Arguments For And Against by Albert Meltzer Table of Contents Introduction Inalienable Tenets of Anarchism The Class Struggle Organisation and Anarchism The Role of an Anarchist in an Authoritarian Society Bringing About the New Society The Marxist Criticism of Anarchism The Social-Democratic Critique of Anarchism The Liberal-Democratic Objection to Anarchism The Fascist Objection to Anarchism The Average Person's Objection to Anarchism Introduction The Historical Background to Anarchism It is not without interest that what might be called the anarchist approach goes back into antiquity; nor that there is an anarchism of sorts in the peasant movements that struggled against State oppression over the centuries. In particular, we may cite three philosophical precursors of Anarchism, Godwin, Proudhon, and perhaps Hegel. Godwin is the father of the Stateless Society movement, which diverged into three lines. The third school of descent from Godwin is simple liberalism, or conservative individualism. The Class Struggle
Everything You Ever Wanted To Know This classic statement of anarchism was written by a diverse group of anarchists in Cardiff around 1980 and it is an interesting historical record of the optimism of mainstream anarchist thought at that time. There is probably more rubbish talked about anarchism than any other political idea. Actually, it has nothing to do with a belief in chaos, death and destruction. Anarchists do not normally carry bombs, nor do they ascribe any virtue to beating up old ladies. It is no accident that the sinister image of the mad anarchist is so accepted. The alleged necessity of authority is so firmly planted in the average mind that anarchy, which means simply 'no government' is almost unthinkable to most people. Yet there are a limitless range of possible societies without the State. Various sorts of anarchists have differing ideas on exactly how society ought to be organised. Very few people seem to understand anarchism, even though it is a very simple, straightforward idea. Large Scale Campaigns
Anarchist Theory FAQ What is anarchism? What beliefs do anarchists share? Anarchism is defined by The American Heritage College Dictionary as "The theory or doctrine that all forms of government are unnecessary, oppressive, and undesirable and should be abolished." As might be expected, different groups of anarchists are constantly trying to define anarchists with different views out of existence, just as many Christians say that their sect is the only "true" Christianity and many socialists say that their socialism is the only "true" socialism. Why should one consider anarchism in the first place? Unlike many observers of history, anarchists see a common thread behind most of mankind's problems: the state. If the state is the proximate cause of so much needless misery and cruelty, would it not be desirable to investigate the alternatives? Don't anarchists favor chaos? By definition, anarchists oppose merely government, not order or society. What major subdivisions may be made among anarchists?
Anarchism and Other Essays Emma Goldman, Anarchism and Other Essays (Third revised edition, New York: Mother Earth Publishing Association, 1917) Ever reviled, accursed, ne'er understood, Thou art the grisly terror of our age. "Wreck of all order," cry the multitude, "Art thou, and war and murder's endless rage." O, let them cry. THE history of human growth and development is at the same time the history of the terrible struggle of every new idea heralding the approach of a brighter dawn. Anarchism could not hope to escape the fate of all other ideas of innovation. To deal even remotely with all that is being said and done against Anarchism would necessitate the writing of a whole volume. The strange phenomenon of the opposition to Anarchism is that it brings to light the relation between so-called intelligence and ignorance. What, then, are the objections? The emotions of the ignorant man are continuously kept at a pitch by the most blood-curdling stories about Anarchism. Destruction and violence!