
Globalization is an ambiguous term that has
different meanings to different anarchist
factions.
Many anarchists use the term to mean neocolonialism
and/or cultural imperialism (which they may
see as related).
Others, particularly anarcho-capitalists,
use "globalization" to mean the worldwide
expansion of the division of labor and trade,
which they see as beneficial so long as governments
do not intervene.
Market anarchists and anarcho-capitalists
see the worldwide expansion of the division
of labor through trade ("globalization") as
a boon, but oppose the regulation and cartelization
imposed by the World Bank, World Trade Organization
and "managed trade" agreements such as the
North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA)
and the Central America Free Trade Agreement
(CAFTA).
Many also object to fiat money issued by central
banks and resulting debasement of money and
confiscation of wealth.
Groups such as Reclaim the Streets were among
the instigators of the so-called anti-globalization
movement.
The Carnival Against Capitalism on 18 June
1999 is generally regarded as the first of
the major anti-globalization protests.
Anarchists, such as the WOMBLES, have on occasion
played a significant role in planning, organising
and participating in subsequent protests.
The protests tended to be organised on anarchist
direct action principles with a general tolerance
for a range of different activities ranging
from those who engage in tactical frivolity
to the black blocs.
== Nationalism ==
Anarchism has a long history of opposing imperialism,
both in the core nations (the colonizers)
and the periphery nations (the colonized).
In general, anarchists have preferred to focus
on building revolutions at home and doing
solidarity work for comrades in other countries,
e.g. Guy Aldred was jailed for printing Shyamji
Krishnavarma's The Indian Sociologist.
Another example of this was Rudolf Rocker,
a prominent German anarchist and anti-fascist
who was particularly active amongst Jewish
workers.
In his Nationalism and Culture, he argued
for a "federation of European peoples" which
would include Jews.
Rejecting biological theories of race and
rejecting the concept of nation, he argued
that since it was European states that had
conquered and colonized the rest of the world,
successful libertarian organization amongst
Europeans was "the first condition for the
creation of a world federation, which will
also secure the so-called colonial peoples
the same rights for the pursuit of happiness.
Many modern anarchists and other anti-imperialists
share this approach.During the 2014 Scottish
independence referendum there was debate within
anarchist circles about either to take an
abstentionist position, vote for independence
or to vote to remain in the United Kingdom
and anarchists rarely fit into the easy binary
of Yes/ No voters of the referendum with all
seeking to go beyond the choices offered at
the ballot box.
There was also a debate about what Scottish
independence would mean for the anarchist
movement and social struggle.
Groups like The Anarchist Federation in Scotland
(mainly in Edinburgh and Glasgow) took a critical
stance skeptical of the benefits of Scottish
independence Scottish anarchists argued that
Scottish independence and Scottish nationalism
diverted energy away from grassroots struggles
and that the movement for Scottish independence
sucked people towards Scottish nationalism
and electoral politicsHistorically anarchism
was supportive of the anationalist movement
as well as of the Esperanto language, a language
constructed to serve as a politically and
ethnically neutral international language.
After the Spanish Civil War, Francoist Spain
persecuted anarchists and Catalan nationalists,
among whom the use of Esperanto was extensive.
== The environment ==
The environment and sustainability have been
an issue for anarchists from at least as far
back as Kropotkin's 1899 book Fields, Factories
and Workshops, but since the late 1970s anarchists
in English-speaking world and European countries
have been agitating for the natural environment.
Eco-anarchists or green anarchists often embrace
deep ecology, a worldview that strives to
cultivate biodiversity and sustainability.
Eco-anarchists often use direct action against
what they see as Earth-destroying institutions.
Of particular importance is the Earth First!
movement that takes action such as tree sitting.
The more militant Earth Liberation Front,
which grew out of Earth First!, also has connections
with the anarchist movement.
Another important component is ecofeminism,
which sees the domination of nature as a metaphor
for the domination of women.
Murray Bookchin's work on social ecology,
David Watson's work with Fifth Estate magazine,
Steve Booth's work in the United Kingdom publication
Green Anarchist and Graham Purchase's writings
on green syndicalism have all contributed
to the broad variety and scope of green anarchist/eco-anarchist
thought and action.
Green anarchism also involves a critique of
industrial capitalism and for some green anarchists
civilization itself.
== Relations with the left ==
While many anarchists (especially those involved
in the anti-globalization movement) continue
to see themselves as a leftist movement, some
thinkers and activists believe it is necessary
to re-evaluate anarchism's relationship with
the traditional left.
