Anarchism Flashcards
What is the anarchist view of human nature?
- Hold a positive view of human nature
* Potentially for development but also for selfishness and corruption
How do the varying branches of anarchism subscribe to human nature?
3 different views
• Anarcho-individualist: humans are self interested and egotistical, will cooperate if its in their own self interest
• Anarcho -communists: human nature is a ‘tabula rasa’ (blank state) moulded by the society
• Some Anarcho-collectivists: humans are born good, sociable and rational. Prefer altruism to selfishness with cooperation over competition
What is anarchism’s view of the state?
- Defined by its rejection of the state - all forms of government and its powers
- Abolition of all systems based upon hierarchy such as church, capitalism and social relationships such as sexism
- The state is unjust immoral, commanding, controlling and corrupting
Why do the different branches of anarchism call for the abolition of the state?
- Anarcho-individualists: rejections of the state allows for autonomy and individuality to be explored freely
- Anarcho-collectivists: reject state as liberty must include equality to allow people to be altruistic and cooperative
Describe the core view held by anarchists on what society is
- Future anarchist society will be peaceful, stable and stateless
- Based upon liberty and economic freedoms
- This view is criticised as Utopian but anarchist say it will come about naturally
- No clear blueprint but it will be based upon direct democracy, decentralisation and voluntary cooperation of free individuals
How do anarchist hold different views about society
- Anarcho-individualist: self interested, rational, competitive nature of humanity will form basis of society
- Anarcho-collectivists: Natural order will emerge based on altruism, solidarity and cooperation
What is the anarchist suggestion of how the economy should be run?
- Free individuals manage their own affairs
* The current state encourages exploitation
Why is the economy the key area that anarchists disagree over
- Most anarchist (collectivist and individualist) enforce that the economy should be based on collective ownership and mutual cooperation
- Anarcho-capitalists say that private property and competitive free market should remain to allow true freedoms
- Mutualists blend elements of collectivism with individualism
Give an overview of Max Stirner’s view of • Human nature • The state • Society • The economy
- Fundamentally self interested egoists
- The state is a complete denial of egoism and individualism
- Society of any kind restrains. We much be completely self reliant
- The accumulation and retention of powert is our main economic motivation
Give an overview of Peter Kropotkin’s view of • Human nature • The state • Society • The economy
- People are sociable and prefer collective activity
- The capitalist state must be destroyed by revolution and replaced by a voluntary system of independent, self governing communities
- The commune should be the basis of society, communes = small independent, internally democratic units
- Capitalism was to be replaced by the communist system
Give an overview of Mikhail Bakunin view of • Human nature • The state • Society • The economy
- Humans are fundamentally social animals and productive work characterises our humanity
- The state is a sergeant of capitalism and must be destroyed by revolution
- Proposed a federal system and abolition of national boundaries. Federations of workers would cooperate and not compete with each other
- Market system of exchange to be abolished and replaced by exchange based on true value of goods
Give an overview of Pierre-Joseph Proudhon’s view of • Human nature • The state • Society • The economy
- Humans are characterised by our productive abilities and creativity as producers
- The state is oppressive and must be abolished if possible by peaceful, democratic means
- His theory of society was known as mutualism - people bound together but socio-economic relations which are mutually beneficial
- People should be divided into independent productive units, trading with each other on a mutually beneficial basis
Give an overview of Emma Goldman’s view of • Human nature • The state • Society • The economy
- Stressed need for individual liberty, desire for freedom is fundamental to mankind
- The state is only one source of oppression and denial of liberty. Religion, private property are equally oppressive
- Society where all are treated equally, campaigned for economic, gender and racial equality
- Violent opponent of capitalism, more concerns with liberty than economic justice but fundamentally communist
What are the fundamental ideas of anarchism?
- Liberty
- Anti-statism and anti-clericalism
- Mutualism
- Direct Action
- Voluntary association
KEY THINKER
Max Stirner 1806-1856
What was Stirner’s key idea?
- The Ego - that human nature was driven by individual desire, rationalism and self-desire
- This human nature should be out above everything else and not be controlled or restained
KEY THINKER
Max Stirner 1806-1856
How did his ideas about the ego influence his views of society?
