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Anarchism > Core Ideas > Flashcards

Core Ideas Flashcards

1
Q

what is anarchism?

A

anarchism essentially means the absence of government or authority

it means without government, statelessness, complete freedom and equality

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2
Q

what is anarchism based on?

A

anarchism is an ideology based on freeing people from political domination and economic exploitation and ending the misuse of one person by another

aims to create anarchy (which means statelessness, a society without government, complete freedom and equality)

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3
Q

what do anarchists believe such a society will be?

A

anarchists believe that an anarchical society will be an ordered way of life

it will not be chaotic and disorganised

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4
Q

what are the key principles of anarchism?

A

rejection of the state

resistance and rebellion

liberty

anarchy is order

economic freedom

utopian

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5
Q

HUMAN NATURE: what is the basic anarchist view of human nature?

A

anarchists have a positive view of human nature

they believe that at their core, humans have universal qualities including the potential for development and growth

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6
Q

HUMAN NATURE: how do anarchists explain the existence of selfishness and corruption in human nature?

A

human nature is plastic and can be moulded by its environment — this explains why humans can be selfish and corrupt

The existing state and society is responsible for the selfish, antisocial and competitive traits that are evident in humanity today

this is not true human nature

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7
Q

HUMAN NATURE: what will the removal of the state bring about in human nature?

A

The removal of the state/society will reveal true human nature and allow us to flourish

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8
Q

HUMAN NATURE: what do anarchists disagree over?

A

anarchists disagree over the nature of universal qualities

collectivists believe we are altruistic, solidaristic and cooperative

while individualists believe we are self interested, rational and competitive

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9
Q

THE STATE: what is the key defining value of anarchism? what do anarchists reject?

A

The key defining value of anarchism is its rejection of the state

anarchists reject all forms of government and government power as well as authority based on hierarchy such as the church, capitalism and social relationships like sexism and racism

The state, in any form, is unjustifiable as it is unjust, immoral, commanding, controlling and corrupting

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10
Q

THE STATE: the state must be rejected to allow what to exist? what divide does this create between anarchism?

A

The state must be rejected so liberty can exist

to individualists, this means being able to be autonomous and explore your individuality to the full

but collectivists believe that liberty must include equality to allow humans to be altruistic and cooperative and to allow solidarity to flourish

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11
Q

SOCIETY: what do anarchists argue about an anarchic society? but what do critics of this view believe?

A

anarchy is order, so an anarchic society is peaceful, stable and stateless and based on liberty and economic freedom

critics attack this belief as utopian, but anarchists argue that order occurs naturally and spontaneously

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12
Q

SOCIETY: how do collectivists and individualists disagree about what will create natural order in society?

A

collectivists believe that our universal qualities of altruism, cooperation and solidarity will form the basis of a natural order

individualists argue that our self interested and rational qualities will allow for order and stability in society

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13
Q

SOCIETY: what is an anarchist society likely to include?

A

there is no clear blueprint for an anarchist society

but it is likely to include the principles of direct democracy, decentralisation and the voluntary cooperation of free and equal individuals

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14
Q

THE ECONOMY: what do all anarchists agree about the economy?

A

anarchists agree that the economy should allow free individuals to manage their own affairs without government or state ownership, intervention or regulation

this is because the state supports economic exploitation

anarchists are opposed to all existing economic systems and see them as a restriction on liberty

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15
Q

THE ECONOMY: what is the key disagreement between anarchism over the economy?

A

The key area of disagreement within anarchism comes over economic organisation

collectivists support collective ownership and mutual cooperation

anarcho-capitalists advocate for private property and the competitive free market

mutualists seek to blend elements of collectivism with individualism

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16
Q

REJECTION OF THE STATE: what is the defining feature of anarchism?

A

rejection of the state is the defining feature of anarchism

this also includes the rejection of power, authority and government

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17
Q

REJECTION OF THE STATE: what is the state? what is authority? what is power?

