Anarchism 101

Introduction

Anarchism is a much misunderstood political philosophy. We are often regarded as desiring chaos,
disorder, and disorganisation. We are painted as something purely negative that is, something
destructive, rather than constructive and positive. The caricature of the superficially violent bomb-
throwing anarchist reflects this societal prejudice nicely, but nothing, however, could be further
from the truth. I hope that, in this short text, I shall tear down these myths and tell you what
anarchism really is all about: an emancipatory and constructive political philosophy and way of
seeing the world.

Anarchist thought can be divided into five categories:

-Anarchist Theory
-Anarchist Action
-Schools of Thought
-Anarchist Analysis
-Anarchist History

I shall be dealing here with anarchist theory, which concerns itself with the ideas, values, and
principles of anarchism as a political theory and outlook. In the future, I shall engage with the other
four categories, which will then give the reader a substantive and broad comprehension of the
various aspects of anarchist thought.

Overview of Anarchist Theory

Anarchism has two sides: a positive side, and a negative side. The positive side is concerned with
what we are in favour of; the negative side is concerned with what we are against. The positive side
consists of three central values, and a further five key ideas that serve as practical extensions of the
three values. These values are liberty, equality, and solidarity. The key ideas are voluntary
association, self-management, federalism, decentralisation, and social ownership (socialism).
The negative side consists of a denunciation and rejection of hierarchical authority that is,
dominance and control. You will see that our values, key ideas, and rejection of hierarchy are
interconnected. We denounce hierarchy because it violates liberty, equality, and solidarity. We value
liberty, equality, and solidarity, and so we must denounce and reject hierarchy. They are
interrelated. A further underlying principle of anarchism is that the burden of proof rests upon those
advocating hierarchy. We do not, therefore, reject all kinds of hierarchy only those that cant be
justified. If they are show to be unjustified, we can re-organise the particular social relationship in an
anarchist manner. How will this manifest? Let us see.

Positive Side: Values and Key Ideas

So what do all these terms mean anyway? We may have an idea about what freedom and equality
are, but anarchists have a particular conception of what they mean. We reject other conceptions of
freedom, as not being freedom at all, and therefore unworthy of the label. We shall see what they
mean now.
Values:

Liberty - Liberty, or autonomy as it is sometimes called, has a positive and a negative side. The
positive side deals with freedom to, and the negative side deals with freedom from. The positive
element is concerned with the desire for autonomous control over ones own life and decisions.
Autonomy means that impulses and action should be able to flow freely without restriction and
coercion. All the moral, intellectual, and physical faculties of the individual will be unfettered, and so
can expand and grow in an environment of unrestrained flourishing. The negative element is
concerned with the means to achieve this end the end being autonomy. An individual cant fully
grow and develop within poverty; an individual cant flourish whilst bound and restrained. Liberty
then, as we conceive it, must involve the satisfaction of these means, as these means give rise to
autonomy. Liberty will ultimately maximise an individuals uniqueness and will produce a state of
rich diversity. Liberty can also be individual and collective. The individual is a social creature, and
must associate with others in order to get things done and make decisions. This collective liberty
expresses itself as self-management a key idea in anarchist theory which I shall cover later on.

Equality If we are to understand what is meant by equality, it is necessary to understand what we

do not mean by equality. There are three main types of equality: equality of opportunity/power,
equality of endowment, and equality of outcome. We reject equality of endowment, and equality of
outcome. Equality of endowment aims to create a mass of clones all walking to the same tune with
no uniqueness and no individuality. It aims to create a humanity with all the same qualities, traits,
personalities etc. This, of course, is an absurd and ridiculously impossible idea, and the fact that
some people believe we hold on to this view just demonstrates how little is understood about
anarchism. Equality of outcome is also rejected. This means that all individuals should receive the
same goods and services that they should receive the same amount of things. Again, this is an
absurd idea. We value freedom, and valuing freedom means valuing the differences of people and
their different needs and qualities. This diversity is a source of richness, and is celebrated amongst
anarchists. Because human beings have different needs and possess different qualities, living in a
state of freedom, in which individuals can develop their faculties freely without restraint will
maximise uniqueness. This is an inevitable consequence of freedom, and it is to be venerated and
upheld.

