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. However, anarchist
schools of thought can differ fundamentally,
supporting anything from extreme individualism
to complete collectivism. Strains of anarchism
have often been divided into the categories
of social and individualist anarchism or similar
dual classifications. Anarchism is often considered
a radical left-wing ideology and much of anarchist
economics and anarchist legal philosophy reflect
anti-authoritarian interpretations of communism,
collectivism, syndicalism, mutualism or participatory
economics. At some point "the collectivist,
communist, and liberal and individualist strands
of thought from which anarchists drew their
inspiration began to assume an increasingly
distinctive quality, supporting the rise of
a number of anarchist schools". Anthropologist
David Graeber has noted that while the major
schools of Marxism always have founders (e.g.
Leninism, Trotskyism and Maoism), schools
of anarchism "almost invariably emerge from
some kind of organizational principle or form
of practice", citing anarcho-syndicalism,
individualist anarchism and platformism as
examples.
== Philosophical anarchism ==
In founding philosophical anarchism, William
Godwin developed what many consider the first
expression of modern anarchist thought. According
to Peter Kropotkin, Godwin was "the first
to formulate the political and economical
conceptions of anarchism, even though he did
not give that name to the ideas developed
in his work". Philosophical anarchism contends
that the state lacks moral legitimacy; that
there is no individual obligation or duty
to obey the state and conversely that the
state has no right to command individuals,
but it does not advocate revolution to eliminate
the state. According to The Blackwell Dictionary
of Modern Social Thought, philosophical anarchism
"is a component especially of individualist
anarchism".Philosophical anarchists may accept
the existence of a minimal state as an unfortunate
and usually temporary "necessary evil", but
argue that citizens do not have a moral obligation
to obey the state when its laws conflict with
individual autonomy. As conceived by Godwin,
it requires individuals to act in accordance
with their own judgments and to allow every
other individual the same liberty—conceived
egoistically as by Max Stirner, it implies
that "the unique one" who truly "owns himself"
recognizes no duties to others; and within
the limit of his might, he does what is right
for him. Godwin opposed revolutionary action
and saw a minimal state as a present "necessary
evil" that would become increasingly irrelevant
and powerless by the gradual spread of knowledge.
Godwin advocated extreme individualism, proposing
that all cooperation in labor be eliminated.
Godwin felt discrimination on any grounds
besides ability was intolerable.
Rather than throwing bombs or taking up arms
to bring down the state, philosophical anarchists
"have worked for a gradual change to free
the individual from what they thought were
the oppressive laws and social constraints
of the modern state and allow all individuals
to become self-determining and value-creating".
They may oppose the immediate elimination
of the state by violent means out of concern
that it would be left unsecured against the
establishment of a more harmful and oppressive
state. This is especially true among those
anarchists who consider violence and the state
as synonymous, or who consider it counterproductive
where public reaction to violence results
in increased "law enforcement" efforts.
== Classical anarchist schools of thought
==
=== Mutualism ===
Mutualism began in 18th-century English and
French labor movements, then took an anarchist
form associated with Pierre-Joseph Proudhon
in France and others in the United States.
This influenced individualist anarchists in
the United States such as Benjamin Tucker
and William B. Greene. Josiah Warren proposed
similar ideas in 1833 after participating
in a failed Owenite experiment. In the 1840s
and 1850s, Charles A. Dana and William B.
Greene introduced Proudhon's works to the
United States. Greene adapted Proudhon's mutualism
to American conditions and introduced it to
Benjamin R. Tucker.Mutualist anarchism is
concerned with reciprocity, free association,
voluntary contract, federation and credit
and currency reform. Many mutualists believe
a market without government intervention drives
prices down to labor-costs, eliminating profit,
rent and interest according to the labor theory
of value. Firms would be forced to compete
over workers just as workers compete over
firms, raising wages. Some see mutualism as
between individualist and collectivist anarchism.
In What Is Property?, Proudhon develops a
concept of "liberty", equivalent to "anarchy",
which is the dialectical "synthesis of communism
and property". Greene, influenced by Pierre
Leroux, sought mutualism in the synthesis
of three philosophies—communism, capitalism
and socialism. Later individualist anarchists
used the term mutualism, but retained little
emphasis on synthesis while social anarchists
such as the authors of An Anarchist FAQ claim
mutualism as a subset of their philosophical
tradition.
=== Social anarchism ===
Social anarchism is an umbrella term used
to identify a broad category of anarchism
independent of individualist anarchism. Where
individualist forms of anarchism emphasize
personal autonomy and the rational nature
of human beings, social anarchism sees "individual
freedom as conceptually connected with social
equality and emphasize community and mutual
aid". Social anarchism is used to specifically
describe anarchist tendencies within anarchism
that have an emphasis on the communitarian
and cooperative aspects of anarchist theory
and practice. Social anarchism includes (but
is not limited to) collectivist anarchism,
anarcho-communism, libertarian socialism,
anarcho-syndicalism and social ecology.
