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131-446: Over the past 150 years, anarchists , anarcho-syndicalists and libertarian socialists have held many congresses, conferences and international meetings in which trade unions, other groups and individuals have participated. The First International was an organization that aimed at uniting a variety of different left-wing groups and trade unions that were based on the working class and class struggle . Anarchists participated in

262-516: A carnivalesque atmosphere that is part of contemporary anarchist vividity. As anarchism is a philosophy that embodies many diverse attitudes, tendencies, and schools of thought, disagreement over questions of values, ideology, and tactics is common. Its diversity has led to widely different uses of identical terms among different anarchist traditions which has created a number of definitional concerns in anarchist theory . The compatibility of capitalism , nationalism , and religion with anarchism

393-457: A necessary evil . Anarchists took an active role in strike actions, although they tended to be antipathetic to formal syndicalism , seeing it as reformist . They saw it as a part of the movement which sought to overthrow the state and capitalism. Anarchists also reinforced their propaganda within the arts , some of whom practiced naturism and nudism . Those anarchists also built communities which were based on friendship and were involved in

524-543: A Native American action at " The Battle of Hayes Pond ." Williams was suspended for his militancy by NAACP chairman Roy Wilkins, but his policy became nationally popular among the rank-and-file, and the NAACP delegate assembly passed a resolution stating that "We do not deny, but reaffirm the right of individual and collective self-defense against unlawful assaults." Williams continued to promote armed resistance with his publication The Crusader and eventually resumed leadership of

655-477: A bank of the people. Mutualism has been retrospectively characterised as ideologically situated between individualist and collectivist forms of anarchism. In What Is Property? (1840), Proudhon first characterised his goal as a "third form of society, the synthesis of communism and property." Collectivist anarchism is a revolutionary socialist form of anarchism commonly associated with Mikhail Bakunin . Collectivist anarchists advocate collective ownership of

786-468: A celebratory history of the civil rights movement...Our young are rarely taught about the riots, and even many academic sources on the Black movement ignore or downplay the riots. It seems as if those who are old enough to remember the riots are trying to forget them." Within the sociology field itself, however, positive results from the " radical flank effect " are widely acknowledged. The radical flank effect

917-662: A central role in anarchist philosophy. Anarchism's emphasis on anti-capitalism , egalitarianism , and for the extension of community and individuality sets it apart from anarcho-capitalism and other types of economic libertarianism . Anarchism is usually placed on the far-left of the political spectrum. Much of its economics and legal philosophy reflect anti-authoritarian , anti-statist , libertarian , and radical interpretations of left-wing and socialist politics such as collectivism , communism , individualism , mutualism , and syndicalism , among other libertarian socialist economic theories. As anarchism does not offer

1048-441: A distinction between the legalist suffragists and the law-breaking " suffragettes "; Pankhurst and her followers nonetheless accepted the latter label. Beginning in 1908, WSPU engaged in violent protests: smashing windows, fighting police officers, and eventually committing non-lethal bombings. Pankhurst famously said that a "broken pane of glass is the most valuable argument in modern politics," and considered suffragette struggle

1179-412: A fixed body of doctrine from a single particular worldview , many anarchist types and traditions exist and varieties of anarchy diverge widely. One reaction against sectarianism within the anarchist milieu was anarchism without adjectives , a call for toleration and unity among anarchists first adopted by Fernando Tarrida del Mármol in 1889 in response to the bitter debates of anarchist theory at

1310-438: A form of "civil war." When imprisoned, suffragettes often engaged in hunger-strikes , and were the first high-profile group to systematically engage in this tactic, preceding Mohandas Gandhi by a decade. Historian Trevor Lloyd wrote that "by [1913] the suffragettes were no longer looking for opportunities for martyrdom. They wanted to fight against society." These activities drove away some of their sympathizers, but Pankhurst

1441-645: A game-changer." Grassroots leaders of the movement have refused to condemn episodes of violent protest, and widely "embrace a diversity of tactics." The woman's rights movement in Britain became increasingly militant in the years leading up to the passage of suffrage. The primary instigator of this tendency was Emmeline Pankhurst . Pankhurst's organization, the Women’s Social and Political Union (WSPU), began disrupting political meetings and practicing nonviolent civil disobedience in 1904. The mainstream media made

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1572-693: A leader or a leading group. One way is for an individual from the group to play the role of facilitator to help achieve a consensus without taking part in the discussion themselves or promoting a specific point. Minorities usually accept rough consensus, except when they feel the proposal contradicts anarchist ethics, goals and values. Anarchists usually form small groups (5–20 individuals) to enhance autonomy and friendships among their members. These kinds of groups more often than not interconnect with each other, forming larger networks. Anarchists still support and participate in strikes, especially wildcat strikes as these are leaderless strikes not organised centrally by

1703-452: A mass defection due to its intolerance of diversity of tactics. Numerous participants (including Jaggi Singh ) criticized SalAMI for its "dogmatism on nonviolence" as well as perceived hierarchies within the organization. Out of this schism emerged le Convergence des luttes Anti-Capitalistes (CLAC). CLAC's "Basis of Unity" stated: "Respecting a diversity of tactics, the CLAC supports the use of

1834-563: A minority of anarchists adopted tactics of revolutionary political violence , known as propaganda of the deed . The dismemberment of the French socialist movement into many groups and the execution and exile of many Communards to penal colonies following the suppression of the Paris Commune favoured individualist political expression and acts. Even though many anarchists distanced themselves from these terrorist acts, infamy came upon

1965-419: A misunderstanding of anarchist principles. While opposition to the state is central to anarchist thought, defining anarchism is not an easy task for scholars, as there is a lot of discussion among scholars and anarchists on the matter, and various currents perceive anarchism slightly differently. Major definitional elements include the will for a non-coercive society, the rejection of the state apparatus,

2096-639: A rigorously nonviolent strategy—promoted by Bill Moyer and the Movement for a New Society , and embodied in the Clamshell Alliance —was often credited for the advance, and these methods came to dominate the social justice community. This corresponded with the rise of a highly effective police strategy of crowd control called "negotiated management." Many social scientists have noted the "institutionalization of movements" in this period. These currents largely constrained disruptive protest until

