Types of Anarchism

Question 1

in what ways do anarchists agree?

Answer 1

areas in which anarchists agree include…

• human nature is socially determined and shaped by social institutions but at its core, it has the potential to grow and develop
• strong emphasis on the need for freedom and liberty, especially economic freedom
• Believe that decisions should be made directly by the people in the form of self government
• desire to create a new society — A form of decentralised Federation of autonomous districts based on the voluntary cooperation of free and equal individuals
• rejection of the state, government, government power and hierarchical authority
• critique of the existing order in society
• The need for some kind of rebellion or resistance

Question 2

COLLECTIVIST ANARCHISM: what does collectivist anarchism argue for? what is it closely associated with?

Answer 2

collectivist anarchism argues for a stateless society where common ownership will nurture the rational, altruistic and cooperative elements of human nature

has roots in socialism — pushes socialist collectivism to its furthest limits

closely associated with Bakunin

Question 3

COLLECTIVIST ANARCHISM: what do collectivist anarchists believe about human nature?

Answer 3

believes that at its core, human nature is altruistic, sociable and cooperative

but human nature is socially determined, meaning that the state’s tendency to limit freedom, perpetuate inequality and endorse private property has created greed, envy and disharmony in human beings

it also believes in natural relationships between people — Mutual aid, social solidarity and harmony

this can all flourish under the right social institutions

Question 4

COLLECTIVIST ANARCHISM: what does collectivist anarchism involve in terms of the state and society?

Answer 4

collectivist anarchism involves dismantling the state and abolishing private property

land and the means of production will be held in common ownership, but the individual owns the product of their own labour

Society would be organised into voluntary collectives of producers and consumers who would organise the production and distribution of goods

The principle of “from each according to their ability and to each according to their work done” would apply

Question 5

COLLECTIVIST ANARCHISM: what are the two main ways in which collectivist anarchists and individualist anarchists disagree?

Answer 5

collectivists and individualist anarchists disagree in two main ways…

1) collectivists believed that social problems cannot be solved by the individual or the invisible hand of the market, they must be solved collectively
2) they agree that an evolutionary process of education and building new institutions is vital to change but collectivists also believe revolution is needed to destroy authority, particularly private property

Question 6

COLLECTIVIST ANARCHISM: collectivist anarchism may have roots in socialism but in what ways does it disagree with Marxism?

Answer 6

collectivist anarchism has roots in socialism in that it pushes socialist collectivism to its furthest limits

although anarchists disagree with the Marxist view that calls for the socialist state to protect the gains of the revolution until the state withers away

for anarchists, the socialist state is still a state and will still be immoral and unjust, commanding and controlling human nature

The state, in any form, is unjustifiable

Question 7

COLLECTIVIST ANARCHISM: what are the three sub-strands of collectivist anarchism?

Answer 7

there are three sub strands of collectivist anarchism…

• anarcho-communism
• mutualism
• anarcho-syndicalism

Question 8

COLLECTIVIST ANARCHISM: what do anarcho-communists believe about the best way to realise liberty?

Answer 8

according to anarcho-communism, communism is the best way to realise liberty, economic freedom and natural order

Question 9

COLLECTIVIST ANARCHISM: who is anarcho-communism most closely associated with?

Answer 9

anarcho-communism is most closely associated with Kropotkin and his positive view of the human capacity for cooperation, which he expressed in his theory of mutual aid

he said that nature was not “red in tooth and claw”, in fact those that cooperate will win the struggle for survival

so as humans have been successful in the struggle, they must have a natural capacity for cooperation

Question 10

COLLECTIVIST ANARCHISM: what does anarcho-communism argue about private property?

Answer 10

anarcho-communism views all forms of private property as theft

land, the means of production and the product of the individual’s labour should be held in common ownership

this links to the Marxist principle of “from each according to their ability, to each according to their need”

common ownership provides the best basis for nurturing the human capacity for mutual aid and altruism

Question 11

COLLECTIVIST ANARCHISM: what did Kropotkin, an anarcho-communist, argue about how society should be structured?

Answer 11

Kropotkin emphasised the commune made up of the entire local population

these communes would be small-scale, allowing for direct democracy, and all wealth would be held in common rather than by individuals

Direct democracy is a form of self government where citizens make law and policy decisions themselves rather than through elected representatives

individuals would be part of these communes based on voluntary agreements and communes would be connected in voluntary federations that would work on all levels from local to international

Question 12

COLLECTIVIST ANARCHISM: what is mutualism?

Answer 12

mutualism is a bridge between collectivism and individualism

Question 13

COLLECTIVIST ANARCHISM: where did mutualism emerge from?

