For a discussion of the term anarchy itself, see below.
Anarchy (New Latin anarchia) is a term that has a number of different but related usages. Specific meanings include
Absence of any form of political authority and/or social hierarchy
Political disorder and confusion
Absence of any cohesive principle, such as a common standard or purpose.
In the first meaning of "absence of political authority", an anarchy can refer to a theoretical or actual society based on the principles of one or more strains of the political theory anarchism (see also anarcho-communism). For an overview see:
Anarchy!: An Anthology of Emma Goldman's Mother Earth, edited by Peter Glassgold.
In the second and third meanings (and by some interpretations the first as well), the term applies to states of political disorder. According to the 2003 CIA World factbook (http://www.cia.gov/cia/publications/factbook/geos/so.html#Govt), there is one nation in the world today, namely Somalia, in a state of anarchy, in that civil government has collapsed and rule in parts of the country is by mob and warlords, who often clash with bloody results. There are a few others (Afghanistan, Albania, Burundi, Bosnia and Herzegovina, and Rwanda) in which government is described as "emerging" or "transitional", and which were in anomie in the near past. The Solomon Islands is described as tending towards anomie because "violence, corruption and crime have undermined stability and civil society". Another example would be The Anarchy, the name most often given to the period of civil war and unsettled government which occurred in England during the reign of King Stephen of England.
When used in the second sense, that of political disorder and confusion, anarchy generally references a situation in which several governments or political authorities are competing for control of a given set of resources, geopolitical boundaries, and/or peoples. This seems to be the most common modern usage of the word, despite the fact that such a situation, involving as it does multiple competing authorities, might more accurately be called a polyarchy. This causes consternation from time to time for those who espouse anarchy as a viable form of social organization; it is a constant barrier to clear communication between such people and those who are not familiar with anarchist history or philosophy.
Etymology
The word anarchy comes from the Greek word αναρχία, meaning without a leader [1] (http://www.perseus.tufts.edu/cgi-bin/ptext?doc=Perseus%3Atext%3A1999.04.0057%3Aentry%3D%237438); an- meaning "without", -arch- meaning "rule" or "ruler", and -ia corresponding to the English suffix "-y" in "monarchy". Anarchy is often confused to originate from the word Anarchos (the one who has no starting rule, the one without beginning) which was not used for persons but as a property of God. The contemporary English understanding of anarchy differs from how the term was originally defined and used by ancient Greeks. For example, Athenian democracy was not considered to be an anarchy, as long as majority rule was a valid principle there. There is a difference between the word arche (αρχή: origin, sovereignty [2] (http://www.perseus.tufts.edu/cgi-bin/ptext?doc=Perseus%3Atext%3A1999.04.0057%3Aentry%3D%2315894)) and the word nomos (νόμος: custom, law [3] (http://www.perseus.tufts.edu/cgi-bin/ptext?doc=Perseus%3Atext%3A1999.04.0057%3Aentry%3D%2371007)). Majority rule is an arche and not a nomos. A free citizen of Athens who was not ruled by anyone and had the right to vote was not called anarchos but eleutheros (free). The leader or ruler is called archegos (αρχηγός, from arche + ago, "to lead") and could be translated in English as "principal leader". It is also called archon (άρχων, from arche + on, "being") or archos (αρχός, from arche + -os, masculine ending) which is the correct translation of "ruler".
Anarchists of all varieties would reject this argument; sometimes claiming that the critic misunderstands their position, other times that the critic's assumptions are too pessimistic.
Leo Tolstoy, refer to themselves as "Christian anarchists." (Tolstoy avoided the term "anarchist," probably because of its association with violence and terrorism in the minds of contemporary Russians.) Drawing on the Gospels' themes of nonviolence and the equality of all human beings, these anarchists condemn government as contrary to Christian teaching.
The interpretation of "rulership," however, varies: leftanarchists tend to see the employer-employee relationship as one of rulership, and anarcho-capitalists are often dubious of the claim that envisaged anarchistscommunes would be democratic and hence voluntary.
Anarchists were blamed for the Haymarket Bombing in Chicago on 4th May, 1886.
In the early part of the 20th century the anarchist movement in Spain was the strongest in Europe.
The anarchist paradise would be one in which the instincts towards freedom, justice, intelligence and "bondad" in the human race develop gradually to the exclusion of all thoughts of personal gain, envy, and malice.
Feeds |
Contact