What is an anarchist?

[firefox]

Chomsky is a professor of linguistics at MIT and was recently called the greatest intellectual in this interview dated October 31, 2005- http://www.chomsky.info/interviews/20051031.htm I am most interested in his definition although I do not expect to see it submitted in this thread. And besides that, it is like the definition of conservative or liberal in that it is what you say it is. So can someone explain it to me?

I asked this because Chomsky is called an anarchist at his official website and I highly respect his work and academic excellence. Also, I have read that Alexander Cockburn of CounterPunch is an anarchist and I respect him both as an intellectual and as a writer that exemplifies the significance of style. And some credit his book denouncing the reality projected by Reagan of the Soviet Union when Reagan needed the pretense in order to ramp up defense spending as the best nonfiction book of the 1980s. Helen Keller was an anarchist and she started the ACLU.

But it all begs the question, what is an anarchist?

[YDogg]

1. Oh, I thought you said antichrist.

[babylonsister]

2. Anarchism

an·ar·chism Audio pronunciation of "anarchism" ( P ) Pronunciation Key (nr-kzm)
n.

1. The theory or doctrine that all forms of government are oppressive and undesirable and should be abolished.
2. Active resistance and terrorism against the state, as used by some anarchists.
3. Rejection of all forms of coercive control and authority: “He was inclined to anarchism; he hated system and organization and uniformity” (Bertrand Russell).

[Mr. McD]

3. Here is a link for the Anarchist FAQ

http://infoshop.org/faq/

[BlueEyedSon]

5. good link, thx

[BlueEyedSon]

4. an = against, no, without...... archos = ruler

one who questions or does not accept a ruler.

This idea should be compatible with US democracy. The executive and legislative branch are not rulers per se, they work for and are answerable to us.

[barbaraann]

6. Republicans are anarchists.

They want to eliminate government and that would be anarchy.

[DBoon]

10. if a libertarian is a republican that smokes pot

then is an anarchist a libertarian that did too much bad LSD?

[barbaraann]

11. teehee

or maybe cocaine....

[BlueEyedSon]

14. They worship leaders and hierarchies

basically the OPPOSITE of anarchy

[barbaraann]

16. hmmm....gotta ponder that one...

:-)

[The Flaming Red Head]

7. Every two-year-old I ever met was one, it’s innate.

I say this tongue in cheek though, because I adore Chomsky.

[Protagoras]

8. Many definitions. Pick your scenario

There are situational Anarchists who believe that you have to destroy the village, government, system in order to rebuild it.

There are universal anarchists who essentially reject all forms of government. They reject systems where any one person is above another person. This does not necessarily mean collectivism...depending on their point of view.

I find that the term anarchy is sometimes used in a highly intellectualized sense (Noam Chomsky who calls himself an Anarcho Syndicalist who rejects hierarchy)...and have an ideal view that if we can eliminate top down government we can have a better world. They tend to excel at criticism of structures but many of them will admit that ever seeing the implimentation of their own replacement systems is likely.

On the other hand, there are hordes of usually young and substantially less intellectual people who label themselves Anarchists as a way of rejecting the system. However their expressiveness tends to be more reactionary and less visionary than the above. They tend to have shallow but idealistic slogans supporting their views and are often unable to articulate how their policies would actually affect those around them. They often resort to the "Destroy it by whatever means" without having a realistic understanding of what has risen from the ashes of such actions in the past. They reject "THE MAN" but that's about it. Many seem to assume that without "THE MAN" everyone else would just chill out and be happy. (yes that's my personal impression)

Noam Chomsky's version otoh, is much more illuminating because he is very accurate in identifying weaknesses and corruption of current systems...and he is somewhat realistic about the liklihood (or historical result) of his own approach...he knows it's an ideal and he believes that by maintaining it personally he can improve the world while realizing that he won't actually get what he is advocating.

In between these two sets I'd say you find people who are much more reserved in their advocacy of tearing down the current systems of government...but nonetheless willing to promote a much freer system. I see the spectrum of social liberitarians (not necessarily the economic ones) as falling into this catagory. They are pretty decent critics, but often unrealistic or unclear about what they could actually replace our system with. They basically reach neither the heights nor the depths of the other two groups. They are highly egoistic in their outlook and appear to be primarily motivated by their own desires rather than a global outlook.

Assuming you didn't just want a link to dictionary.com or something...that's my take on it.