==== Collectivist anarchism ====
Collectivist anarchism is a revolutionary
form of anarchism most commonly associated
with Mikhail Bakunin, Johann Most and the
anti-authoritarian section of the First International
(1864–1876). Unlike mutualists, collectivist
anarchists oppose all private ownership of
the means of production, instead advocating
that ownership be collectivized. This was
to be initiated by small cohesive elite group
through acts of violence, or "propaganda by
the deed", which would inspire the workers
to revolt and forcibly collectivize the means
of production. Workers would be compensated
for their work on the basis of the amount
of time they contributed to production, rather
than goods being distributed "according to
need" as in anarcho-communism. Although the
collectivist anarchists advocated compensation
for labor, some held out the possibility of
a post-revolutionary transition to a communist
system of distribution according to need.
Collective anarchism arose contemporaneously
with Marxism, but it opposed the Marxist dictatorship
of the proletariat despite Marxism striving
for a collectivist stateless society.Some
collectivist anarchists do not oppose the
use of currency. Some support workers being
paid based on the amount of time they contributed
to production. These salaries would be used
to purchase commodities in a communal market.
This contrasts with anarcho-communism where
wages would be abolished and where individuals
would take freely from a storehouse of goods
"to each according to his need". Many modern-day
collectivist anarchists hold their form of
anarchism as a permanent society rather than
a carryover to anarcho-communism or a gift
economy. Some collectivist anarchists such
as proponents of participatory economics believe
in remuneration and a form of credit but do
not believe in money or markets.
Although collectivist anarchism shares many
similarities with anarchist communism, there
are also many key differences between them.
For example, collectivist anarchists believe
that the economy and most or all property
should be collectively owned by society while
anarchist communists by contrast believe that
the concept of ownership should be rejected
by society and replaced with the concept of
usage. Also collectivist anarchists often
favor using a form of currency to compensate
workers according to the amount of time spent
contributing to society and production while
anarcho-communists believe that currency and
wages should be abolished all together and
goods should be distributed "to each according
to his or her need".
==== Anarcho-communism ====
Anarcho-communism is a theory of anarchism
which advocates the abolition of the state,
markets, money, private property (while retaining
respect for personal property) and capitalism
in favor of common ownership of the means
of production, direct democracy and a horizontal
network of voluntary associations and workers'
councils with production and consumption based
on the guiding principle: "From each according
to his ability, to each according to his need".Some
forms of anarchist communism such as insurrectionary
anarchism are strongly influenced by egoism
and radical individualism, believing anarcho-communism
is the best social system for the realization
of individual freedom. Most anarcho-communists
view it as a way of reconciling the opposition
between the individual and society.Anarcho-communism
developed out of radical socialist currents
after the French Revolution, but it was first
formulated as such in the Italian section
of the First International. The theoretical
work of Peter Kropotkin took importance later
as it expanded and developed pro-organizationalist
and insurrectionary anti-organizationalist
sections.To date, the best-known examples
of an anarchist communist society (i.e. established
around the ideas as they exist today and achieving
worldwide attention and knowledge in the historical
canon) are the anarchist territories during
the Spanish Revolution and the Free Territory
during the Russian Revolution. Through the
efforts and influence of the Spanish anarchists
during the Spanish Revolution within the Spanish
Civil War, starting in 1936 anarcho-communism
existed in most of Aragon, parts of the Levante
and Andalusia as well as in the stronghold
of anarchist Catalonia before being crushed
by the combined forces of Fascist Francoism,
Hitler, Mussolini, Spanish Communist Party
repression (backed by the Soviet Union) as
well as economic and armaments blockades from
the capitalist countries and the Spanish Republic
itself. During the Russian Revolution, anarcho-communists
such as Nestor Makhno worked to create and
defend—through the Revolutionary Insurrectionary
Army of Ukraine—anarchism in the Free Territory
of the Ukraine from 1919 before being conquered
by the Bolsheviks in 1921.
==== Anarcho-syndicalism ====
In the early 20th century, anarcho-syndicalism
arose as a distinct school of thought within
anarchism. More heavily focused on the labour
movement than previous forms of anarchism,
syndicalism posits radical trade unions as
a potential force for revolutionary social
change, replacing capitalism and the state
with a new society, democratically self-managed
by the workers. Anarcho-syndicalists seek
to abolish the wage system and private ownership
of the means of production, which they believe
lead to class divisions. Important principles
of syndicalism include workers' solidarity,
direct action (such as general strikes and
workplace recuperations) and workers' self-management.