2227-613: A ruler", composed of the prefix an- ("without") and the word arkhos ("leader" or "ruler"). The suffix -ism denotes the ideological current that favours anarchy. Anarchism appears in English from 1642 as anarchisme and anarchy from 1539; early English usages emphasised a sense of disorder. Various factions within the French Revolution labelled their opponents as anarchists , although few such accused shared many views with later anarchists. Many revolutionaries of

2358-755: A singular anarchism , in which common principles are shared between schools of anarchism while each group prioritizes those principles differently. Gender equality can be a common principle, although it ranks as a higher priority to anarcha-feminists than anarcho-communists. Anarchists are generally committed against coercive authority in all forms, namely "all centralized and hierarchical forms of government (e.g., monarchy, representative democracy, state socialism, etc.), economic class systems (e.g., capitalism, Bolshevism , feudalism , slavery , etc.), autocratic religions (e.g., fundamentalist Islam , Roman Catholicism , etc.), patriarchy , heterosexism , white supremacy , and imperialism ." Anarchist schools disagree on

2489-425: A small yet diverse following of Bohemian artists and intellectuals as well as young anarchist outlaws in what became known as illegalism and individual reclamation . Anarchist principles undergird contemporary radical social movements of the left. Interest in the anarchist movement developed alongside momentum in the anti-globalisation movement, whose leading activist networks were anarchist in orientation. As

2620-423: A subject of study for anarchists, yielding a post-structuralist critique of sexual normality . Some anarchists distanced themselves from this line of thinking, suggesting that it leaned towards an individualism that was dropping the cause of social liberation. The interest of anarchists in education stretches back to the first emergence of classical anarchism. Anarchists consider proper education, one which sets

2751-431: A syndicate. As in the past, newspapers and journals are used, and anarchists have gone online to spread their message. Anarchists have found it easier to create websites because of distributional and other difficulties, hosting electronic libraries and other portals. Anarchists were also involved in developing various software that are available for free. The way these hacktivists work to develop and distribute resembles

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2882-400: A tactic which can include acts of sabotage or terrorism . This attitude was quite prominent a century ago when seeing the state as a tyrant and some anarchists believing that they had every right to oppose its oppression by any means possible. Emma Goldman and Errico Malatesta , who were proponents of limited use of violence, stated that violence is merely a reaction to state violence as

3013-683: A variety of creative initiatives, ranging from popular education to direct action." The anti-FTAA demonstrations were massive, involving sixty thousand people at its peak, and received largely positive media coverage, even as they included widespread clashes with police and destruction of government property. Cindy Milstein observed that CLACs success in Quebec City sprang from using a broad repertoire that encompassed community organizing, international outreach and forceful confrontation (CLAC continue to be active in Quebec to this day, and composed part of

3144-508: A way of men imposing authority over women, largely because marriage law greatly favoured the power of men. The notion of free love was much broader and included a critique of the established order that limited women's sexual freedom and pleasure. Those free love movements contributed to the establishment of communal houses, where large groups of travelers, anarchists and other activists slept in beds together. Free love had roots both in Europe and

3275-796: A window in a struggle with a police officer in October 1918, and burning the president in effigy in front of the White House in February 1919. In May 1919, President Wilson called a special session of Congress for the suffrage amendment. It passed both houses the following month. The civil rights movement was not consistently nonviolent in a Gandhian sense; even during the Montgomery bus boycott of 1955–1956, most activists, including Martin Luther King Jr., kept arms in their homes. Under

3406-535: Is a mercifully restrained disruption: Zinn then addresses the claim that violence does irreparable harm to a movement's cause, countering that history repeatedly shows both the limitations of nonviolence and the efficacy of combative means: "Not until Negro demonstrations resulted in violence did the national government begin to work seriously on civil rights," the historian notes, using the Birmingham riot of 1963 as an example. Peaceful methods "were enough to raise

3537-402: Is a theory of anarchism that advocates a communist society with common ownership of the means of production, held by a federal network of voluntary associations , with production and consumption based on the guiding principle " From each according to his ability, to each according to his need ." Anarcho-communism developed from radical socialist currents after the French Revolution but

3668-401: Is a way to regain urban space from the capitalist market, serving pragmatical needs and also being an exemplary direct action. Acquiring space enables anarchists to experiment with their ideas and build social bonds. Adding up these tactics while having in mind that not all anarchists share the same attitudes towards them, along with various forms of protesting at highly symbolic events, make up

3799-477: Is composed of moderate and radical factions..." In recent years, academic historians have become more forthright about the role of force in the civil rights movement. Scholars such as Charles M. Payne , Akinyele Umoja , and Timothy Tyson explicated on the utility of militant activity (ranging from armed deterrence to mass rioting) in ending formal segregation in the United States. In his book I've Got

3930-399: Is enacted by many contemporary anarchist groups, striving to embody the principles, organization and tactics of the changed social structure they hope to bring about. As part of this the decision-making process of small anarchist affinity groups plays a significant tactical role. Anarchists have employed various methods to build a rough consensus among members of their group without the need of

4061-469: Is governed by consensus, although they saw this as highly unlikely. Beliefs on how to abolish the state also differ. As gender and sexuality carry along them dynamics of hierarchy, many anarchists address, analyse, and oppose the suppression of one's autonomy imposed by gender roles. Sexuality was not often discussed by classical anarchists but the few that did felt that an anarchist society would lead to sexuality naturally developing. Sexual violence

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4192-688: Is more to be feared than to be desired. The militarization of civil war is the defeat of insurrection." Numerous commentators consider the Ferguson and Baltimore rioting associated with the Black Lives Matter movement to have been productive forms of protest. A member of the Missouri governor's "Ferguson Commission" told the Huffington Post that "If not for the unrest, we wouldn't have seen municipal court reform. It's certainly