A

The state is a sovereign body that exerts total authority over all individuals and groups living within its defined geographical limits

Authority is the right of one person or institution to influence the behaviour of others — this is commanding, controlling and corrupting

Power is the means or instruments (including the law, police and use of ideology) by which a state and other social institutions secure their authority

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18
Q

REJECTION OF THE STATE: how did Emma Goldman describe the state?

A

Emma Goldman described the state as a “cold monster”

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19
Q

REJECTION OF THE STATE: what do anarchists oppose? what is government and why do anarchists reject all forms of it?

A

anarchists oppose government, authority and political power

Government generally means a system of rule, ranging from monachism to dictatorship to liberal democracy

all forms of government are based on deceit and violence

anarchists see all of these as immoral as they restrict liberty — all forms of government are tyrannical and must be rejected

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20
Q

REJECTION OF THE STATE: how do governments rule?

A

in modern democracies, governments rule by deceit and use the threat of violence to maintain their control

there has never been a social contract into which individuals have freely entered, so the state always restricts liberty

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21
Q

REJECTION OF THE STATE: what do anarchists argue about voting?

A

The people are said to be sovereign and to rule, but they give away their power at the ballot box

if the people were truly sovereign then there would be no government and no one governed, so the state would not exist

The vote is nothing more than a trick that hides the massive power of the state based on the police, the banks and the army (which the state uses to secure its authority)

Emma Goldman said that “if voting changed anything, they’d make it illegal”

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22
Q

REJECTION OF THE STATE: when will the state use violence? where can evidence of the state using violence to maintain control be seen?

A

violence will only be used when deceit fails

evidence of the state using such violence to maintain control is very clear in recent history

anarchists would point to the brutal repression of the miners’ strike in 1984-85 under the Thatcher government as well as the suppression of American protests in Ferguson in 2014 and Standing Rock in 2016 by a heavily militarised police

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23
Q

REJECTION OF THE STATE: what types of authority based on hierarchy do anarchists reject?

A

anarchists reject the state and all forms of authority based on hierarchy

hierarchy is where society has been divided into the few who give orders and the many who take orders

this includes social institutions such as the church, social relationships such as sexism, racism and homophobia and economic systems like capitalism in which workers are wage slaves

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24
Q

REJECTION OF THE STATE: why should hierarchal authorities be rejected?

A

hierarchal authorities should be rejected because they are commanding, controlling and corrupting of human nature

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25
Q

REJECTION OF THE STATE: the state is commanding

A

hierarchal authorities should be rejected because they are commanding

The state can force an individual to act in a way that they would not have done voluntarily

therefore forcing the individual to suspend their reason and lose their autonomy which includes the freedom and responsibility to decide for themselves

autonomy is a form of self government involving freedom and responsibility in which the individual is not subject to the will of the state or any other person

such autonomy is not possible under the state, so the state must be rejected to allow human nature to flourish

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26
Q

REJECTION OF THE STATE: the state is controlling

A

hierarchy authorities should be rejected because they are controlling

Authority exerts control over people, stifling creativity and initiative

people lose the ability to understand their own individuality and think for themselves, this stops them from being able to fully express themselves and explore their nature

Max Stirner took this belief to the extremes by rejecting the authority of the state, church, moral truths, family values and existing sexual morality

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27
Q

REJECTION OF THE STATE: the state is corrupting

A

political authority, in any form, corrupts human nature

those with authority (from politicians to church ministers and the police) are raised above others by power, privilege and wealth — they lose all sense of their true cooperative and altruistic nature

those who are subject to authority are brutalised by a state that creates social conflict through inequality and resolve disputes through violence and coercion rather than through reason

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28
Q

REJECTION OF THE STATE: what did Mikhail Bakunin argue about the state?

A

The state, in any form, is unjustifiable

in particular, Mikhail Bakunin objected to the socialist state — he stated that the “red bureaucracy” would become corrupted by authority and he predicted that “socialism without freedom is slavery and brutality”

this has been seen to be true in Stalinist Russia

this is how anarchism differs from Marxism and classical liberalism

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29
Q

REJECTION OF THE STATE: what is the most powerful criticism of the state?