Anarcho-syndicalism and other branches of
anarchism are not mutually exclusive: anarcho-syndicalists
often subscribe to communist or collectivist
anarchism. Its advocates propose labour organization
as a means to create the foundations of a
non-hierarchical anarchist society within
the current system and bring about social
revolution. According to An Anarchist FAQ,
anarcho-syndicalist economic systems often
take the form of either a collectivist anarchist
economic system or an anarcho-communist economic
system.Rudolf Rocker is considered a leading
anarcho-syndicalist theorist. He outlined
a view of the origins of the movement, what
it sought and why it was important to the
future of labour in his 1938 pamphlet Anarchosyndicalism.
Although more frequently associated with labor
struggles of the early 20th century (particularly
in France and Spain), many syndicalist organizations
are active today, including the SAC in Sweden,
the USI in Italy and the CNT in Spain. A number
of these organizations are united across national
borders by membership in the International
Workers Association.
=== Individualist anarchism ===
Individualist anarchism refers to several
traditions of thought within the anarchist
movement that emphasize the individual and
their will over any kinds of external determinants
such as groups, society, traditions and ideological
systems.
==== Egoist anarchism ====
Egoist anarchism is a school of anarchist
thought that originated in the philosophy
of Max Stirner, a nineteenth-century Hegelian
philosopher whose "name appears with familiar
regularity in historically orientated surveys
of anarchist thought as one of the earliest
and best-known exponents of individualist
anarchism". Stirner's philosophy is usually
called "egoism" as he says that the egoist
rejects devotion to "a great idea, a cause,
a doctrine, a system, a lofty calling", saying
that the egoist has no political calling but
rather "lives themselves out" without regard
to "how well or ill humanity may fare thereby".
Stirner held that the only limitation on the
rights of the individual is his power to obtain
what he desires. He proposes that most commonly
accepted social institutions – including
the notion of state, property as a right,
natural rights in general and the very notion
of society – were mere spooks in the mind.
Stirner wanted to "abolish not only the state
but also society as an institution responsible
for its members".Stirner's idea of the Union
of egoists (German: Verein von Egoisten) was
first expounded in The Ego and Its Own. The
Union is understood as a non-systematic association,
which Stirner proposed in contradistinction
to the state. The Union is understood as a
relation between egoists which is continually
renewed by all parties' support through an
act of will. The Union requires that all parties
participate out of a conscious egoism. If
one party silently finds themselves to be
suffering, but puts up with it and keeps up
appearances, the Union has degenerated into
something else. This Union is not seen as
an authority above a person's own will. This
idea has received interpretations for politics,
economic and sex/love.
Though Stirner's philosophy is individualist,
it has influenced some libertarian communists
and anarcho-communists. "For Ourselves Council
for Generalized Self-Management" discusses
Stirner and speaks of a "communist egoism",
which is said to be a "synthesis of individualism
and collectivism" and says that "greed in
its fullest sense is the only possible basis
of communist society". Forms of libertarian
communism such as insurrectionary anarchism
are influenced by Stirner. Anarcho-communist
Emma Goldman was influenced by both Stirner
and Peter Kropotkin and blended their philosophies
together in her own.The Scottish born German
writer John Henry Mackay found out about Stirner
while reading a copy of Friedrich Albert Lange's
History of Materialism and Critique of its
Present Importance. Later, Mackay looked for
a copy of The Ego and Its Own and after being
fascinated with it he wrote a biography of
Stirner (Max Stirner – sein Leben und sein
Werk), published in German in 1898. Mackay's
propaganda of stirnerist egoism and of male
homosexual and bisexual rights affected Adolf
Brand, who in 1896 published the world's first
ongoing homosexual publication, Der Eigene.
Another later German anarchist publication
influenced deeply by Stirner was Der Einzige.
It appeared in 1919, as a weekly, then sporadically
until 1925 and was edited by cousins Anselm
Ruest (pseud. for Ernst Samuel) and Mynona
(pseudonym for Salomo Friedlaender).
Stirnerian egoism became a main influence
on European individualist anarchism including
its main proponents in the early 20th century
such as Emile Armand and Han Ryner in France,
Renzo Novatore in Italy, Miguel Giménez Igualada
in Spain and in Russia Lev Chernyi. Illegalism
was an anarchist practice that developed primarily
in France, Italy, Belgium and Switzerland
during the early 1900s that found justification
in Stirner's philosophy. The illegalists openly
embraced criminality as a lifestyle. Some
American individualist anarchists such as
Benjamin Tucker, abandoned natural rights
positions and converted to Max Stirner's egoist
anarchism. Among those American anarchists
who adhered to egoism include Benjamin Tucker,
John Beverley Robinson, Steven T. Byington,
Hutchins Hapgood, James L. Walker, Victor
Yarros and E.H. Fulton. John Beverley Robinson
wrote an essay called "Egoism" in which he
states that "[m]odern egoism, as propounded
by Stirner and Nietzsche, and expounded by
Ibsen, Shaw and others, is all these; but
it is more. It is the realization by the individual
that they are an individual; that, as far
as they are concerned, they are the only individual".
