Defining Anarchism

Anarchism has been defined many ways by many different sources. The word
anarchism is taken from the word anarchy which is drawn from dual sources in
the Greek language. It is made up of the Greek words av (meaning: absence of
[and pronounced "an"] and apxn (meaning: authority or government [and
pronounced "arkhe"]). Today, dictionary definitions still define anarchism
as the absence of government. These modern dictionary definitions of
anarchism are based on the writings and actions of anarchists of history and
present. Anarchists understand, as do historians of anarchism and good
dictionaries and encyclopedias, that the word anarchism represents a
positive theory. Exterior sources, however, such as the media, will
frequently misuse the word anarchism and, thus, breed misunderstanding.

A leading modern dictionary, Webster's Third International Dictionary,
defines anarchism briefly but accurately as, "a political theory opposed to
all forms of government and governmental restraint and advocating voluntary
cooperation and free association of individuals and groups in order to
satisfy their needs." Other dictionaries describe anarchism with similar
definitions. The Britannica-Webster dictionary defines the word anarchism
as, "a political theory that holds all government authority to be
unnecessary and undesirable and advocates a society based on voluntary
cooperation of individuals and groups." Shorter dictionaries, such as the
New Webster Handy College Dictionary, define anarchism as, "the political
doctrine that all governments should be abolished."

These similar dictionary definitions of anarchism reflect the evolution of
the theory of anarchism made possible by anarchist intellectuals and
movements. As a result, dictionary definitions, although fair, only reflect
watered down definitions of the word anarchism. Professor Noam Chomsky, in
fact, has refuted the definition, as written in the New American Webster
Handy College Dictionary, describing anarchism as a "political doctrine."
According to Chomsky, "...anarchism isn't a doctrine. It's at most a
historical tendency, a tendency of thought and action, which has many
different ways of developing and progressing and which, I would think, will
continue as a permanent strand of human history." Other modern definitions
of anarchism are thoroughly explained, not as a word, but as a history of
movements, people and ideas. The Encyclopedia of the American Left, in fact,
gives a three page history of anarchism, yet does not once define the word.

Prior to the existence of the word anarchism people used the term
"Libertarian Socialism," which meant the same thing as anarchism.
Libertarian socialism was used largely by Mexican radicals in the early
eighteenth century. William Godwin was the first proclaimed anarchist in
history and the first to write about anarchism. He was born in 1756 in
Weisbech, the capital of North Cambridgeshire. He later married feminist
Mary Wollstonecraft and had a daughter, Mary Shelley - author of
Frankenstein. Godwin published a book called Political Justice in 1793 which
first introduced his ideas about anarchism, Godwin was forgotten about,
however, and after his death Pierre Joseph Proudhon became a leading
anarchist figure in the world. His book What is Property? incorporated
greater meaning to the word anarchism; anarchism became not only a rejection
of established authority but a theory opposing ownership of land and
property as well.

Anarchism fully blossomed as a defined theory when Russian anarchists
Mikhail Bakunin (1814-1876) and Peter Kropotkin (1842-1921 started to write
and speak. Bakunin had a major influence in the world and introduced
anarchism to many people. Kropotkin was one of the many people inspired by
Bakunin. Kropotkin wrote many books on anarchism, including Muitual Aid,
Fields Factories and Workshops, and The Conquest of Bread, and greatly aided
in the evolution of the theory of anarchism. Kropotkin wrote the first adept
encyclopedia definition of anarchism in the eleventh edition of the
Encyclopedia Britannica in 1910. His definition was fifteen pages long. He
started the definition by introducing the word anarchism as:

     the name given to a principle of theory of life and conduct under
     which society is conceived without government - harmony in such a
     society being obtained, not by submission to law, or by obedience
     to any authority, but by free agreements concluded between various
     groups, territorial and professional, freely constituted for the
     sake of production and consumption, as also for the satisfaction
     of the infinite variety of the needs and aspirations of a
     civilized being, In a society developed on these lines, the
     voluntary associations which already now begin to cover all fields
     of human activity would take a still greater extension so as to
     substitute themselves for the state of its functions.

Following Kropotkin, Leo Tolstory furthered the ideas which make up the
meaning of the word anarchism. Tolstoy introduced Christian anarchism
(rejecting church authority but believing in God) and broadened anarchism's
meaning. Tolstoy, in favor of the growth of anarchism, wrote "The anarchists
are right in the assertion that, without Authority, there could not be worse
violence than that of Authority under existing conditions."

