Although anarchists are unified in the rejection of the state, they differ about economic arrangements and possible rules that would prevail in a stateless society. On this issue anarchists differ widely, ranging from advocates of complete common ownership and distribution according to need, to supporters of private property and free market competition."Blackwell Encyclopaedia of Political Thought" (1991), edited by David Miller, Janet Coleman, William Conolly and Alan Ryan
For example, most forms of anarchism, such as that of anarcho-communism, not only seek rejection of the state, but also other systems which they perceive as authoritarian, which includes capitalism and private property. Many individualist anarchists reject capitalism as well, but support individual sovereignty, free trade, free competition and private property.
Opposition to the state and authority had a long history prior to the formation of the anarchist movement in Nineteenth Century Europe. Many claim that anarchist themes can be detected in works going as far back as those of the Taoist sage Lao Tzu and Zeno of Citium, the founder of stoicphilosophy. The teachings of Jesus too have sometimes been interpreted as anarchist in nature and they were to have a great influence on many 'proto-anarchist' groups in the centuries preceeding the French Revolution, such as the Brethren of the Free Spirit in the middle ages and the Ranters during the English Civil War.
According to Peter Kropotkin, William Godwin, in his Enquiry Concerning Political Justice (2 vols., 1793), 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 remarkable work." Peter Kropotkin, "Anarchism", from The Encyclopaedia Britannica, 1910.
Godwin felt that the evil of man was the result of societal corruption, and his view on government slowly changed from as little interference as possible to none at all when he stated that "government by its very nature counteracts the improvement of original mind." Godwin also felt that discrimination on any grounds besides ability was intolerable. Godwin is also well known for his feminist wife, Mary Wollstonecraft, and his daughter who would become Mary Shelley, author of Frankenstein.
Pierre-Joseph Proudhon is commonly regarded as the first self-proclaimed anarchist, a label he adopted in his work What is Property?, published in 1840. It is for this reason that some claim Proudhon as the founder of modern anarchist theory. Daniel Guerin, Anarchism: From Theory to Practice (New York: Monthly Review Press, 1970). In What is Property? Proudhon answers with the famous accusation "Property is theft." In this work he opposed the institution of decreed "property" (propriété), where owners have complete rights to "use and abuse" their property as they wish, such as exploiting workers for profit.Proudhon, Pierre-Joseph. "Chapter 3. Labour as the efficient cause of the domain of property" from "What is Property?", 1840
His opposition to capitalism, the state, and organised religion inspired subsequent anarchists, and made him one of the leading socialist thinkers of his time. From Encyclopedia Britannica article "Proudhon, Pierre-Joseph" (2006)[2] He writes that,
The economic idea of capitalism, the politics of government or of authority, and the theological idea of the Church are three identical ideas, linked in various ways. To attack one of them is equivalent to attacking all of them . . . What capital does to labour, and the State to liberty, the Church does to the spirit. This trinity of absolutism is as baneful in practice as it is in philosophy. The most effective means for oppressing the people would be simultaneously to enslave its body, its will and its reason.quoted by Max Nettlau, A Short History of Anarchism, pp. 43-44
He was however also opposed to "Communism, whether of the utopian or the Marxist variety, [the criticism being] that it destroyed freedom by taking away from the individual control over his means of production." From Encyclopedia Britannica article "Proudhon, Pierre-Joseph" (2006)[3]
Mutualism can in many ways be considered "the original anarchy," since its founder Pierre-Joseph Proudhon was in 1840 the first writer to identify himself as an anarchist. Mutualism is an individualist school of anarchism whose economic theory is based on a labor theory of value which states that the actual price of a thing (or the "true cost") is the amount of labor that was undertaken to produce it. Consequently no one who sells goods should charge more than the cost to himself of acquiring these goods. As far as determining payment for goods, they should pay for those goods with an equivalent amount of labor lest they violate the cost principle. Mutualist economics is characterised by a dedication to free association, a democratically run mutualist bank and contract/federation.
