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In this article, Makenna explains what Anarchism is, how it works, and wonders if it would ever work in the 21st-century world.
ANarchism: What is it?
ANarchism: What is it?
By: Makenna Curry
By: Makenna Curry
Humans do not need a government to control every factor of their lives, but do the people need a government to prosper? Should the government be able to control money, the food we consume, our homes, and the land around us? Should a government even exist at all? These are the questions that anarchism answers, but what is anarchism, and would it even work?
According to the Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy, “Anarchism is a political theory that is skeptical of the justification of authority and power.” Anarchism consists of beliefs that promote abolishing all institutions that have authority, coercion, and hierarchy-- targeting and criticizing state capitalism. This political theory pushes a belief in freedom and morality, promotes equality and community, and is without radical political ideologies. There are variations of anarchism, such as political, religious, theoretical, and applied anarchism. This article is focused on political anarchism, with a mix of economic beliefs. To get a good perspective of anarchism, we also need to see what it criticizes and how it can be applied to the world.
A picture showing both the Anarchism and Communism symbols, from Wikimedia
Political anarchism does not have an exact definition, yet it focuses on the idea of no leader and no rule and criticizes the state. This variation typically promotes the abolition of the state and the creation of a classless and voluntary free association. Anarchist beliefs can align with communist beliefs, but there are big differences between the two. Anarchism contains the ideology of the abolition of the state and destroying all hierarchy, while communists believe that there should be a temporary dictator for the proletariat before transitioning to communism. There are other big differences between the two, but that is the main difference to keep in mind when trying to prevent Anarchism and Communism from getting mixed up.
The big question when it comes to anarchism is “Would it even work?” There is no definite answer. We can say that an anarchist society is possible but extremely unlikely. Humans are imperfect, greedy and selfish, which is why we have governments in control and multibillion-dollar corporations all over the world. Even so, that does not mean that anarchism, in itself, is impossible. Societies have been formed on anarchist principles; the only problem is that they typically do not last long due to human nature's greed. A great example of this is the Revolutionary Catalonia-- the region of Catalonia in Spain during 1936-1937 that was heavily influenced by anarchist, communist, socialist trade unions/parties and militias of the Spanish Civil War. Revolutionary Catalonia can be deemed as more socialist, but anarchism also plays a huge role. Catalonia was one of the most successful short-term anarchist/socialist revolutions, but it could not stay in power. According to the Cambridge University Press, “In regions such as Catalonia, hastily organized people's militias immediately took to the streets. Along with the local police and national military units”. Catalonia had one of the fastest-paced revolutions, but it did not have any long-term impact.
An image of women in the Revolutionary Catalonia, picture from Freedom News
Some societies have functioned using anarchism in the past. It is now unlikely, but not impossible, for anarchist societies to happen. Anarchism is always possible, along with any other political theory. However, humans are selfish, making it extremely difficult to get anywhere close to an anarchist society.
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