Part of the Politics series on Anarchism

Traditions Anarcha-feminism Anarchist communism Anarcho-capitalism Anarcho-primitivism Anarcho-syndicalism Christian anarchism Collectivist anarchism Eco-anarchism Green anarchism Individualist anarchism Mutualism Politics, sometimes defined as the art and science of government[1], is a process by which collective decisions are made within groups. ... Anarchism is derived from the Greek ἀναρχία (without archons (ruler, chief, king)). Thus anarchism, in its most general meaning, is the belief that forms of rulership are undesirable and should be abolished. ... Image File history File links Anarchy-symbol. ... Anarcha-feminism combines anarchism with feminism. ... Anarchocommunism is a form of anarchism that advocates the abolition of the State and capitalism in favor of a horizontal network of voluntary associations through which everyone will be free to satisfy his or her needs. ... Anarcho-capitalism refers to an anti-statist philosophy that embraces capitalism as one of its foundational principles. ... Anarcho-primitivism is an anarchist critique of the origins and progress of civilization. ... Anarcho-syndicalism is a branch of anarchism which focuses on the labor movement, Syndicalisme is a French word meaning trade unionism hence the syndicalism qualification. ... Christian anarchism (also known as Christian libertarianism) is the belief that the only source of authority to which Christians are ultimately answerable is God, embodied in the teachings of Jesus. ... Left Anarchism is a term used almost exclusively by opponents of traditional anarchism to denominate philosophies that oppose private ownership of the means of production (or capitalism). ... Eco-anarchism argues that small eco-villages (of no more than a few hundred people) are a scale of human living preferable to civilization, and that infrastructure and political systems should be re-organized to ensure that these are created. ... Green anarchism is a set of related political theories that is derived from philosophical and social movements such as social ecologists, feminism, egoism, situationism, surrealism, the Luddittes, primitivism, post- and anti-leftists, indigenous, anti-industrialism, and pre-civilized people. ... Individualist anarchism is a philosophical tradition that opposes collectivism and has a particularly strong emphasis on the supremacy and autonomy of the individual. ... Mutualism is a libertarian socialist economic theory or system based on the labor theory of value which states that equal amounts of labor should receive equal pay. ... Anarchism in culture Anarchism and religion Anarchism and society Anarchism and the arts Anarcho-punk History of anarchism Anarchists traditionally have been skeptical and opposed to organized religion. ... To meet Wikipedias quality standards, this article or section may require cleanup. ... The anarchy symbol commonly used by anarcho-punks Anarcho-punk (sometimes known as peace-punk) is a subgenre of the punk rock movement consisting of groups and bands promoting specifically anarchist ideas. ... Anarcho-primitivists assert that, for the longest period before recorded history, human society was organized on anarchist principles. ... Anarchist theory Anarchist economics Anarchism and capitalism Anarchism and Marxism Antifascism Antimilitarism Anarchist symbolism Anarchism w/o adjectives Post-left anarchy Propaganda of the deed Anarchist economics entails theory and practice relating to economic activity within the philosophical outlines of anarchism. ... Though the libertarian socialist critique of capitalism is rooted in socialist theory, there are certain key distinctions in their critiques, which this article attempts to elucidate. ... To meet Wikipedias quality standards, this article or section may require cleanup. ... Anti-Fascism is a belief and practice of opposing all forms of Fascism. ... Antimilitarism is a doctrine commonly found in the anarchist and socialist movement, which may be both characterized as internationalist movements. ... This article discusses various anarchist symbols, including the circle-A and the black flag. ... This article needs to be cleaned up to conform to a higher standard of quality. ... Post-left anarchy is a recent current in anarchist thought that seeks to distance itself from the traditional left and to escape the confines of ideology in general. ... Propaganda of the Deed was an anarchist doctrine that promoted the decisive action of individuals to inspire further action by others. ... Relevant lists Anarchists Books Communities Concepts Musicians Organizations The following is a list of notable individuals who have been regarded as anarchists by themselves or others, arranged by surname. ... Anarchist Daniel Guérin, Anarchism Robert Graham Anarchism. ... This is a list of past and present anarchist communities. ... These are concepts which, although not exclusive to anarchism, are significant in historical and/or modern anarchist circles. ... The following is a list of notable anarchist musicians. ... This list uses the word organization in its loosest sense. ...

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This article discusses the anarchist critiques of society and proposed solutions from the anarchist perspective. Anarchism is derived from the Greek ἀναρχία (without archons (ruler, chief, king)). Thus anarchism, in its most general meaning, is the belief that forms of rulership are undesirable and should be abolished. ...