Anarchist communist Emma Goldman was influenced
by both Stirner and Peter Kropotkin as well
as the Russian strain of individualist anarchism
and blended these philosophies together in
her own, as shown in books of hers such as
Anarchism And Other Essays. Enrico Arrigoni
(pseudonym: Frank Brand) was an Italian American
individualist anarchist Lathe operator, house
painter, bricklayer, dramatist and political
activist influenced by the work of Stirner.
Stirner's philosophy also found followers
in Colombia in Biófilo Panclasta and in Japan
in Jun Tsuji and Sakae Osugi.
In the 1980s, it emerged in the United States
the tendency of post-left anarchy which was
influenced profoundly by Stirnerist egoism
in aspects such as the critique of ideology.
==== Individualist anarchism in the United
States ====
Josiah Warren is widely regarded as the first
American anarchist and the four-page weekly
paper he edited during 1833, The Peaceful
Revolutionist, was the first anarchist periodical
published,. For American anarchist historian
Eunice Minette Schuster, "[i]t is apparent...that
Proudhonian Anarchism was to be found in the
United States at least as early as 1848 and
that it was not conscious of its affinity
to the Individualist Anarchism of Josiah Warren
and Stephen Pearl Andrews...William B. Greene
presented this Proudhonian Mutualism in its
purest and most systematic form". Henry David
Thoreau (1817–1862) was an important early
influence in individualist anarchist thought
in the United States and Europe. Thoreau was
an American author, poet, naturalist, tax
resister, development critic, surveyor, historian,
philosopher and leading transcendentalist.
He is best known for his books Walden, a reflection
upon simple living in natural surroundings,
as well as his essay, Civil Disobedience,
an argument for individual resistance to civil
government in moral opposition to an unjust
state. Later, Benjamin Tucker fused Stirner's
egoism with the economics of Warren and Proudhon
in his eclectic influential publication Liberty.
An important concern for American individualist
anarchism was free love. Free love particularly
stressed women's rights since most sexual
laws discriminated against women—for example,
marriage laws and anti-birth control measures.
The most important American free love journal
was Lucifer the Lightbearer (1883–1907)
edited by Moses Harman and Lois Waisbrooker,
but also there existed Ezra Heywood and Angela
Heywood's The Word (1872–1890, 1892–1893).
Free Society (1895–1897 as The Firebrand;
1897–1904 as Free Society) was a major anarchist
newspaper in the United States at the end
of the 19th and beginning of the 20th centuries.
The publication staunchly advocated free love
and women's rights and critiqued "Comstockery"
– censorship of sexual information. Also
M. E. Lazarus was an important American individualist
anarchist who promoted free love.Freethought
also motivated activism in this movement.
"Freethought was a basically anti-christian,
anti-clerical movement, whose purpose was
to make the individual politically and spiritually
free to decide for himself on religious matters.
A number of contributors to Liberty (anarchist
publication) were prominent figures in both
freethought and anarchism. The individualist
anarchist George MacDonald was a co-editor
of Freethought and, for a time, The Truth
Seeker. E.C. Walker was co-editor of the excellent
free-thought / free love journal Lucifer,
the Light-Bearer". "Many of the anarchists
were ardent freethinkers; reprints from freethought
papers such as Lucifer, the Light-Bearer,
Freethought and The Truth Seeker appeared
in Liberty...The church was viewed as a common
ally of the state and as a repressive force
in and of itself".
==== Individualist anarchism in Europe ====
European Individualist anarchism proceeded
from the roots laid by William Godwin, Pierre
Joseph Proudhon and Max Stirner. Proudhon
was an early pioneer of anarchism as well
as of the important individualist anarchist
current of mutualism. Stirner became a central
figure of individualist anarchism through
the publication of his seminal work The Ego
and Its Own which is considered to be "a founding
text in the tradition of individualist anarchism".
Another early figure was Anselme Bellegarrigue.
Individualist anarchism expanded and diversified
through Europe, incorporating influences from
North American individualist anarchism.
European individualist anarchists include
Max Stirner, Albert Libertad, Anselme Bellegarrigue,
Émile Armand, Enrico Arrigoni, Lev Chernyi,
John Henry Mackay, Han Ryner, Renzo Novatore,
Miguel Giménez Igualada and currently Michel
Onfray. Two influential authors in European
individualist anarchists are Friedrich Nietzsche
(see Anarchism and Friedrich Nietzsche) and
Georges Palante.
From the legacy of Proudhon and Stirner there
emerged a strong tradition of French individualist
anarchism. An early figure was Anselme Bellegarrigue.
