Defining Anarchism
By Jason Justice
originaly printed 1996
updated and revised June 2003
Anarchism has been defined in many ways by many
different sources. The word anarchism
is taken from the word anarchy which
is drawn from dual sources in the Greek language. It is made up
of the Greek words av (meaning: absence
of [and pronounced “an”]) and apxn (meaning:
authority or government [and pronounced “arkhe”]). Today, dictionary
definitions still define anarchism as the absence of government.
These modern dictionary definitions of anarchism are based on the
writings and actions of anarchists of history and present. Anarchists
understand, as do historians of anarchism and good dictionaries
and encyclopedias, that the word anarchism
represents a positive, liberatory idea. Other sources, however,
such as the corporate press, will frequently misuse the word anarchism
and, thus, breed misunderstanding.The purpose of this article is to provide a clearer, more accurate and meaningful definition of the word anarchism.
A leading modern dictionary, Webster's
Third International Dictionary, defines anarchism briefly
but accurately as, “a political theory opposed to all forms of government
and governmental restraint and advocating voluntary cooperation
and free association of individuals and groups in order to satisfy
their needs.” Other dictionaries describe anarchism with similar
definitions. The Britannica-Webster dictionary
defines the word anarchism as, “a political
theory that holds all government authority to be unnecessary and
undesirable and advocates a society based on voluntary cooperation
of individuals and groups.” Shorter dictionaries, such as the New
American Webster Handy College Dictionary, define anarchism
as, “the political doctrine that all governments should be abolished.”
These similar dictionary definitions of anarchism
reflect an evolution of ideas and theories about anarchism, made possible
by anarchist thinkers and movements. As a result, dictionary definitions,
although sometimes fair, only reflect some of the basic tenets of
the word anarchism. MIT professor Noam
Chomsky, in fact, has refuted the definition of anarchism as a
“political doctrine.” According to Chomsky, “...anarchism isn't
a doctrine. It's at most a historical tendency, a tendency of thought
and action, which has many different ways of developing and progressing
and which, I would think, will continue as a permanent strand of
human history.” Other modern definitions of anarchism are thoroughly
explained, not as a word, but as a history of movements, people
and ideas. The Encyclopedia of the American
Left, in fact, gives a three page history of anarchism, yet
does not once define the word.
William Godwin was the first theorist of anarchist
ideas and the first to write about such notions. He was born in
1756 in Weisbech, the capital of North Cambridgeshire. He later
married feminist Mary Wollstonecraft and had a daughter, Mary Shelley
- author of Frankenstein. Godwin published
a book called Political Justice in 1793
which first introduced his basic anarchistic ideas. Following Godwin's work on political justice, Pierre Joseph Proudhon emerged
as a leading anarchist figure in the world. Proudhon was the first person in history to popularize the word anarchism, and its first major thinker. His book What
is Property? introduced anarchist ideas to the world,
and made popular the idea that anarchism was both a rejection
of the state, and an idea which opposed ownership of land, property
and all other forms of domination and control.
Anarchist ideas evolved and blossomed when
Russian anarchists Mikhail Bakunin (1814-1876) and Peter Kropotkin
(1842-1921) started to write and speak. Bakunin had a major influence
in countries internationally and ultimately helped introduce anarchism to millions of people. Peter Kropotkin wrote
many books on anarchism, including Mutual Aid,
Fields Factories and Workshops, and The
Conquest of Bread, and greatly helped develop popular notions of anarchism and theories about how it might serve people best. Kropotkin wrote the first adept encyclopedia
definition of anarchism in the eleventh edition of the Encyclopedia
Britannica in 1910. His definition was fifteen pages long.
He started the definition by introducing the word anarchism
as:
the name given to a principle
or theory of life and conduct under which society is conceived without
government - harmony in such a society being obtained, not by submission
to law, or by obedience to any authority, but by free agreements
concluded between various groups, territorial and professional,
freely constituted for the sake of production and consumption, as
also for the satisfaction of the infinite variety of the needs and
aspirations of a civilized being. In a society developed on these
lines, the voluntary associations which already now begin to cover
all fields of human activity would take a still greater extension
so as to substitute themselves for the state of its functions.
Kropotkin was anarchism's foremost intellectual thinker of his time. A world-renowned scientist, militant revolutionary and social philosopher, Kropotkin broke anarchism down to almost a science. His writings were translated into many languages and his books, especially the Conquest of Bread, were considered the bible of the revolution throughout Spain, the Magonista revolt in Mexico and, in fact, among anarchist movements far and wide throughout history.