Conceptions of an anarchist society

Many political philosophers justify support of the state as a means of regulating violence, so that the destruction caused by human conflict is minimized and fair relationships are established. Anarchists argue that pursuit of these ends do not justify the establishment of a state, and in fact many argue that the state is incompatible with those goals. In fact, anarchists argue that the state helps to create a monopoly on violence, and uses force and violence to expand and protects the elite's interests. Anarchists also argue that security of communities would be much more effective by having methods that everyone can have access, control over, and input into, as opposed to statist institutions that are controlled by a small minority, and lead to a population's alienation regarding their public lives. Much effort has been dedicated to explaining how anarchist societies would promote these values.

In general anarchists agree on these points when it comes to a future society:

• Anarchists (aside from anarcho-capitalists) generally agree that an anarchist economy would lack markets and wage-labor systems. Production would be generally self-managed by and for the workers and the communities it would affect, and thus need the products it produced. Workers councils, assemblies, and larger organs of worker control could link up to form organizations that could settle broader issues on a regional, national, and even international level. Such examples of this type of structure, (and one that has existed with hundreds of thousands of people, and with great success), include the Israeli Kibbutz self-managed farms, and the worker and farmer collectives during the Spanish Revolution. Some anarchists propose gift economies, which would make the materials and intellectual property of various technologies open to the people, and would thus lead to more people being able to work on various projects and industries. The free-software movement is often looked upon as an example of the gift economy in action using anarchist principles. Others, mostly green anarchists and primitivists, want a return to more pre-agricultural world or living. Participatory economics (also called "Parecon") proposes that a system of "credits" be given for work, but still proposes self-management and worker control over production.

• Community and neighborhood decisions would be carried out by those in the communities that were being effected by the decisions' outcome. Organs of direct democracy and community control would be established to discuss problems and come up with solutions. Community councils and general assemblies would also be able to plan various things, propose projects, and rotate various jobs that needed to be done. An excellent example of a working system of community assemblies are the community general assemblies occurring in Argentina in the present day. Groups of neighbors meet weekly, (sometimes bi-weekly), then meet with other neighborhoods, then with other assemblies on a regional level. Like economic self-management, anarchists propose that these local councils could link up with other communities in various sets of federations, and networks.

• As with large scale examples of production, (the economy), and communities, ('politics'), many critics of anarchism contend that whole masses of society would not be able to reach consensus on various issues, and such a system would be impossible. However, anarchists generally propose systems of delegates for transcribing information in large federations and networks, and for dealing with issues on an international level. Anarchist proposals of delegates are not "elected representatives", and are not even really "representatives". Delegate structures proposed by anarchists are ways in which various "gofers" simply transcribe information that has been decided upon by various communities. Delegates are generally selected, (as opposed to asking for the job), and instantly recallable if they step out of bounds, (i.e., begin acting like government representatives, and not community delegates). In this way, large groups can come to agreements and understandings, and complicated issues can be brought to the table. An example of this type of structure can be seen in the union formation of groups like the Industrial Workers of the World, (or IWW), and spokescouncils. Spokescouncils generally involve various huge activist groups, with various collectives and affinity groups choosing a delegate to dictate what the large group has decided by consensus. Such models have helped to organize tens of thousands around various issues. Zapatista communities also have a similar structure, with communities holding assemblies, and then selecting delegates that meet to discuss issues that affect cross-communities.

• Crime, and various other social problems within various communities will have to be settled by and in their set communities, and not through hierarchal and outside institutions like the police or the state. Community based systems of mediation and courts could be established to deal with conflicts within communities. Volunteer systems of community self-policing, and security have also been proposed as possible alternatives of police, with work being done through rotation, and watched over by the community. Such a system can be seen in the Zapatista communities with the creation of the Indigenous Community Police (ICP), which exist as a volunteer group of people from the community who do security work. Zapatistas note that crime has gone down, organized crime has almost disappeared, and police corruption is non-existent. Anarchists also point to various examples of working anarchist societies in which the non-hierarchal organization of the community lead to a large disappearance of crime. Non capitalist Anarchists also contend a society that lacks private property and the organs of capitalism and state force would make property crime non-existent. Since theft is defined as wrongful appropriation, the definition of "wrongful" to be all appropriation would replace the definition that "wrongful" is only that appropriation usurping the even greater appropriation of property. On the question of how to prevent property crime - and thus supposedly protecting property and stopping the violence that disregards the original property norms - noncapitalist Anarchists subversively reply that property is itself the aggression and the property crime, which itself often times perpetrated by force. Anarchists then contend that social crimes, (rape, murder, incest), will have to be confronted by changing the format of society, helping victims, and finding ways of preventing repeat offenders.