A

The most powerful anarchist criticism of the state is that it is unjust

it is a relatively new creation in human history that emerged with the creation of private property and since then, it has been exploitative and unjust

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30
Q

REJECTION OF THE STATE: how do individualists and collectivists disagree about why the state is unjust?

A

for some individualists, the state is like a parasite that robs its citizens through taxation, backed up by the threat of force — it is nothing more than organised and legalised theft

for collectivists, the state is unjust because it protects private property and allows for the huge inequalities between the wealthy and the masses to be maintained

collectivists believe that the state is controlled by the wealthy who are willing to use the mechanisms of the state to protect their privilege

and on the global stage, the state protects the interests of the elites in advanced industrial countries through organisations such as the World Bank, the IMF and the G20

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31
Q

RESISTANCE + REBELLION: what does the belief in rejecting the state have implications for?

A

The belief in rejecting the state has implications for anarchist tactics and strategies

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32
Q

RESISTANCE + REBELLION: why are anarchists critical of party politics? what does this mean about their views on achieving anarchy?

A

anarchists have been critical of party politics because parties are based on hierarchal authority and seek conformism and obedience from their membership

there can be no attempt to capture government, either by ballot box (democratically) or through revolution

this is because the state is immoral and unjust and the exercise of authority will be corrupting, which means that less orthodox strategies are required to achieve anarchy

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33
Q

RESISTANCE + REBELLION: what do all anarchists believe in?

A

all anarchists believe that some form of resistance, rebellion or revolution is needed

this may include…
• direct action
• acts of violence
• emerging revolution
• creating new institutions
• insurrection
34
Q

RESISTANCE + REBELLION: direct action

A

anarchy can be achieved through direct action (aka ‘propaganda by the deed’)

Direct action involves a range of political actions, both violent and non-violent, that are taken outside the legal and constitutional framework

this Bakuninist approach of using direct action involves the non-payment of taxes, rents and debts as well as mass strikes and the refusal of conscription to acts of violence

all in order to stir up a revolution

modern examples of direct action might include the Zapatista uprising in Mexico in 1994 or the non-payment of the poll-tax in the UK under Margaret Thatcher

35
Q

RESISTANCE + REBELLION: acts of violence

A

Direct action has become associated with acts of violence and in particular, acts of terror such as Alexander Berkman’s attempt to murder the US businessman Henry Frick in 1892

Berkman sought to raise the revolutionary consciousness of workers

36
Q

RESISTANCE + REBELLION: emerging revolution

A

anarchist thinkers such as Kropotkin and Goldman discredit terrorism as ineffective and immoral

instead, the revolution will emerge out of the process of direct action and ‘DIY politics’ that exposes and undermines the nature of the state

this involves acting as if you are already free rather than trying to influence government decisions — thus completely dismissing the state and its attempts to control you

doing this allows the individual to become autonomous and learn about the benefits of solidarity, mutual aid and collective action, thus creating a spirit of revolt

such ideas will spread and reach a boiling point which will be added to by the misery and depression felt under the current system, eventually this will explode into revolutionary action

37
Q

what is mutual aid?

A

mutual aid is the anarchist idea that the most successful species are those that employ solidarity and cooperation rather than competition

38
Q

what is solidarity?