Whilst we reject these forms of equality, we embrace equality of opportunity/power. This essentially
means that all individuals should hold the same amount of power and control over the decisions that
affect their lives. Within associations, individuals should have equal amounts of power with all other
members of that association. Liberty can only flourish under these conditions of equality. Equality
and liberty, therefore, depend upon each other for their existence. They are not contradictory
values, as some people absurdly propose, but are instead values that are interrelated. One cannot
have liberty with equality. One cannot have equality without liberty.

Solidarity Solidarity consists of individuals combining together in order to satisfy common

interests. It is the way in which human beings support each other and form unions in ways which
respects human liberty and equality. This practice of mutual aid is a natural feeling, and is an
inevitable consequence of the internal sociability of our species. It is necessary to feel solidarity and
practice mutual aid so as to prevent hierarchical authority from appearing and establishes its
dominance and control over individuals. Solidarity, rather than competition, is a necessary
component of anarchist thought, as it guarantees both liberty and equality. Ultimately, the practice
of mutual aid is based upon the truism of strength being guaranteed through unification, and not
division.

These values are fundamental aspects of anarchist thought, and are interconnected values that
cannot be separated. Five key ideas emerge out of these three values, and I shall now explore these
key ideas.

Key Ideas:

Self-Management One of the most important and vital key ideas within anarchism is the idea of
self-management. Self-management, essentially, is a structural arrangement the manner in which
an association is organised. It means that the association, the group, is controlled by its members
democratically from the bottom-up. Power then, flows upwards, rather than downwards. Control,
ultimately, rests at the base. An individual, then, when part of some kind of collective group,
whether that be a neighbourhood, a community, a workplace, a club, a study group etc. will always
have an equal say in how the group is run and how it functions. Self-management is also sometimes
referred to as direct democracy. The underlying principle that governs this particular type of
organisation is that an individual should have a say in decisions that are made in proportion to the
degree that they are effected by that decision. This may manifest in a number of ways
democratically, but essentially, power and control rests with the members of the association. It will
be necessary for certain members to fulfil particular roles, or co-operate with other groups, and so a
form of representation will be necessary. This necessity will be fulfilled by mandated, and instantly
recallable delegates. Because these delegates are instantly recallable, power still remains where it
belongs: with the members of the association. Anarchists, therefore, are in favour of organisation,
but a specific form of organisation: self-management.

Anarchism, then, and our conception of freedom, is much more than voluntarism. Voluntarism,
whilst a key idea of anarchism, is not sufficient in guaranteeing true liberty. Freedom is a permanent
condition, not a temporary one. Freedom is retained not only outside of associations, but within
associations as well. Freedom, after all, in order to have substance and meaning, has to have a social
space in order to be exercised. The individual comes first, and their will is supreme. This is important
to understand, and it exposes clownish ideologies, such as anarcho-capitalism, for what they really
are: pseudo-anarchist tendencies that have nothing to do with real anarchism.

Voluntary/Free Association Voluntary association simply means that individuals should be able to
freely join and leave associations. This will flow naturally from their own impulses and will not be a
consequence of coercion and pressure. So, whilst voluntary association is a necessary component of
freedom, it must be complemented by self-management in order to have any substantive meaning
in relation to collective undertakings.

Federalism Federalism is a necessary condition of self-management. When associations join

together in order to make decisions, the self-managed assembly will elect mandated and instantly
recallable delegates to a council, which will consist of delegates from other associations chosen by
their assembly of members. Federalism can work at all levels in terms of scale. Communities, for
instance, can associate to create a regional council. These regional councils can associate to form a
national council etc. The point, however, is that power remains at the base, and freely flows upward,
rather than downwards.

