The word “anarchy” has its origins in ancient Greek (like so many other words). It stems from the root word arcon (archon), meaning ruler, with the prefix (an) added to mean “against” or “without.” So, literally, anarcon (anarchon) means against/without rulers.
It is a wonderfully descriptive etymology, and helpful for
understanding the basic principles of anarchical belief, a system
defined by limited (or nonexistent) government, self rule, and lack of
private property.
While the principles behind the anarchist movement in some sense have their roots in the Stoic philosophies of ancient Greece, the tenants of modern anarchy perhaps first outlined by late 18th century sociologist
William Goldwin (who did not himself profess to be an anarchist at the time, but only because the term was not yet used as functionally as it is today) in his “Enquiry concerning Political Justice,” wherein he states, as a basic principle:
“Government, as it was forced upon mankind by their vices, so has it commonly been the creature of their ignorance and mistake.
Government was intended to suppress injustice, but it offers new occasions and temptations for the commission of it.
By concentrating the force of the community, it gives occasion to wild projects of calamity, to oppression, despotism, war and conquest.”
The most common misconceptions people often have toward anarchists is that of groups of rebellious kids breaking the law, wearing black, and having patches of the anarchy symbol safety pinned to their clothes (and sometimes carving them into their own body), and acting out against what they consider to be the evils of authority in general. Riots, demonstrations, school violence... all are (sometimes correctly) associated with anarchy. While much of this surely is done under the loosely defined guise of anarchy, these actions are certainly not what was originally defined by these intelligent, arguably misguided, thinkers.
In fact, one of the basic anarchic beliefs is that the world would naturally become a much better place by adopting those theories of anarchy. By Pierre-Joseph Proudhon's reckoning, should government cease to exist, replaced instead by self-rule of each individual person, the basic laws of humanity and the intrinsic goodness of humankind would take over, and humanity would begin a steady ascension toward a utopia.
Some anarchist theories, specifically those of Proudhon, while sounding as if verging on Marxist, are not based in communism, but are rather considered to be a form of “mutualism.” Proudhon was actually opposed to Communism, believing that there was still too much order involved; too much authoritarian control taking away the freedom of the individual. Still, the basic Socialist aspects remain: working individually, trading goods and services for other goods and other services based off whatever value is considered fair and whatever the current “going rate” may be.
In fact, when put this way, anarchy even has traces (faint as they may be) of the most basic form of capitalism (except without wealth or “greed”), though surely all similarities end here.
Anarchy is, by its nature, very hard to define. There are many other types of anarchical systems and many other anarchist leaders throughout history who have had things to say about the system. There are full-fledged Anarcho-Communists (and many subgroups therein) and there are even some Anarcho-Capitalists out there (conflicted as their beliefs may be). And then there are just those who hate being told what to do and want to cause as much damage to people and things as they possibly can, in the name of creating a system with no government, law or order. Some anarchists even kill presidents (referring, of course, to Leon Czolgosz, anarchist murderer of William McKinley).
One final note on the subject of anarchy: William Goldwyn, the modern father of anarchy, is actually the father of another famous writer: Mary Shelley, horror author extraordinaire and creator of Frankenstien. Surely, it is not difficult to find some form of anarchic message in this classic story.
References:
“Anarchist Timeline.”
Goldwin, William. “Inquiry concerning Political Justice.”
“An Anarchist FAQ.” Infoshop.org.
The First Modern Anarchists
While the principles behind the anarchist movement in some sense have their roots in the Stoic philosophies of ancient Greece, the tenants of modern anarchy perhaps first outlined by late 18th century sociologist
William Goldwin (who did not himself profess to be an anarchist at the time, but only because the term was not yet used as functionally as it is today) in his “Enquiry concerning Political Justice,” wherein he states, as a basic principle:
“Government, as it was forced upon mankind by their vices, so has it commonly been the creature of their ignorance and mistake.
Government was intended to suppress injustice, but it offers new occasions and temptations for the commission of it.
By concentrating the force of the community, it gives occasion to wild projects of calamity, to oppression, despotism, war and conquest.”
In
the nineteenth century Pierre-Joseph Proudhon, in his book “What is
Property?” and famous essay “What is Government?” also railed against
the intrinsic evils of government and private property (and was also the
first to actually use the word “anarchy” in its modern sense). To
thinkers such as these, the ownership of any property is, in essence,
theft from the community, and the very existence of government itself is
the root of many, if not all, of society's problems.
Truth and Stereotypes
The most common misconceptions people often have toward anarchists is that of groups of rebellious kids breaking the law, wearing black, and having patches of the anarchy symbol safety pinned to their clothes (and sometimes carving them into their own body), and acting out against what they consider to be the evils of authority in general. Riots, demonstrations, school violence... all are (sometimes correctly) associated with anarchy. While much of this surely is done under the loosely defined guise of anarchy, these actions are certainly not what was originally defined by these intelligent, arguably misguided, thinkers.
In fact, one of the basic anarchic beliefs is that the world would naturally become a much better place by adopting those theories of anarchy. By Pierre-Joseph Proudhon's reckoning, should government cease to exist, replaced instead by self-rule of each individual person, the basic laws of humanity and the intrinsic goodness of humankind would take over, and humanity would begin a steady ascension toward a utopia.
Forms of Anarchy
Some anarchist theories, specifically those of Proudhon, while sounding as if verging on Marxist, are not based in communism, but are rather considered to be a form of “mutualism.” Proudhon was actually opposed to Communism, believing that there was still too much order involved; too much authoritarian control taking away the freedom of the individual. Still, the basic Socialist aspects remain: working individually, trading goods and services for other goods and other services based off whatever value is considered fair and whatever the current “going rate” may be.
In fact, when put this way, anarchy even has traces (faint as they may be) of the most basic form of capitalism (except without wealth or “greed”), though surely all similarities end here.
Anarchy is, by its nature, very hard to define. There are many other types of anarchical systems and many other anarchist leaders throughout history who have had things to say about the system. There are full-fledged Anarcho-Communists (and many subgroups therein) and there are even some Anarcho-Capitalists out there (conflicted as their beliefs may be). And then there are just those who hate being told what to do and want to cause as much damage to people and things as they possibly can, in the name of creating a system with no government, law or order. Some anarchists even kill presidents (referring, of course, to Leon Czolgosz, anarchist murderer of William McKinley).
One final note on the subject of anarchy: William Goldwyn, the modern father of anarchy, is actually the father of another famous writer: Mary Shelley, horror author extraordinaire and creator of Frankenstien. Surely, it is not difficult to find some form of anarchic message in this classic story.
References:
“Anarchist Timeline.”
Goldwin, William. “Inquiry concerning Political Justice.”
“An Anarchist FAQ.” Infoshop.org.
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