Mutualists since Proudhon have generally distinguished between property gained by coercion and propety gained by by labour, with only the former being deemed unnacaptable. Modern mutualists include the writer Kevin A. Carson
Many mutualists believe that a market without government intervention would result in no profit because firms would be forced to compete over workers just as workers compete over firms. If government stopped intervening to protect monopolies, they argue, each laborer would naturally receive his "full product" with no deductions for profit to the employer, which would mean that two individuals exerting the same amount of labor would receieve the same amount of pay. Many mutualists believe that until the state stops intervening in the economy, a profitless economy can be achieved with labor notes, which have been used in Josiah Warren's mutualist experiments as an alternative to the capitalist profit-driven markets.
Collectivist Anarchism
Collectivist anarchism, also known as 'anarcho-collectivism', is most commonly associated with Mikhail Bakunin and the anti-authoritarian section of the First Internationl (1864-1876). Unlike mutualists, collectivist anarchists oppose all private ownership of the means of production, instead advocating they be controlled and managed by the producers themselves. Workers would be compensated for their work on the basis of the amount of time they contributed to production. By the early 1880s, most of the European anarchist movement had adopted an Anarchist communism position, advocating the abolition of wage labour and distribution according to need rather than labor, although the early anarchist movement in spain is sometimes associated with collectivism.
Anarchist communism
Although the collectivist anarchists advocated compensation for labor, they held out the possibility of a post-revolutionary transition to a communist system of distribution according to need. Bakunin's associate, James Guillaume, put it this way in his essay, Ideas on Social Organization(1876):
When… production comes to outstrip consumption… [e]veryone will draw what he needs from the abundant social reserve of commodities, without fear of depletion; and the moral sentiment which will be more highly developed among free and equal workers will prevent, or greatly reduce, abuse and waste.
Other important anarchist communists include Peter Kropotkin, Emma Goldman, Alexander Berkman and Errico Malatesta. Many in the anarcho-syndicalist movements (see below) saw anarchist communism as their objective. Isaac Puente's 1932 El comunismo libertarioPuente, Isaac "Libertarian Communism" (The Cienfuegos Press Anarchist Review' #6 Orkney 1982)[4] was adopted by the Spanish CNT as its manifesto for a post-revolutionary society.
Peter Kropotkin
Peter Kropotkin
Peter Kropotkin, often seen as the most important theorist of anarchist communism, outlined his economic ideas in The Conquest of Bread and Fields, Factories and Workshops. Kropotkin felt co-operation to be more beneficial than competition, arguing in Mutual Aid: A Factor of Evolution that this was illustrated in nature. He advocated the abolition of private property through the "expropriation of the whole of social wealth" by the people themselvesKropotkin, Peter. Words of a Rebel, p99., and for the economy to be co-ordinated through a horizontal network of voluntary associationsKropotkin, Peter. The Conquest of Bread, p145.. He maintained that in anarcho-communism:
"...houses, fields, and factories will no longer be private property, and that they will belong to the commune or the nation and money, wages, and trade would be abolished."Kropotkin, Peter. Chapter 13 The Collectivist Wages System from The Conquest of Bread, G. P. Putnam's Sons, New York and London, 1906.
Individuals and groups would use and control whatever resources they needed as the aim of anarchist-communism was to place "the product reaped or manufactured at the disposal of all, leaving to each the liberty to consume them as he pleases in his own home."The Place of Anarchism in the Evolution of Socialist Thought Moreover, he repeatedly stressed (like other communist-anarchists) that individuals would not be forced into communism, arguing that the peasant "who is in possession of just the amount of land he can cultivate," the family "inhabiting a house which affords them just enough space… considered necessary for that number of people" and the artisan "working with their own tools or handloom" would be free to live as they saw fit. Kropotkin, Peter Act for yourselves. N.Walter and H. Becker, eds. (London: Freedom Press 1985) [p. 104-5]
Anarcho-syndicalism
Flag used by Anarcho-syndicalists.
The early twentieth century saw the rise of Anarcho-syndicalism as a distinct school of thought within the anarchist tradtion. More heavily focused on the labour movement than previous forms of anarchism, syndicalism posits trade unions as a potential force for revolutionary social change, replacing capitalism and the State with a new society democratically self-managed by workers. Anarcho-syndicalists seek to abolish the wage system and private ownership of the means of production, which they believe lead to class divisions. Three important principles of syndicalism are workers' solidarity, direct action and workers' self-management. Rudolf Rocker was one of the most popular voices in the anarcho-syndicalist movement. 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 Anarcho-Syndicalism. Although more frequently associated with labor struggles of the the early twentieth century (particularly in France and Spain) there are many syndicalist organisations active today.
