Lucy Parsons & The Anarchist Movement

"The philosophy of anarchism... has but one infallible, unchangeable motto, 'Freedom'," declared Lucy Parsons. "Freedom to discover any truth, freedom to develop, to live naturally and fully." Anarchism has a long and passionate history of struggles for liberation. The early anarchist movements in the United States coincided with a series of worldwide anarchist and socialist struggles fighting to emancipate humanity from the shackles of capitalism, the state, and authority in all of its forms. Anarchism was the cause for which the Haymarket martyrs gave their lives, and the ideology for which Lucy Parsons dedicated much of hers.

While the terms are used interchangeably, "anarchy" and "anarchism" can embody very different meanings. At face value, "anarchy" can aptly be interpreted as simply no government, lawlessness, disorder, and chaos. "Anarchism", however, is a well-developed and expansive ideology that seeks to empower individuals and communities to live freely and cooperatively, and is rooted in a rich history of social movements. Anarchism is "the very finest thing," wrote Alexander Berkman, "that humanity has ever thought of."

In praxis, anarchism can most easily be understood as anti-authoritarian socialism, or the libertarian wing of the socialist movement. It is "the confluence of the two great currents," explains German anarchist Rudolf Rocker. "Socialism will be free or it will not be at all. In its recognition of this fact lies the genuine and profound justification of Anarchism." Albert Parsons understood this as well: "There are two distinct phases of socialism in the labor movement throughout the world today. One is known as anarchism, without political government or authority; the other is known as state socialism or paternalism, or governmental control of everything." Russian anarchist Mikhail Bakunin argued that anarchism must embrace stateless socialism: "Freedom without socialism is privilege and injustice; socialism without freedom is slavery and brutality". Another term for anarchism is libertarian socialism.

"Every anarchist is a socialist, but not every socialist is necessarily an anarchist." —Adolph Fischer

Anarchism encompasses several distinct schools of thought, with theories on how it can be achieved or applied varying widely. Anarcho-syndicalism seeks the abolition of capitalism and the state, advocating for general strikes and decentralized worker-led federations or syndicates as a means of achieving these goals. Anarcho-communism, a closely related philosophy, calls for the elimination of both the state and private property (although not personal property). Lucy Parsons identified as an anarcho-communist, though her work was primarily focused on anarcho-syndicalist union activism. Anarcha-feminism is another important discipline within the movement. It integrates feminist principles with anti-authoritarian politics, emphasizing the need to dismantle both patriarchy and state power. Other branches include Christian anarchism, mutualism, collectivism, individualism, platformism, social ecology, and beyond. Each of these approaches offers a different perspective on creating a more equitable and free society.

Anarchists have always been unique, in that they call for a social revolution, instead of a political one. Political revolutions replace one master for another, while social revolutions aim for the permanent abolition of all rulers. The former typically results in the transfer of state power from one ruling elite to another, without altering the fundamental structures of authority and hierarchy. This was evident in the Russian Revolution, for example, where the Bolsheviks, under Lenin, sought to replace the Tsarist autocracy with a government led by a revolutionary vanguard. While the specifics of governance changed, the underlying power structures of authority and control remained intact, which anarchists criticize as a mere substitution of one ruler for another.

In contrast, social revolutions call for the permanent abolition of all forms of domination and coercion, not simply changing who holds power. For anarchists, a true revolution involves dismantling the structures of domination that permeate all aspects of society—this includes not only the state but also capitalism, patriarchy, racism, and other forms of social and economic inequality. Anarchists argue that the state, by its very nature, is a coercive institution that enforces the will of a ruling class over the rest of society, while capitalism and patriarchy are economic and social systems that perpetuate exploitation and oppression. A social revolution, therefore, is not just about taking power from the elites but about radically restructuring society in a way that eliminates all forms of domination and coercion, creating a world based on mutual aid, voluntary cooperation, and direct democracy.

"Government is for slaves; free men govern themselves!" —Albert Parsons

At the core of anarchist theory "is the desire to free society of all political and social coercive institutions which stand in the way of the development of a free humanity", writes Rudolph Rocker. Anarchists view the state, their corporate masters, and the myriad of power dynamics and oppression which result from these institutions as not only unnecessary, but counterproductive to our highest aspirations of freedom. "Anarchy is the negation of force; the elimination of all authority in social affairs," stated Albert Parsons, "it is the denial of the right of domination of one man over another. It is the diffusion of rights, of power, of duties, equally and freely among all the people."

