Follow TV Tropes

Following

Discussion History UsefulNotes / PoliticalIdeologies

Go To

[001] Fireblood Current Version
Changed line(s) 1 from:
n
I definitely agree that both anarchism and fascism deserve their own sections here. AnarchyisChaos contains some description and discussion of anarchism, while your proposes section on fascism also looks good to me. Following your lead I\'ll enter this proposed anarchism section here.
to:
I definitely agree that both anarchism and fascism deserve their own sections here. AnarchyisChaos contains some description and discussion of anarchism, while your proposed section on fascism also looks good to me. Following your lead I\\\'ll enter this proposed anarchism section here.
Changed line(s) 3 from:
n
The definition of anarchism to most people means \
to:
The definition of anarchism to most people means \\\"belief that government is bad and shouldn\\\'t exist.\\\" Howerver, while all anarchists do hold something like this, it is not the only or in most cases even essential part of their ideology.

Anarchism is \\\'\\\'the belief that rulership should not exist\\\'\\\' (as indicated in its Greek roots, an- [no] -arkhos [ruler]). While the words \\\"anarchy\\\" and \\\"anarchism\\\" arose in the mid-1600s during the English Civil War as an insult hurled at fringe radical groups (some of whom were close to this) it did not become a coherent trend of thought until the turn of the 19th century. Some view the English radical William Godwin as the first philosophical anarchist, from his work Enquiry Concerning Political Justice and its Influence on Modern Morals and Manners (1793)in which he espoused proto-anarchist views about the state and then-emerging economic order in England. French writer and politician Pierre Joseph Proudhon was the first to call himself an anarchist however, with the book What is Property? (1840) from which came the famous slogan: \\\"property is theft.\\\"

Proudhon argued that property, except when based in possession (i.e. actual occupancy and use) was theft. His reasoning was laid out exhaustively in What is Property, with (most) anarchists since accepting it, though the modern Anarcho-Capitalist and Agorist trends do not. However, in the 19th century through to the mid-20th opposition to \\\"private property\\\" (anything distinguished from possession) was universal to anarchism. Along with this they opposed sexism, racism, classism and social hierarchy generally. Proudhon did not in fact oppose the free market, supporting workers associations (cooperatives) and mutual banks (similar to modern credit unions) to compete away industrial capitalism. His school of thought is thus termed Mutualism.

Mikhail Bakunin, a Russian prince turned radical writer and exile, followed Proudhon and broke with him on many issues, supporting collective work without markets and workers\\\' self-management. Bakunin also linked opposition to religion, especially organized, hierarchical forms, to his view of anarchism. He was a strong rival of Marx in the First International, and the two fought a long ideological battle before Bakunin\\\'s followers were expelled from it by Marx\\\'s. Bakunin\\\'s school of thought is Anarcho-Collectivism.

Pyotr Kropotkin, another Russian prince who like Bakunin gave it all up for radicalism, advocated full communism on the principle \\\"to each according to his ability, to each according to his needs\\\" although with voluntary, direct democratic participation.

Meanwhile, in the United States a very different brand of anarchism emerged. With such American writers as Benjamin Tucker, Lysander Spooner, William Green and others, it set out an ideal very close to Proudhon\\\'s, with even more emphasis upon an \\\"anti-capitalist free market\\\" in which self-employed craftsment, artisans or farmers were paid their \\\"full wage\\\", land title was possession-based only. Essentially, they held the Labor Theory of Value along with support of free markets-\\\"cost is the limit of price\\\" was among their well-known slogans. This school of thought is known as Individualist Anarchism, slowly fading away into the late 19th century as Social Anarchism (i.e. Collectivist or Communist Anarchism) took over with immigrants from Europe bringing it.

The turn of the 20th century saw another trend, which advocated using revolutionary unions to overthrow capitalism and the state using militant industrial organizing, sabotage, working-class solidarity and possibly a general strike. It was less a separate school of thought than tactical view, since followers were invariable Social Anarchists of the Collectivist of Communist form. This is called Anarcho-Syndicalism from the French word for labor union-\\\"chambre syndical.\\\" The Spanish Revolution, often pointing to as their greatest (albeit doomed) triumph by Social Anarchists, utilized this in the CNT (Spanish acronym for National Confederation of Labor), which organized a worker\\\'s revolt in 1936 following the military coup led by Francisco Franco against the Popular Front government. The CNT-FAI (Iberian Anarchist Federation) ran much of Spain, centered in Catalonia, on anarchist lines with no small success for the next three years until the revolution was crushed by Franco.