Anarchism and the Individual
Max Stirner's egoism
Max Stirner was a strong influence on individualist anarchists. Around the same time as Proudhon's most famous work was published, Max Stirner argued in The Ego and Its Own, considered to be "a founding text in the tradition of individualist anarchism."Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy. Max Stirner Stirner believs 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 illusions or ghosts in the mind, saying of society that "the individuals are its reality." He advocated egoism and a form of amoralism, in which individuals would unite in 'associations of egoists' only when it was in their self interest to do so. For him, property simply comes about through might: "Whoever knows how to take, to defend, the thing, to him belongs property." And, "What I have in my power, that is my own. So long as I assert myself as holder, I am the proprietor of the thing."
Stirner never called himself an anarchist - he accepted only the label 'egoist'. Nevertheless, he is considered by most to be an anarchist because of his rejection of the state, law and government, and his ideas influenced many anarchists, although interpretations of his thought are diverse. Anarchists including Benjamin Tucker, Federica Montseny and the Bonnot Gang claimed him as an influence, and Emma Goldman gave lectures on his thought.
Although its origins lay in the work of European thinkers like Stirner, individualist anarchism took root most firmly in the United States. Unlike Stirner who believed, "Whoever knows how to take, to defend, the thing, to him belongs property," the individualist anarchists believed individuals should only receive property through labor and trade. In 1825 Josiah Warren had participated in a utopian socialism experiment at New Harmony, which failed in a few years amidst much internal conflict. Warren blamed the community's failure on a lack of individual sovereignty and dedicated himself to promoting economic cooperation on the basis of individual liberty, self-ownership, and individual ownership of the product of labor. Perhaps the most successful of his experiments in liberty were the Cincinnati Time Store and the Modern Times intentional community. Other prominent nineteenth century individualists included Lysander Spooner, Benjamin Tucker, Stephen Pearl Andrews, Victor Yarros and Emile Armand.
These thinkers held that the state was the foremost source of inequality and oppression. They argued that a network of free market exchange between voluntary cooperatives could supplant all functions of the state, including defense.Tucker, Benjamin. "defense is a service like any other service; that it is labor both useful and desired, and therefore an economic commodity subject to the law of supply and demand; that in a free market this commodity would be furnished at the cost of production; that, competition prevailing, patronage would go to those who furnished the best article at the lowest price; that the production and sale of this commodity are now monopolized by the State; and that the State, like almost all monopolists, charges exorbitant prices" "Instead of a Book" (1893). Since individualist anarchists were adherents of the labor theory of value, they believed that profit was exploitative. They believed that government intervention resulted in prices that did not reflect the amount of labor invested in them, and they supported a truly free market which they thought would eliminate profit. Armand said, "The individual or association ought to be able, without having to take into consideration anybody else whatsoever, to consume its own output, or exchange it either gratis or for something else, and furthermore, it should be open to it to choose those with whom it will exchange its products and what it will receive in their stead."
Tucker's economic theory blaimed the poor condition of American workers on four monopolies based in authority"When Warren and Proudhon, in prosecuting their search for justice to labor, came face to face with the obstacle of class monopolies, they saw that these monopolies rested upon Authority, and concluded that the thing to be done was, not to strengthen this Authority and thus make monopoly universal, but to utterly uproot Authority and give full sway to the opposite principle, Liberty, by making competition, the antithesis of monopoly, universal." Tucker, Benjamin State Socialism and Anarchism (Liberty 10 March 1888): the money monopoly of control over currency and credit by state-sanctioned banks; the land monopoly of land-titles for absentee owners; patents, prohibiting competition; tariffs, restricting competition in favor of established firms. Without these interlocking "invasions";, Tucker maintained, individuals would be free to determine their own economic lives through mutual banking, labor notes, cooperative manufacture, and other voluntary pursuits. His commitment to individual sovereignty led him to strongly support the individual's rights to own private property and to trade it in a free market economy, both of which he saw as inseparable from anarchism."Anarchism is a word without meaning, unless it includes the liberty of the individual to control his product or whatever his product has brought him through exchange in a free market - that is, private property. Whoever denies private property is of necessity an Archist." "ANARCHISM AND PROPERTY", by Benjamin Tucker in "The New Freewoman", November 151913 It should be noted that individualist anarchism is a broad philosophy and theorists in individual anarchism do not have identical philosophies. For instance, Lysander Spooner supports intellectual property rights and disagreed with Benjamin Tucker's requirement that land remain in use to retain ownership.