Idealists...some complex thinkers...some not so complex...most demonstrating a great ability for criticizing current systems, but with a somewhat shallow and fantastical notion of what they would replace it with. Usually willing to advocate eliminating what we have now rather quickly...based on the assumption that what would arise from the ashes would be better...

overall, a bit naive imho.

I'm sorry if any of these thoughts offend anyone.

[DBoon]

9. anarchist vs. libertarian

an anarchist wants to eliminate government because he sees it as the means by which the upper class oppresses the lower classes

a libertarian wants to restrain government because he sees it as a toll the lower classes use to restrict the upper classes.

[toddaa]

19. Outside the US libertarians are anarchists

Contrary to the propaganda of the LP, capitalism is not libertarian, it is authoritarian.

[Lone_Wolf]

12. Imagine a world without artificial hierarchies...

From Wikopedia:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Anarchism

"Anarchism is a generic term describing various political philosophies and social movements that advocate the elimination of all forms of social hierarchy. In place of centralized political structures, private ownership of the means of production, and exploitative economic institutions such as rent and profit, these movements favor social relations based upon voluntary interaction and self-management, and aspire to a society characterised by autonomy and freedom. These philosophies use anarchy to mean a society based on voluntary interaction of free individuals, and the idea that communities and individuals have a say in decisions to the degree that they are affected by their outcomes.

While opposition to coercive institutions and socially constructed hierarchies are primary tenets of anarchism, anarchism is also a positive vision of how a voluntary society would work. There is considerable variation amongst anarchist philosophies. Opinions differ in various areas, such as whether violence should be employed to foster anarchism, what type of economic system should exist, questions on the environment and industrialism, and anarchists' roles in other movements.

The terms "anarchy" and "anarchism" are derived from the Greek αναρχία ("without archons (rulers)"). Thus "anarchism," in its most general meaning, is the belief that rulership is unnecessary and should be abolished. The word "anarchy", as most anarchists use it, does not imply chaos or anomie, but rather a stateless society with voluntary social relations."

[SmokingJacket]

13. Sounds like a food co-op I once belonged to.

No one was in charge; everything, everything had to be decided by consensus. It was vote, argue, argue, argue, vote all night long. To this day I'm allergic to anything that resembles a meeting.

Democracy works for me, in that it delegates authority.

[MGKrebs]

15. Not too long ago, the Anarchist Meetup group

here in Atlanta would send an (automated) message that said "this group needs a leader". That just cracks me up.

[lonestarnot]

17. LOL me tooo!

[toddaa]

18. Big A Anarchists v. little a anarchists

Trying to figure out the long history of anarchism and exactly what it means can be a daunting task for anyone not well versed in the various strains that make up anarchism. The wiki article is actually pretty decent. No surprise there, as wikipedia is an anarchist process of gathering information. I break anarchism down into two distinct groups, ignoring the many clashes of political theory. Big A Anarchists are the idealists. They envision an anarchist revolution toppling government and capitalism, replacing them with voluntary collectivization. Anarcho-communists, -syndicalists, and -socialists who are big on political theory are the purists.

The little a anarchists, on the other hand, aren't really big on the goal, so much as the process. You'll often run across the term "libertarian socialist" to describe these anarchists. For the libertarian socialist, the process of removing authoritarian control over people is far more important than lofty theory. The Zapatistas are the best example of libertarian socialists. Despite the very visible role Subcomandante Marcos has for the ELZN, he is not their leader and plays no role in Zapatista communities. He is merely their spokesman.

As a libertarian socialist, I view anarchism as a struggle to work within the current conditions. We live in a democratic republic. With those constraints, it's important to elect representatives who will minimize authoritarian control over the people by reigning in the abuses of the State and fighting for the rights of the worker over the capitalists who profit from other's work. The Democratic party isn't exactly the ideal, as most leaders in the party are beholden to corporate interests, but it's the best we've got to work with so let's just keep holding their feet to the fire as the alternative is unthinkable.

[Tierra_y_Libertad]

20. Social justice and freedom from the bosses. Communitarian.

Whether the bosses be politicians, capitalists, religious leaders, militarists, nationalists, or demagogues.

Anarchism is not synonomous with anarchy.

Emma Goldman, Bakunin, Zapata, Gandhi, Tolstoy, Proudhon, Chomsky, the IWW, the FAI and CNT in Spain, etc.

Freethinkers.