The issue of Capitalism is a divisive one for Anarchists, although this is partly due to terminology. Most anarchist literature, and most anarchists, define \\\"Capitalism\\\" in the Marxist sense of the term (i.e. capital is owned by party X, and party X pays \\\'\\\'wages\\\'\\\' to parties A, B and C to operate said capital). However, the term \\\"Capitalism\\\" is also commonly defined by non-anarchists (and by most self-proclaimed \\\"Capitalists\\\") as \\\"free market economics\\\" (i.e. when all economic activity must take place within the realm of consent and contract and thus \\\'\\\'outside\\\'\\\' the realm of the State). Most anarchists consider the two meanings to be separate concepts, with \\\"Capitalism\\\" being used in the Marxist sense and \\\"Free Market\\\" being used to refer to the second definition. For the remainder of this article, \\\"Capitalism\\\" and \\\"Free Market\\\" will be used in the Anarchist senses of the term. Therefore, someone can be both anti-Capitalist and pro-Market (i.e. arguing for a society of self-employed people interacting and exchanging on a purely voluntary basis; the Mutualists and Individualist Anarchists share this position). On the other hand, someone can be pro-Capitalist and anti-Market (arguably, Mussolini-style State Corporatism fits this). Hence, the original anarchists from Proudhon on were opposed completely to what they called \\\"capitalism\\\" but the modern anarcho-capitalists (obviously) are not.

The school of Anarcho-Capitalism emerged in the 1950s-1960s with the writer, economics professor and Libertarian Party co-founder Murray Rothbard, expanded upon by later thinkers like David Friedman (son of Milton, although going much farther in his advocacy of capitalism). Rothbard felt, like the classical anarchists, that government is oppressive and illegitimate, but private property and free markets were good. Though admiring of the Individualist Anarchists, he followed the Austrian School of Economics, which is categorically in favor of what we (along with they) would have termed \\\"capitalism.\\\" Along with this, Rothbard was far more devoted to classical liberalism and natural-rights theory than the Individualist Anarchists, who followed aspects of it. He felt that government services, such as police, militaries, courts, roads, etc. could be provided much better under the auspices of common law. Rothbard accepted voluntary collectivism and communism, even advocating that businesses funded by the state be expropriated or \\\"home-steaded\\\" as they used stolen capital. However, he certainly accepted property more than for \\\"occupancy and use\\\" provided this was homesteaded peacefully to begin with.

Agorism is to Anarcho-Capitalism essentially what Anarcho-Syndicalism is to Anarcho-Communism, namely tactical, advocating using the black and grey markets to live \\\"off the grid\\\" and bring down the system from within.

A brief description of the different (broad) anarchist schools of thought:

