Anarchism

Etymology

Definitions

General principles

Anarchism is a political philosophy which presents a vision of an human society without hierarchy, and which proposes strategies to arrive there, by reversing the current social system.

The main aim of anarchism is to establish an social order without leader. An order based on the voluntary co-operation of the men and the free and conscious women the purpose of who are to support a double blooming: that of the company and that of the individual who takes part in the first.

With the source of any anarchistic philosophy, one finds a will of individual and/or collective emancipation. Love of freedom, deeply anchored at the anarchists, the conduit to fight for the advent of a company righter, in which individual freedoms could develop harmoniously and would form the base of the social organization and the economic relations and policies.

Anarchism is opposed to the idea that the coercive capacity and the domination are necessary to the company and fights for the shape of social organization and economic libertarian, i.e. founded on collaboration or the co-operation rather than the Coercition.

The common enemy of all the anarchists is the authority in some form that it is. The State is the principal enemy of the anarchists: the institution which allots the monopoly of legal violence (wars, police violences), the right to fly (tax) and to adapt the individual (conscription, military service). The visions which the various anarchistic tendencies have from what would be or be supposed to be a company without State are on the other hand of a great diversity. Opposed to all creed , the anarchist preaches the autonomy of the moral conscience beyond the good and the evil defined by a majority orthodoxy, a capacity with the dominant thought . The anarchist wants to be free to think by itself and to express his opinion freely.

Certain Anarchists known as " spontanéistes" think that once the released company of the artificial obstacles that the State imposed to him, the natural order previously opposed would be restored spontaneously, which symbolizes “” registered in a “O” ( Anarchy, it is the order without the capacity , Proudhon). These are located, in accordance with the heritage of Proudhon, in an ethics of the natural right (itself affiliated with Rousseau). Others think that the concept of order is not less “artificial” that of State. The latter think that the only manner of doing without the hierarchical capacities is not to let of a coercive nature settle. For this purpose, they recommend the car-organization of the individuals by federalism as average allowing the permanent questioning of authoritative social operations and their media justifications. Moreover, the latter recognize mandates only imperative (voted as a general meeting), revocable (thus controlled) and limited to a mandate precise and circumscribed in time. Lastly, they think that mandatement must intervene only in the event of absolute need (the least most often possible thus).

The rejection of the Centralisme, for the Fédéralisme, thus leads to a project of social organization based on the direct management of its own life and decentralization, where each one is able to take part in the common life, while preserving its individual autonomy, according to the designs sometimes diametrically opposite that are made the various anarchistic currents of them.

Currents

With the genesis of political anarchism, one finds work pioneers of William Godwin: in 1793, it publishes Enquête into political justice and its influence on morals and happiness (French translation), work largely inspired by the French revolution. It proposes there a radical criticism of the company and of all shapes of governments which, according to him, prevent the blooming of the individuals and lead them to their corruption. Work of max Stirner (which refused name " anarchiste") will also have a very important role in the development of individualistic anarchism. This one publishes in 1845 the Single one and its property , a work in reaction against the thought hégélienne and post-hégelienne, which will mark the anarchistic thought durably.

The libertarians consider that an anarchistic company should be built without Hiérarchie and without Autorité; the institutions such as the Capitalism, the patriarchal family, the Church, the State, the Armée are qualified the authoritative ones (in the direction of a presence of authority in opposition to the libertarian system which occurs from there) and opposites with individual freedoms.

Three principal movements exist within anarchistic mobility, one Socialiste, the other Individualiste and another ecologist. There also exists of other tendencies little known and more recent.

It is in the space delimited by these designs, overall not very representative of the unit, that is the anarchistic thought.

Today, there thus exists of many distinct anarchistic theories. Various groups can thus be defined as anarchists and nevertheless to have positions (at the level tactical, strategic, organisational, as on the level of their political, economic and social philosophy) different, even opposite.