He participated in the French Revolution of
1848, was author and editor of Anarchie, Journal
de l'Ordre and Au fait ! Au fait ! Interprétation
de l'idée démocratique and wrote the important
early Anarchist Manifesto in 1850. Autonomie
Individuelle was an individualist anarchist
publication that ran from 1887 to 1888. It
was edited by Jean-Baptiste Louiche, Charles
Schæffer and Georges Deherme. This tradition
later continued with such intellectuals as
Albert Libertad, André Lorulot, Emile Armand,
Victor Serge, Zo d'Axa and Rirette Maitrejean,
who in 1905 developed theory in the main individualist
anarchist journal in France, L'Anarchie. Outside
this journal, Han Ryner wrote Petit Manuel
individualiste (1903) and later appeared the
journal L'En-Dehors created by Zo d'Axa in
1891.
French individualist circles had a strong
sense of personal libertarianism and experimentation.
Naturism and free love contents started to
have a strong influence in individualist anarchist
circles and from there it expanded to the
rest of anarchism also appearing in Spanish
individualist anarchist groups.Anarchist naturism
was promoted by Henri Zisly, Emile Gravelle
and Georges Butaud. Butaud was an individualist
"partisan of the milieux libres, publisher
of "Flambeau" ("an enemy of authority") in
1901 in Vienna. Most of his energies were
devoted to creating anarchist colonies (communautés
expérimentales) in which he participated
in several."In this sense, the theoretical
positions and the vital experiences of french
individualism are deeply iconoclastic and
scandalous, even within libertarian circles.
The call of nudist naturism, the strong defence
of birth control methods, the idea of "unions
of egoists" with the sole justification of
sexual practices, that will try to put in
practice, not without difficulties, will establish
a way of thought and action, and will result
in sympathy within some, and a strong rejection
within others".Illegalism is an anarchist
philosophy that developed primarily in France,
Italy, Belgium and Switzerland during the
early 1900s as an outgrowth of Stirner's individualist
anarchism. Illegalists usually did not seek
moral basis for their actions, recognizing
only the reality of "might" rather than "right"
and for the most part illegal acts were done
simply to satisfy personal desires, not for
some greater ideal, although some committed
crimes as a form of propaganda of the deed.
The illegalists embraced direct action and
propaganda by the deed.Spain received the
influence of American individualist anarchism
but most importantly it was related to the
French currents. At the start of the 20th
century, individualism in Spain takes force
through the efforts of people such as Dorado
Montero, Ricardo Mella, Federico Urales and
J. Elizalde, who will translate French and
American individualists. Important in this
respect were also magazines such as La Idea
Libre, La revista blanca, Etica, Iniciales,
Al margen and Nosotros. In Germany, the Scottish-German
John Henry McKay became the most important
propagandist for individualist anarchist ideas.
Adolf Brand (1874–1945) was a German writer,
stirnerist anarchist and pioneering campaigner
for the acceptance of male bisexuality and
homosexuality. BIn 1896, Brand published a
German homosexual periodical, Der Eigene.
The Irish anarchist writer of the Decadent
movement Oscar Wilde influenced individualist
anarchists such as Renzo Novatore and gained
the admiration of Benjamin Tucker.
== Post-classical anarchist schools of thought
==
=== 
Insurrectionary anarchism ===
Insurrectionary anarchism is a revolutionary
theory, practice and tendency within the anarchist
movement which emphasizes the theme of insurrection
within anarchist practice. It opposes formal
organizations such as labor unions and federations
that are based on a political programme and
periodic congresses. Instead, insurrectionary
anarchists support informal organization and
small affinity group based organization. Insurrectionary
anarchists put value in attack, permanent
class conflict and a refusal to negotiate
or compromise with class enemies.Contemporary
insurrectionary anarchism inherits the views
and tactics of anti-organizational anarcho-communism
and illegalism. Important theorists within
it include Alfredo Maria Bonanno and Wolfi
Landstreicher.
=== Green anarchism ===
Green anarchism (or eco-anarchism) is a school
of thought within anarchism which puts an
emphasis on environmental issues. An important
early influence was the thought of the American
anarchist Henry David Thoreau and his book
Walden as well as Leo Tolstoy and Elisee Reclus.
In the late 19th century there emerged anarcho-naturism
as the fusion of anarchism and naturist philosophies
within individualist anarchist circles in
France, Spain and Portugal. Important contemporary
currents are anarcho-primitivism and social
ecology.
Notable contemporary writers espousing green
anarchism include Murray Bookchin, Daniel
Chodorkoff, anthropologist Brian Morris and
people around Institute for Social Ecology;
and those critical of technology such as Layla
AbdelRahim, Derrick Jensen, George Draffan,
and John Zerzan; and others such as Alan Carter.
Social ecologists, also considered a kind
of socialist anarchist, often criticize the
main currents of anarchism for their focus
and debates about politics and economics instead
of a focus on eco-system (human and environmental).
This theory promotes libertarian municipalism
and green technology. Anarcho-primitivists
often criticize mainstream anarchism for supporting
civilization and modern technology which they
believe are inherently based on domination
and exploitation. They instead advocate the
process of rewilding or reconnecting with
the natural environment. Veganarchism is the
political philosophy of veganism (more specifically
animal liberation) and green anarchism. This
encompasses viewing the state as unnecessary
and harmful to both human and animals whilst
practising a vegan diet.
