Anarchism: Encyclopedia II - Anarchism - Contemporary anarchism

Anarchism - Contemporary anarchism

Anarchism - Anarcho-capitalism

See also: Anarcho capitalism

Anarcho-capitalism envisions a stateless society where private ownership of the means of production is supported, and economic decisions are made privately through the operation of a free market. They believe that all voluntary (non-coerced) transactions between consenting adults should be legal, so have no opposition to employment or interest. Anarcho-capitalism is an anti-state form of liberalism derived from classical liberal and Austrian economics, abolitionism and some topics from 19th century American individualist anarchism. Rather than adhering to a labor theory of value as many anarchists do, anarcho-capitalists tend to hold to the subjectivist theory of value, and as a consequence, do not oppose profit.

Much of the credit for the foundations of anarcho-capitalist theory has been granted to Murray Rothbard who formally synthesized classical liberalism with Austrian economics. Rothbard defines anarchism in terms of the non-aggression principle: "an anarchist society [is] one where there is no legal possibility for coercive aggression against the person or property of any individual." However, individualist anarchism with no opposition to profit preceeded Rothbard but had not yet been termed "anarcho-capitalism." For example, Rothbard said that Gustave de Molinari, in the 19th century, was the first to theorize anarcho-capitalism. Jakob Mauvillon is another 18th century individualist who has been called an anarcho-capitalist. Auberon Herbert advocated anarcho-capitalism in the 19th century, calling it "voluntaryism." While Rothbard based his anarchism on Natural Law, David Friedman ("The Machinery of Freedom") based it on utilitarianism, and Jan Narveson on contractarianism. Other important anarcho-capitalists include Hans-Hermann Hoppe, Lew Rockwell, and Bryan Caplan. Some minarchists, such as Ayn Rand, Robert Nozick, and Robert A. Heinlein, have also contributed to the theory or popularity of anarcho-capitalism. Early influences on anarcho-capitalism include Gustave de Molinari, Herbert Spencer, Lysander Spooner, and Benjamin Tucker.

Many anarchists, social and individualist, deny that anarcho-capitalism is a form of anarchism, arguing that authoritarian institutions are integral to and are inevitable in any capitalist system thus negating its claims of aspiration to statelessness. On the other hand, there are American individualist anarchists that do regard it as a form of anarchism. [14] [15] [16] Moreoever, anarcho-capitalists Wendy McElroy and Guglielmo Piombini regard their philosophy as "individualist anarchism." Anarcho-capitalism is compared and contrasted with classical individualist anarchism in the article Individualist anarchism and anarcho-capitalism.

Anarchism - Anarcho-syndicalism

For history and development of anarcho-syndicalism see "Anarchists at work" section above.

The world's largest organised anarchist movement is probably still to be found in Spain. After defeat in the Spanish Civil War, CNT members were killed, imprisoned or forced underground and into exile, from whence they continued carry out covert actions against Franco's fascist dictatorship - sometimes loosely allied with other dissident forces including Basque and Catalan nationalists. Following the death of Francisco Franco in 1975, the CNT returned to Spain. However, in the early 1980's the movement became split. The larger organisation today is the Confederación General del Trabajo (or CGT - not to be confused with the now-reformist French CGT confederation). The CGT claims a current paid-up membership of 60,000, making it the third largest Spanish trade union bloc. In recent Spanish syndical elections it gained the votes of over one million workers.[17]

The CNT, though smaller, is still an active movement which takes a 'purer' line. A major dividing point between the two is that the CNT urges abstention from syndical as well as political elections.

In the United States, the IWW is still active, and though relatively tiny has recently experienced a major surge in growth that has made it one of the fastest growing labor unions in the United States. Other current anarcho-syndicalist organizations include the Workers Solidarity Alliance in the US, and the Solidarity Federation in the UK.

Some critics of anarcho-syndicalism contend that its focus on proletarian class struggle overlooks the needs of segments of society such as parents or others occupied with child-rearing or domestic labor, although some anarcho-syndicalist thought attempts to address other sectors of economic life. Some post-left authors, notably Bob Black, contend that an anarcho-syndicalist revolution would leave in place social systems they find oppressive (work and workplaces, for example), although anarcho-syndicalists contend that worker self-management would render those systems fundamentally more humane.

Anarchism - The platformist tradition

A number of anarchist organisations in different countries take their inspiration from the Organisational Platform of the Libertarian Communists, a manifesto for anarchist organisation written by the Dielo Truda group of exiled Russian anarchists in Paris in 1926[18]. Platformists tend to describe themselves as anarchist-communists, and as 'class struggle' anarchists.