Socialist currents

The libertarian Socialists, according to the tendencies, consider that the anarchistic company can be built by mutualism, collectivism, Communisme, Syndicalisme, but also by Conseillisme. The abolition of the property and the collective appropriation of the means of production are an essential point of this tendency Libertaire. By property, one does not understand the fact of having something for oneself, but to have it for others in order to draw some from the incomes (hirings, work places…). This current, initially made up of Proudhon (and its successors), then of Bakounine were the current majority one within the first international, until the scission carried out by Marx, excluding the anarchists proudhoniens and bakouniniens. Socialist anarchism is regarded as a policy which establishes a bridge between socialism and individualism (by the means of the Coopérativisme and the libertarian federalism) combatant as well capitalism as authoritarianism in all its forms.

the socialist Anarchism or libertarian socialism, which proposes a collective management egalitarian of the company (movement largely influenced by the writings of Bakounine);
the communist anarchism or libertarian Communism, which proverb “With each one according to its needs, of each one according to its capacities” wants, from an economic point of view, to leave the need for the individuals in order to produce thereafter the necessary one to answer it; what politically is closely dependant with the anarchism which leaves the wills of each real individual, by the political Liberté to create/build the company on a scale the human alive ones/wishing (movement largely influenced by the writings of Errico Malatesta, Pierre Kropotkine, etc);
the Anarcho-syndicalism, which proposes a method: trade unionism, coupled with anarchism, like means of fight and access towards an anarchistic company (movement largely influenced by the writings of Emile Pouget, Pierre Monatte, Fernand Pelloutier, etc);
the anarchism proudhonien, which defends the federalistic Autogestion , a pragmatic Travaillisme, a idéo-realistic Justicialisme and an economy mutualist. Work, base of the company becomes the lever of the policy, the realizer of freedom. The justicialism allows a Pluralisme through a balance of the physical and social forces. The federalism allows the dynamism and the balance of the pluralist company. (Authors: Pierre Joseph Proudhon, James Guillaume, Merry Maurice, etc);
the Anarchist-indépendantisme, which defines the anarchistic nature of the fight for the emancipation of the people (a tendency clearly of left not to confuse with national-anarchism)
the insurrectionary Anarchisme which preaches the Insurrection, the Révolte, the civil Désobéissance (Authors: Wolfi Landstreicher, Alfredo Mr. Bonanno, etc);
the Post-anarchism which takes as a starting point the post-structuralist thought and post-Marxist.
the Anarchist-Zionism is a current policy which is born after the feeling from failure from the revolutionary action from the Jews at the conclusion of large the Pogroms of the years 1890, the anarchists like the Socialists has suddenly thought that the Jewish question cannot make the saving in a society project separated while waiting for the world revolution. For the anarchist-Zionists, it is a question of founding a national hearth without State. This current will not adhere to the Sionisme of Theodore Herzl (French authors: Bernard Lazare).

The whole of these currents are not characterized a particular design of the type of militant organization necessary to advance towards a revolution. They are wary of the centralized design of a revolutionary party, because they consider that such a centralization almost inevitably leads to a corruption of the direction by the exercise of the authority.

Individualistic currents

The libertarian individualists, according to the tendencies, consider on the contrary that only the individual can legitimately have his own good, either by the abolition of the property, or by the individual possession, or by private property. According to this tendency, the authoritative institutions must be removed, by deserting them or in them combatant, the crucial question is the freedom of the individual vis-a-vis the oppression of the company (and of its components). The intermediate institutions, born from collaboration between individuals and likely to hold the State in failure, are considered with benevolence, for as much obviously than they do not take part in official oppression (typical example: manufacturers of weapons).

the individualistic Anarchism, which defends the individual autonomy against any form of authority and alienation (State, Religion, etc), and proposes libertarian association between the individuals (movement largely influenced by the writings of max Stirner, John Henry Mackay, Victor Bash, Emile Armand, etc)
the Christian Anarchisme. Running anarchistic basing itself on the personal revolution and the lesson of Jesus Christ in their dimension criticizes with respect to the social organization. (Authors: Leon Tolstoï, Jacques Ellul, Ivan Illich, etc)
the Anarchism of right-hand side. This French literary current gathers authors who oppose the traditional governmental forms like the democracy, the capacity of the intellectuals and conformism. It is of an attitude and an esthetics rather than of a structured ideology, which crystallizes around values “of right-hand side” such aristocratic anti-egalitarianism, individualism and the spirit “libertine”. (Authors: Circle Proudhon, Louis-Ferdinand Celine, François Richard, Michel-Georges Micberth, etc)
the Anarchist-capitalism, movement resulting from the thought liberal E, Libertarien and anarchistic individualist. He wants to return to the individual all the rights usurped by the State, including the functions known as “kingly” (defense, police force, justice and diplomacy). The Anarchist-capitalism defends individual freedom, the right of Propriété and freedom to contract.