A

solidarity is a relationship of sympathy, cooperation and harmony between people

anarchists believe that such solidarity means people have no need to be regulated by the state and any regulation makes solidarity impossible

39
Q

RESISTANCE + REBELLION: creating new institutions

A

Proudhon rejected any form of violence, he argued that change would be won and an anarchist society would be created by an evolutionary process of creating new institutions to replace existing ones

this could be done through education, instruction and peaceful action as well as mutualist experiments such as workers associations and a People’s Bank

40
Q

RESISTANCE + REBELLION: insurrection

A

Stirner opposed revolution as a political and social act, he believed it was an authoritarian act because revolution involves the overthrow of existing conditions and replacing them with new ones which may be just as damaging and constraining

Stirner favoured insurrection which is 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

this is an egoistic, rather than a political or social act

41
Q

RESISTANCE + REBELLION: case study

A

CASE STUDY: Reclaim the Streets

the Reclaim the Streets movement began in London in an effort to take back the streets from cars and businesses and turn them into public spaces to be enjoyed by all

tactics included political protest, partying on the streets with music, costumes and art

in 1996, a 9 hour party on the M41 included two stilt walkers dressed in costumes that had RTS members hidden under the enormous shirts — they used this cover to drill holes in the streets to plant trees, the party music covered the noise

this carnival approach became a key part of the anti-globalisation movement worldwide — anarchists oppose globalisation because the state in any form is unjustifiable to them

in 1998, carnivals were held in more than 70 cities to coincide with the G8 meetings and in 1999 a mass street action was organised in Seattle to shutdown the WTO conference

this is an example of direct action tactics used by anarchists, especially collective and cooperative action

42
Q

LIBERTY: what can liberty be defined as?

A

Liberty can be defined as…

  • individuals pursuing their own good in their own way, this involves freedom from want, freedom of expression, thought, assembly and movement for all — liberalism
  • freedom from the economic controls of the state and from economic hardship — socialism

The anarchist view on liberty combines these two types of freedom

Their view on liberty informs their rejection of the state and their ideas about the best way to realise freedom

43
Q

LIBERTY: what do you individualist anarchists see human nature as? what does the state restrict?

A

individualist anarchists see human nature as rational, individualist and autonomous

but because authority is commanding, the individual cannot autonomously make decisions based on reason and conscience

authority is also controlling so the individual cannot fully explore their individuality, thus the state restricts liberty

44
Q

LIBERTY: what does liberty mean to individualist anarchists? how can liberty be achieved?

A

Liberty, to individualists, means the freedom to be autonomous and explore one’s individuality to the full

it involves freedom from state control and freedom from being restrained by other social institutions such as the church or social relationships such as the patriarchy which are based on hierarchal authority

Liberty cannot be achieved until the state and social institutions based on hierarchal authority are removed

45
Q

LIBERTY: what do collectivist anarchists believe about human nature? what restricts human nature from flourishing?

A

collectivist anarchists believe humans are rational, altruistic and cooperative

humans have a concern for the interests and welfare of others — humans possess this quality as they are social beings with a capacity for social solidarity

The reason that humans are not currently fully altruistic and cooperative is because the unjust nature of the state prevents individuals from being free

46
Q

LIBERTY: what do collectivist anarchists believe about capitalism? what needs to happen in order for humans to be free?

A

there is no freedom under capitalism as the only freedom is the ability for the wage slave to choose their own boss

individuals can only be free when the State is abolished and we are all free to realise our potential

Liberty is only possible if there is equality (where people treat each other equally, have equal economic positions and an equal say in their workplace and community)

48
Q

LIBERTY: what do anarchists agree and disagree over?

A

anarchists agree that individuality does not exist outside society as we all need each other to develop and grow but anarchists disagree over the nature of liberty

49
Q

LIBERTY: what do collectivists emphasise about liberty?

A

collectivists such as Bakunin emphasise the collective

Liberty of the individual should be absolute and unlimited but liberty can only be achieved through collective work

50
Q

LIBERTY: what do individualists believe that the individual needs?

A

even the most radical individualists like Max Stirner argue that the individual needs voluntary association with others, but never for the common good and always for their own personal interest

51
Q

LIBERTY: what did Proudhon argue about individuality and collectivism?

A

Proudhon was critical of absolute individuality and felt that collectivism absorbed and devalued the individual, so he sought a balance between the two

he argued that the first element of human nature is the individual but individuals coming together in a group creates a force that is more powerful than the sum of the individuals

52
Q

ANARCHY IS ORDER: what would an anarchist society be like?