In Europe, harsh reaction followed the revolutions of 1848. Twenty years later in 1864 the International Workingmen's Association, sometimes called the 'First International', united some diverse European revolutionary currents, including French followers of Proudhon, Blanquists, English trade unionists, socialists and social democrats. Due to its genuine links to active workers movements the International became a significant organization and marked a break with the conspiratorial politics developed by such groups as the Philadelphians.
The Masonic "level in a circle" as used by the Federal Council of Spain of the International Workingmen's Association. Note the inclusion of the Plumb, one of the working tools of a operative masonry, and a symbol of rectitude of conduct
Following the expulsion of the Philadelphians, Karl Marx became a leading figure in the International and a member of its General Council. Proudhon's followers, the Mutualists, opposed Marx's state socialism, advocating political abstentionism and small property holdings. Mikhail Bakunin joined in 1868, allying with the anti-authoritarian socialist sections of the International, who advocated the revolutionary overthrow of the state, the collectivization of property and a return to conspiratoral politics. At first, the collectivists worked with the Marxists to push the First International towards a more revolutionary socialist direction. The anarchists were particulay involved in developing the International in Spain, where Giuseppe Fanelli used freemasonry as a means of organising. 'La Masonería y el movimento obrero' by Alberto Valín Fernández . The anarchist use of the A in a Circle dates from this time. Subsequently, the International became polarised into two camps, with Marx and Bakunin as their respective figureheads.
Bakunin characterised Marx's ideas as authoritarian, and predicted that if a Marxist party came to power its leaders would simply take the place of the ruling class they had fought against. In 1872 the conflict climaxed with a final split between the two groups, when at the Hague Congress Marx engineered the expulsion of Bakunin and James Guillaume from the International and had its headquarters transferred to New York. In response, the anti-authoritarian sections formed their own International at the St. Imier Congress, adopting a revolutionary anarchist program.Graham, Robert Anarchism (Montreal: Black Rose Books 2005) ISBN 1-55164-251-4[5]
Anarchism and organized labor
CNT poster from April 2004. Reads: Don't let the politicians rule our lives/ You vote and they decide/ Don't allow it/ Unity, Action, Self-management.
Anarcho-syndicalism is a form of anarchism which looks to the labor movement as the catalyst for revolutionary change ("syndicalism" being derived from the French syndicalisme, meaning "trade unionism"). Anarcho-syndicalists advocate the creation of revolutionary trade unions to fight for better working conditions, to seize control of the means of production, and to overthrow the State by means of direct action and the general strike. Anarcho-syndicalists seek to abolish the wage system and private ownership of the means of production, which they believe result in class division, exploitation and domination.
The anti-authoritarian sections of the First International were the precursors of the anarcho-syndicalists, seeking to "replace the privilege and authority of the State" with the "free and spontaneous organization of labor." Resolutions from the St. Imier Congress, in Anarchism: A Documentary History of Libertarian Ideas, Vol. 1, p.100 [6]
The Confédération Générale du Travail (General Confederation of Labour, CGT), formed in France in 1895, was the first major anarcho-syndicalist movement, but it had been preceded by the Spanish Workers Federation in 1881. Anarchist trade union federations were of special importance in Spain. The most successful was the Confederación Nacional del Trabajo (National Confederation of Labour: CNT), founded in 1910. Before the 1940s the CNT was the major force in Spanish working class politics, and played a major role in the Spanish Civil War. The CNT was affiliated with the International Workers Association, a federation of anarcho-syndicalist trade unions founded in 1922, with delegates representing two million workers from 15 countries in Europe and Latin America.
Anarchists participated alongside the Bolsheviks in both February and October revolutions, many anarchists initially supporting the Bolshevik coup. However the Bolsheviks soon turned against the anarchists and other left-wing opposition, a conflict which culminated in the 1921 Kronstadt rebellion. Anarchists in central Russia were imprisoned or driven underground, or joined the victorious Bolsheviks. In Ukraine anarchists fought in the civil war against both Whites and Bolsheviks within the Makhnovshchina peasant army led by Nestor Makhno.