4323-405: Is responsible for their own actions but works together to bring down oppression using sabotage and other violent means against state, capitalism, and other enemies. Members of The Invisible Committee were arrested in 2008 on various charges, terrorism included. Overall, contemporary anarchists are much less violent and militant than their ideological ancestors. They mostly engage in confronting

4454-506: Is significant overlap between the two. Anarchist tactics have shifted during the course of the last century. Anarchists during the early 20th century focused more on strikes and militancy while contemporary anarchists use a broader array of approaches . During the classical era, anarchists had a militant tendency. Not only did they confront state armed forces, as in Spain and Ukraine, but some of them also employed terrorism as propaganda of

4585-508: Is significant overlap between the two. Evolutionary methods try to simulate what an anarchist society might be like, but revolutionary tactics, which have historically taken a violent turn, aim to overthrow authority and the state. Many facets of human civilization have been influenced by anarchist theory, critique, and praxis . The etymological origin of anarchism is from the Ancient Greek anarkhia (ἀναρχία), meaning "without

4716-517: Is widely disputed, and anarchism enjoys complex relationships with ideologies such as communism, collectivism , Marxism, and trade unionism . Anarchists may be motivated by humanism , divine authority , enlightened self-interest , veganism , or any number of alternative ethical doctrines. Phenomena such as civilisation , technology (e.g. within anarcho-primitivism), and the democratic process may be sharply criticised within some anarchist tendencies and simultaneously lauded in others. Objection to

4847-581: The 1999 demonstrations against the World Trade Organization . In an unprecedented success for post-Vietnam era civil disobedience, the WTO Ministerial Conference opening ceremonies were shut down completely, host city Seattle declared a state of emergency for nearly a week, multilateral trade negotiations between the wealthy and developing nations collapsed, and all of this was done without fatalities. This occurred in

4978-656: The Bolshevik government had stabilised, including during the Kronstadt rebellion . Several anarchists from Petrograd and Moscow fled to Ukraine, before the Bolsheviks crushed the anarchist movement there too. With the anarchists being repressed in Russia, two new antithetical currents emerged, namely platformism and synthesis anarchism . The former sought to create a coherent group that would push for revolution while

5109-605: The Enlightenment . During the latter half of the 19th and the first decades of the 20th century, the anarchist movement flourished in most parts of the world and had a significant role in workers' struggles for emancipation . Various anarchist schools of thought formed during this period. Anarchists have taken part in several revolutions , most notably in the Paris Commune , the Russian Civil War and

5240-671: The Escuela Moderna in Barcelona as an opposition to the established education system which was dictated largely by the Catholic Church. Ferrer's approach was secular, rejecting both state and church involvement in the educational process while giving pupils large amounts of autonomy in planning their work and attendance. Ferrer aimed to educate the working class and explicitly sought to foster class consciousness among students. The school closed after constant harassment by

5371-748: The Industrial Workers of the World left their organisations and joined the Communist International . In the Spanish Civil War of 1936–39, anarchists and syndicalists ( CNT and FAI ) once again allied themselves with various currents of leftists. A long tradition of Spanish anarchism led to anarchists playing a pivotal role in the war, and particularly in the Spanish Revolution of 1936 . In response to

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5502-463: The New Left and libertarian Marxists , who do not associate themselves with authoritarian socialists or a vanguard party , and extreme cultural liberals , who are primarily concerned with civil liberties . Additionally, some anarchists use libertarian socialist to avoid anarchism's negative connotations and emphasise its connections with socialism . Anarchism is broadly used to describe

5633-540: The Republican government, ending in another defeat of anarchists at the hands of the communists. By the end of World War II , the anarchist movement had been severely weakened. The 1960s witnessed a revival of anarchism, likely caused by a perceived failure of Marxism–Leninism and tensions built by the Cold War . During this time, anarchism found a presence in other movements critical towards both capitalism and

5764-438: The Spanish Civil War , whose end marked the end of the classical era of anarchism . In the last decades of the 20th and into the 21st century, the anarchist movement has been resurgent once more, growing in popularity and influence within anti-capitalist , anti-war and anti-globalisation movements. Anarchists employ diverse approaches , which may be generally divided into revolutionary and evolutionary strategies ; there

5895-454: The St. Imier International . Under the influence of Peter Kropotkin , a Russian philosopher and scientist, anarcho-communism overlapped with collectivism . Anarcho-communists, who drew inspiration from the 1871 Paris Commune , advocated for free federation and for the distribution of goods according to one's needs . By the turn of the 20th century, anarchism had spread all over the world. It

6026-777: The Summerhill School in 1921, also declaring being free from coercion. Diversity of tactics The first clear articulation of diversity of tactics appears to have emerged from Malcolm X and other radical leaders in the Civil Rights Movement of the early 1960s. Shortly after Malcolm announced his departure from the Nation of Islam , he gave a speech entitled "The Black Revolution" where he promoted solidarity between those who practiced armed resistance against racism, and those who practiced nonviolence. He stated: In March 1964, Gloria Richardson , leader of

6157-610: The World Trade Organization (WTO), the Group of Eight and the World Economic Forum . During the protests , ad hoc leaderless anonymous cadres known as black blocs engaged in rioting, property destruction and violent confrontations with the police. Other organisational tactics pioneered at this time include affinity groups , security culture and the use of decentralised technologies such as

6288-740: The Zapatistas ) which supported diversity of tactics and a highly flexible definition of nonviolence. In the aftermath of the shutdown, however, various NGO spokespeople associated with Seattle DAN claimed that the riotous aspect of the WTO protests was counterproductive and undemocratic. They also asserted that it was only an insignificantly small group from Eugene, Oregon that engaged in property destruction. Medea Benjamin told The New York Times that "These anarchists should have been arrested," while Lori Wallach of Public Citizen stated that she had instructed Teamsters to turn black bloc participants over to