* \\\'\\\'\\\'Anarcho-Communism\\\'\\\'\\\': The most popular movement, which calls for abolition of private property, corporations, and the state. Think \\\"Imagine\\\" by John Lennon. People produce whatever they want to for a common pool of resources, and everyone takes what they need from it following a consensus made in a direct democratic vote. It\\\'s assumed that what you\\\'ll get will be correlative to your cooperation, unless you are a too young/old to work, or you need special care. This system was in place in some parts of Spain during the SpanishCivilWar and, believe it or not, it worked, until Franco\\\'s fascist regime took over. This is also known as Libertarian Communism.
** \\\'\\\'\\\'Collectivist Anarchism\\\'\\\'\\\': Like Anarcho-Communism, but products are distributed according to work performed rather than need, through direct democracy.
* \\\'\\\'\\\'Mutualism\\\'\\\'\\\': Original anarchist movement started by Pierre Joseph Proudhon, author of \\\'\\\'What is Property?\\\'\\\' which contains the famous \\\"property is theft\\\" conclusion-he was also the first to call himself anarchist. Before that it was an insult; hey, come to think of it...This was the first Free-Market Anarchist movement, but unlike today\\\'s Free-Market Anarchists, it argues for the Labor Theory of Economic Value. Mutualist Anarchists believe that when labor or its product is sold, in exchange, it ought to receive goods or services embodying the amount of labor necessary to produce an article of exactly similar and equal utility. They accept money and private property as long as it\\\'s actually being used by the owner. Mutualism, owing to its embrace of the Labor Theory of Economic Value, supports democratic cooperatives of workers who own the means of production, instead of traditional capitalist bosses.
* \\\'\\\'\\\'Individualist Anarchism\\\'\\\'\\\': A movement (very similar to Mutualism) of US origin focusing more on a society of independent craftsmen owning their own tools and thus free of employer domination. Like Mutualism it held to the Labor Theory of Economic Value. Individualist Anarchists supported worker cooperatives if they wished, but with the provision each part of it be held separately, thus a worker could leave and support themselves if necessary. The rise of capitalism and the anarcho-communist reaction eclipsed the Individualist Anarchists, though some exist. This was what most people knew as Free Market Anarchism, along with the Mutualists, until:
* \\\'\\\'\\\'Anarcho-Capitalism\\\'\\\'\\\': Anarcho-Capitalists (the modern Free-Market Anarchists) are essentially Individualist Anarchists but instead of advocating the Labor Theory of Economic Value, they advocate the Subjective Theory of Economic Value (which has been accepted by nearly all economists since Walras, Menger and Jevons). As such, they do not see Capitalism as inherently exploitative; rather they see an employment contract as no different to any other form of contractual relationship. Anarcho-Capitalists also reject the view that \\\"big business\\\" and \\\"big government\\\" are enemies of each other; rather they see the former as a force that benefits from having [[ScrewTheRulesIHaveConnections \\\'friends in high places\\\']] and the latter as more than willing to bestow privileges and special favors upon the former.
** \\\'\\\'\\\'Agorism\\\'\\\'\\\': Agorism is a movement related to Anarcho-Capitalism, but not quite. Agorists hold as a revolutionary goal the development of freely-competing, market producers of law and security through non-aggressive black market activity, which will eventually drive the state out of existence. [[http://agorism.info In fact]], this is precisely what sets Agorism apart from other forms of anarchism.
* \\\'\\\'\\\'Ecological Anarchism\\\'\\\'\\\': Similar to Anarcho-Communism, but with a higher emphasis on [[GreenAesop respecting nature]]. The more radical forms of this, like Anarcho-Primitivism, believe that civilization is [[http://www.tiamatpublications.com/docs/Freedom_and_Civilization.pdf inherently oppressive]], and wish to abolish industrial technology, agriculture, writing etc., returning to a primitive (hence the name) existence as hunter-gatherers.
** The little problem that the planet Earth could feed just about 5 million humans when they were at the hunter-gatherer stage is rarely if ever mentioned. What are they planning to do with the other 7 billions?
* \\\'\\\'\\\'Egoist Anarchism\\\'\\\'\\\': The reason why the BombThrowingAnarchists trope exists. Basically, they believe that anything that an individual can do, should be done. Also known as [[NietzscheWannabe Nihilist Anarchism]] and [[FightClub Project Mayhem.]] [[http://libcom.org/library/right-be-greedy-theses-practical-necessity-demanding-everything Here]] is a classic text by Situationist International, advancing a collectivist form of egoism.

In addition to this, there are other different anarchist movements which don\\\'t focus on the organization of an actual anarchist society, but rather on the means to bring it.

* \\\'\\\'\\\'Anarcho-Syndicalism\\\'\\\'\\\': Focuses on the power of non-statist organizations like workers\\\' associations and unions to limit the government. Related most often to Anarcho-Communism and Mutualism. This was the way it was done in [[SpanishCivilWar Anarchist Catalonia.]]
* \\\'\\\'\\\'Philosophical Anarchism\\\'\\\'\\\': The belief that state control and violence are related closely, so an anarchy is the most pacifist-friendly kind of society. Mohandas Karamchand Gandhi was one of these. Also known as Anarcho-Pacifism. Definitely {{badass pacifist}}s and complete [[InvertedTrope inversion of]] BombThrowingAnarchists.
* \\\'\\\'\\\'Christian Anarchism\\\'\\\'\\\': Related to the above, this is the belief that [[JesusWasWayCool the teachings of Christ are compatible with, or even require, a non-hierarchical stateless society.]] They also argue that [[AncientRome early Christian Communes]] were basically anarcho-communist in nature.
* \\\'\\\'\\\'Anarcho-Feminism\\\'\\\'\\\': Movement for women (especially led by anarcho-communist Emma Goldman) popular in the early twentieth century, that proclaims that governments are inherently male-dominated, and that anarchist societies will be more egalitarian in nature.
* \\\'\\\'\\\'Queer Anarchism\\\'\\\'\\\': Same as above, but replace \\\"women\\\" with \\\"sexual minorities\\\" and \\\"male\\\" with \\\"heterosexuals\\\".
* \\\'\\\'\\\'Post-Left Anarchism\\\'\\\'\\\': A movement within anarchism that [[ExactlyWhatItSaysOnTheTin rejects left-right political distinctions]].
* \\\'\\\'\\\'Agorism\\\'\\\'\\\', as mentioned above, is more of a theory of revolution than an ethical system.
----

Top