A

in an anarchist society, there would be no centralised body to impose its will on the people, no recognised hierarchal authority and no coercive machinery to impose laws

there is no clear anarchist blueprint for what such a society should be like as individuals should be free to decide how they want to live

but society would be some form of decentralised Federation of autonomous districts based on the voluntary cooperation of free and equal individuals where decisions are made directly by the people in a form of self government

53
Q

ANARCHY IS ORDER: how will order occur in society?

A

in an anarchist society, order will occur naturally and be both stable and peaceful

54
Q

ANARCHY IS ORDER: what do those who oppose anarchism argue? but what do anarchists argue in response?

A

those who oppose anarchism argue that such a society cannot be ordered and peaceful due to the selfish, antisocial and competitive parts of human nature that make the idea of ‘anarchy is order’ unrealistic and unreachable

but anarchists argue that humans are social, cooperative and intellectually enlightened — it is the state that leads them to have the capacity for corruption and selfishness as human nature is socially determined and moulded by institutions and relationships in everyday life

these institutions are based on hierarchal authority so have created selfish and antisocial traits in human beings

55
Q

ANARCHY IS ORDER: what will replacing existing institutions in society foster? how will this lead to order?

A

The selfish and antisocial traits in human beings seen today result from societal institutions that are based on hierarchal authority

replacing such institutions with anarchist alternatives will foster the development of the nurturing and cooperative aspects of human nature

therefore, anarchy is order as such traits allow for an ordered society based on altruism and cooperation

56
Q

ANARCHY IS ORDER: how does the anarchist view of human nature inform their belief about an ordered anarchic society?

A

anarchists have a positive view of human nature, believing in the unlimited potential for human development

The removal of the state and existing social institutions will allow this part of humanity to flourish and provide the basis for natural harmony and order in society as conflict will be resolved by reason rather than violence

57
Q

ANARCHY IS ORDER: what are the different bases of anarchist societies?

A

different basis of anarchist societies…

  • collectivist anarchists
  • egoistic anarchists
  • anarcho-capitalists
58
Q

ANARCHY IS ORDER: the basis of an anarchist society according to collectivist anarchists

A

collectivist anarchists believe that the competitive, exploitative and divisive nature of the capitalist system undermines altruism

so society should be based on common ownership and mutualist institutions that will develop altruistic and cooperative behaviour, which will sustain natural order

59
Q

ANARCHY IS ORDER: the basis of an anarchist society according to egoistic anarchists

A

egoistic anarchists believe that the individual should act as they see fit and must not be constrained by any laws, political obligations, social norms or moral principles

so the state must be removed and this will nurture rationalism, autonomy and self interest which will help secure social order

60
Q

ANARCHY IS ORDER: the basis of an anarchist society according to anarcho-capitalists

A

anarcho-capitalists Believe that the free market should form the basis of society

this is because the free market allows rational, autonomous, competitive and self interested individuals to make judgements in their own best interests, thus creating natural order

61
Q

ANARCHY IS ORDER: case study

A

CASE STUDY: The Zapatistas

in the Chiapas region of Mexico, indigenous communities live with high levels of poverty as well as a lack of education and health care

in the 1990s, the Mexican government ended its commitment to land reform based on community owned land and signed up to NAFTA (a free market deal with the US and Canada) which forced millions of peasant farmers to become cheap labour in the industrial workforce

the Zapatistas rose up on the day NAFTA came into force and took over major population centres and around 500 ranches

The project is built around the idea of autonomy and they aimed to build a society where all communities have a place and are rooted in local culture

power is devolved to community level where ‘juntas of good government’ make key decisions — members are selected by community assemblies for one year terms and work under the idea of ‘leading by obeying’

there is also collective education and health care and the economy is based on a cooperative model — for example, Mut Vitz is its largest coffee cooperative and members make decisions together and distribute its income equitably

62
Q

ECONOMIC FREEDOM: what does anarchism reject? what has this led anarchists to advocate?