6419-461: The anti-authoritarian wing of the socialist movement . Anarchism is contrasted to socialist forms which are state-oriented or from above. Scholars of anarchism generally highlight anarchism's socialist credentials and criticise attempts at creating dichotomies between the two. Some scholars describe anarchism as having many influences from liberalism, and being both liberal and socialist but more so. Many scholars reject anarcho-capitalism as

6550-451: The arms industry to addressing Monsanto seed-saving policies and patents , helping farmers , and resisting the commodification of food and housing. Honeywell also emphasizes that contemporary anarchists are interested in the flourishing not only of humans , but non-humans and the environment as well. Honeywell argues that their analysis of capitalism and governments results in anarchists rejecting representative democracy and

6681-401: The means of production which is theorised to be achieved through violent revolution and that workers be paid according to time worked, rather than goods being distributed according to need as in communism. Collectivist anarchism arose alongside Marxism but rejected the dictatorship of the proletariat despite the stated Marxist goal of a collectivist stateless society . Anarcho-communism

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6812-439: The second wave of feminism , radicalising some currents of the feminist movement and being influenced as well. By the latest decades of the 20th century, anarchists and feminists were advocating for the rights and autonomy of women, gays, queers and other marginalised groups, with some feminist thinkers suggesting a fusion of the two currents. With the third wave of feminism , sexual identity and compulsory heterosexuality became

6943-612: The second wave of feminism . Black anarchism began to take form at this time and influenced anarchism's move from a Eurocentric demographic. This coincided with its failure to gain traction in Northern Europe and its unprecedented height in Latin America. Around the turn of the 21st century, anarchism grew in popularity and influence within anti-capitalist, anti-war and anti-globalisation movements. Anarchists became known for their involvement in protests against

7074-429: The state and its institutions is a sine qua non of anarchism. Anarchists consider the state as a tool of domination and believe it to be illegitimate regardless of its political tendencies. Instead of people being able to control the aspects of their life, major decisions are taken by a small elite. Authority ultimately rests solely on power, regardless of whether that power is open or transparent , as it still has

7205-447: The "big-A Anarchism" of the classical era, the newly coined term "small-a anarchism" signals their tendency not to base their thoughts and actions on classical-era anarchism or to refer to classical anarchists such as Peter Kropotkin and Pierre-Joseph Proudhon to justify their opinions. Those anarchists would rather base their thought and praxis on their own experience, which they will later theorize. The concept of prefigurative politics

7336-418: The 19th century such as William Godwin (1756–1836) and Wilhelm Weitling (1808–1871) would contribute to the anarchist doctrines of the next generation but did not use anarchist or anarchism in describing themselves or their beliefs. The first political philosopher to call himself an anarchist (French: anarchiste ) was Pierre-Joseph Proudhon (1809–1865), marking the formal birth of anarchism in

7467-721: The Bakuninists were expelled from the International by the Marxists at the 1872 Hague Congress . Anarchists were treated similarly in the Second International , being ultimately expelled in 1896. Bakunin predicted that if revolutionaries gained power by Marx's terms, they would end up the new tyrants of workers . In response to their expulsion from the First International, anarchists formed

7598-628: The Cambridge Maryland chapter of the Student Nonviolent Coordinating Committee (SNCC), took Malcolm X up on his offer to join forces with civil rights organizations. Richardson (who'd recently been honored on stage at the March on Washington ) told The Baltimore Afro-American that "Malcolm is being very practical...The federal government has moved into conflict situations only when matters approach

7729-514: The Establishment and secondly to promote anarchist ethics and reflect an anarchist vision of society, illustrating the unity of means and ends . A broad categorisation can be made between aims to destroy oppressive states and institutions by revolutionary means on one hand and aims to change society through evolutionary means on the other. Evolutionary tactics embrace nonviolence and take a gradual approach to anarchist aims, although there

7860-526: The First International until their expulsion in the Hague Congress . After the Hague Congress (1872) , which saw the expulsion of the anarchists Mikhail Bakunin and James Guillaume , it was decided to hold a Congress of the anti-authoritarian Sections and Federations of the International, including the Jura Federation , in St. Imier , Switzerland. The Congress was attended by delegates of

7991-560: The Freedom Riders’ favor less than one month after the Monroe conflict. In 1962, Freedom Rider John Lowry publicly praised Williams and proclaimed that nonviolent action could not be successful without a "threat of violence." Other civil rights figures who praised Robert F. William's contribution to the movement included Rosa Parks , Julian Bond , Howard Zinn, Stanley Levison , and Ella Baker . The latter two were co-founders of

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8122-838: The International federations in Italy , Spain , the United States , France and French-speaking Switzerland . This congress was not considered by the anarchists as the first of a new international organization, but rather the continuation of the old International. It rejected the modifications to the General Rules of the IWMA that had been decided at the London Conference (1871) and the Hague Congress (1872). A number of local or regional congresses were held after

8253-710: The Internet. A significant event of this period was the confrontations at the 1999 Seattle WTO conference . Anarchist ideas have been influential in the development of the Zapatistas in Mexico and the Democratic Federation of Northern Syria, more commonly known as Rojava , a de facto autonomous region in northern Syria . While having revolutionary aspirations, many contemporary forms of anarchism are not confrontational. Instead, they are trying to build an alternative way of social organization (following

8384-527: The Light of Freedom , Payne reflected on the way in which black militancy co-existed with nonviolent ideals: Historian Robin Kelley has written that "armed self-defense actually saved lives, reduced terrorist attacks on African American communities, and laid the foundation for unparalleled community solidarity." Although this scholarship has been highly acclaimed, virtually none of its findings have been used in

8515-677: The Monroe NAACP chapter. The national student sit-in movement began with the Greensboro sit-ins in North Carolina several months later. Although initiated as a nonviolent campaign which would not respond to white violence, in some locations, including Portsmouth Virginia and Chattanooga, Tennessee, blacks forcefully defended themselves against assaults. Robert F. Williams led a successful sit-in campaign in Monroe where, he reported, no racists dared to attack his group because it