Leo Tolstoy was another importart figure who went on to further the
ideas which make up the meaning of the word anarchism.
Tolstoy introduced Christian anarchism (rejecting church authority
but believing in God) and broadened anarchism's meaning. Tolstoy,
in favor of the growth of pacifist anarchism, wrote, “The anarchists
are right in everything; in the negation of the existing order,
and in the assertion that, without Authority, there could not be
worse violence than that of Authority under existing conditions.” Tolstoy's contribution to non-violent anarchism also directly inspired Ghandi, who credited Tolstoy with his conversion to ahimsa (non-violence).
As the 20th century approached anarchist ideas surged and the definition of anarchism became concrete with the
growth of new anarchist writers and, more importantly, anarchist
movements. The prosecution of eight anarchists in
Chicago in 1886, who were sentenced and hung for their beliefes in anarchism, eventually sparked anarchism's major growth in the United States.
The “Haymarket Eight” further inspired anarchists such as Voltairine de
Cleyre and Lucy Parsons. Voltairine de Cleyre, a teacher and poet, went on to serve as one of anarchism's most valuable and practical thinkers and activists in North America. Lucy Parsons, an African, Native and Mexican-American widow of one of the Haymarket martyrs, was allegedly born into slavery
and later became an anarchist and an ardent speaker and working
class rebel. She was one of the only known African-American woman anarchists of her time, and fought against the injustices of poverty and racism her entire life. The Chicago police labeled Parsons, “more dangerous
than a thousand rioters”, as she lectured across the country taking thousands of workers to the streets in mass
protests.
Emma Goldman also became part of the anarchist movement
in the wake of the Chicago Martyrs. Goldman was a fiery, unstoppable, fearless
speaker and writer. She openly challenged authority, as well as
conventional notions of repression on many different levels, inside
and outside of the anarchist community. Goldman represented everything anarchism stood for: social and cultural freedom in every aspect of life. She was a lover of liberty, art, drama, music and rebellion. Her tireless lifetime of
work helped broaden the meaning of anarchism, both in her writings
and her actions. She wrote the famous Anarchism
and other essays, started one of the most successful anarchist newspapers in the world, Mother
Earth, and introduced important ideas of anarchist-feminism
which prevail, as a result of Goldman and her comrades, to this day. “Anarchism,”
wrote Goldman, “stands for liberation of the human mind from the
dominion of religion, the liberation of the human body from the
dominion of property, liberation from the shackles and restraint
of government.”
Emma Goldman, Voltairine de Cleyre and Lucy Parsons are some of the best known anarchist women of history, and they all played crucial roles in helping to define anarchism. Many thousands of other women have taken leadership roles within the anarchist movement as well. Anarchist women of history defied both state power and gender inequalities, and their presence and wisdom has been key in the development of people's understanding of anarchism and the development of the anarchist movement itself. Other well known anarchist women have included Louise Mitchel, Leah Feldman, Lizzie Holmes, Luisa Capetillo,
Kate Austin, Federica Montseny and many, many others. Mollie Steimer, another known anarchist woman from North America, and a close political ally and comrade of Goldman, made headways when she and her comrades called for a general strike opposing US intervention in the Russian revolution. While on trial her words echoed globally furthering the anarchist cause. "By anarchism I understand a new social order," she stated, "where no group of people shall be governed by another group of people. Individual freedom shall prevail in the full sense of the word. Private ownership shall be abolished. Every person shall have an equal opportunity to develop himself well, both mentally and physically. We shall not have to struggle for our daily existence as we do now. No one shall live on the product of others."
Emma Goldman's life long comrade, Alexander Berkman,
played a major part in helping to clearly define the word anarchism.
He wrote a book called ABC of Anarchism
which defines and describes anarchism and is still read today. Berkman
wrote, “Anarchism means you should be free; that no one should enslave
you, boss you, rob you, or impose upon you. It means you should
be free to do the things you want to do; and that you should not
be compelled to do what you do not want to do.”
Anarchist ideas have been put into action by giant movements
throughout history which proved its definition was more than theoretical.