- Economically rejected current work as it was not fulfilling and people couldn’t keep fruits of their labour
- The state must be abolished due to the fact it limited and controlled thought
KEY THINKER
Max Stirner 1806-1856
What did Stirner want created and how would it come into formation?
- The Union of Egoists - a free society in which individuals enter into voluntary agreements which are in their own self-interest
- Come about through insurrection not a revolution with individuals becoming egoist and rejecting state
KEY THINKER
Peter Kropotkin 1842-1921
What were Kropotkin’s key ideas?
- Mutual aid
- Education then revolution
- Utopia
KEY THINKER
Peter Kropotkin 1842-1921
Describe Kropotkin’s idea of mutual aid
- Scientific justification of humanities cooperative tendencies - survival of the fittest showed species that worked together to have succeeded in evolutionary race
- Humans have been alienated from this due to the state - its abolition would lead to humans expressing true altruism
KEY THINKER
Peter Kropotkin 1842-1921
What was the ‘evolution then revolution’ plan?
- Endorsed a system of education at first but realised there must be a violent revolution to end injustice and state oppression
- Must take land, means of production and social goods
KEY THINKER
Peter Kropotkin 1842-1921
What did Kropotkin outline in his view for a future society?
- Economically communist
- Made up of communes that were connected to larger federations based on direct democracy
- This would end private property and poverty
KEY THINKER
Emma Goldman 1869 - 1940
What were Goldman’s concepts?
- The state and violence
* Opposition to parliamentary politics
KEY THINKER
Emma Goldman 1869 - 1940
What did she argue about the state and violence
- All forms of government rely on violence - especially patriotism and militarism
- Law, police and threat of violence controls, and is immoral as it restricts autonomy/individual liberty
- State is a body of competitive struggle, aiming to expand using the military
- Undermines social harmony and brotherhood
KEY THINKER
Emma Goldman 1869 - 1940
Describe Goldman’s view of parliamentary politics
- Opposed it on the notion that it was reformist and corrupting
- Said it did not work, those who wanted to a part of it (eg Woman’s suffrage) would end up corrupted by authority too
- Famous quote - ‘if voting changed anything, they would have abolished it’
- Emancipation can only come from within, asserting own individuality
KEY THINKER
Mikhail Bakunin 1814 - 1876
What were Bakunin’s key ideas?
- Human nature as social
* Propaganda by the deed
KEY THINKER
Mikhail Bakunin 1814 - 1876
What where Bakunin’s views upon human nature?
- Stressed rationality and individuality but that they were still social and could not exist outside of society
- Human nature shaped by society, so needed liberty to explore it fully
- Rejected state and church authority, and collectivisation to create equality as ‘liberty without equality is just privilege and injustice’
KEY THINKER
Mikhail Bakunin 1814 - 1876
What was the notion of propaganda by the deed?
- Masses had to free themselves, combining DIY politics and direct action
- Done through freeing self - not paying taxes, rents or debts, mass strikes and refusal of conscription to the draft
- Provide a catalyst for spontaneous revolution
KEY THINKER
Pierre- Joseph Proudhon 1809 - 1865
Name the three ideas that Proudhon promoted
- Private property is exploitative and divisive
- Mutualism is the basis of liberty
- Change should be evolutionary, not revolutionary
KEY THINKER
Pierre- Joseph Proudhon 1809 - 1865
Explain Proudhon’s economic views
- Private property with the notions of rent, interest and profit were exploitative and divisive
- Endorsed individual right to keep the fruits of their labour as protection against the collective
- Society organised with worker cooperatives that organise their own work and exchange goods based on labour notes taking account of how much effort goes into creating a good
KEY THINKER
Pierre- Joseph Proudhon 1809 - 1865
What was Proudhon’s ideas on mutualism?
- Mutualism would be the basis of economic liberty, with there a federal state and decentralisation fo power
- Decentralisation based on bottom-up approach with most power with local small central bodies
- Federations join together using voluntary agreements, free to leave whenever
KEY THINKER
Pierre- Joseph Proudhon 1809 - 1865
Why did Proudhon believe that anarchism needed to develop through evolution not revolution?
- Rejected state as having no morality but wanted to construct anarchist state in the shell of the state
- Anarchist should develop mutualist organisations such as workers cooperatives and a People Bank which would cause the old state to die out