• Anarchists generally agree that any sort of production in an anarchist society must be done ecologically, and sustainably. Anarcho-primitivists contend that large scale industrial production is largely environmentally destructive, and must be abolished. Likewise, anarcho-syndicalists state that industrial production is abusive on workers, leads to massive alienation, and only helps to create massive amounts of products to feed markets. To counter this, anarchists generally propose community based production and self-management over industries in order to cut down on surplus production, and also create better distribution. Anarcho-primitivists however, state that agriculture and domestication of plants and animals leads to the creation of private property, (largely over the earth), earth destruction, and propose systems of permaculture, and returning to pre-industrial sustenance.

• Anarchists propose that with the destruction of the state, violence from statist forces will generally come from counter-revolutionaries, or those that want a return to hierarchal structures. Marxist-Leninists are critical of anarchists on this issue, and argue without a strong centralized group, or vanguard, a revolutionary society will not be able to defend itself. Although some anarchists are pacifists, many anarchists propose self-defense against counter-revolutionary forces through the construction of popular militias. Such examples of such militias can be found larger during the anarchist revolutions and movements in the Spanish and Russian Revolution.

A workers council is a council, or deliberative body, composed of working class or proletarian members. ... Kibbutz Dan, near Qiryat Shemona, in the Upper Galilee, 1990s A kibbutz (Hebrew: קיבוץ; plural: kibbutzim: קיבוצים, gathering or together) is an Israeli collective community. ... In Spanish history, there have been several revolutions. ... A gift economy is an economic system in which the prevalent mode of exchange is for goods and services to be given without explicit agreement upon a quid pro quo. ... In law, intellectual property (IP) is an umbrella term for various legal entitlements which attach to certain types of information, ideas, or other intangibles in their expressed form. ... The Free Software Movement began in 1983 when Richard Stallman announced the GNU project. ... Green anarchism is an anarchism that proposes political, social and ecologically sustainable behaviour by the human community. ... Primitivism is the condition or quality of being primitive. ... Participatory economics, often abbreviated parecon, is a proposed economic system that uses participatory decision making as an economic mechanism to guide the allocation of resources and consumption in a given society. ... Self-Management is the process by which computer systems shall manage their own operation without human intervention. ... Direct democracy, classically termed pure democracy[1], comprises a form of democracy and theory of civics wherein sovereignty is lodged in the assembly of all citizens. ... The term general assembly can refer to The largest unit of organisation in the polity of a (national) Presbyterian church, containing several synods or presbyteries. ... This article is about federal states. ... The Industrial Workers of the World (IWW or the Wobblies) is a famous international union currently headquartered in Cincinnati, Ohio, USA. It contends that all workers should be united within a single union as a class and the wage system abolished. ... A collection of affinity groups and clusters (a collection of affinity groups), who meet together for a common purpose, often civil disobedience. ... A collective is a group of people who are organized around an issue or to accomplish a goal together. ... An affinity group is a small group of activists (usually from 5-20) who work together on direct action. ... Consensus has two common meanings. ... This article or section is missing references or citation of sources. ... Primitive communism, according to Karl Marx and Friedrich Engels, is the original society of humanity. ... Anarcho-syndicalist flag. ... Vladimir Lenin in 1920 Leninism is a political and economic theory which builds upon Marxism; it is a branch of Marxism (and it has been the dominant branch of Marxism in the world since the 1920s). ... Vanguard can mean: A vanguard is the forward division in an army. ... Pacifism is opposition to the practice of war. ...

Anarchist social organization

Anarchists generally want society to continue to be organized around various communities. However, unlike capitalist or state-socialist communities which are organized by the government or by business, anarchists want society to be organized and managed by and for the people that live within them.

Schools, social centers, parks, fire-stations, etc. are all seen as things that are needed to be turned over and run by the people through systems of direct democracy and self-management. Anarchists point to the fact that many areas of our lives are already communal and anarchistic; a barn raising, community building, sharing recipes, group childcare, city parks, etc.

Wikipedia has anarchist elements, because here, ordinary individuals are trusted, consensus is achieved, property is difficult to enforce, and people are unable to do physical violence to each other. Community college also demonstrates a contrast between anarchy and the state. It is a government institution, but is so much more orderly than high school not because of government/teacher intervention, but instead the near complete consensus of the students to consent to college. It is orderly, so it gives free reign to both the students in classes with permissive teachers, but the order also gives authoritarian teachers little resistance to their campaign of institutionalization and subjugation of the class-state to the selfsame teacher's domination. The armed society also enforces its own laws. Although the government makes the laws that one must follow to get the government to decide to issue the various gun licenses, the laws are enforced by the ordinary people themselves, essentially without any further titles, formal restrictions, arbitrary rules, centralization, convoluted intrigues, or hypocrisy.

