|
Defining Anarchism 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. The Next Move Is Yours. |