Answer 13

mutualism emerged from Proudhon’s critique of property

”property is theft” — a criticism of large property owners who exploit the masses by charging high rents and interest and paying them low wages that do not reflect their hard work

this has become the centre of politics in the wake of the global economic crash of 2008, with the slogan “we are the 99%” and the Occupy Wall Street movement emerging

the Occupy movement has anarchist roots with David Graeber, an anarchist activist closely associated and involved in its early stages

Question 14

COLLECTIVIST ANARCHISM: aside from criticising property, what else did Proudhon criticise?

Answer 14

Proudhon was not only critical of property, he was also critical of the way in which collectivism valued the collective over the individual

he saw this as a form of oppression and servitude

he disagreed with the idea of collective/common ownership and supported the right to possession, which includes the right to use the land, tools and skills necessary to ensure that the individual is economically independent

possession is his alternative to both collectivism and private property and the basis for his theory of mutualism

Question 15

COLLECTIVIST ANARCHISM: what is the economic organisation of mutualism?

Answer 15

The economic organisation of mutualism is based on individuals and small associations with the right to possession and the right to keep the full fruits of their labour

they could then exchange their produce based on a system of labour notes in order to make sure everyone had access to the necessities of life

Labour notes would record the working time that went into the making of each product

there would also be a People’s Bank that would provide credit to the associations and would not work for profit in any way

Question 16

COLLECTIVIST ANARCHISM: according to mutualists, how would society be politically organised?

Answer 16

on a political level, individuals and associations would be drawn together in a vast Federation, with councils coordinating at local and international levels

The councils would consist of delegates from the associations who would be subject to instant recall

The whole system would be organised from the bottom up, with no central authority, and would be based on voluntary agreements rather than coercion and violence like the current state

Question 17

COLLECTIVIST ANARCHISM: what does anarcho-syndicalism build on?

Answer 17

anarcho-syndicalism builds on Bakunin’s view of collectivism and his strategy of ‘propaganda by the deed’

Question 18

COLLECTIVIST ANARCHISM: how do syndicalists view the trade union movement?

Answer 18

anarcho-syndicalism views the trade union movement as the revolutionary agent of change

trade unions will continue to campaign for improved conditions and pay for workers, all while educating them

trade unions can then build economic institutions that are horizontal rather than hierarchical and provide self management in the economy

these new institutions will be built within the existing state and will prepare the way for the mass strike to trigger a social revolution

after the revolution, these institutions will provide the basis for a future stable, stateless and peaceful society

Question 19

COLLECTIVIST ANARCHISM: what is syndicalism?

Answer 19

anarcho-syndicalism involves revolutionary trade unionism that uses direct action and the mass strike as an expression of working-class power to inspire popular revolt

Question 20

COLLECTIVIST ANARCHISM: The Confederación Nacional del Trabajo (CNT)

when did the highpoint of syndicalism begin?

Answer 20

CASE STUDY: The Confederación Nacional del Trabajo (CNT)

The highpoint of anarcho-syndicalism came in the Catalonia region of Spain from 1911 to the late 1930s

the CNT was formed in 1911 as a non-hierarchal, horizontal federation of many syndicates or unions

Question 21

COLLECTIVIST ANARCHISM: The Confederación Nacional del Trabajo (CNT)

how did the CNT put its ideas into practice?

Answer 21

during the Spanish workers’ revolution of 1936, the CNT put its ideas into practice…

• free collectives organised and administered factories, mills, docks, transport, shops and utilities without managers or the state
• peasant collectives took control of the land owned by the church and landlords
• a committee was elected to run each collective and work was distributed among small groups, with delegates from each collective coming together to coordinate
• economic equality was created on the principle of ”to each according to their need, from each according to their ability”

Question 22

COLLECTIVIST ANARCHISM: The Confederación Nacional del Trabajo (CNT)

how did George Orwell describe anarchist Spain?

Answer 22

George Orwell described anarchist Spain in his book Homage to Catalonia

he described his time in Catalonia as like emerging into “an era of equality and freedom” where “human beings were trying to behave as human beings and not as cogs in the capitalist machine”

Question 23

COLLECTIVIST ANARCHISM: The Confederación Nacional del Trabajo (CNT)

when did the revolution come to an end?

Answer 23

The revolution was finally crushed by the Nationalists under General Franco, leading to the establishment of his dictatorship

Question 24

INDIVIDUALIST ANARCHISM: what is the relationship between individualist anarchism and classical liberalism?