Expelled American anarchists Emma Goldman and Alexander Berkman before leaving Russia were amongst those agitating in response to Bolshevik policy and the suppression of the Kronstadt uprising. Both wrote classic accounts of their experiences in Russia, aiming to expose the reality of Bolshevik control. For them, Bakunin's predictions about the consequences of Marxist rule had proved all too true.
The victory of the Bolsheviks in the October Revolution and the resulting Russian Civil War did serious damage to anarchist movements internationally. Many workers and activists saw Bolshevik success as setting an example; Communist parties grew at the expense of anarchism and other socialist movements. In France and the US for example, the major syndicalist movements of the CGT and IWW began to realign themselves away from anarchism and towards the Communist International.
In the 1920s and 1930s the familiar dynamics of anarchism's conflict with the state were transformed by the rise of fascism in Europe. Italy saw the first struggles between anarchists and fascists. Anarchists played a key role in the anti-fascist organisation Arditi del Popolo. This group was strongest in areas with anarchist traditions and marked up numerous successful victories, including driving back Blackshirts in the anarchist stronghold of Parma in August 1922Holbrow, Marnie "Daring but Divided" (Socialist Review Nov 2002)[7]. In France, where the fascists came close to insurrection in the February 1934 riots, anarchists divided over a 'united front' policy.Berry, David "Fascism or Revolution" (Le Libertaire August, 1936)[8] In Spain, the CNT initially refused to join a popular front electoral alliance, and abstention by CNT supporters led to a right wing election victory. But in 1936, the CNT changed its policy and anarchist votes helped bring the popular front back to power. Months later, the ruling class responded with an attempted coup, and the Spanish Civil War (1936-1939) was underway.
In response to the army rebellion, an anarchist-inspired movement of peasants and workers, supported by armed militias, took control of Barcelona and of large areas of rural Spain where they collectivized the land. But even before the eventual fascist victory in 1939, the anarchists were losing ground in a bitter struggle with the Stalinists. The CNT leadership often appeared confused and divided, with some members controversially entering the government. According to George Orwell and other foreign observers, Stalinist-led troops suppressed the collectives, and persecuted both dissident Marxists and anarchists.
In general, anarchists advocate direct action and oppose voting in elections. Most anarchists feel that real change is not possible through voting. Further, many believe that voting amounts to condoning the state."Voting Anarchists: An Oxymoron or What?" by Joe Peacott, and writings by Fred Woodworth.
Direct action may be violent or non-violent. While some anarchists believe violence is justified in overthrowing existing authority, most anarchists reject terrorism as authoritarian. Mikhail Bakunin and Errico Malatesta, for example, wrote of violence as necessary in revolutionary settings but denounced terrorism as counter-revolutionary.Bakunin, "The Program of the International Brotherhood" (1869)[9] and Malatesta, "Violence as a Social Factor" (1895)[10].
Anarchists have often been portrayed as dangerous and violent, due mainly to a number of high-profile violent acts, including riots, assassinations, insurrections, and terrorism by some anarchists. Many anarchists do not see the destruction of property to be violent. Anarchists see war, however, as an activity in which the state seeks to gain and consolidate power, both domestically and in foreign lands, and subscribe to Randolph Bourne's view that "war is the health of the state"War is the Health of the State.
Anarchists also engage in building parallel structures and organizations, such as Food Not Bombs, , and radical social centers. This is in line with the general anarchist concept of creating Dual Power, creating the structures for a new anti-authoritarian society in the shell of the old, hierarchical one.
From its origins to present day, anarchism has been marked by a rejection of capitalism, which anarchists believe can be maintained only by state violence.http://dwardmac.pitzer.edu/ANARCHIST_ARCHIVES/kropotkin/britanniaanarchy.htmlThe newest element in this discourse has been a school of thought called anarcho-capitalism which argues for a stateless, laissez-faire capitalist society. Its reception among scholars and advocates of traditional anarchism has been mixed, with many anarchists rejecting it altogether, claiming its lack of ties with the historical anarchist movement and considering it undesirable and/or impossible; however many anarcho-capitalists cite strong ties with individualist anarchism.Tormey, Simon. Anti-Capitalism, One World, 2004.Perlin, Terry M. Contemporary Anarchism, Transaction Books, NJ 1979.Raico, Ralph. Authentic German Liberalism of the 19th Century, Ecole Polytechnique, Centre de Recherce en Epistemologie Appliquee, Unité associée au CNRS, 2004.Heider, Ulrike. Anarchism:Left, Right, and Green, City Lights, 1994. p. 3.Outhwaite, William. The Blackwell Dictionary of Modern Social Thought, Anarchism entry, p. 21, 2002.Bottomore, Tom. Dictionary of Marxist Thought, Anarchism entry, 1991.