Currents ecologists

Anarchism ecologist rejects any form of industrial economy and exploitation of the natural world (movement close to certain components of anarchistic Communism) in a more or less important measurement, and forms a third pole of the anarchistic thought. The anarchists ecologists propose, according to the tendency, either the return to nature (in the form of primitive company), or the setting under control by the individuals of technology.

the Anarchist-primitivism which mixes the ideas primitivists and anarchists. (Authors: Fredy Perlman, John Moore, etc)
the green Anarchism. Movement with the crossing of anarchistic philosophy and the écologisme. (Authors: Murray Bookchin, Elisee Recluse, etc)

Unspecified currents

Currents recent, little known or having their own autonomy, and not returning within the framework of the preceding tendencies exist.

the epistemological Anarchism. Movement which is opposed to intellectual and political authoritarianism being based on the coercive transmission of the knowledge, the intellectual hierarchy and the censure, and which preaches on the contrary the freedom of thought and of expression, the diversity of thought and worship, and free adhesion with the ideas. (Author: Paul Feyerabend)
the Anarchist-feminism which crosses the feminist and anarchistic ideas. (Authors: Emma Goldman, Voltairine de Cleyre, etc)
the movement Anarchist-punk which radicalizes the ideas of the punk movement.
the movement Anarchist-skinhead.
the Anarchist-transhumanisme which make the synthesis between the Transhumanisme and anarchism.
the Crypto-anarchism which promotes the use of cryptology at ends of protection on Internet against an authority Internet which becomes increasingly present.
the non-violent Anarchism: movement of which the goal is the construction of a non-violent company. The means used to arrive for this purpose are in adequacy with this one: listen and respect of all the people present in the company, choice of non-utilization of violence, respect of ethics (the end never justifies the means), important place is made with the empathy and the compassion, acceptance unconditional of the other. Apolitical, deeply humanistic, it aims at gathering the men to build a company where each one is thorough to be carried out (the company is with the service of the individual) and at the same time encourages the individual to collaborate, to contribute to the wellbeing of all the actors of the company (the individual is with the service of the company).
anarchism queer, or Pink Block - in which the movement anarchist-queer appears which seeks to radicalize the gay movement and lesbian on a side, and other with " queeriser" anarchistic networks through the intrusion of the questions of homophobie and transphobie.
etc

Conclusions

These various currents/tendencies meet in the will to set up a libertarian company, where political freedom would be the rule, i.e. no institution (trade-union, Community, right, or other) or individual would have to force political forms of different libertarian organization. Especially after the Second world war, other currents in various fields appear: policies, philosophical and literary. They dissociate traditional libertarian doctrines sometimes rather radically.

This diversification of anarchistic philosophy shows that anarchism tends to disperse according to the attachment of the thinkers to political sensibilities or philosophical very diverse. Admittedly, all these tendencies have jointly to reject the capacity and the authority, but the “programs” of the various currents are sometimes incompatible between them (however, anarchism not being monolithic, that do not deteriorate of anything the movement).

Conflicts between currents

The tendencies of historical anarchism (anarchism socialist/trade unionist/proudhonien/communist and individualistic stirnerien) also most active politically and ideologically, and are best organized. They can moreover assert a very rich historical heritage, which was built with the wire of the decades around a very long-lived militancy and an activism. They still nowadays constitute the hard core of active anarchism, and a majority of anarchists considers that in fact the only movements can legitimately assert the name of anarchism.

Within the anarchistic movement, other nontraditional movements are more or less well accommodated (according to the tendencies), some are regarded as an enrichment of anarchism, others not.

Nevertheless, the various tendencies are rejected sometimes mutually, of the libertarian individualists being able to reject the socialist component and reciprocally.

For the whole of the libertarian Socialists, the currents such as the National-anarchism, the Anarchist-capitalism and the Anarchisme of right-hand side are rejected, considering that the ideas of these movements are external with political and historical anarchism, and that they do not have any common point with their and are even basically opposite for them. The majority also estimate that they wrongly employ the term “anarchism”. The anarchist-capitalists also reject the national-anarchism and the anarchism of right-hand side.

Towards an anarchistic company

The rejection of the constraints which block the individual, in its desires or its needs, leads to a questioning of the institutions which were created, according to the anarchists, in order to perpetuate these constraints. The State, the Capital, the Armée and the Église belong to these institutions that the anarchists try to fight (to even cut down). This combat against the Autorité often takes the form of a direct action (an example is the Do it yourself of the movement Punk), foreign with the traditional forms of the political struggle. In fact, the contemporary political systems being very often equipped with a centralized capacity, the passage to anarchism implies a radical change. This is why the anarchists propose the abolition of this system by various means: Disobedience civil, Strike, Passive resistance or Resistance activates, Hacktivisme, Obstructionism, etc Certain anarchists consider that it is necessary to prepare the advent of a radical Révolution social (the recourse to the weapons which can be also sometimes necessary to defend oneself against an oppressive system, which will not accept the right to the individuals to him to be organized in order to determine by themselves their freedoms), in order to let the companies organize itself without Masters and according to their needs and desires; others estimate that a nonviolent revolution is possible, with a progressive extinction of the capacities.

