Anarchism is a political philosophy and practice that opposes all hierarchical power structures along with their justifying dogmas and proposes the unending pursuit of free association, self-determination, and mutual aid as the basis of our society. Our critique of the state is an extension of our critique of hierarchical power structures, or hierarchies, and the impact they have on those within them.
Why Governments Fail Us – YouTube
Anarchists are especially concerned with how hierarchies limit the powers that those below them have and develop. Our alienation from the practice of control over our lives and spaces causes us to lack practice in controlling our lives and spaces which reinforces our dependence on the hierarchies that deprive us of that ability. Our powers, drives, and consciousness all reinforce each other, so when we’re subject to hierarchical power structures, our perceived potential ends up limiting our actual potential.
Why Governments Fail Us – YouTube
Here and now, anarchists should be developing both counter-institutions worth defending and the strategies necessary to defend them.
Why Governments Fail Us – YouTube
Anarchists, on the other hand, see that the source of our people and planet’s exploitation goes much deeper than the economic system. We instead find the source of exploitation and thus the target of our opposition in the principle of hierarchical power, which manifests in capitalism yes, but also in every permutation of statecraft, former systems like feudalism and chattel slavery, and enduring institutions and ideologies like patriarchy, colonialism, and more.
Why Governments Fail Us – YouTube
In discussions between Marxists and anarchists, the term State is being used in different ways. Marxists see the State as an instrument of political power that can be wielded by anybody, while anarchists see it as a hierarchical institution that is antithetical to our ends and thus not among our toolset of means.
But I’m jumping ahead of myself, I first need to introduce an anarchist definition of the State. The anarchist Errico Malatesta wrote that anarchists, including himself, “have used the word State, and still do, to mean the sum total of the political, legislative, judiciary, military, and financial institutions through which the management of their own affairs, the control over their personal behaviour, the responsibility for their personal safety, are taken away from the people and entrusted to others who, by usurpation or delegation, are vested with the powers to make the laws for everything and everybody, and to oblige the people to observe them, if need be, by the use of collective force.”
Or, as more briefly summarised by Peter Gelderloos in Worshiping Power (2017), the State is “a bureaucratic, territorial, coercive organisation with multiple levels of administration, in which power is institutional rather than personal, and power-holders monopolise (at least ideally) the legitimate use of force and the codification of morality.”
Why Governments Fail Us – YouTube
The anarchist Alexander Berkman once said that one will become fully human when they will scorn to rule and refuse to be ruled.
Why Governments Fail Us – YouTube
How Anarchy Works
Anarchism is the term given to the political philosophy and practice that opposes all hierarchies along with their “justifying” dogmas and proposes the unending pursuit of anarchy, a world without rule where free association, self-determination, and mutual aid form the basis of our society. By hierarchies, anarchists are referring to the stratification of society which gives some individuals, groups, or institutions authority over others. In this context, authority refers to the recognised right above others in a social relationship to give commands, make decisions, and enforce obedience.
How Anarchy Works – YouTube
But why is it that anarchists oppose authority? Well, the main issue is that hierarchical authority divides society between rulers and ruled, with harmful consequences for both.
It is not that anarchists assume that human nature is all good all the time, but rather, as anarchist Peter Kropotkin argued in Are We Good Enough (1888), “both rulers and ruled are spoiled by authority” and “both exploiters and exploited are spoiled by exploitation.” Anarchists “admit the imperfections of human nature, but we make no exception for the rulers.”
When the interests of rulers are prioritised above all others, everyone suffers. Those at the top might enjoy power and privilege, but their narrow position impedes the flow of information and insulates them from the experiences, ideas, and perspectives of those below them that can contribute to everyone’s well-being. Those at the bottom are compelled to obedience and subordination by a system greater than themselves, which fosters dependency and erodes our capacity to self-organise without authority and control our own destinies.
Not to mention, hierarchy creates conflict, as authorities compete for control, subordinates compete for scraps, and authorities and subordinates clash over their opposing interests—one seeks greater power over as the other seeks greater autonomy from. For these reasons and others, anarchists oppose authority, whether it’s found in the spheres of society, economy, or politics.
How Anarchy Works – YouTube
Anarchy isn’t about chaos. It’s about love.