A

anarchism aligns itself with the exploited masses and aims to overthrow the state and capitalism

anarchism rejects the state and all forms of hierarchical authority as well as the oppression they create, which has led anarchists to advocate economic freedom

some anarchists therefore oppose capitalism and its form of private property

Proudhon, in his book ‘What is Property?’, said “property is theft”

63
Q

ECONOMIC FREEDOM: what is the state founded on and what is built into the state?

A

The state is not founded on a social contract between rational individuals, the state is actually founded on a social conflict which protects private property and inequality while exploiting the masses

economic inequality is built into the state and began to emerge when society began to produce a surplus that was taken by the few

The state essentially protects private property which is often acquired unjustly

we will not be economically free until the existing state is abolished

64
Q

ECONOMIC FREEDOM: when was private ownership introduced in the UK?

A

The Land Enclosures Act in the UK during the 18th century turned common land into private ownership, creating a landless working class which E P Thompson saw as class robbery

65
Q

ECONOMIC FREEDOM: what are the tensions within anarchism over economic freedom?

A

there are clear tensions within anarchism over the analysis of existing economic systems and how best to achieve economic freedom

66
Q

ECONOMIC FREEDOM: what did Proudhon argue about private property and economic freedom?

A

Proudhon calls private property ”the right to own without the need to occupy”

this means the ability to earn income without doing any productive work, but instead exploiting the labour of others through rent, interest and wage labour

The masses are forced to work and be exploited or suffer starvation and misery

67
Q

ECONOMIC FREEDOM: what do collectivist anarchists argue about private property and capitalism?

A

collectivist anarchists follow Proudhon’s line of argument

they believe that capitalism prevents people living freely as private property, defended by the state, is the root cause of exploitation and encourages selfishness, conflict and social disharmony

while capitalism creates inequality which promotes greed, envy and resentment

68
Q

ECONOMIC FREEDOM: what would collectivists abolish?

A

collectivists would abolish private property and replace it with collective ownership or mutualism

this would encourage the altruistic elements of human nature and create liberty, leading to natural order

mutualism is a system of equitable exchange between self-governing producers, organised individually or in association, and small-scale private property based on use or possession

69
Q

ECONOMIC FREEDOM: what do anarcho-capitalists support?

A

Anarcho capitalists support an entirely free, competitive market including the principle of private property

but the state must be removed from the market as the market is always more effective than the state and will allow rational, autonomous and competitive individuals to make judgements in their own best interests, thus creating natural order and economic freedom

70
Q

ECONOMIC FREEDOM: what are all anarchists opposed to?

A

however, despite their differences, all anarchists are opposed to existing forms of capitalism which have been at the centre of liberal democracies since 1945

they either seek to abolish it (collectivists) or reform it (anarcho-capitalists)

this opposition to capitalism is reflected in the leading role played by anarchists in the anti-globalisation movement, dating back to the Battle of Seattle in 1999

anarchists oppose globalisation as they seek to prevent the spread of capitalism

71
Q

ECONOMIC FREEDOM: what else do anarchists oppose?

A

anarchists are also opposed to forms of state socialism tried in China and the USSR

but there are still differences in why each strand opposes each economic system

72
Q

ECONOMIC FREEDOM: why does each strand of anarchism oppose capitalism?

A

collectivists believe state intervention in the economy has led to policies of full employment, inclusive welfare and progressive taxation, but capitalism is a system based on inequality and exploitation so liberty cannot exist within it

neoliberal capitalism widens inequality and increases exploitation

under the current capitalist system, the state intervenes in the economy which anarcho-capitalists believe distorts the market and creates both public and private monopolies that restrict competition and choice, therefore limiting freedom

such economic intervention is still a problem, even under the neoliberal approaches used in the UK and USA since the 1980s

73
Q

ECONOMIC FREEDOM: why does each strand oppose state socialism?