The roads are hardly anarchist because the USA's "Intervention" to "Spread of Democracy" and "Open New Markets" subsidizes oil to create a car based, sprawling civilization. The traffic laws are obviously government created. But they are self enforcing: it is dangerous to violate the government's laws not only because of police action, but also because of traffic accidents. When traffic laws are disregarded, they are disregarded by the consensus of everyone breaking the law at once, continuously, the police are largely powerless and the police accept and try to manage the effectively anarchist traffic laws so created. The speed limit on the highway is decided by the ordinary motorists themselves, essentially without any formal structures, or any anomie not inherent to cars.

Many of these places are areas that we set aside within our communities in which land and things are held in common by those within the communities. Anarchists simply want to expand this communal space, and complete community self-management towards all walks of public life. Anarchists also want to expand the communal space which exists within our cities and public areas, not only to remove capitalist institutions that are not needed, but also to allow for public spaces to have more opportunities for sustainability. Such aims of community self-sustainability is not that hard to grasp. In the 1940's during the II World War, victory gardens spread across the United States, and in some areas like San Francisco, the city became 40% sustained by its own production. With removal of unwanted capitalist infrastructure, anarchists contend that urban spaces and community can under go organic recreations into self-sustaining centers for better human development.

Green anarchists, and primitivists take these ideas even further, and contend that groups of hundreds make up the desired group size, and communities of people can begin to build and live directly off the land without having to cultivate or domesticate plants and animals. They contend that this style of community will lead to more leisure time and less work, and will allow for increased freedom of movement and pursuit of enjoyment, such as seen in various indigenous communities. See also primitive communism. Green anarchism is an anarchism that proposes political, social and ecologically sustainable behaviour by the human community. ... Primitivism is the condition or quality of being primitive. ... Primitive communism, according to Karl Marx and Friedrich Engels, is the original society of humanity. ...

Social services that are needed in societies that are specialized, (such as teaching and medicine), would be carried out by those interested in those set "jobs". Anarchists also propose that with production, (anarchist economics), being shared, rotated, and self-managed, people will have more time and access to engage in working in more complicated tasks and jobs that would benefit themselves and their communities directly. Indeed, if the modern medical field was treated like the free software movement, more people would have access to work on cures for diseases, and other problems that threaten society. Concept B is a specialization of concept A if and only if: every instance of concept B is also an instance of concept A; and there are instances of concept A which are not instances of concept B. For instance, Bird is a specialization of Animal because every bird is... Anarchist economics entails theory and practice relating to economic activity within the philosophical outlines of anarchism. ... The free software movement began in 1983 when Richard Stallman announced the GNU project. ...

Like production and community affairs, anarchists often point out the success of the postal system, which despite being hierarchically organized with a boss, has no central postal leader, simply various autonomous postal outposts. Federations and networks of doctors, schools, and other community institutions could follow this method as well, and apply anarchist principles to its organizational structure. An example of this in action is the 19th century Modern School movement, which was an anarchist-run school for working-class children (author Jack London taught there). The 'Modern' Modern School movement is alive and well, with Free Schools popping up across the globe offering free classes based upon anarchist principles. Alternative meaning: Nineteenth Century (periodical) (18th century — 19th century — 20th century — more centuries) As a means of recording the passage of time, the 19th century was that century which lasted from 1801-1900 in the sense of the Gregorian calendar. ... The Modern School in New York City, circa 1911-12. ... Photograph of Jack London. ...

As stated before, anarchists see assemblies and councils of neighborhoods coming together as the possible anarchist organs for community organization. These councils would decide day to day issues, resolve problems, begin work on roads and projects, and work to further advance the community. Anarchists point to the success of the community council system in Chiapas Mexico, under the Zapatista autonomous communities. Further examples of the neighborhood council system can be seen in the ongoing popular uprising in Argentina, where neighborhood councils meet weekly, and then in larger councils with other groups to discuss various issues. Chiapas is a state in the southeast of Mexico. ...

In regards to solving issues of crime and settling disputes, anarchists generally are in favor of councils, courts, and assemblies of community mediation and discourse. In a society lacking private property, anarchists assume that social crimes will be the problems to focus on, (i.e. rape, murder, etc). Anarchists are generally skeptical of the prison system, which they see as simply authoritarian, and not working to fix problems within society, and only manifesting new ones.

See also: prison abolition Prison abolition movement is a movement which goal is abolition of prison system either as it exists today or complete elimination of all freedom depriving institutions including prisons, jails, immigration detention centers, war camps, etc. ...