8646-540: The NGO leaders as "hypocrites," and wrote that nonviolent activists ought to be "treating the young rock-throwers like sisters and brothers in the struggle." She also criticized the dominant nonviolent paradigm as "absurdly ritualized," as well as elitist for presuming to reject any protester who hadn't gone through nonviolence training "for hours or even days." Ehrenreich concluded: "The people at Direct Action Network, Global Exchange, and other groups were smart enough to comprehend

8777-466: The November 30th Festival of Resistance into reality." They also asserted that the established left, by advocating violence against certain protesters in order to protect corporate property, was fostering "an uncritical acceptance of the dominant value system of American consumer society: private property has a higher value than life." In her own response to the controversy, Barbara Ehrenreich decried

8908-625: The South were terrorized into submission by the Ku Klux Klan . In 1959, Robert F. Williams , president of the Monroe, North Carolina chapter of the NAACP, made national headlines when he told the press that his chapter was armed and prepared to "meet violence with violence." North Carolina activists had been having successful armed stand-offs against the Klan for several months beforehand, including

9039-740: The Student Nonviolent Coordinating Committee (SNCC), led a delegation of nonviolent picketers to Monroe to work with Robert F. Williams. (Freedom Riders in Anniston, Alabama, had already benefitted from the protection of an armed group led by Colonel Stone Johnson). The Monroe Freedom Riders were brutally assaulted while picketing city hall, but were rescued by Williams and his group, who proceeded to exchange gunfire with white supremacist civilians and police. Numerous Freedom Riders have expressed gratitude to Williams for saving their lives that day. The ICC decided in

9170-571: The United States ) and served as "the theoretical buttress to the many acts of civil disobedience committed during those years of the war in Vietnam." In the years after the end of the Vietnam War, protest in the US came to assume more orderly forms, and was increasingly dominated by the middle-class. When the anti-nuclear power movement made progress after the partial meltdown of Three Mile Island,

9301-410: The United States; however, some anarchists struggled with the jealousy that arose from free love. Anarchist feminists were advocates of free love, against marriage, and pro-choice (using a contemporary term), and had a similar agenda. Anarchist and non-anarchist feminists differed on suffrage but were supportive of one another. During the second half of the 20th century, anarchism intermingled with

9432-453: The ability to coerce people. Another anarchist argument against states is that the people constituting a government, even the most altruistic among officials, will unavoidably seek to gain more power, leading to corruption. Anarchists consider the idea that the state is the collective will of the people to be an unachievable fiction due to the fact that the ruling class is distinct from the rest of society. Specific anarchist attitudes towards

9563-433: The anarchist ideals, especially when it comes to preserving users' privacy from state surveillance . Anarchists organize themselves to squat and reclaim public spaces . During important events such as protests and when spaces are being occupied, they are often called Temporary Autonomous Zones (TAZ), spaces where art, poetry, and surrealism are blended to display the anarchist ideal. As seen by anarchists, squatting

9694-459: The anarchist movement, although contemporary anarchism favours actions over academic theory. Various anarchist groups, tendencies, and schools of thought exist today, making it difficult to describe the contemporary anarchist movement. While theorists and activists have established "relatively stable constellations of anarchist principles", there is no consensus on which principles are core and commentators describe multiple anarchisms , rather than

9825-510: 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 collectivised the land. The Soviet Union provided some limited assistance at the beginning of the war, but the result was a bitter fight between communists and other leftists in a series of events known as the May Days , as Joseph Stalin asserted Soviet control of

9956-457: The bad influence of Plato, who in his Crito dialogue, portrayed Socrates as cheerfully accepting his death sentence on the grounds that the citizen is obligated to abide by the final decision of the government, which is like a master to the people. Zinn points out that these are "the arguments of the Legalist, of the statist , not the libertarian," and notes that Plato disdained democracy. In

10087-738: The belief that human nature allows humans to exist in or progress toward such a non-coercive society, and a suggestion on how to act to pursue the ideal of anarchy. The most notable precursors to anarchism in the ancient world were in China and Greece . In China, philosophical anarchism (the discussion on the legitimacy of the state) was delineated by Taoist philosophers Zhuang Zhou and Laozi . Alongside Stoicism , Taoism has been said to have had "significant anticipations" of anarchism. Anarchic attitudes were also articulated by tragedians and philosophers in Greece. Aeschylus and Sophocles used

10218-536: The context of [this Washington protest] would be something very constructive. But when we look at what happened in Seattle, we have to say that all of that contributed to the media coverage we got, including those who you might say pushed the envelope." In the lead up to the protests for the 2001 Free Trade Area of the Americas (FTAA) summit in Quebec City, a major direct action organization known as SalAMI suffered

10349-462: The deed . Assassination attempts were carried out against heads of state , some of which were successful. Anarchists also took part in revolutions. Many anarchists, especially the Galleanists , believed that these attempts would be the impetus for a revolution against capitalism and the state. Many of these attacks were done by individual assailants and the majority took place in the late 1870s,

10480-425: The early 1880s and the 1890s, with some still occurring in the early 1900s. Their decrease in prevalence was the result of further judicial power and of targeting and cataloging by state institutions. Anarchist perspectives towards violence have always been controversial. Anarcho-pacifists advocate for non-violence means to achieve their stateless, nonviolent ends. Other anarchist groups advocate direct action ,

10611-701: The end of the Anti-authoritarian IWMA, including an important congress of the Jura Federation in September 1880, which was attended by a number of international delegates and observers. It was at this congress that the anarchist movement adopted anarchist communism as its goal. In addition, anarchists were present at other meetings, such as the Le Havre Congress in 1880, which passed a motion that adopted "libertarian communism as

10742-414: The face of Plato's concern that sustained defiance of the law could topple the foundations of government, Zinn argues: "When unjust decisions become the rule, then the government and its officials should be toppled." On the breaking of normally just laws and conventions for the purpose of protest, Zinn notes that some of society's worst problems—"like hunger, or poor housing, or lack of medical care"—are not

