Anarchism,
as defined by the Merriam-Webster Online Dictionary, is: 'a political
theory holding all forms of governmental authority to be unnecessary and
undesirable and advocating a society based on voluntary cooperation and
free association of individuals and groups.' Wikipedia, a free online
encyclopedia, has an excellent section on anarchism, and all its derivative flavors. From Wikipedia we find: 'Anarchism
is a generic term describing various political philosophies and social
movements that advocate the elimination of the state. These philosophies
use anarchy to mean a society based on voluntary
cooperation of free individuals.' It is interesting to note that both
definitions stress that anarchism is a society based on voluntary
cooperation of individuals.
Anarchism basically states that people should be free to make their
own decisions on how to live. Anarchism does NOT tell one how to use
their freedom, what is the best method to live by--just that people
should be free to decide. Anarchism does not tell one to be a socialist,
or a capitalist, or believe in religion, or be an atheist, or how to
live. An excellent short article that really explains this idea is 'Anarchism Without Hyphens.'
Here is a quote from that article that really explains this idea:
'Anarchism, liberty, does not tell you a thing about how free people
will behave or what arrangements they will make. It simply says the
people have the capacity to make the arrangements. Anarchism is
not normative. It does not say how to be free. It says only that
freedom, liberty, can exist.'
Why are there so many types of anarchism?
In reality, there isn't. Any individual or group that operates purely
on the voluntary cooperation of individuals, no matter what form it
takes, is operating under the principle of anarchism. Any individual or
group that forces compliance of individuals, no matter what form it
takes, is not operating under the principles of anarchism, but of the
state. The confusion in types of anarchism arises because anarchists are
humans, and people tend to believe that they know the best way for all
other people to live, whether they are anarchists or not.
Very broadly speaking, there are two basic anarchist camps of thought
on how people should use their freedom to live. One embraces socialism (often denoted by anarcho-socialism or ansoc) and the other capitalism (often denoted as anarcho-capitalism or ancap). For anarcho-socialists, egalitarianism--the
equality of results, is a primary concern. Anarcho-capitalists have no
use for egalitarianism, and instead focus on property rights. Because of
these disparate philosophical differences on how people should use
their freedom to live their lives, these two groups often end up at each
others' throats, and often denounce one another as a greater threat to
liberty and anarchism than the state.
Another group that deserves mention, but is usually totally overlooked, is the one promoting individualist anarchism.
To quote from Wikipedia: 'In politics, individualist anarchism is a
variety of anarchism that emphasizes the importance of the individual.
Several classical anarchist thinkers, such as Benjamin Tucker, Lysander
Spooner, Max Stirner, Dora Marsden and Albert Jay Nock, are known as
individualist anarchists. Their works argue for the sovereignty of each
individual within their own life. Other such writers include Henry David
Thoreau and John Henry Mackay.' Individualist anarchism, with its
emphasis on the individual and individual sovereignty, appears much more
in agreement with the definition of anarchism as the voluntary
cooperation and free association of individuals.
What do anarchists agree on?
Most anarchists agree that exploitation and oppression are wrong and
need to be eliminated from society. Where anarchists differ is why
exploitation and oppression occur. The anarcho-socialists usually blame
capitalism for all the ills of mankind, hence their opposition to
capitalism in any form. The anarcho-capitalists take the opposite
approach, and blame socialism for all the world's problems, and oppose
socialism in any form. What both sides ignore is that exploitation and
oppression is a human problem, independent of any economic system. The
state is the greatest exploiter and oppressor of mankind, and anarchists
of all stripes would do well to concentrate on eliminating the state.
At least that is one area that anarchists can agree on, that the
state is a completely unnecessary evil that needs to be totally
scrapped. The state always enforces its edicts by force and coercion,
never by voluntary cooperation. The state always portrays itself as the
defender of individuals, but is the oppressor that engages in mass
murder and thievery. As Samuel Edward Konkin III states in The New Libertarian Manifesto:
'Such an institution of coercion, centralizing immorality, directing
theft and murder, and coordinating oppression on a scale inconceivable
by random criminality exists. It is the Mob of mobs, Gang of gangs,
Conspiracy of conspiracies. It has murdered more people in a few recent
years than all the deaths in history before that time; it has stolen in a
few recent years more than all the wealth produced in history to that
time; it has deluded--for its survival--more minds in a few recent years
than all the irrationality of history to that time. Our Enemy, The
State.'
One of the worse effects of the state is that it enforces a
completely unnatural order in human relations. You have nation-states
subjecting regional-states that in turn subject local states. Besides
being wrong in using force to obtain their ends, they also regard the
individual and individual family unit, the most important and valuable
contributors to society, as mere cogs in the service of the state. Most
anarchists would agree that the individual, followed by individual
family units, followed by local communities and associations are the
natural order of human relations.
What is the role of the free market in anarchism?
All modern, industrialized societies rely on markets for the exchange of ideas, goods, and services. The free market,
with its voluntary exchange of ideas, goods, and services, is the only
one that fits the anarchist model of a society based on voluntary
cooperation and free association of individuals and groups. While the
free market is often associated with free market capitalism, it does not
really endorse any economic system. The free market really is about the
voluntary exchange of products, by whatever means the individuals agree
on. For those still unconvinced about the value of a free market in
implementing anarchism, the other option is an involuntary or forced
exchange of ideas, goods, and services, which is the method of the
state.
In free market anarchism, all competing ideas on how people should
live would be put into play. This could include socialism, capitalism,
combinations and/or variations of both. Individuals, through the
mechanism of the free market, would determine which type of society best
suited their interests. This could also lead to the best practices of
each society being recognized and adopted, as each society competes for
members in the free market.
Another benefit of the free market is that it operates as a feedback
mechanism. It would not totally eliminate crime, or corruption and
oppression, but would ameliorate their effects. Any free market
anarchist society that did not effectively deal with the problems of its
society would soon find itself losing members to other societies that
took care of their members' problems and concerns. While the free market
is not a perfect solution, because of human imperfection, it is the
best solution.
What does it all mean?
Anarchism doesn't tell one how to live, just that people should be
free to make their own decisions. Anarchism will not deliver a utopia or
paradise. Humans will still be humans, with all the faults of humans,
under anarchism. To think that a certain type of anarchist society will
eliminate all the problems of humanity is unrealistic. Whatever type of
anarchist society people choose, it must be able to effectively deal
with the problems of rogue elements who try to operate outside the
bounds of society.
There is wide disagreement among anarchists, especially about how an
individual should use his freedom to choose a method to live by. This is
not unusual, undesirable, or bad, but indicative of how humans can
arrive at different solutions to similar problems. The one thing that
all anarchists can agree on is that the state is the enemy of anarchism
and freedom, and needs to be eliminated for anarchism and freedom to
flourish.
The free market is the best method for determining who is right. It
will provide the best solutions for the widest variety of interests. The
free market is the best vehicle for determining what people want and
how they want to live.
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