==== Anarcho-primitivism ====
Anarcho-primitivism is an anarchist critique
of the origins and progress of civilization.
According to anarcho-primitivism, the shift
from hunter-gatherer to agricultural subsistence
gave rise to social stratification, coercion
and alienation. Anarcho-primitivists advocate
a return to non-"civilized" ways of life through
deindustrialisation, abolition of the division
of labour or specialization and abandonment
of large-scale organization technologies.
There are other non-anarchist forms of primitivism,
and not all primitivists point to the same
phenomenon as the source of modern, civilized
problems.
Many traditional anarchists reject the critique
of civilization while some such as Wolfi Landstreicher
endorse the critique but do not consider themselves
anarcho-primitivists. Some anarcho-primitivists
are often distinguished by their focus on
the praxis of achieving a feral state of being
through "rewilding".
==== Anarcho-naturism ====
Anarcho-naturism (also anarchist naturism
and naturist anarchism) appeared in the late
19th century as the union of anarchist and
naturist philosophies. Mainly it had importance
within individualist anarchist circles in
Spain, France, Portugal and Cuba.Anarcho-naturism
advocated vegetarianism, free love, nudism,
hiking and an ecological world view within
anarchist groups and outside them. Anarcho-naturism
promoted an ecological worldview, small ecovillages
and most prominently nudism as a way to avoid
the artificiality of the industrial mass society
of modernity. Naturist individualist anarchists
saw the individual in his biological, physical
and psychological aspects and tried to eliminate
social determinations.
==== Social ecology ====
Social ecology is a philosophy developed by
Murray Bookchin in the 1960s which holds that
present ecological problems are rooted in
deep-seated social problems, particularly
in dominatory hierarchical political and social
systems. These have resulted in an uncritical
acceptance of an overly competitive grow-or-die
philosophy. It suggests that this cannot be
resisted by individual action such as ethical
consumerism, but must be addressed by more
nuanced ethical thinking and collective activity
grounded in radical democratic ideals. The
complexity of relationships between people
and with nature is emphasised, along with
the importance of establishing social structures
that take account of this.
=== Anarcha-feminism ===
Anarcha-feminism (occasionally called anarcho-feminism)
is a form of anarchism that synthesizes radical
feminism and anarchism that views patriarchy
(male domination over women) as a fundamental
manifestation of involuntary hierarchy which
anarchists often oppose. Anarcha-feminism
was inspired in the late 19th century by the
writings of early feminist anarchists such
as Lucy Parsons, Emma Goldman and Voltairine
de Cleyre. Anarcha-feminists, like other radical
feminists, criticize and advocate the abolition
of traditional conceptions of family, education
and gender roles. Anarcha-feminists are especially
critical of marriage. For instance, the feminist
anarchist Emma Goldman has argued that marriage
is a purely economic arrangement and that
"[woman] pays for it with her name, her privacy,
her self-respect, her very life".Anarcha-feminists
also often criticize the views of some of
the traditional anarchists such as Mikhail
Bakunin who have believed that patriarchy
is only a minor problem and is dependent only
on the existence of the state and capitalism
and will disappear soon after such institutions
are abolished. Anarcha-feminists by contrast
view patriarchy as a fundamental problem in
society and believe that the feminist struggle
against sexism and patriarchy is an essential
component of the anarchist struggle against
the state and capitalism. As Susan Brown puts
it, "as anarchism is a political philosophy
that opposes all relationships of power, it
is inherently feminist".
=== Anarcho-pacifism ===
Anarcho-pacifism (also pacifist anarchism
or anarchist pacifism) is a form of anarchism
which completely rejects the use of violence
in any form for any purpose. The main precedent
was Henry David Thoreau who through his work
Civil Disobedience influenced both Leo Tolstoy
and Mohandas Gandhi's advocacy of nonviolent
resistance. As a global movement, anarchist
pacifism emerged shortly before World War
II in the Netherlands, Great Britain and the
United States and was a strong presence in
the subsequent campaigns for nuclear disarmament.
Violence has always been controversial in
anarchism. While many anarchists during the
19th century embraced propaganda of the deed,
Leo Tolstoy and other anarcho-pacifists directly
opposed violence as a means for change. Tolstoy
argued that anarchism must by nature be nonviolent,
since it is by definition opposition to coercion
and force and that since the state is inherently
violent, meaningful pacifism must likewise
be anarchistic. His philosophy was cited as
a major inspiration by Gandhi, an Indian independence
leader and pacifist who self-identified as
an anarchist. Ferdinand Domela Nieuwenhuis
was also instrumental in establishing the
pacifist trend within the anarchist movement.
In France in December 1902, Georges Yvetot
was one of the founders of the Ligue antimilitariste,
along with fellow anarchists Henri Beylie,
Paraf-Javal, Albert Libertad and Émile Janvion.