10873-560: The following months. Doug McAdam cited "Axe-handle Saturday" as an example of the specter of violent crisis that loomed over lunch counter sit-ins generally, finding that the threat of escalating chaos pressured authorities to make concessions. The Freedom Rides of 1961 were originally conceived as a Gandhian campaign. After four months without a decision on desegregated busing from the Interstate Commerce Commission (ICC), James Forman , Executive Secretary of

11004-637: The form of disrupting and protesting against unjust hierarchy, or the form of self-managing their lives through the creation of counter-institutions such as communes and non-hierarchical collectives. Decision-making is often handled in an anti-authoritarian way, with everyone having equal say in each decision , an approach known as horizontalism . Contemporary-era anarchists have been engaging with various grassroots movements that are more or less based on horizontalism, although not explicitly anarchist, respecting personal autonomy and participating in mass activism such as strikes and demonstrations. In contrast with

11135-433: The foundations of the future autonomy of the individual and the society, to be an act of mutual aid . Anarchist writers such as William Godwin ( Political Justice ) and Max Stirner (" The False Principle of Our Education ") attacked both state education and private education as another means by which the ruling class replicate their privileges. In 1901, Catalan anarchist and free thinker Francisco Ferrer established

11266-429: The free potential of society through equality and social ownership . In a chronological sense, anarchism can be segmented by the classical currents of the late 19th century and the post-classical currents ( anarcha-feminism , green anarchism , and post-anarchism ) developed thereafter. Beyond the specific factions of anarchist movements which constitute political anarchism lies philosophical anarchism which holds that

11397-771: The golden age of anarchism. Drawing from mutualism, Mikhail Bakunin founded collectivist anarchism and entered the International Workingmen's Association , a class worker union later known as the First International that formed in 1864 to unite diverse revolutionary currents. The International became a significant political force, with Karl Marx being a leading figure and a member of its General Council. Bakunin's faction (the Jura Federation ) and Proudhon's followers (the mutualists) opposed state socialism , advocating political abstentionism and small property holdings. After bitter disputes,

11528-526: The ideological development of what became the era of classical anarchism. During the French Revolution , partisan groups such as the Enragés and the sans-culottes saw a turning point in the fermentation of anti-state and federalist sentiments. The first anarchist currents developed throughout the 18th century as William Godwin espoused philosophical anarchism in England , morally delegitimising

11659-442: The influence of pacifists Bayard Rustin and Glen Smiley, a stricter code of nonviolence took hold in the late 1950s. The period of 1957–1959 was a nadir for the movement: fewer schools were desegregated in the three years following the bus boycott than in the three years prior, and black voter registration and bus desegregation remained stagnant. Activism fell to one of its lowest points of the post-war era, as most African-Americans in

11790-486: The institutions it claims maintain unnecessary coercion and hierarchy , typically including the state and capitalism . Anarchism advocates for the replacement of the state with stateless societies and voluntary free associations . A historically left-wing movement, anarchism is usually described as the libertarian wing of the socialist movement ( libertarian socialism ). Although traces of anarchist ideas are found all throughout history, modern anarchism emerged from

11921-566: The issue, but not to resolve it." At the same time, Zinn proposes "a moral code on violence in civil disobedience," which would "consider whether the disorder or violence is controlled or indiscriminate..." This would engender a partially violent, yet predominantly non-lethal insurrection, which would be preferable to the alternative of a fully militarized, bloody civil war. Ultimately, Zinn comes down squarely for diversity of tactics: Disobedience and Democracy sold over 70,000 copies (making it Zinn's most popular book prior to A People's History of

12052-627: The latter were against anything that would resemble a political party. Seeing the victories of the Bolsheviks in the October Revolution and the resulting Russian Civil War , many workers and activists turned to communist parties , which grew at the expense of anarchism and other socialist movements. In France and the United States, members of major syndicalist movements such as the General Confederation of Labour and

12183-451: The level of insurrection. Self-defense may force Washington to intervene sooner." In the same year, Howard Zinn (then on SNCC's Board of Advisers) published his essay "The Limits of Nonviolence," in the influential civil rights journal Freedomways . In the article, the historian concluded that nonviolent direct action would not be sufficient to break Jim Crow in the South. In his 1965 book, SNCC: The New Abolitionists , Zinn explained

12314-465: The major currents of social anarchism ( collectivist , communist and syndicalist ). They differ on organisational and economic aspects of their ideal society. Mutualism is an 18th-century economic theory that was developed into anarchist theory by Pierre-Joseph Proudhon. Its aims include "abolishing the state", reciprocity , free association , voluntary contract, federation and monetary reform of both credit and currency that would be regulated by

12445-444: The methods by which these forms should be opposed. The principle of equal liberty is closer to anarchist political ethics in that it transcends both the liberal and socialist traditions. This entails that liberty and equality cannot be implemented within the state, resulting in the questioning of all forms of domination and hierarchy. Anarchists' tactics take various forms but in general serve two major goals, namely, to first oppose

12576-607: The mid-19th century. Since the 1890s and beginning in France, libertarianism has often been used as a synonym for anarchism; its use as a synonym is still common outside the United States. Some usages of libertarianism refer to individualistic free-market philosophy only, and free-market anarchism in particular is termed libertarian anarchism . While the term libertarian has been largely synonymous with anarchism, its meaning has more recently been diluted by wider adoption from ideologically disparate groups, including both

12707-680: The midst of mass rioting which had been set off by militant anarchists (some of them in a black bloc formation), nonviolent civil disobedience organized by various NGOs (including Public Citizen and Global Exchange ) and the Seattle Direct Action Network (DAN), and a mass permitted march organized by the AFL-CIO. In the lead up to the shutdown, local group Seattle Anarchist Response (SAR) had circulated Ward Churchill's text Pacifism as Pathology freely among protesters. SAR actively promoted diversity of tactics among

12838-780: The movement and attempts were made to prevent anarchists immigrating to the US , including the Immigration Act of 1903 , also called the Anarchist Exclusion Act. Illegalism was another strategy which some anarchists adopted during this period. Despite concerns, anarchists enthusiastically participated in the Russian Revolution in opposition to the White movement , especially in the Makhnovshchina ; however, they met harsh suppression after