It has been alleged that anarcho-capitalism, a predominantly United States-based individualist philosophy that promotes an economic system of stateless free marketcapitalism, is a more modern form of individualist anarchism 1) Tormey, Simon. Anti-Capitalism, One World, 2004. 2)Perlin, Terry M. Contemporary Anarchism, Transaction Books, NJ 1979. 3) Raico, Ralph. Authentic German Liberalism of the 19th Century, Ecole Polytechnique, Centre de Recherce en Epistemologie Appliquee, Unité associée au CNRS, 2004. 4) Levy, Carl. Anarchism, MS Encarta Encyclopedia. 5) Heider, Ulrike. Anarchism:Left, Right, and Green, City Lights, 1994. p. 3. 6) Outhwaite, William. The Blackwell Dictionary of Modern Social Thought, 2002. p. 21 7) Bottomore, Tom. Dictionary of Marxist Thought, 1991.. In such a society no authority would prohibit anyone from providing, through the free market, any service - even those services traditionally provided by state monopoly such as police, courts, and defense. Anarcho-capitalism does not consider profit, rent, interest, or wage-labor to be exploitative since, unlike classical individualist anarchism, it rejects the labor theory of value. Its leading proponents are Murray Rothbard and David Friedman and it has been influenced by non-anarchist libertarians such as Frederic Bastiat, Ayn Rand and Robert Nozick.
Prominent anarcho-capitalists, such as Murray Rothbard and Wendy McElroy, have been outspoken critics of the WTO, World Bank and "free trade" zones (such as NAFTA); however they support worldwide expansion of the division of labor and trade, which they see as beneficial so long as governments do not intervene."Making Economic Sense" by Murray N. Rothbard
Feminism and anti-racism
Anarcha-feminism is a kind of radical feminism that espouses the belief that patriarchy is a fundamental problem in society. However, it was not explicitly formulated as anarcha-feminism until early 1970s,Anarcho-Feminism - Two Statements - Who we are: An Anarcho-Feminist Manifesto during the second-wave feminist movement. Anarcha-feminism views patriarchy as the first manifestation of hierarchy in human history; thus, the first form of oppression occurred in the dominance of male over female.
Black anarchism opposes the existence of a state, capitalism, and subjugation and domination of people of color, and favors a non-hierarchical organization of society. Theorists include Ashanti Alston, Lorenzo Komboa Ervin, and Sam Mbah.
Since the late 1970s anarchists have been involved in fighting the rise of neo-fascist groups. In Germany and the United Kingdom some anarchists worked within militantanti-fascist groups alongside members of the Marxist left. They advocated directly combating fascists with physical force rather than relying on the state. Since the late 1990s, a similar tendency has developed within US anarchism.
The environment and sustainability have been an issue for anarchists from at least as far back as Kropotkin's 'Fields, Factories and Workshops, but since the late 1970s anarchists in Anglosphere and European countries have been agitating for the natural environment. Eco-anarchists or green anarchists believe in deep ecology. This is a worldview that embraces biodiversity and sustainability. Eco-anarchists often use direct action against what they see as earth-destroying institutions. Of particular importance is the Earth First! movement, that takes action such as tree sitting. Another important component is ecofeminism, which sees the domination of nature as a metaphor for the domination of women.
Anarcho-Primitivism is a predominantly Western philosophy that advocates a return to a pre-industrial and usually pre-agricultural society. It develops a critique of industrial civilization. In this critique technology and development have alienated people from the natural world. This philosophy develops themes present in the political action of the Luddites and the writings of Jean-Jacques Rousseau. Some primitivists advocate a complete process of 'rewilding' and a return to nomadichunter-gatherer lifestyles while others only wish to see an end to industrial society and do not oppose domestication or agriculture. Key theorists in the former category include Derrick Jensen and John Zerzan while the 'unabomer' Theodore Kaczynski belongs in the latter. Today there is much conflict between primitivists and followers of more traditional forms of class struggle anarchism, such as the social ecology of Murray Bookchin.