The Ligue antimilitariste was to become the
French section of the Association internationale
antimilitariste (AIA) founded in Amsterdam
in 1904.
=== Religious anarchism ===
Religious anarchism refers to a set of related
anarchist ideologies that are inspired by
the teachings of (organized) religions, but
many anarchists have traditionally been skeptical
of and opposed to organized religion. Many
different religions have served as inspiration
for religious forms of anarchism, most notably
Christianity, as Christian anarchists believe
that biblical teachings give credence to anarchist
philosophy. Non-Christian forms of religious
anarchism include Buddhist anarchism, Jewish
anarchism and most recently Neopaganism. Neopaganism
focuses on the sanctity of the environment
and equality and is often of a decentralized
nature. This led to a number of Neopagan-inspired
anarchists, one of the most prominent of which
is Starhawk, who writes extensively about
both spirituality and activism.
==== Christian anarchism ====
Christian anarchism is a form of religious
anarchism that seeks to combine anarchism
with Christianity, claiming that anarchism
is justified by the teachings of Jesus Christ.
Early Christian communities have been described
by Christian anarchists and some historians
as possessing anarcho-communist characteristics.
Christian anarchists such as Leo Tolstoy and
Ammon Hennacy believe that the teachings of
Paul of Tarsus caused a shift from the earlier
more egalitarian and anarchistic teachings
of Jesus. However, others believe that Paul
with his strong emphasis on God's Providence
is to be understood as a holding to anarchist
principles.
=== Anarchism without adjectives ===
Anarchism without adjectives, in the words
of historian George Richard Esenwein, "referred
to an unhyphenated form of anarchism, that
is, a doctrine without any qualifying labels
such as communist, collectivist, mutualist,
or individualist. For others, [...] [i]t was
simply understood as an attitude that tolerated
the coexistence of different anarchist schools".
Anarchism without adjectives emphasizes harmony
between various anarchist factions and attempts
to unite them around their shared anti-authoritarian
beliefs. The expression was coined by Cuban-born
Fernando Tarrida del Mármol, who used it
in Barcelona in November 1889 as a call for
tolerance, after being troubled by the "bitter
debates" between the different movements.
Rudolf Rocker said that the different types
of anarchism presented "only different methods
of economy, the practical possibilities of
which have yet to be tested, and that the
first objective is to secure the personal
and social freedom of men no matter upon which
economics basis this is to be accomplished".
Voltairine de Cleyre was an anarchist without
adjectives who initially identified herself
as an individualist anarchist but later espoused
a collectivist form of anarchism, while refusing
to identify herself with any of the contemporary
schools ("The best thing ordinary workingmen
or women could do was to organise their industry
to get rid of money altogether . . . Let them
produce together, co-operatively rather than
as employer and employed; let them fraternise
group by group, let each use what he needs
of his own product, and deposit the rest in
the storage-houses, and let those others who
need goods have them as occasion arises").
She commented that "Socialism and Communism
both demand a degree of joint effort and administration
which would beget more regulation than is
wholly consistent with ideal Anarchism; Individualism
and Mutualism, resting upon property, involve
a development of the private policeman not
at all compatible with my notion of freedom"
although she stopped short of denouncing these
tendencies as un-anarchistic ("There is nothing
un-Anarchistic about any of [these systems]
until the element of compulsion enters and
obliges unwilling persons to remain in a community
whose economic arrangements they do not agree
to"). Errico Malatesta was another proponent
of anarchism without adjectives, stating that
"[i]t is not right for us, to say the least,
to fall into strife over mere hypotheses".
==== Synthesis anarchism ====
Synthesis anarchism, synthesism or synthesis
federations is a form of anarchist organization
which tries to join anarchists of different
tendencies under the principles of anarchism
without adjectives. In the 1920s, this form
found as its main proponents Volin and Sebastien
Faure. It is the main principle behind the
anarchist federations grouped around the contemporary
global International of Anarchist Federations.
=== Platformism ===
Platformism is a tendency within the wider
anarchist movement which shares an affinity
with organising in the tradition of Dielo
Truda's Organizational Platform of the General
Union of Anarchists (Draft). The Platform
came from the experiences of Russian anarchists
in the 1917 October Revolution, which led
eventually to the victory of Bolsheviks over
the anarchists and other like-minded groups.
The Platform attempted to explain and address
the failure of the anarchist movement during
the Russian Revolution. As a controversial
pamphlet, the Platform drew both praise and
criticism from anarchists worldwide.
== Contemporary developments ==
Anarchism generates many eclectic and syncretic
philosophies and movements. Since the revival
of anarchism in the mid 20th century, a number
of new movements and schools have appeared.