12969-667: The movement shaped 21st century radicalism, wider embrace of anarchist principles signaled a revival of interest. Anarchism has continued to generate many philosophies and movements, at times eclectic, drawing upon various sources and combining disparate concepts to create new philosophical approaches. The anti-capitalist tradition of classical anarchism has remained prominent within contemporary currents. Contemporary news coverage which emphasizes black bloc demonstrations has reinforced anarchism's historical association with chaos and violence. Its publicity has also led more scholars in fields such as anthropology and history to engage with

13100-460: The myth of Antigone to illustrate the conflict between laws imposed by the state and personal autonomy . Socrates questioned Athenian authorities constantly and insisted on the right of individual freedom of conscience . Cynics dismissed human law ( nomos ) and associated authorities while trying to live according to nature ( physis ). Stoics were supportive of a society based on unofficial and friendly relations among its citizens without

13231-414: The news media. In the current era, Italian anarchist Alfredo Bonanno , a proponent of insurrectionary anarchism , has reinstated the debate on violence by rejecting the nonviolence tactic adopted since the late 19th century by Kropotkin and other prominent anarchists afterwards. Both Bonanno and the French group The Invisible Committee advocate for small, informal affiliation groups, where each member

13362-601: The passage of suffrage, and hosted appearances by Pankhurst in the US on multiple occasions. In 1912, Harriot Stanton Blanch changed the name of her organization from the Equality League to the Women's Political Union in order to demonstrate solidarity with the now-violent WSPU. In the months prior to the Nineteenth Amendment's passage, American suffragists experimented with more militant tactics, breaking

13493-480: The philosophy that dominated the movement: In 1968, Zinn elaborated further on tactical diversity with his book Disobedience and Democracy: Nine Fallacies on Law and Order . The text was published in response to liberal Supreme Court Justice Abe Fortas , who'd recently written (in his book Concerning Dissent and Civil Disobedience ) that he supported Gandhian forms of direct action, but not tactics that involved resisting arrest; Fortas also rejected campaigns involving

13624-454: The police during demonstrations and riots, especially in countries such as Canada , Greece , and Mexico . Militant black bloc protest groups are known for clashing with the police; however, anarchists not only clash with state operators, they also engage in the struggle against fascists and racists , taking anti-fascist action and mobilizing to prevent hate rallies from happening. Anarchists commonly employ direct action . This can take

13755-563: The police. In response five academics including Christian Parenti , Robin Hahnel , and Ward Churchill signed an open letter denouncing the "tide of reaction" that the NGO sector was organizing against militant protesters. "Those who belittle and distance themselves from the actions of ‘the Anarchists from Eugene’ have either ignored or simply did not realize the level of contributions anarchists—black-clad and otherwise—made towards bringing

13886-410: The popular depictions of the movement thus far. In the influential anti-capitalist text The Coming Insurrection , the authors prescribe an armed resistance that nonetheless avoids militarization: "Weapons are necessary: it's a question of doing everything possible to make using them unnecessary...the prospect of Iraq-style urban guerilla warfare, dragging on with no possibility of taking the offensive,

14017-412: The popularizer of the term civil disobedience, approved of the armed insurrection of John Brown . Zinn acknowledges that "nonviolence is more desirable than violence as a means" but also posits that: In particular, Zinn rejects moralizing over property destruction as historically ignorant and ethically shortsighted. He contends that in response to the massive violence of the state, the smashing of windows

14148-463: The presence of a state. In medieval Europe , there was no anarchistic activity except some ascetic religious movements. These, and other Muslim movements, later gave birth to religious anarchism . In the Sasanian Empire , Mazdak called for an egalitarian society and the abolition of monarchy , only to be soon executed by Emperor Kavad I . In Basra , religious sects preached against

14279-604: The radical flank of the successful tuition-freeze protests of 2012 ). Peoples Global Action solidified its support for diversity of tactics at this time by dropping the word "non-violent" from its hallmark on civil disobedience. They explained that: In recent years, numerous academics have addressed diversity of tactics. Eminent sociologist Francis Fox Piven , in analyzing strategies of disruptive protest, wrote that: Piven's findings affirm that of other social movement scholars, such as William Gamson and Pamela Oliver . Oliver wrote that, "Today's young people are generally taught

14410-434: The rank-and-file of DAN and criticized NGO hegemony of the protests. They often found an enthusiastic response. One DAN organizer told The Seattle Weekly that "I'm emerging with a less strong opinion of what is right and wrong, and using different tactics so long as they're used well. That's not where I was a year ago." The call for the Seattle protest had originally come from Peoples Global Action (a network co-founded by

14541-457: The result of discrete laws, but of system-wide conditions; therefore targets cannot always be precise: "Our most deep-rooted troubles are not represented by specific laws, but are so woven into the American society that the only way to get at them is to attack the fabric at any vulnerable point." Zinn rejects the liberal's "easy and righteous dismissal of violence," noting that Henry Thoreau ,

14672-403: The state and Ferrer was later arrested. Nonetheless, his ideas formed the inspiration for a series of modern schools around the world. Christian anarchist Leo Tolstoy , who published the essay Education and Culture , also established a similar school with its founding principle being that "for education to be effective it had to be free." In a similar token, A. S. Neill founded what became

14803-411: The state as a whole. Anarchist schools of thought have been generally grouped into two main historical traditions, social anarchism and individualist anarchism , owing to their different origins, values and evolution. The individualist current emphasises negative liberty in opposing restraints upon the free individual, while the social current emphasises positive liberty in aiming to achieve

14934-428: The state lacks moral legitimacy , without necessarily accepting the imperative of revolution to eliminate it. A component especially of individualist anarchism, philosophical anarchism may tolerate the existence of a minimal state but claims that citizens have no moral obligation to obey government when it conflicts with individual autonomy . Anarchism pays significant attention to moral arguments since ethics have