Anarchist movements have sprung up across Europe, Russia, China, Japan, Korea, the Philippines, Australia, the US, South and Central America and beyond. The communal efforts of anarchism were seen in the Paris Commune
during the 19th century, revolutionary organizing of Mexican working
class rebels was influenced by anarchists such as Ricardo Flores
Magon, anarchists played a major role in the labor movement in places
such as pre-Castro Cuba and the Argentine anarchist movements, and the Spanish Revolution of 1936-39 proved
anarchists’ capability of creating a highly efficient and liberated anarchist-run society. Today we are seeing a rise in anarchist
tendencies and movements throughout Brazil, Spain, Turkey, Greece, Italy, the United States,
parts of Africa, and regions around the globe.
Although the word anarchism
is understood by many in its classic sense (that defined by dictionaries
and by anarchists of history), the word is often misused and misunderstood.
Anarchism, because of the threat it imposes upon established authority,
has been historically, and is still, misused by power holders. People
who call themselves anarchists are also mislabeled as a result.
Anarchists and anarchism, then, are defined by power holders as
violence and chaos. As anarchist historian George Woodcock put it,
“Of the more frivolous is the idea that the anarchist is a man who
throws bombs and wishes to wreck society by violence and terror.
That this charge should be brought against anarchists now, at a
time when they are the few people who are not throwing bombs or
assisting bomb throwers, shows a curious purblindness among its
champions.” The claim that anarchism is chaos was refuted long ago
by Alexander Berkman when he wrote:
I must tell you, first of all,
what anarchism is not. It is not
bombs, disorder, or chaos. It is not
robbery or murder. It is not a war
of each against all. It is not a
return to barbarianism or to the wild state of man. Anarchism
is the very opposite of all that.
These refutations of stereotypes associated with
anarchism are sometimes trampled by the popular misuse of the word
anarchism. It is not uncommon for a country
in the midst of U.S.-imposed turmoil to be labeled by the corporate press
as “complete anarchy,” a phrase which undermines the true definition
of the word anarchism and all those who
have struggled to make the word anarchism
mean what it does today.
Modern anarchists still work hard to help anarchism
maintain its validity and history. Traditional notions of anarchism are resurfacing through the hard work of anarchists today, who are also now broadening the scope and influence of anarchist ideas. Anarchism
has been spread around the world through music and bands such as
Crass, introducing anarchism and pacifism and urging collective empowerment through "do-it-yourself" methods of organizing. Other anarchists
such as Lorenzo Kom’boa Ervin, an ex-Black Panther, are working
with others in directly challenging racism and authority, extending anarchism beyond its traditionally more limited sphere of influence.
Defining anarchism today as
merely a movement to abolish the state is not adequate. Anarchism today is being
used to find solutions to the problems of power; not just state
power, but corporate power and all immediate forms of domination
among individuals and organizations. Anarchism today means giving equal weight to the problems of class inequalities, racism, sexism, homophobia and every form of domination which enslaves humanity. Anarchists encourage
democratic and collective power to the greatest extent possible, believing hierarchies, racial and sexual discrimination, and illegitimate authority are unnecessary and harmful to human freedom and aspirations.
Anarchism is, in essence, both a tendency to be free of rule, and
a set of principles to be applied when dealing with the problems
of power.
In defining anarchism today we must also look to anarchist networks and movements, which have always been made up of large
numbers of people organizing on every level around the world. Defining
anarchism means understanding that anarchist movements and wide-scale democratic
networking and organizing are truly the defining characteristics
of anarchism. Anarchists today are working together within a growing network of anarchist organizations.
Collectives such as AK Press in the United States and the UK, political
prisoner support groups such as the Anarchist Black Cross, and media
networks such as Znet and Z Magazine are all examples of
organizations working for social change, promoting anarchist principles and broadening our understanding
of anarchism. Anarchist movements are also expressing themselves in the swelling anti-authoritarian and anti-capitalist protests that continue to surface internationally. New anarchist ideas and movements are continuing to keep
its definition alive and meaningful.
As documented, the word anarchism
has a long history. Although the word is simply derived from Greek
tongue, the philosophy and actions of anarchists in history and
present give the word anarchism proper
definition. Dictionary definitions, as quoted, are sometimes fair
to anarchism, but far from complete. The misuse of the word anarchism
is unfortunate and has been a problem anarchists have had to confront throughout history. Because of the misuse of the word anarchism, the
simple dictionary definitions of anarchism, and the different interpretations
of anarchism the word can take on many meanings, but the truly accurate
meaning of the word anarchism can be found
in anarchist history, anarchist writings and anarchist practice.
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