Anarchist anthropologist David Graeber has
posited a rupture between generations of anarchism,
with those "who often still have not shaken
the sectarian habits of the last century"
contrasted with the younger activists who
are "much more informed, among other elements,
by indigenous, feminist, ecological and cultural-critical
ideas" and who by the start of the 21st century
formed "by far the majority" of anarchists.
=== Post-left anarchy ===
Post-left anarchy is a recent current in anarchist
thought that promotes a critique of anarchism's
relationship to traditional leftism. Some
post-leftists seek to escape the confines
of ideology in general also presenting a critique
of organizations and morality. Influenced
by the work of Max Stirner and by the Situationist
International, post-left anarchy is marked
by a focus on social insurrection and a rejection
of leftist social organisation.The magazines
Anarchy: A Journal of Desire Armed, Green
Anarchy and Fifth Estate have been involved
in developing post-left anarchy. Individual
writers associated with the tendency are Hakim
Bey, Bob Black, John Zerzan, Jason McQuinn,
Fredy Perlman, Lawrence Jarach and Wolfi Landstreicher.
The contemporary network of collectives CrimethInc.
is an exponent of post-left anarchist views.
=== Post-anarchism ===
The term post-anarchism was originated by
Saul Newman and first received popular attention
in his book From Bakunin to Lacan to refer
to a theoretical move towards a synthesis
of classical anarchist theory and poststructuralist
thought. However, subsequent to Newman's use
of the term it has taken on a life of its
own and a wide range of ideas including post-modernism,
autonomism, post-left anarchy, situationism,
post-colonialism and Zapatismo. By its very
nature, post-anarchism rejects the idea that
it should be a coherent set of doctrines and
beliefs. As such it is difficult, if not impossible,
to state with any degree of certainty who
should or should not be grouped under the
rubric. Nonetheless key thinkers associated
with post-anarchism include Saul Newman, Todd
May, Lewis Call, Gilles Deleuze, Félix Guattari
and Michel Onfray.
=== Queer anarchism ===
Queer anarchism is a form of socialism which
suggests anarchism as a solution to the issues
faced by the LGBT community, mainly heteronormativity,
homophobia, transphobia and biphobia. Anarcho-queer
arose during the late 20th century based on
the work of Michel Foucault The History of
Sexuality.
=== Left-wing market anarchism ===
Left-wing market anarchism is associated with
scholars such as Kevin Carson, Roderick T.
Long, Charles Johnson, Brad Spangler, Samuel
Edward Konkin III, Sheldon Richman, Chris
Matthew Sciabarra and Gary Chartier, who stress
the value of radically free markets, termed
"freed markets" to distinguish them from the
common conception which these libertarians
believe to be riddled with statist and capitalist
privileges. Referred to as left-wing market
anarchists or market-oriented left-libertarians,
proponents of this approach strongly affirm
the classical liberal ideas of self-ownership
and free markets, while maintaining that taken
to their logical conclusions these ideas support
strongly anti-corporatist, anti-hierarchical,
pro-labor positions in economics; anti-imperialism
in foreign policy; and thoroughly liberal
or radical views regarding such cultural issues
as gender, sexuality, and race. This strand
of left-libertarianism tends to be rooted
either in the mutualist economics conceptualized
by Pierre-Joseph Proudhon, American individualist
anarchism, or in a left-wing interpretation
or extension of the thought of Murray Rothbard.
Gary Chartier has joined Kevin Carson, Charles
Johnson and others (echoing the language of
Benjamin Tucker and Thomas Hodgskin) in maintaining
that because of its heritage and its emancipatory
goals and potential, radical market anarchism
should be seen – by its proponents and by
others – as part of the socialist tradition
and that market anarchists can and should
call themselves "socialists".
=== Anarcho-capitalism ===
Anarcho-capitalism is an ideology that espouses
anything voluntary is moral. This includes
a voluntary employee/employer hierarchy. Anarcho-Capitalism
advocates the elimination of the state in
favour of individual sovereignty in a free
market. Anarcho-capitalism developed from
radical anti-state libertarianism and individualist
anarchism, drawing from Austrian School economics,
study of law and economics and public choice
theory. Critics within anarchism do not believe
that anarcho-capitalism can be considered
to be a part of the anarchist movement due
to the fact that anarchism has historically
been an anti-capitalist movement and for definitional
reasons which see anarchism as incompatible
with capitalism. Conversely, Anarcho Capitalists
generally consider that their philosophy predates
the socialist forms of anarchism, and indeed
represents the only pure form of anarchism.
== Related theories ==
Criticism of capitalism
Libertarian socialism
Post-scarcity economy
== See also ==
Anarchism and education
Anarchism and Friedrich Nietzsche
Epistemological anarchism, an anarchistic
approach to the philosophy of science and
the theory of knowledge
List of political ideologies § Anarchism
Panarchism, a theory relating to jurisdictional
arbitrage and the free movement of people
== References ==
== 
External links ==
Media related to Anarchist theory at Wikimedia
Commons