“Anarchy isn’t about chaos. It’s about love.”
In the city of Wyrdon, a supernatural plague known as “the rot” ravages the streets, slowly rotting the city to its core and turning the residents into maggots. A small group living outside of society known as “The Lovely Anarchists” are working tirelessly to save the city’s soul by bringing back the magic needed to stave off the rot. This is no easy task since the world’s magic has been hoarded by the ultra-wealthy.
Flowerpunk is a 10-chapter miniseries following two anarchists in particular. Ludwig, a hard-ass punk and Kimi, a candycore soft boy .Over time, the two find a sense of mutual healing in each other and the perfect antidote to their shared feeling of powerlessness in a cruel and twisted world.
Expect anarchist hijinks, weird magical plant-powered machinery, messed-up nightmarish monsters and tons of queer goodness!
Read Flowerpunk | Tapas Web Comics, Flowerpunk | WEBTOON
Punk: The ideal cultural vehicle for anarchism.
“PUNK ROCK EQUALS ANARCHY PLUS GUITARS AND DRUMS. ANYTHING LESS IS JUST SUBMISSION.”
CrimethInc. : Punk—Dangerous Utopia : Revisiting the Relationship between Punk and Anarchism
Let’s imagine the ideal cultural vehicle for anarchism.
It has to be defiant, obviously. It should accommodate both gleeful irony and stark courage. But let’s make it affirmative, too, even if we have to go the long way round through suffering and catharsis to get there. We don’t want the kind of nihilism that makes it hard to get out of bed in the morning—we want the kind that keeps people out all night causing trouble.
For starters, then, we’ll set our point of departure in the creative arts: music, fashion, design, graffiti, writing, photography, petty crime. These are fundamentally affirmative even when they express anger and despair—and the start-up costs are pretty low. Put the music front and center, so literacy isn’t a barrier.
Aesthetically, we’ll want it raw and disruptive. Throw out all claims to expertise; make a clean sweep of the classics. At the most, we can retain a few of the innovations that the music industry stole from working-class people. Afflict the comfortable, comfort the afflicted.
Economically, if we can’t unilaterally break with the capitalist mode of production, let’s build in some norms to counteract its effects: price controls (“pay no more than two quid”), a loathing of profiteering and all things corporate, a do-it-yourself ethic. Place all the emphasis on things that can’t be bought. If that means an embattled discourse about “authenticity,” so be it.
This subculture has to be inclusive—and not just in the superficial sense associated with the liberal politics of representation. Rather than just preaching to the converted, it should draw in people from a wide range of backgrounds and politics. We want to reach the same young folks who are going to be targeted by military recruiters, and we want to reach them first. Sure, that will mean rubbing shoulders with a lot of people who are not anarchists—it will mean a big messy stew of different politics and conflicts and contradictions—but the goal is to spread anarchism, not to hide out in it. Get everyone together in a space premised on horizontality, decentralization, self-determination, reproducible models, being ungovernable, and so on and let them discover the advantages for themselves.
The most important thing is the participation of those who are poor, volatile, and angry. Not out of any misguided notion of charity, but rather because the so-called dangerous classes are usually the motor force of change from below. The self-satisfied and well-behaved lack the risk tolerance essential for making history and reinventing culture.
Picture a self-education society without instructors, ranks, or lesson plans. Teenagers will teach themselves to play drums by watching other teenagers play drums. They won’t learn about politics in dusty tomes, but by publishing zines about their own experiences and corresponding with people on the other side of the planet. Every time well-known musicians perform, musicians who are just getting started will perform, too. Learning won’t be a distinct sphere of activity, but an organic component of every aspect of the community.
CrimethInc. : Punk—Dangerous Utopia : Revisiting the Relationship between Punk and Anarchism
Today, in the anarchist movement, we sometimes miss the Dionysian spirit that characterized the hardcore punk underground at its high point: the collective, embodied experience of dangerous freedom. This is how punk can inspire us in our anarchist experiments of today and tomorrow: as a transformative outlet for rage and grief and joy, a positive model for togetherness and self-determination in our social relations, an example of how the destructive urge can also be creative.
Music as a Weapon: The Contentious Symbiosis of Punk Rock and Anarchism