Social Ownership Social ownership, or socialism, is a natural extension of anarchist principles and
ideas. Socialism, at its core, means workers control of the economy. It is the establishment of
workplace democracy. Because we adhere to the organisational idea of self-management, we
consequently favour the self-management of workplaces and the economy as a whole. We are,
consequently, socialists and anti-capitalists. Socialism, therefore, is a necessary component of
anarchism. How socialism manifests can vary greatly between different tendencies within socialism,
but the core idea remains the same.

Decentralisation Because the organisational structure we adhere to is that of self-management

and federalism, the organisation will, consequently, be decentralised. This simply means that it is not
controlled from the top-down, in a centralised manner, but is rather controlled, as we have seen,
from the bottom-up, in a decentralised manner.

Negative Side: Hierarchical Authority

Hierarchy is a particular form of organisation that is centralised and controlled from the top-down.
Dominance, control, and hierarchical authority are synonymous. They are systems of command and
obedience which aim to establish relations based on dominance. Whilst they can manifest in many
different ways, they all aim to limit human action through coercion. Hierarchy can be conceived of as
a pyramidal structure, in which power weakens towards the base of the pyramidal structure, and
strengthens towards the top. Those below those in power are subject to the dominance and control
of those at the top, and so are treated like automatons, without dignity, and without freedom.

Hierarchical power ultimately has two attributes: extensiveness and intensity. The extensiveness can
either be narrow or broad, and the intensity can either be weak or strong.

There are three main types of hierarchical authority: physical force, manipulation, and situational
coercion.

Physical force Physical force is perhaps the most obvious type of hierarchy and dominance. We
often think of this when we first think of coercion, dominance, and control. It consists of the use of
ones body to control another individual. This can either be direct or indirect. Direct coercion is the
use of ones physical body in a way which establishes physical contact with another individual, such
as assault and homicide. Indirect coercion is the use of ones body which doesnt establish physical
contact with another individual, such as protestors blocking a highway to raise awareness of a
particular issue, or an individual blocking a doorway so as to prevent another individual from leaving.

Manipulation Manipulation is the concealment of information in order to handle, manage and use
a subject. The manipulator essentially creates a relationship based on subordination through the use
of concealment and omission, and through concealment, the manipulator is able to control a
subject. The advertising industry is a sound example of large-scale manipulation.

Situational Coercion Situational coercion is a particular form of hierarchical authority which

consists of one party gaining control due to a situation in which there exists in imbalance of power. If
someone pointed a gun to your head, you would feel compelled to act upon the demands of the
individual wielding the gun. Similarly, if one individual is in a situation in which they require urgent
medical assistance from another individual, but then the potential saviour demands that in order to
be helped, the injured individual has to give them all the personal belongings they have on them, the
injured individual would be compelled to hand these personal belongings over. This is a situation
which has been manufactured which creates in imbalance of power that ultimately limits human
action.
Situational coercion, when it becomes broad and institutionalised, can manifest as racism,
homophobia, patriarchy etc. This creates a condition in which a particular group of people are
ultimately subjected and dominated by certain ideas, ideologies, threats, expectations, regulations,
laws etc. which ultimately limits their actions and harms them in a significant way. These situations
establish a system and relationship based on dominance and control. Of course, with situational
coercion, the elements of physical coercion is almost always present, and so these forms of
authoritarian power cant be disentangled. They are interconnected structures of dominance and
control.

Conclusion

As we have seen, anarchism is a sophisticated political theory which ultimately aims for the
emancipation of humanity from all systems of coercion and subordination. We reject hierarchy,
dominance, and control, as we see them to be impediments to human progress, and wholly
incompatible with liberty, equality, and solidarity. The extension of these values leads to the
enunciation of five key ideas, and these key ideas alongside the values I have presented in this text,
should provide the reader with a comprehensive understanding of anarchist theory.