Like many radical ideologies, most anarchist
schools of thought are to some degree sectarian.
There is often a difference of opinion within
each school about how to react to, or interact
with, other schools.
Many anarchists draw from a wide range of
political perspectives, such as the Zapatista
Army of National Liberation, the Situationists,
"ultra leftists", autonomist Marxism and various
indigenous cultures.
A movement called post-left anarchy seeks
to distance itself from the traditional "left"—communists,
socialists, social democrats and the like—and
to escape the confines of ideology in general.
Post-leftists argue that anarchism has been
weakened by its long attachment to contrary
"leftist" movements and single issue causes
(anti-war, anti-nuclear and so on).
It calls for a synthesis of anarchist thought
and a specifically anti-authoritarian revolutionary
movement outside of the leftist milieu.
Important groups and individuals associated
with post-left anarchy include CrimethInc.,
the magazine Anarchy: A Journal of Desire
Armed and its editor Jason McQuinn, Bob Black,
Hakim Bey and others.
The term post-anarchism was originated by
Saul Newman, first receiving popular attention
in his book From Bakunin to Lacan, a synthesis
of classical anarchist theory and poststructuralist
thought.
Subsequent to Newman's use of the term, it
has taken on a life of its own and a wide
range of ideas including autonomism, post-left
anarchy, situationism, postcolonialism and
Zapatismo.
By its very nature, post-anarchism rejects
the idea that it should be a coherent set
of doctrines and beliefs.
Key thinkers nonetheless associated with post-anarchism
include Saul Newman, Todd May, Gilles Deleuze
and Félix Guattari.Some activists, calling
themselves "insurrectionary anarchists", are
critical of formal anarchist labor unions
and federations and advocate informal organization,
carrying out acts of resistance in various
struggles.
Proponents include Wolfi Landstreicher and
Alfredo M. Bonanno, author of works including
Armed Joy and The Anarchist Tension.
This tendency is represented in the United
States in magazines such as Willful Disobedience
and Killing King Abacus.
=== Communism ===
While communism is proposed as a form of social
and economic organisation by many anarchists,
other anarchists consider it a danger to the
liberty and free development of the individual.
Most schools of anarchism have recognized
a distinction between libertarian and authoritarian
forms of communism.
Proudhon said of communism that "whether of
the utopian or the Marxist variety, that it
destroyed freedom by taking away from the
individual control over his means of production"
and "Communism is exploitation of the strong
by the weak".
Mikhail Bakunin stated: "I hate Communism
because it is the negation of liberty and
because for me humanity is unthinkable without
liberty.
I am not a Communist, because Communism concentrates
and swallows up in itself for the benefit
of the State all the forces of society, because
it inevitably leads to the concentration of
property in the hands of the State".
Bakunin was speaking of "state communism"
(authoritarian Marxism) as verified by the
last line which mentions state property—anarcho-communists
explicitly reject state property and authority,
especially centralized authority.
Although Peter Kropotkin, one of the leading
proponents of anarcho-communism while also
opposing state communism, argued for an economic
model of free distribution between all individuals,
many individualist anarchists oppose communism
in all its forms on the grounds that voluntary
communism is not practicable.
Individualist such as Benjamin Tucker, Victor
Yarros and Henry Appleton have denied that
anarcho-communism is a genuine form of anarchism.
They rejected its strategies and argued that
it is inherently authoritarian.
In the opinion of individualist Henry Appleton,
"Communism, being opposed to natural law,
must necessarily call upon unnatural methods
if it would put itself into practice" and
employ "pillage, brute force, and violence".Anarcho-communists
reject the criticism, pointing to the principle
of voluntary association that underpins their
theory and differentiates it from state communism.
Some individualist anarchists are also willing
to recognize anarcho-communism as a legitimate
form.
Kevin Carson writes that "free market, libertarian
communist, syndicalism, and other kinds of
collectivist anarchists must learn to coexist
in peace and mutual respect today, in our
fight against the corporate state, and tomorrow,
in the panarchy that is likely to succeed
it".
== Notes and references ==
== 
Further reading ==
Gordon, Uri (2007).
Anarchy Alive!: Anti-Authoritarian Politics
from Practice to Theory.
Sydney: Pluto Press.
ISBN 978-0-7453-2683-2.
OCLC 154769337.
"Anarchism and Political Theory: Contemporary
Problems".
"Contemporary anarchism".
== External links ==
Media related to Issues in anarchism at Wikimedia
Commons