Answer 24

individualist anarchism pushes classical liberalism to the extremes, seeing society as a collection of separate individuals whose autonomy must not be restricted in any way

The state, with its coercive powers of taxation, conscription and law, is totally incompatible with such autonomy

although, individualist anarchism rejects the need for a night watchman state to protect freedom

Question 25

INDIVIDUALIST ANARCHISM: what does individualist anarchism believe can happen as long as there is no restriction on the individual?

Answer 25

provided there is no restriction of individuals, their rational nature will allow them to work together through voluntary association, resolving all disputes by reason rather than violence

this will be the basis of natural order and a peaceful society

Question 26

INDIVIDUALIST ANARCHISM: what are the two main areas in which collectivists and individualists disagree? what is the first area?

Answer 26

collectivists and individualists disagree in two main areas…

1) fear that individuality/autonomy will become subject to the collective

individualists fear that people will be forced to join a community and lose their freedom

in particular, the abolition of private property will leave the collective with power over the individual, leading individualists to accept the ideas of Proudhon’s possession rights and free competition in their economic model

Question 27

INDIVIDUALIST ANARCHISM: what is the second area in which collectivists and individualists disagree?

Answer 27

2) tension over strategies for overthrowing the state

individualists argue for education, the use of non-violent forms of social protest and the creation of alternative institutions like workers’ cooperatives and a People’s Bank

these new organisations will be built within the existing state and will replace the state in an evolutionary process

individualists oppose the revolutionary strategy of overthrowing the state as it involves forcibly taking property, which is authoritarian act that violates autonomy and individuality

Question 28

INDIVIDUALIST ANARCHISM: what are the two sub strands of individualist anarchism?

Answer 28

there are two sub strands of individualist anarchism…

• anarcho-capitalism
• egoism

Question 29

INDIVIDUALIST ANARCHISM: why does anarcho-capitalism seek to dismantle the government?

Answer 29

anarcho-capitalism seeks to dismantle the government, which they believe is exploitative through its use of taxation, which violates the private property of the individual

The state also intervenes in the market, creating public and private monopolies that restrict freedom

Question 30

INDIVIDUALIST ANARCHISM: what does anarcho-capitalism believe about contracts and how they should be entered?

Answer 30

anarcho-capitalism believes that all contracts should be entered into freely and only regulated by the market

The individual should not be forced to pay tax and have to use public services

all services currently provided by governments, including policy, courts and roads, would be handed over to the free market

Question 31

INDIVIDUALIST ANARCHISM: what does anarcho-capitalism believe about competition?

Answer 31

anarcho-capitalism believes that competition gives consumers choices, forcing the suppliers to be efficient, cost-effective and more likely to reflect the consumers’ needs

Question 32

INDIVIDUALIST ANARCHISM: anarcho-capitalists and the invisible hand of the market

Answer 32

anarcho-capitalism believes in the invisible hand of the free market and private property, therefore they endorse the profit motive and the wage system

Question 33

INDIVIDUALIST ANARCHISM: why do many people argue that anarcho-capitalism is not a form of anarchism?

Answer 33

many argue that anarcho-capitalism is not a form of anarchism at all because it does not include equality as it advocates capitalism

under anarcho-capitalism, only the rich and powerful would be truly free

they will be free to protect their own privileges through private protection bodies and resolve disputes through private courts

these private bodies will only serve those that pay the most, meaning not everyone is truly free

Question 34

INDIVIDUALIST ANARCHISM: what is egoism?

Answer 34

egoism is arguably the most challenging and radical version of individualist anarchism

Question 35

INDIVIDUALIST ANARCHISM: what does egoism argue about the individual?

Answer 35

egoism argues that individuals are entirely self interested, their only concern is the ‘ego’

The individual is the most important — they should be free to act in any way they choose and there should be no restriction on autonomy or individuality

Question 36

INDIVIDUALIST ANARCHISM: why do egoists believe that the state should be abolished?

Answer 36

egoism believes that the state must be abolished because it is a tyranny that limits, controls and subordinates the individual to its general will, thus preventing the individual from acting freely

egoism also argues that the individual must reject society as well as religion, sexual morality and the moral values imposed by those around them

Question 37

INDIVIDUALIST ANARCHISM: who is egoism closely associated with?

Answer 37

egoism is closely associated with Max Stirner, who rejected capitalism and believed that anyone who works for another is exploited and alienated

work should be purposeful and useful to the individual and they should retain the full fruits of their labour while rejecting the right to private property

Question 38

INDIVIDUALIST ANARCHISM: what do egoists argue about society?

Answer 38

egoism argues that individuals will come together through voluntary agreements which would not involve any giving away of individual liberty

individuals are rational and serve their own interests so will make agreements to benefit themselves as it will fulfil their own ego

this will be the basis for a union that is peaceful and stable