Anarchists believe that most of society's inequities, violence, and conflict stem from unequal power relations between rulers and ruled, masters and servants, bosses and workers, men and women, and so on. Anarchists seek to identify these power dynamics and challenge their legitimacy. If they cannot be justified then they should be considered illegitimate and abolished.

Noam Chomsky explains it best: "At a very general level we should be concerned with any structure of authority and domination and hierarchy that exists — any, from whether it's inside the family, to international affairs. And we should question it. We should ask: is it legitimate? Does it have a justification? The burden of proof is on authority... Not many kinds of authority can be justified, and if they can't we should be moving to dismantle them and to create a more free and just society."(1)

Prominent anarchists in history include figures such as William Godwin, who was the first person to write about anarchist ideas in his 1793 book Political Justice. Godwin was married to renowned feminist Mary Wollstonecraft, and their daughter, Mary Shelley, authored Frankenstein. Pierre Joseph Proudhon coined the term "anarchism" in its modern political sense, and is the first self-identified anarchist; his 1840 book What Is Property? was a pioneering publication. Mikhail Bakunin was an enormously influential Russian anarchist and key rival of Marx's "dictatorship of the proletariat" philosophy, which he regarded as inherently authoritarian. Peter Kropotkin was the father of anarcho-communism and the leading anarchist intellectual of his day, his books The Conquest of Bread, Mutual Aid, and Fields, Factories, and Workshops are seminal works. Leo Tolstoy was the most famous proponent of Christian anarchism, his book The Kingdom of God Is Within You had a profound influence on Mahatma Gandhi.

Emma Goldman was the preeminent anarcha-feminist of her time, her books Living My Life volumes 1 and 2 provide an astounding overview of anarchist history during its golden age. "Anarchism", she stated, "...stands for the liberation of the human mind from the dominion of religion, the liberation of the human body from the dominion of property, the liberation from the shackles and restraint of government." Goldman's comrade, Alexander Berkman, is one of the most storied figures within the movement, his periodical The Blast was widely respected, and his book Prison Memoirs of an Anarchist is one of the first to frankly discuss homosexuality (long before queer liberation movements emerged). Alongside Goldman, Voltairine de Cleyre was one of the most heralded anarchist-feminists of the age. She advocated for nonviolent revolution and for the abolition patriarchy. Meanwhile, Lucy Parsons and her comrade, Lizzy Swank Holmes, were early pioneers of anarchist feminism and dedicated to revolutionary labor activism.

Other notable anarchists include: Dorothy Day, Johann Most, Louise Michel, Errico Malatesta, Kate Austin, the Haymarket Martyrs (August Spies, Adolph Fischer, George Engel, Louis Lingg, Albert Parsons, Michael Schwab, Oscar Neebe, and Samuel Fielden), Rudolf Rocker, Ricardo Flores Magón, Nicola Sacco and Bartolomeo Vanzetti, Syusui Kotoku, Leah Feldman, Benjamin Tucker, Mollie Steimer, Marie Louise Berneri, Buenaventura Durruti, Federica Montseny, Nestor Makhno, Luisa Capetillo, Lorenzo Kom'boa Ervin, Kuwasi Balagoon, Murray Bookchin, Noam Chomsky, David Graeber, Ashanti Alston, Natasha Notkin, Esther and Sam Dolgoff, and countless others.

"But we anarchists do not want to emancipate the people; we want the people to emancipate themselves." —Errico Malatesta

Historically, anarchist struggles have arisen around the world. Some examples include the First International (1864), the Paris Commune (1871), the Haymarket Affair (1886), the Kronstadt Rebellion (1921), the Argentine anarcha-feminist movement (starting in 1890), and the Cuban anarcho-syndicalist struggles (1895-1930s). Anarchists have also played a crucial role in uprisings across France, Italy, Germany, United Kingdom, Turkey, Greece, Croatia, Bulgaria, Romania, Ukraine, Portugal, Mexico, Nicaragua, Brazil, Chile, Uruguay, Korea, Russia, China, India, Algeria, Kenya, Zimbabwe, South Africa, Indonesia, Malaysia, the Phillipines, and beyond. Indeed, anarchist movements have occurred in nearly every country on Earth.