From Proudhon and Bakunin to the Spanish anarcho-syndicalists, Anarchists have traditionally been skeptical about and opposed to organized religion, believing that most organized religions are hierarchical in nature and, more often than not, aligned with contemporary power structures like state and capital.
On the other hand, Christian anarchists believe that there is no higher authority than God, and oppose earthly authority such as government and established churches. They believe that Jesus' teachings and the practice of the early church were clearly anarchistic, but were corrupted when "Christianity" was declared the official religion of Rome. The most famous Christian anarchist was the Russian novelist Leo Tolstoy whose 'The Kingdom of God Is Within You' is considered a key christian anrchist text. The Catholic Worker Movement is a modern Christian anarchist organisation.
Anarchism generates many eclectic and syncretic philosophies and movements. Since the Western social ferment in the 1960's and 1970's a number of new movements and schools have appeared. Most of these stances are limited to even smaller numbers than the schools and movements listed above.
*Post-left anarchy - Post-left anarchy seeks to distance itself from the traditional "left" - communists, socialists, social democrats, etc. - and to escape the confines of ideology in general. Post-leftists argue that anarchism has been weakened by its long attachment to contrary "leftist" movements and single issue causes (anti-war, anti-nuclear, etc.). It calls for a synthesis of anarchist thought and a specifically anti-authoritarian revolutionary movement outside of the leftist milieu. Important groups and individuals associated with Post-left anarchy include: CrimethInc, the magazine Anarchy: A Journal of Desire Armed and its editor Jason McQuinn, Bob Black, Hakim Bey and others. For more information, see Infoshop.org's Anarchy After LeftismInfoshop.org - Anarchy After Leftism section, and the Post-left section on anarchism.ws.See also:Post-left anarchy *Post-Anarchism - The term post-anarchism was originated by Saul Newman, first receiving 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. Subsequent to Newman's use of the term, however, it has taken on a life of its own and a wide range of ideas including 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, Gilles Deleuze and Félix Guattari.External reference: Postanarchism ClearinghousePost anarchist clearing houseSee alsoPost-anarchism *Insurrectionary anarchism - Insurrectionary anarchism is a form of revolutionary anarchism critical of formal anarchist labor unions and federations. Insurrectionary anarchists advocate informal organization, including small affinity groups, carrying out acts of resistance in various struggles, and mass organizations called base structures, which can include exploited individuals who are not anarchists. Proponents include Wolfi Landstreicher and Alfredo M. Bonanno, author of works including "Armed Joy" and "The Anarchist Tension". This tendency is represented in the US in magazines such as Willful Disobedience and Killing King Abacus. See also:Insurrectionary anarchism *Small 'a' anarchism - Small 'a' anarchism is a term used in two different, but not unconnected contexts. Dave Neal posited the term in opposition to big 'A' Anarchism in the article Anarchism: Ideology or Methodology?. While big 'A' Anarchism referred to ideological Anarchists, small 'a' anarchism was applied to their methodological counterparts; those who viewed anarchism as "a way of acting, or a historical tendency against illegitimate authority." As an anti-ideological position, small 'a' anarchism shares some similarities with post-left anarchy. David Graeber and Andrej Grubacic offer an alternative use of the term, applying it to groups and movements organising according to or acting in a manner consistent with anarchist principles of decentralisation, voluntary association, mutual aid, the network model, and crucially, "the rejection of any idea that the end justifies the means, let alone that the business of a revolutionary is to seize state power and then begin imposing one's vision at the point of a gun."[11]
The theory and practice of anarchism has been controversial since it came to prominence in the 19th century. Some of the criticisms made of anarchism come from the interests it opposes, such as governments. Other criticisms have been made internally of other anarchists or by political movements that appear to share similar goals, such as Marxism.
In various musical styles, anarchism rose in popularity. Most famous for the linking of anarchist ideas and music has been punk rock, although in the modern age, hip hop, and folk music are also becoming important mediums for the spreading of the anarchist message. In the UK this was associated with the punk movement; the band Crass is celebrated for its anarchist and pacifist ideas.For further details, see anarcho-punk and list of anarchist musicians.