Historical experiments

Anarchism influenced several historical experiments.

In revolutionary periods:

During the Common of Paris (which is as much asserted by the socialist S than the communist ) in 1871.
the Cantonal Révolution of 1873 during the First Spanish Republic had a strong influence on the Spanish anarchistic movement.
In 1911, test of creation of a “socialist republic of Low-California”, in particular by the brothers Flora Magón.
In 1914, the movement Ghadar, animated by the anarchist Lala Hardayal, who develops an anarchistic idea of company enracinée in the vedic writings .
During the Russian Revolution, in Ukraine, Nestor Makhno leads the Makhnovchina during two years (1918 - 9). In addition, the libertarian thought was strongly present at the time of the Révolte of Kronstadt (March 1921).
In Bavaria, in 1919, the anarchists Gustav Landauer and Erich Müsham take an active part in the Soviet republic of Bavaria.
At the time of the Spanish Revolution (1936 - 38), in certain areas (Catalonia, Andalusia, Raising, Aragon, etc)
During the war 1939 - 45, in Italy, creation, by the resistant ones, of a libertarian republic close to Carrara marble.

In periods not-revolutionists:

the free State Icelandic ( Þjóðveldisöld in Icelandic) of 930 with 1262 with the Althing and the goðar .
With the Brazil, in 1891, in the Paraná, creation of the Colony of Cecilia.
With the Paraguay, in 1896, creation of the Cosme co-operative.
With the Mexico, in 1881, creation of the socialist metropolis of occident.
In Spain, end of the 19th century, creation of Escuela moderna by Francisco To shoe
In France, end 19th century and beginning 20th century, creation of various libertarian colonies (Aiglemont, Be worth, Saint-Maur, Cempuis, etc)
In France, in 1904, creation of the private school the Hive (close to Rambouillet).

Over these various experimental periods

The failure of these experiments will be due, according to the anarchists, with several external or internal factors with the anarchistic movement, of which the unfavourable international political situation, the too weak popular or international support, repression, the constraints inherent in a situation of revolutionary war, obstacles of Jacobins, Bolchevique S (for the Soviets in Russia), of Stalinist at the time of the War of Spain.

These experiments manage however to carry out, according to the anarchists, of many anarchistic principles, in particular as regards free education, of free collectivization of the grounds and the factories, of political freedom, etc

Contemporary period

In other places and more recent periods, certain people were inspired partly by certain libertarian principles:

the Common of Atenco to Mexico (2002-2003) which lived without communal authority, even fought it (as much as that of the State) during more than two years and self-managed the commune;
free communes of Kabylie (since 2001);
the Argentinian crisis since the end of December 2001, where most of the population expresses quasi daily with for slogan ¡ That vayan todos! ( That they all from go away! ), in assemblies of district, and practical the Autogestion is organized (factories and supermarkets occupied and self-managed), and;
the free commune Christiana with Copenhagen with the Denmark, experiment of a squat autonomous/self-managed on the level of a district;
Various experiments at the time of the revolt of May 68.
Écovillage
Free party
Squat S
In 2007, is based in the virtual world of Second Life Metaversial Anarchist Federation gathering of the militants of various countries. Its first conference being envisaged for May 2007. Discussions are in hand in its center to require an adhesion of IFA. What does not fail to be complex sight electronic nature and anationale of this federation.

Famous anarchists

The anarchists whose name remained in the History are, at the origin:

max Stirner;
Bakounine ;
Kropotkine ;
Pierre Joseph Proudhon.

Then, in France:

In Italy:

In Spain:

Francisco To shoe I Guardia;
Buenaventura Durruti ;
Franscisco "Quico" Sabaté;
Federica Montseny ;
Lucia Sanchez Saornil.

In Mexico:

Ricardo Flora Magón.

In Peru:

Manual Gonzales Prada.

In the United States:

In Russia:

Emma Goldman;
Voline .

In Ukraine:

Piotr Archinov ;
Nestor Makhno.

Appendices

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