A

collectivists oppose state socialism because the state has merely replaced the ruling elite as the exploiting power, so there is no true economic liberty

anarcho-capitalists oppose state socialism based on state planning and common ownership of production for being an attack on property rights and liberty

74
Q

ECONOMIC FREEDOM: to what extent do anarchists agree on the economy?

A

all anarchists agree on the need for a new economic system where free individuals can manage their own affairs

this would involve no state intervention or regulation in economic life as rejection of the state is the core principle of anarchism

but anarchists endorse different systems to create economic freedom

75
Q

UTOPIAN: what is utopianism?

A

utopianism is a form of political thinking that constructs a model of an idealised future society in order to develop a critical analysis of existing society

this ‘ideal society’ is based on a positive view of human nature and the ability of human beings to develop and grow

it will be a society of peace, harmony, unrestricted liberty and order

76
Q

UTOPIAN: what is the ideal society according to collectivist anarchists?

A

for collectivist anarchists, the ideal society is based on altruism which will be nurtured by common ownership or mutualism

77
Q

UTOPIAN: what is the ideal society according to individualist anarchists?

A

for individualist anarchists, the ideal society is based on autonomy and rationalism which will flourish with the absence of the state, allowing natural order to develop spontaneously

78
Q

UTOPIAN: how have some anarchists defended utopianism?

A

some anarchists like Kropotkin have defended such utopianism because it forces people to question their assumptions about the existing order such as the right to private property

it also forces them to consider what they wish to achieve and what practical strategies can be used to do this

79
Q

UTOPIAN: what do many criticise anarchism for being? how can anarchism be seen as a historical failure? how would anarchists respond?

A

many criticise anarchism for being utopian

anarchism is a historical failure as no anarchist society has been created, so in this sense anarchism is not only utopian but seemingly unachievable

anarchists may respond by pointing out that no ideal socialist or liberal society has been achieved either and anarchist experiments have actually been seen during the Spanish Civil War in the 1930s and the Rojava revolution in Syria in 2012 to the present day

the Zapatista rebellion is also still in place more than 20 years after the initial uprising

80
Q

UTOPIAN: how is anarchist utopianism unrealistic in terms of its views of human nature?

A

anarchist utopianism is unrealistic as it views human nature inaccurately which means that natural order cannot happen

humans are naturally selfish and competitive which is why such institutions were established in the first place

so if such institutions are taken away, society will be a free for all where the cunning and powerful dominate

81
Q

UTOPIAN: how would anarchists respond to the argument that their view of human nature is unrealistic?

A

anarchists may respond by arguing that they have a realistic understanding of human potential

despite the state, humans have shown their altruism by forming organisations without authority

people seem to organise in times of revolution as in Rojava or in times of emergency such as strikes and disasters

people have organised themselves into direct action communities and cooperatives such as Reclaim the Streets or Occupy Wall Street

therefore, anarchist organisation is already evident in modern society, it is simply buried under the state but ready to grow

82
Q

UTOPIAN: case study about anarchism and punk

A

CASE STUDY: anarchism and punk

anarchism and punk are closely linked — The anarchist opposition to the state’s repression can be seen in the punk ethic

The sarcasm of ’Leaders of Men’ by Joy Division, anti-monarchy themes in ‘God Save the Queen’ by the Six Pistols and attacks on police and politicians in ‘Police and Thieves’ by The Clash

due to this antistate sentiment, the establishment and the mainstream press identified punk as a threat to the state/society

another element of punk that links to anarchism is its ‘do it yourself’ nature — many punk bands refused to work with major labels, instead setting up their own labels to produce, market and distribute their records

in this way, they could keep control over the production of their own music without having to bow down to the capitalist instincts of major labels — this is reminiscent of a form of anarchist direct action

83
Q

LIBERTY: how do collectivist anarchists believe that liberty will be achieved?

A

according to collectivist anarchists, liberty will be achieved by the overthrow of the class based, hierarchical society based on inequalities of power, wealth and privilege

Anarchism (3 decks)

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