Sexual relations

For most anarchists, marriage and sex are private matters to be resolved between consenting adults. In their opinion, authorities like governments and clergy have no business meddling with private affairs of individuals who do not voluntarily desire to follow their commands — at which point they are no longer authorities and have no power to command those who dissent, only the opportunity to advise those who consent. Anarchism is a generic term describing various political philosophies and social movements that advocate the elimination of hierarchy and imposed authority. ... A marriage is a committed relationship between or among individuals, recognized by civil authority and/or bound by the religious beliefs of the participants. ... Sexual activity in humans is an instinctive form of physical intimacy. ... Look up desire in Wiktionary, the free dictionary. ...

Others, however, believe that the concept of marriage is a fundamentally coercive institution, pointing to the wealth of assumptions about what gender pairings can be acceptable partners, the number of people that can be involved in a relationship, and the proper roles for members of a relationship to have. They argue that marriage is ultimately a heteronormative concept, and that it is a particularly subtle form of control. Heteronormativity is a term used in the discussion of sexual behavior, gender, and society, primarily within the fields of queer theory and gender theory. ...

Some anarchists in Spain viewed love as a dangerous concept and advocated "change of commune" for those experiencing "the sickness of love." This, however, is a small minority view. Many anarchists, including Emma Goldman, believe that love between people is at the core a powerful and benign force, though possibly corrupted by institutions or traditions. Others my see love as a myth, arguing that all relationships are based on economic self and class interest. Emma Goldman (June 27, 1869 – May 14, 1940) was a Lithuanian-born anarcho-communist known for her anarchist writings and speeches. ...

Anarchist opposition to sexuality

Note: These are minority views within anarchism.

Some anarchists may be antisexualists, arguing that they make no distinction between consent and coercion (or is at least very difficult to do so). They would see all sex as a means of having power over another person, citing rape as one possible example of how sex is used to control someone. Others (such as those who practice Abrahamic religions, like Christianity, Judaism, Islam and Rastafarianism) may object to certain sexual and reproductive practices like Fetishism, BDSM, Orgies, Sex magick, Tribadism, abortion, contraception and homosexuality on religious grounds. They may also oppose gay rights, arguing that they don't believe in special privileges for certain groups (as well as religious objections). Instead, they'll view sex purely for procreation (see Hardline). Antisexualism is a both a sexuality that describes someone who is antagonistic towards sexuality and a movement against sexuality of any kind. ... This article is being considered for deletion in accordance with Wikipedias deletion policy. ... Christianity is a monotheistic[1] religion centered on the life and teachings of Jesus of Nazareth as recounted in the New Testament. ... Judaism is the religion of the Jewish people with around 15 million followers as of 2006 [1]. It is the first[Monotheism|monotheistic]] faiths and one of the oldest religious traditions still practiced today. ... Islam (Arabic: ; ) is a monotheistic religion based on the Quran. ... Haile Selassie, Rastafari God and King Rastafarianism, or as adherents prefer to call it, the Rastafari movemant, or simply Rasta, is a religious movement that reveres the former emperor of Ethiopia, Haile Selassie I - who as King of Kings and Lord of Lords, and as the Lion of Judah, is... Sexual fetishism, first described as such by Alfred Binet in his Le fétichisme dans l’amour, though the concept and certainly the activity is quite ancient, is a form of paraphilia where the object of affection is a specific inanimate object or part of a persons body. ... A collar is a common symbol of BDSM. BDSM is a term which describes a number of related patterns of human sexual behavior. ... For the music group, see Orgy (band). ... Sex magic is the use of sex for the purpose of magic. ... A possible tribadism position Tribadism or tribbing is female-to-female genital sex. ... The word homosexuality has acquired multiple meanings over time. ... The gay rights movement is a collection of loosely aligned civil rights groups, human rights groups, support groups and political activists seeking acceptance, tolerance and equality for non-heterosexual, (homosexual, bisexual), and transgender people - despite the fact that it is typically referred to as the gay rights movement, members also... Hardline was a radical deep ecology movement that had its roots in the straight edge hardcore scene. ...

Some Christian anarchists may have a similar view, rejecting certain sexual practices on religious grounds. It's worth noting that historically (up until the C17th) the Christian ideal wasn't marriage, but celibacy. Many of the early Christians were celibate and a number of Christain anarchists may continue this tradition. Christian anarchism is the belief that there is only one source of authority to which Christians are ultimately answerable, the authority of God as embodied in the teachings of Jesus. ... Celibacy refers either to being unmarried or to sexual abstinence. ...