Anarchism

Anarchism is a very misunderstood concept. Upon hearing the term many would immediately associate the words ‘chaos’ and ‘disorder’ with it, thinking they are the same thing. This is an entirely false perception.

Anarchism is a philosophy aimed at abolishing capitalism and the State, as well as all forms of illegitimate authority and domination (such as hierarchy), with the end goal of creating a simpler form of society where laws and law-makers are absent and where the individual is free to make his or her own decisions at his or her own expense.

Why challenge authority? Simply because anarchists firmly believe that humanity is at its very best when living free of authority, and where people are co-operating with each other and deciding things for themselves, instead of being told what to do and how to do it.

Anarchists aim to build a decentralised society based largely on the community, where people give what they can in return for what they need. This is also emphasized through solidarity and mutual aid, where people look out for one another and help each other achieve individual or collective goals, instead of competing against each other.

Many also believe that anarchy mean lack of organization, which again, is a mistaken assumption. In fact, it should be emphasized that the success of anarchy is dependant on a structured and functional society, where people are willing to help and look out for one another. The only difference is that instead of being organized in the typical hierarchical manner (top down) society is organized from bottom up.

Anarchists oppose the State (i.e. large centralised governments such as in the United States) and capitalism for a number of reasons. For one, life would be in theory much simpler.

For example, all necessary and what some would call ‘unpleasant’ work such as disposal of garbage or growing food would be divided among all members of the community, leaving everyone with more time to pursue their interests and passions. Capitalism would be replaced with ‘solidarity economics’, meaning life would no longer consist simply of pursuing wealth and maximizing profit. There would no longer be any war between nations competing for resources since those resources would be shared out equally. Laws would be replaced with social customs and most crime as we know it would disappear. This is because most crime seen today (such as theft, arson and a lot of murder cases) is crime that stems from one individual or group of individuals wanting something that belongs to another.

These are just some of the features of the type of society anarchists seek to promote.

By challenging the current workings and relationships within our society and culture, as well as by providing alternatives to the current world we are living in, anarchists all over the world are working for a change that aims to stop the exploitation of the weak by the strong / poor by the rich as well as create a more sustainable society.

There is a long history behind anarchism and it should be noted that it is pretty near impossible to sum up the aims of the anarchist movement into such few words, and therefore, I urge you to check out www.anarchistfaq.org for a much more comprehensive look at the subject.

As stated before, anarchy is not a synonym to “chaos” and “disorder”. It simply implies a society organised and functioning without a government, where people are free to decide things for themselves, as long as those decisions do not harm or inhibit other people’s freedom to do so (unless of course a rational justification can be given). Whether or not you think this system would result in chaos is your opinion. However, what cannot be denied is that Anarchism is a growing movement throughout the world, and is attracting more and more people to its cause everyday.

If you think that the world would be a better place without government, capitalism and private property, then you too are an anarchist.

By John Shehy

You can contact John at smash.geneva@mail.com