15065-504: The state such as the anti-nuclear , environmental , and peace movements , the counterculture of the 1960s , and the New Left . It also saw a transition from its previous revolutionary nature to provocative anti-capitalist reformism . Anarchism became associated with punk subculture as exemplified by bands such as Crass and the Sex Pistols . The established feminist tendencies of anarcha-feminism returned with vigour during

15196-413: The state vary. Robert Paul Wolff believed that the tension between authority and autonomy would mean the state could never be legitimate. Bakunin saw the state as meaning "coercion, domination by means of coercion, camouflaged if possible but unceremonious and overt if need be." A. John Simmons and Leslie Green , who leaned toward philosophical anarchism, believed that the state could be legitimate if it

15327-556: The state with a new society democratically self-managed by workers. The basic principles of anarcho-syndicalism are direct action , workers' solidarity and workers' self-management . Individualist anarchism is a set of several traditions of thought within the anarchist movement that emphasise the individual and their will over any kinds of external determinants. Early influences on individualist forms of anarchism include William Godwin , Max Stirner , and Henry David Thoreau . Through many countries, individualist anarchism attracted

15458-412: The state, Max Stirner 's thinking paved the way to individualism and Pierre-Joseph Proudhon 's theory of mutualism found fertile soil in France . By the late 1870s, various anarchist schools of thought had become well-defined and a wave of then-unprecedented globalisation occurred from 1880 to 1914. This era of classical anarchism lasted until the end of the Spanish Civil War and is considered

15589-543: The state. In Europe, various religious sects developed anti-state and libertarian tendencies. Renewed interest in antiquity during the Renaissance and in private judgment during the Reformation restored elements of anti-authoritarian secularism in Europe, particularly in France. Enlightenment challenges to intellectual authority (secular and religious) and the revolutions of the 1790s and 1848 all spurred

15720-513: The strategic violation of normally just laws, or the destruction of another party's property, or the injury to an oppressive party, including in direct self-defense (All of these tactics were becoming widespread in the Civil Rights Movement , Black Power movement and in the campaign against the Vietnam War ). Zinn produced an extended rebuttal to Fortas’ position; Regarding resisting arrest and judgment, Zinn countered that Gandhi had accepted

15851-492: The theories of dual power ), based on mutual interdependence and voluntary cooperation. Scholar Carissa Honeywell takes the example of Food Not Bombs group of collectives, to highlight some features of how contemporary anarchist groups work: direct action , working together and in solidarity with those left behind. While doing so, Food Not Bombs provides consciousness raising about the rising rates of world hunger and suggest policies to tackle hunger, ranging from de-funding

15982-462: The time. Belief in political nihilism has been espoused by anarchists. Despite separation, the various anarchist schools of thought are not seen as distinct entities but rather as tendencies that intermingle and are connected through a set of shared principles such as autonomy, mutual aid , anti-authoritarianism and decentralisation . Inceptive currents among classical anarchist currents were mutualism and individualism . They were followed by

16113-442: The ultimate objective." However, in the last two decades of the 20th century, anarchists tended towards individualism and autonomy, emphasizing propaganda of the deed and suspicious of federalism as the first step on a slippery slope towards authoritarianism. International congresses ceased accordingly. Anarchism Anarchism is a political philosophy and movement that is against all forms of authority and seeks to abolish

16244-402: The workings of the WTO, IMF , and World Bank . Now it's time for them to figure out how large numbers of people can protest the international capitalist cabal without getting clobbered—or trashed by their fellow demonstrators—in the process." The solution to Ehrenreich's impasse was the growing acceptance of diversity of tactics in the anti-globalization movement . The first major indication

16375-486: Was a concern for anarchists such as Benjamin Tucker , who opposed age of consent laws , believing they would benefit predatory men. A historical current that arose and flourished during 1890 and 1920 within anarchism was free love . In contemporary anarchism, this current survives as a tendency to support polyamory , relationship anarchy , and queer anarchism . Free love advocates were against marriage, which they saw as

16506-549: Was a notable feature of the international syndicalist movement. In China , small groups of students imported the humanistic pro-science version of anarcho-communism. Tokyo was a hotspot for rebellious youth from East Asian countries, who moved to the Japanese capital to study. In Latin America, Argentina was a stronghold for anarcho-syndicalism , where it became the most prominent left-wing ideology. During this time,

16637-470: Was first formulated as such in the Italian section of the First International . It was later expanded upon in the theoretical work of Peter Kropotkin , whose specific style would go onto become the dominating view of anarchists by the late 19th century. Anarcho-syndicalism is a branch of anarchism that views labour syndicates as a potential force for revolutionary social change, replacing capitalism and

16768-495: Was first named by Herbert H. Haines in his book Black Radicalism and the Civil Rights Mainstream , where he states that "the turmoil which the militants created was indispensable to black progress and indeed, black radicalization had the net effect of enhancing the bargaining position of mainstream civil rights groups and hastening many of their goals...[this finding] has implications for any social movement which

16899-659: Was in April 2000, when the NGO coalition involved in demonstrations against the World Bank in Washington DC resisted calls by the media to denounce protesters who did not practice strict nonviolence. Spokesperson Nadine Bloch told the press that: "What there was among the protesters [in Seattle] was alternative tactics. Property destruction is something done to things, not to people. I don't think that property destruction in

17030-541: Was unwavering, stating that: American feminist Alice Paul began her activism with WSPU in Britain and participated in destructive protests there, breaking over forty windows by her own account. Returning to the US, Paul began introducing some suffragette tactics to the feminist movement in her home country. Paul's organization, the National Women's Party, was predominantly nonviolent in its activities, but Paul worked in close solidarity with Emmeline Pankhurst until

17161-554: Was well-known his use of nonviolence was strictly conditional. In Jacksonville, Florida , the local NAACP made preparations to defend nonviolent activists by enlisting a local street gang to respond to any attacks. This led to a citywide clash covered nationally as " Axe-handle Saturday " where dozens of blacks and whites were injured in August 1960. Lunch counters were desegregated in Jacksonville and many other sites of protest in

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