As the 20th century emerged anarchism began to peak and the definition of
anarchism became concrete with the growth of new anarchist writers and
movements. The execution and imprisonment of eight anarchists in Chicago in
1886 sparked anarchism's growth in the United States. The "Haymarket Eight"
flourished anarchists such as Voltairine de Cleyre and Lucy Parsons. Parsons
was born into slavery and later became an anarchist and an ardent speaker
and working class rebel; the Chicago police labled Parsons, "...more
dangerous than a thousand rioters." Emma Goldman also became a part of the
anarchist movement due to the Chicago Martyrs. Described as a "damn bitch of
an anarchist," Goldman also broadened the meaning of anarchism and
introduced the greatest and most important ideas of anarchist feminism in
history which prevail, as a result of Goldman, to this day.

Emma Goldman's life long comrade, Alexander Berkman, played a major part in
helping to define the word anarchism. He wrote a book called ABC of
Anarchism which defined and describes anarchism and is still read today.
Berkman wrote, "Anarchism means you should be free; that no one should
enslave you, boss you, rob you, or impose upon you. It means you should be
free to do the things you want to do; and that you should not be compelled
to do what you do not want to do."

Anarchism was put into action by giant movements throughout history which
proved its definition was more than theoretical. The communal efforts of
anarchism were seen in the Paris Commune in the early 19th century, the
revolutionary organizing of Mexican working class rebels was proven possible
by anarchists such as Ricardo Flores Magon and revolutionaries like Emiliano
Zapata, and the Spanish Revolution of 1936-39 proved anarchists' capability
of creating anarchism within small sectors of the world. Certainly today we
can see anarchism in action in places like Mondragon, Spain, where
anarchists are working in collectives and trying to live free of authority.

Although the word anarchism is understood by many in its classic sense (that
defined by dictionaries and by anarchists of history), the word is often
misused and misunderstood. Anarchism, because of the threat it imposes upon
established authority, has been historically, and is still, misused by power
holders as violence and chaos. As anarchist historian George Woodcock put
it, "Of the more frivolous is the idea that the anarchist is a man who
throws bombs and wishes to wreak society by violence and terror. That this
charge should be brought against anarchists now, at a time when they are the
few people who are not throwing bombs or assisting bomb throwers, shows a
curious purblindness among its champions." The claim that anarchism is chaos
was refuted long ago by Alexander Berkman when he wrote:

     I must tell you, first of all, what anarchism is not. It is not
     bombs, disorder, or chaos. It is not robbery or murder. It is not
     a war of each against all. It is not a return to barbarianism or
     to the wild state of man. Anarchism is the very opposite of all
     that.

These refutations of stereotypes associated with anarchism are sometimes
trampled by the popular misuse of the word anarchism. It is not uncommon for
a Middle Eastern nation in the midst of U.S.-imposed turmoil to be labeled
by the media as "complete anarchy," a phrase which undermines the true
definition of the word anarchism and all those who toiled, and who do toil,
to make the word anarchism mean what it does today.

Modern anarchists still work hard to help anarchism maintain its validity
and history. Anarchism today is being used to find solutions to the problems
of power; not just state power, but corporate power and all immediate forms
of domination among individuals and organizations. Anarchists such as L.
Susan Brown have introduced ideas such as existential individualism, while
other anarchists remain loyal to anarcho-syndicalism and class struggle.
Anarchism has also been spread around the world through music and bands such
as Crass, introducing anarchism and anti-speciesism and urging
self-sufficiency among workers and community members. Other anarchists such
as Lorenzo Kom'boa Ervin, an ex-Black Panther, are introducing new means of
organizing and directly challenging racism. Furthermore, anarchism has
become integrated into ecological issues thanks in part to eco-anarchist
ideas and freethinking organizations such as Earth First! Also, we see
anarchists working to keep anarchism, in theory and practice, alive and well
around the world with anarchist newspapers such as Love and Rage in Mexico
and the United States, anarchist book publishers such as AK Press in the
U.S. and the U.K., and political prisoner support groups such as the
Anarchist Black Cross.

As documented, the word anarchism has a long history. Although the word is
simply derived from Greek tongue, the philosophy and actions of anarchists
in history and present give the word anarchism proper definition. Dictionary
definitions, as quoted, are sometimes fair to anarchism, but far from
complete. The misuse of the word anarchism is unfortunate and has been a
problem anarchists have had to deal with for the last century. Because of
the misuse of anarchism, the simple dictionary definitions of anarchism, and
the different interpretations of anarchism the word can take on many
meanings, but the truly accurate meaning of the word anarchism can be found
in anarchist history, anarchist writings and anarchist practice.

                           THE NEXT MOVE IS YOURS

                          Written by Jason Justice

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