The most significant and influential anarchist struggle, however, remains the Spanish Revolution and Civil War (1936-1939), often regarded as the most successful and pivotal anarchist event in history. In Catalonia, Aragón, and Andalusia, for example, workers took control of factories, farms, and transport networks, organizing them as decentralized, worker-managed collectives. They challenged traditional gender roles, formed militias, and eliminated money and markets in some regions. Famed author and socialist George Orwell battled alongside the anarchists (the CNT and FAI) in Spain (he wrote about it in his 1938 memoir Homage to Catalonia).

Anarchism's popularity waned sharply after the Spanish Civil War and the rise of fascism around the world. In the United States, anti-communist red scares also targeted anarchists. As the state cracked down on radical politics, anarchist organizations and activities became more clandestine, further isolating the movement. While anarchists continued to organize around the world, the golden age of anarchism was fleeting. "Anarchism is a dead issue in American life today", stated Lucy Parsons in the 1930s.

In more recent years, anarchism has made a resurgence. Initiatives such as Bound Together, AK Press, PM Press, the Lucy Parsons Center, Z Communications, Love and Rage, Profane Existence, Class War, Fifth Estate, the Anarchist Federation, Anarchist People of Color, Anarchists Against the Wall, the Anarchist Black Cross, CrimethInc, Anti-Racist Action, the Black Rose Anarchist Federation, the Balkan Anarchist Network, the Argentine Libertarian Federation, the Institute for Anarchist Studies, the Anarchist Library, the Kate Sharpley Library, Freedom Press, and many other anarchist endeavors have paved the way again. Moreover, anarchist bookfairs and gatherings have continued to grow in countries around the globe. The rise of the anarcho-punk movement, zines, and independent media have also emerged as a powerful beacon of anti-authoritarian resistance, and a catalyst for many of these projects.

Concurrently, anarchism has begun to resurface within mass movements for social change. The 1994 Zapatista uprising in Chiapas, Mexico embraced anarchist and libertarian-Marxist principles while working in solidarity with left-wing organizations globally. A few years later, anti-WTO and global justice demonstrations in Seattle (Washington), Geneva (Switzerland), Cancún (Mexico), and beyond were organized in large part by anarchists employing affinity group tactics and other anarchist organizing models. In the years to follow, anti-war movements would utilize similar methods to protest the US invasion of Iraq and Afghanistan. Anarchists also played a significant role in the anti-austerity protests in Greece, and widely participated in the Occupy movements worldwide. More currently, in 2023, Punks for Palestine arose as an international grassroots movement in response to Israel's ongoing genocide in Gaza and the West Bank. While not all of these struggles are exclusive to anarchists, and often include a wide range of people with differing worldviews, anarchism's influence within these movements is undeniable.

There are many modern progressives that do not necessarily identify as anarchists, due to negative connotations and misunderstandings about the terminology (or because they do not find the labels useful for organizing), but nevertheless embrace anarchist principles such as horizontalism, mutual aid, decentralized decision-making, and prefigurative politics. In North America, organizations such as Food Not Bombs, Earth First!, the IWW, Ruckus Society, IndyMedia, Art and Revolution, Beehive Design Collective, Reclaim the Streets, ACT UP, Direct Action to Stop the War, the Catalyst Project, and many others have shared, embraced and organized around anarchist-adjacent principles without defining themselves as anarchists. The labor movement, climate justice movement, Black Lives Matter, and numerous modern day efforts for human rights are also comprised of many folks motivated by—and practicing—anarchist principles.

Anarchism today encompasses a more comprehensive and intersectional analysis of power and inequality, recognizing that struggles for liberation must address class, race, gender, environmental justice, and all forms of oppression and plight that shackle us from being free. This contemporary approach to anarchism remains committed to anti-capitalist and anti-authoritarian protest and direct action, while embracing the creation of alternative and inclusive non-hierarchical forms of organizing. Anarchists now envision advancing a society based on principles of collective liberation, mutual aid, self-determination, and uprooting dominator culture.

Note: The term "collective liberation" was coined by bell hooks in her book Outlaw Culture (1994). The term "dominator culture" was coined by Riane Eisler in her book The Chalice and the Blade (1987). The term "intersectionality" was coined by Kimberlé Crenshaw in her essay Demarginalizing the Intersection of Race and Sex (1989).