Like the anarcho-syndicalists, with whom they have close relationships in many countries, they thus see themselves as continuing a tradition of revolutionary anarchism rooted in working class movements. Unlike anarcho-syndicalists, however, they believe in a role for separate and dedicated Anarchist revolutionary organisations outside of the trade union movement which are characterised by four principles of 'theoretical unity', 'tactical unity', 'collective responsibility' and 'federalism'.

Platformist groups today include the Workers Solidarity Movement in Ireland, the UK's Anarchist Federation, and the late North Eastern Federation of Anarchist Communists in the northeastern United States and bordering Canada.

Anarchism - Post-left anarchy

Post-left anarchy (also called egoist-anarchism) seeks to distance itself from the traditional "left" - communists, liberals, social democrats, etc. - and to escape the confines of ideology in general. It has rapidly developed since the fall of the Soviet Union, which many view as the death of authoritarian leftism. It is not an independent "movement" as such but rather a critical way of thinking about anarchist ideas.

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. It often focuses on the individual rather than speaking in terms of class or other broad generalizations and shuns organizational tendencies in favor of the complete absence of explicit hierarchy. Total individual liberation is a key focus, rather than merely economic liberation. Some critics say that it is actually a resurrection of right wing anarchism.

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 Leftism section, and the Post-left section on anarchism.ws.

See also: Post-left anarchy

Anarchism - Post-structuralism

See also: Post-anarchism

The term postanarchism was originated by Saul Newman, first receiving popular attention in his book From Bakunin to Lacan: Antiauthoritarianism and the Dislocation of Power to refer to a theoretical move towards a synthesis of classical anarchist theory and poststructuralist thought. In this sense it has similarities with post-Marxism associated with Ernesto Laclau and Chantal Mouffee. 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 have been suggested for inclusion under the rubric. Others have argued that the term "poststructuralist anarchism" is preferable in order to maintain an unbroken link with the anarchist heritage.

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 shouldn't 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 Clearinghouse

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. According to Landstreicher: "throughout history, most anarchists, except those who believed that society would evolve to the point that it would leave the state behind, have been insurrectionary anarchists. Most simply, this means that the state will not merely wither away, thus anarchists must attack, for waiting is defeat; what is needed is open mutiny and the spreading of subversion among the exploited and excluded." ^{[citation needed]}

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, while Neal's insistence that it entails a rejection of the idea that there can be an "ultimate Truth" recalls the poststructuralist turns of post-anarchism (see above).

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." [19] Graeber and Grubacic do not offer a comprehensive list of groups within this rubric, but suggest that it includes the likes of autonomism, Zapatismo and radical democracy. It should be stressed that many of these groups do not describe themselves as "anarchist", perhaps deliberately, and are grouped instead on the basis of what they do, implying that the criteria for inclusion are similar to those articulated by Neal.

It is unclear how far the term has been picked up by the wider anarchist movement, but it does help to clarify and begin to explain some of the conflicts and disagreements within contemporary anarchism.

Anarchism - Anarcho-primitivism

See also: anarcho-primitivism

Beginning in the later part of the 20th century anarchist John Zerzan wrote in Elements of Refusal, and later, Future Primitive that civilization — not just the state — would need to fall for anarchy to be achieved. A rejection of industrial technology is also prominent in the views of many green anarchists. This worldview, which harkens back to some of the themes in the writings of Jean-Jacques Rousseau, was associated with the growth of the anti-roads movement in the UK, Earth First! and the Earth Liberation Front in the US.

Primitivism is a philosophy advocating a return to a pre-industrial and usually pre-agricultural society, and a critique of industrial civilization, and the alienation that technology, progress, etc, have created between people and the natural world. Primitivism believes that industrial society inevitably produces oppressive structures through specialization of tasks or division of labor, and that technology has similar negative implications. Most forms of primitivism question civilization itself. Primitivism generally sees that by the birth of agriculture, and the birth of cities and the creating of production surplus, gave rise to structures of hierarchy, and later statism. Anarcho-primitivists point to the anti-authoritarian nature of many 'primitive' or hunter-gatherer societies throughout the world's history, as examples of anarchist societies.

The primitivist movement has connections to radical environmentalism movements such as the Earth Liberation Front and Earth First!.

Adapted from the Wikipedia article "Contemporary anarchism", under the G.N U Free Docmentation License. Please also see http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki