Post on 23-Mar-2023
THE RELATIONSHIP BETWEEN ANARCHISM AND THE STATECompulsory Assignment in Political Theory,Spring 2014 Written by Clara Josefine Feldmann
Examination Number: 334517
Table of Contents
Introduction.........................................................2Anarchism............................................................3The State............................................................4Anarchism and Marxism................................................6Anarchism and Liberalism.............................................6Anarchism and Socialism..............................................6Philosophical Anarchism..............................................7Anti-capitalist Anarchists...........................................8Pierre-Joseph Proudhon – Mutualism..................................8Michael Bakunin – Collectivism – Anarcho-Syndicalism................9Peter Kropotkin – Anarchist-Communism..............................10
Free Market Anarchism – Anarcho-Capitalism..........................11Anarchism in Practice...............................................12The Spanish Republic................................................13Conclusion..........................................................14References..........................................................16
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Introduction
Anarchism is one of the most misunderstood and
misinterpreted political terms that exist. This can already
be seen in the two different definitions of the term
‘Anarchy’ which are given by the oxford dictionary, the
first being "A state of disorder due to absence or non-
recognition of authority or other controlling systems: he
must ensure public order in a country threatened with anarchy” and the
second being: “Absence of government and absolute freedom of
the individual, regarded as a political ideal.”1 The first
one sounds extremely negative and treats Anarchism as a
stage of chaos which ought to be destroyed, whereas the
second definition makes Anarchy not only sound positive
but, as it is being connected with the absolute freedom of
the individual, also desirable. The reasons for the
misunderstandings or confusions made about the term
Anarchism are to be found in the history of the term and
also of Anarchist movements and moments where Anarchy was
used to describe the chaotic situation as after a
revolutionary overthrow of a government in war-like
conditions. As it cannot be spoken of one Anarchism but
rather of different ‘Anarchisms’ this paper aims to
explain, what the differences between those Anarchist
1 http://www.oxforddictionaries.com/definition/english/anarchy
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theories are and how the relationship and the attitude
towards the state differs depending on the anarchist
approach and anarchist thinker. In this text I am going to
concentrate on four major anarchist thinkers and writers
and their opinion towards the relationship of anarchism
with the state, namely William Godwin (1756-1863), Pierre-
Joseph Proudhon (1809-1865), Michael Bakunin (1814-76) and
Peter Kropotkin ( 1842-1921). I will start by trying to
give an appropriate definition of the term Anarchism and
will then go on to an attempt of defining the State, while
already including the anarchist perspective. Further I will
shortly try to capture the relationship between anarchism
and Marxism as well as with the related political theories
Liberalism and Socialism. The main part of this study is
going to be the examination of different types of anarchist
theories connected to different anarchist thinkers. Finally
I will go over to investigating how anarchism works in
practice and give a short outline of anarchism in the
Spanish Republic. In the conclusion I will sum up the
relationship of Anarchism and the State and also outline
some challenges connected to this relationship.
AnarchismAnarchism is a political ideology that is really difficult
to identify and explain precisely. It has developed in
various ways and into different directions, which have
similarities but are also sometimes in some points
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contrasting each other. For anarchist thinkers there is no
and there cannot be one generally binding determination
with regard to the content of the term Anarchism or
Anarchy. Anarchism is a political theory which aims to
create Anarchy.2 The term Anarchy originally derived from
the Greek anarkhos 'without a chief' or 'without a ruler'.
Important to note is that without a ruler does not mean
without rules. Opposed to “Anarchy” stands the word-ending
“-archy” which is ”representing
Greek arkh(e)ia 'government, leadership'” and “denoting a
type of rule or government”
(http://www.oxforddictionaries.com/definition/english/-
archy?q=archy) as for the word ‘Monarchy’. One definition
of the term anarchism to be found in the oxford dictionary
is that it is the “Belief in the abolition of all
government and the organization of society on a voluntary,
cooperative basis without recourse to force or compulsion”.
This definition also gives some information about how an
anarchist society is to be organized and not only how it is
achieved. There are a lot of different forms of Anarchism,
like pacifist anarchism, individualist anarchism,
collectivist anarchism or anarchist communism, which all
have different emphases and also depending on the anarchist
thinker would be defined really differently. What they all
have in common is their rejection of external authority.
External authority summarizing that of the state, the
2 http://www.infoshop.org/AnarchistFAQSectionA1#seca11
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employer and the hierarchies of administration and of
established institutions like the school and the church.3
Generally speaking it can be summed up that Anarchists are
opposed to any form of hierarchical control and hold the
opinion that nobody should have the right to dominate over
somebody else. Creating anarchy thus means "the abolition of
exploitation and oppression of man by man, that is the abolition of private
property [i.e. capitalism] and government." [Errico Malatesta, Towards
Anarchism," p. 75]4. The abolition of private property and
thereby the abolition of capitalism is also a really
central concern of anarchist thinkers, even though the
perceptions and ideas about how to tackle the problem of
private property differs between different anarchist
thinkers. Generally it can be said that anarchism is
decidedly anti-capitalist and will be treated as anti-
capitalist in this study. The anarchist rejection of
gaining control of the state and shaping policy decisions
brings up the question, if it can be recognized as a
political ideology at all, as these are of the main
interest of political scientists.5 Only because Anarchism
is opposed to statist politics it does not imply that
Anarchism rejects politics in the widest sense and therefor
it will be treated as a political ideology in this study,
which it indeed is. Now the aim of this study is to explain
the relationship between Anarchsim and the State. As 3 Ward, Colin; Anarchism A Very Short Introduction, page 34 http://www.infoshop.org/AnarchistFAQSectionA1#seca115 The Oxford handbook of political ideologies edited by Michael Freedenand Marc Stears
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Anarchism has so many different forms I will first analyse
the role of the state from the anarchist view in general
and then go over to pointing out the different perceptions
of the state in regard to different anarchist theories.
The State As mentioned before anarchists are rejecting any form of
external authority. The State as the highest of external
authorities is thus rejected and Anarchism is opposed to
the State as a political system. To be able to analyse the
relationship from Anarchism and the State it first has to
be defined what the state actually is. One definition of
the State given by the oxford English dictionary defines
the State as “A community of people living in a defined
territory and organized under its own government; a
commonwealth, a nation. Also occas.: the territory occupied
by such a community.”6
In the following I am going to explain the general
perception of the state from an anarchist point of view. On
the face of it the essence of the state is authority and
compulsion. The state legitimizes its authority by the
usurpation of cultural, juridical, religious and ethical
traditions. States have never emerged in a different way
than by two social groups that collided on a hostile basis,
and as a consequence one group overcame and subjugated the
other. This fact alone already clashes with anarchist
6 http://www.oed.com.proxy1-bib.sdu.dk:2048/view/Entry/189241?rskey=CdWxxD&result=1#eid
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principles. Only where borders are being crossed in order
to plunder or enslave and subjugate other human beings it
becomes necessary to protect these conquests. Consequently
the existence of the state as a political system becomes
necessary. 7
Anarchists do not want to concede a right to any kind of
power or authority over other human beings to any
institution or individual person. The classical anarchist
view is that power is principally subject to abuse and
should thus not be given to anyone. 8 Important to mention
is that the state is not to be put on a level with the
society, even though it is often done so by states. The
state pretends to be representing the society’s interest,
but in fact it is not the interest of all individuals that
is being represented but rather a summary of the interests
of society with special attention to the protection of the
“privileges of the powerful”9 This ignores the freedom of
the individual and thus also of the freedom of the society,
as the freedom of self-government is being taken away from
the individual and the society by the state. There is no
and there cannot be a formation of a will in society as a
whole. Thereby the state is imposing a collective will on
the society, ignoring the will of the individual, or in
other words the state is the power of the absolute minority
of society over the absolute majority of society.10 7 H.J. Degen, J. Knoblauch, Anarchismus, p. 74-758 H.J. Degen, J. Knoblauch, Anarchismus, p. 76-779 Ward, Colin; Anarchism A Very Short Introduction, page 210 H.J. Degen, J. Knoblauch, Anarchismus, p. 77-78
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Anarchists are often criticized for their categorical
denial of the state as a political system. This is also
done in respect to social welfare as an important function
of the modern state. From the anarchist point of view it is
being argued that e.g. in Britain social welfare did not
originate from government, but “evolved from the vast
network of friendly societies and mutual aid organizations
that had sprung up through working-class self-help in the
19th century.”11 This implies that the state has originally
nothing to do with social welfare and that social welfare
would work without the state.
Anarchism and MarxismAmongst others it was the scientific socialism, the Marxism
that gave shape to anarchism. The anarchist perceptions of
the class society do not differ much from the ones of Marx
and Engels. Marxism regards the dictatorship of the
proletariat as the solution to the unfair class society.
Latest with the establishment of the bolshevist system in
Russia the Marixism distanced itself from the abolishment
of the state and treated the idea of a society without a
state as a narrow-minded, anarchist utopy.12 As anarchism
is anti-authoritarian it is thereby contrary to Marxism and
developed the position of being libertarian-socialism. 13
11 Ward, Colin; Anarchism A Very Short Introduction, page 2712 H.J. Degen, J. Knoblauch, Anarchismus, p. 79-8013 H.J. Degen, J. Knoblauch, Anarchismus, page 16
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Anarchism and Liberalism Political ideologies always intersect to some extend with
other ideological structures, as in this case Anarchism
does with Liberalism. Freedom is a central dominant term in
Anarchism and this is where Anarchism and Liberalism touch.
Anarchism however goes further beyond Liberalism as
authority and any form of sovereignty is rejected. In
opposition to Liberalism, Anarchism is decidedly anti-
capitalist. Capitalism is seen as the second column of
sovereignty next to the first column which is the state.
Anarchism and SocialismAnarchism might sometimes be generally treated as a
movement within socialism and not as a political ideology
on its own. However Anarchism is so distinctive that it
deserves treatment as a political ideology on its own.
Nevertheless anarchists’ views especially of capitalism
resemble that of socialists and the relationship between
these two political ideologies needs to be considered.
Philosophical AnarchismPhilosophical Anarchism concentrates highly on the
development of individuality. It captures many of the core
features of individualism being described as “an absolute
prohibition on coercion in order to protect the negative
rights of the rational individual, with only consensual
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agreements providing legitimate bases for human
interaction.”14
Referring to William Godwin (1756-1836) who wrote the book An
Enquiry concerning Political Justice (1793), which is considered “the
first comprehenisive account of anarchist principles”15
happiness lies with the development of individuality and
any form of organisation is illegitimate in terms of the
development of individuality. As the state de facto acts
without individual consent, it is thus also to be
considered as illegitimate. He argues that all individuals
have right to private judgment. The “rigorous exercise of
private judgment, and its candid expression in public
discussion, plays a central role, motivating his rejection
of a wide range of co-operative and rule-governed practices
which he regards as tending to mental enslavement, such as
law, private property, marriage and concerts.”16 Godwin seesthe state as “vicious, evil and tyrannical”17 but he even goes
much further than that, as his opposition to the state
extends to social relationships and he thereby shuts society
out. 18 Another individualist anarchist tradition to be
mentioned is the “conscious egoism” of Max Stirner (1806–
56). He regards concepts such as humanism, communism and
liberalism as inherently oppressive because they are
necessarily imposed upon the sovereign individual. He does
14 The Oxford handbook of political ideologies edited by Michael Freeden and Marc Stears15 Hoffman, John; Graham,Paul, Introduction to Political Theory, p. 24016 http://plato.stanford.edu/entries/godwin/17 Hoffman, John; Graham,Paul, Introduction to Political Theory, p. 24118 Hoffman, John; Graham,Paul, Introduction to Political Theory, p. 241
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not see the individual, conscious egoist as benevolent and
rational and thus the world as a war of all against all.
From his point of view the solution to this problem is to
be found in the association of sovereign individuals
instead of a state. 19
A more recent philosophical and individualist anarchists is
Robert P. Wolff. He wrote the text ‘In defense of
Anarchism’ (1976) which is basically dealing with the
question of “how the moral autonomy of the individual can
be made compatible with the legitimate authority of the
state”20. In the beginning of his essay he points out that
he had failed “to discover the grand solution” and finally
became a philosophical anarchists because of his “failure
to find any theoretical justification for the authority of
the state[…]” which convinced him that “there was no
justification”21. In contrast to Stirner and Godwin he sees
a way out of this dilemma in direct democracy, arguing that
people are bound by the decisions they take. He treats
direct democracy as a form of the state and argues that
“the obstacles to direct democracy are merely technical”
and can be overcome “in this day of planned technological
progress”22.
19 Hoffman, John; Graham,Paul, Introduction to Political Theory, p. 24120 http://www.ditext.com/wolff/anarchy.html21 http://theanarchistlibrary.org/library/robert-paul-wolff-in-defense-of-anarchism#toc1022 http://theanarchistlibrary.org/library/robert-paul-wolff-in-defense-of-anarchism#toc10
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The main problem philosophical anarchists are confronted
with and also one of the reasons, why they remain
preoccupied with principles rather than practice, is the
limited ability to move from the autonomous person, the
individual to some kind of collective organisation. In
order to realize anarchism some sort of collective
organization is needed but this thus opposes the anarchist
principle of the autonomous individual.
Anti-capitalist Anarchists
Pierre-Joseph Proudhon – Mutualism
Pierre-Joseph Proudhon (1809-65) was a French propagandist.
He argued that “organisation without government was both
possible and desirable”23 and he was the first self-
proclaimed ‘anarchist’24. His famous slogan that ‘Property
is Theft’ claims that it is the unequal distribution of
property that creates disorder and already shows his
critique on capitalism. ‘Property is theft’ relates to
“landowner and capitalist whose ownership derived from
conquest or exploitation and was sustained only through the
state […]”25. Here a clear position against the state can
already be seen. His critique goes mainly against the
owners of the means of production, who consequently do not
produce anything on their own and thus get products in
23 Ward, Colin; Anarchism A Very Short Introduction, page 124 Crowder, Classical Anarchism, page 7425 Ward, Colin; Anarchism A Very Short Introduction, page 4
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exchange for nothing. These owners of the means of the
production are borne and their actions are legitimized by
the state as a political system. At the same time Proudhon
uses the slogan ‘Property is freedom’ as being concerned
with the natural right to a home, a land to cultivate and
tools of trade of peasant or artisan families. 26 Here it
can be seen that he suggests that the ownership of the
means of production shall go back to small producers and
thus ignores the development of the industrial production.
His answer to the unequal distribution of property lies in
the principle of mutualism. Seeking for the ideal of a fair
exchange he called for an economic reorganisation in which
a mutual credit bank would make it possible for people to
start businesses and the state would thus become redundant.
He rejected all forms of the state seeing it as oppressive.27
Michael Bakunin – Collectivism – Anarcho-Syndicalism
The Russian collectivist anarchist Michael Bakunin (1814-
76) has become famous for his disputes with Marx in the
First International, where he “predicted […] the outcome of
Marxist dictatorship in the 20th century” 28 A famous
quotation of him is “Freedom without socialism is privilege
26 Ward, Colin; Anarchism A Very Short Introduction, page 427 Hoffman, John; Graham,Paul, Introduction to Political Theory, p. 245, 24628 Ward, Colin; Anarchism A Very Short Introduction, page 5
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and injustice, but socialism without freedom is slavery and
brutality”29 He acknowledges Marx as “a very serious if
not very honest revolutionary” and believes that he is
“really in favour of the rebellion of the masses” but
wonders how Marx can overlook “that the establishment of
such a [universal] dictatorship would in itself suffice to
kill revolution and warp and paralyse all popular
movements”30. He admired Marx’s critique of capital as his
main critique is directed at the exploitation of labor and
thus the exploitation created by capitalism, but he does
not see the solution in replacing the capitalist class with
the state bureaucracy, as would be the case in state
socialism, which as a result would also end up to be
exploitative and just another form of capitalism. In
contrast to Marx he sees the state as the institution that
ensures the system of exploitation. Compared to Proudhon he
argues in favor of an industrial self-governed production
and a financial payment/distribution oriented on the work
performance of the individual. He is decidedly against the
inheritance law in order to avoid private property. His
opinion on how to implement anarchism was rather
revolutionary and he argues that humans have a natural
instinct for revolt and solidarity. He declared that one is
obliged to use “force, cunning and deception” and his
radical tendencies attracted support among anarcho-
29 Dolgoff, Sam; Avrich, Paul, Bakunin on Anarchy Selected works by theActivist-Founder of World Anarchism30 Ward, Colin; Anarchism A Very Short Introduction, page 5
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syndicalists 31. Anarcho-syndicalism describes “a movement
for transferring the ownership and control of the means of
production and distribution to workers' unions”32 in which
“revolutionary syndicates”33 are to organise themselves in
order to overcome the state and the capitalist society.
Peter Kropotkin – Anarchist-Communism
Peter Kropotkin (1842-1921) was a Russian scientist and
communist anarchist. Even though he can be called a
communist anarchists he shared Bakunin’s opinion that a
‘people’s state is as great a danger to liberty as any form
of autocracy’ (Marshall, 1993: 321-6)34. Anarchist-
communism opposes any kind of central authority, where the
huge difference to state socialism can be seen. In contrast
to Bakunin Kropotkin argues that the need of the individual
shall be superior to the performance of the individual and
consequently the idea of the payment of wages has to be
dropped in order to satisfy the right to prosperity35. He
supported the permanent and long-term organisation as a
revolutionary idea and was sympathetic to syndicalism. As a
scientist he demonstrates his observation that “competition
within species is far less significant than cooperation as
31 Hoffman, John; Graham,Paul, Introduction to Political Theory, p. 24632 http://www.oxforddictionaries.com/definition/english/syndicalism33 Hoffman, John; Graham,Paul, Introduction to Political Theory, p. 24634 Hoffman, John; Graham,Paul, Introduction to Political Theory, p. 24735 H.J. Degen, J. Knoblauch, Anarchismus, page 18
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a precondition to survival”36 He argues in favor of
returning production to the smallest possible producer-
cooperatives. He sees the basis for the anarchist society
in self-governed communities.37 Kropotkin believed that a
communist society was possible through mutual cooperation
and revolution.38
Free Market Anarchism – Anarcho-Capitalism
Free market anarchism/Anarcho-capitalism can be treated as
an extension of liberalism. As anarcho-capitalists accept
capitalism, it has to be questioned whether Anarcho-
Capitalism can be considered an Anarchist movement at all,
as Anarchism ought to be decidedly anti-capitalist. In
general I am not going to consider anarcho-capitalists as
anarchists. It is still interesting to see the very
different approach that anarcho-capitalism has towards
capitalism and the state in contrast to other currents of
Anarchism. Anarcho-Capitalism brings up the question why
free and equal individuals should accept the compulsion of
the state. Captialism is being accepted by Anarcho-
capitalists but only without the interaction of the state,
“arguing that exploitation and coercion are simply the
product of the state” and that “state provision is
invariably wasteful and open to abuse” 39 The free market 36 Ward, Colin; Anarchism A Very Short Introduction, page 937 H.J. Degen, J. Knoblauch, Anarchismus, p. 1838 Hoffman, John; Graham,Paul, Introduction to Political Theory, p. 24939 Hoffman, John; Graham,Paul, Introduction to Political Theory, p. 243
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anarchist Murray Rothbard calls for a “free market in a
free society”40 He argues that getting rid of the state
would strengthen the good in human nature, whereas Robert
Noziek considers that “humans remain possessive
individualists by nature”41. Therefor he makes the case for
a so called minimal state, which will automatically emerge
through competition, where one of the protective agencies
will become dominant and thus will emerge to be a minimal
state. This minimal state would then protect property and
enforce contracts.42 The questions how this minimal state
avoids compulsion and also how it is being stopped from
expanding however remain unanswered. As Anarcho-capitalists
oppose government they claim to be anarchists. As mentioned
before there is much more to anarchism than just being
opposed to government and the state, anarchist critique
applies to all other authoritarian social institutions. “As
"anarcho"-capitalists do not consider interest, rent and
profits (i.e. capitalism) to be exploitative nor oppose
capitalist property rights, they are not anarchists.”43
Anarchism in Practice
Regarding the practice of anarchism it is interesting to
look at the definition of “Anarchism” Kroptkin gives in
1905 for the 11th edition of the Encyclopedia Britannica which is40 The Oxford handbook of political ideologies edited by Michael Freeden and Marc Stears41 Hoffman, John; Graham,Paul, Introduction to Political Theory, p. 24342 Hoffman, John; Graham,Paul, Introduction to Political Theory, p. 24943 http://www.infoshop.org/AnarchistFAQSectionF1
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“the name given to a principle or 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 the various groups,
territorial and professional, freely constituted for the
sake of production and consumption, as also for the
satisfaction of the infinite variety of needs and
aspirations of a civilized being.”44 As it can be seen in
this definition the anarchist ideology precludes the usual
routes to political influence. Most of the contemporary
political ideologies operate through the institutions of
political parties. Anarchism however as it is opposed to
the state as a political concept it is also opposed to
political parties and thus cannot act through them. As a
result anarchism operates mostly “through the apparatus of
public protest” 45 One reason for the perception of
anarchism, being chaotic and violent and a stage of
disorder is the fact that “whenever an authoritarian and
repressive political regime collapses, the anarchists are
there, a minority urging their fellow citizens to absorb
the lessons of the sheer horror and irresponsibility of
government” 46 As mentioned before it is a challenge for
anarchists to move from the individual to some kind of
collective organisation without violating the anarchist 44 Ward, Colin; Anarchism A Very Short Introduction, page 1345 The Oxford handbook of political ideologies edited by Michael Freeden and Marc Stears46 Ward, Colin; Anarchism A Very Short Introduction, page 10
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principle of anti-authoritarianism. Anarchists are facing
the problem of “dealing with complex organised industrial
societies within a framework of free institutions and
structures”47
Generally it can be claimed that contemporary anarchists
(in parliamentary states) do not primarily concentrate on
the revolutionary abolition of the state, but rather on
gaining more and more spheres of freedom and thereby
diminish the power of the state which in the end becomes
redundant. 48
The Spanish Republic
The Republican Spain is the only example in the twentieth
century in which anarchism succeeded in constructing a new
society.49 The Spanish were fascinated by the October-
revolution and the anarcho-syndicalistic organisation CNT
(Confederacion Nacional de Trabajo) founded in 1910 joined
the Communist International in 1919. Only one year later
the CNT was confronted by the tendencies on the second
congress of the Third International towards a ‘conquest of
political power’ and the ‘dictatorship of the proletariat’
which the CNT was not supporting.50 The anti-authoritarian
theories of Bakunin were preferred over the authoritarian
theories of Marx by the mass of workers and peasants in
47 Ward, Colin; Anarchism A Very Short Introduction, page 2448 H.J. Degen, J. Knoblauch, Anarchismus, p. 8449 Hoffman, John; Graham,Paul, Introduction to Political Theory, p. 24950 H.J. Degen, J. Knoblauch, Anarchismus, p. 154
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Spain. Anarchist thoughts were particularly supported
within the proletariat of the working class in Barcelona
and among the impoverished peasantry in the south.51 The
CNT saw the solution in the development towards self-
government in which the state becomes redundant. In the
1930s around 8 million of the 11 million people of the
working population was living a live in poverty. Given this
background the extreme increase in organized labor
movements and its radicalizing fights against the economic-
politic oppressive system can be explained. In 1936 the
Popular Front won a substantial electoral victory on a
programme of radical reform. The Popular Front was an
alliance of liberal and left-wing forces52 but the CNT was
not involved. The establishment of the government of the
Popular Front, led by bourgeois Republicans, without the
pariticipation of socialists causes a further
radicalization of the wage-dependent population. 53 The
Anarchists however retained control of Barcelona and in
Andalusia each town acted on its own responsibility.54 Many
anarchist collectives even practiced currency free
economies. In September 1936 the Anarchists entered the
Catalan government and as they also entered the government
in Madrid the CNT began to slide into parliamentary
participation. When in 1937 a civil war between the
anarchists and the communist-backed government broke out 51 Hoffman, John; Graham,Paul, Introduction to Political Theory, p. 25052 Hoffman, John; Graham,Paul, Introduction to Political Theory, p. 25053 H.J. Degen, J. Knoblauch, Anarchismus, p. 6254 Hoffman, John; Graham,Paul, Introduction to Political Theory, p. 250
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the anarchist influence ebbed away and communist UGT (Union
General Trabajadores) gained the upper hand and finally the
victory and takeover of power of Franco set an end to the
anarchist movements.
Conclusion
To sum up the relationship between Anarchism and the state
is relatively obvious as Anarchist principles are opposed
to the state as a political institution. Still Anarchists
are being permanently confronted with the existence of
states and as can be seen in the example of the Spanish
Republic it takes a state to get rid of a state. Anarchists
have always been facing the problem of organisation as
organisation is inherently connected to hierarchy.
Anarchism needs in some way to be organized to work
efficiently but adopting more conventional methods of
organisation would object Anarchist principles. This
concludes that Anarchism can only work in contradiction to
its own theory.
Anarchism is often connected to violence and as some
anarchist thinkers, as for example Bakunin, see the
solution in a revolutionary overcome of the state, this
perception is understandable. Still there are some more
temporary movements in which anarchist influence can be
seen which do not necessarily have to be in any way
violent. For example in the spheres of animal rights and
ecology, peace and women’s rights anarchist principles are
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influential.
I will end by saying that the classical philosophical idea
of anarchism can be regarded as old fashioned and utopian,
while the idea of the free individual and anti-
authoritarian principles remain desirable and still exists
in our society nowadays and thereby can take an influence
on the state as a system. There will always be anarchist
uprisings in states where the governments fall. As history
shows anarchism has so far been unable to tackle the
problem of violence and organisation but I am convinced
that anarchist ideas are always going to influence our
political life.
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References
- Crowder, George, Classical Anarchism The Political
Thought of Godwin, Proudhon, Bakunin, and Kropotkin,
Clarendon Press Oxford, 1991
- Dolgoff, Sam; Avrich, Paul, Bakunin on Anarchy
Selected works by the Activist-Founder of World
Anarchism
- Hans Juergen Degen, Jochen Knoblauch, Anarchismus Eine
Einfuehrung, Schmetterling Verlag, 2006
- Hoffman, John; Graham,Paul, Introduction to Political
Theory
- Ward, Colin, Anarchism A Very Short Introduction
- Marx, Karl; Engels, Friedrich, Ueber Anarchismus,
Dietz Verlag Berlin, 1977
- Magnus, Hans, Der Kurze Sommer der Anarchie, Suhrkamp,
1977
- Franks, Benjamin, The Oxford handbook of political
ideologies edited by Michael Freeden and Marc Stears
Internet Sources:
- http://www.oxforddictionaries.com/definition/english/
anarchy 13.8.14
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Examination Number: 334517
- http://www.infoshop.org/AnarchistFAQSectionA1#seca11
14.8.14
- http://www.infoshop.org/AnarchistFAQSectionA1#seca11
14.8.14
- http://www.oed.com.proxy1-bib.sdu.dk:2048/view/Entry/
189241?rskey=CdWxxD&result=1#eid 20.08.14
- http://plato.stanford.edu/entries/godwin/ 23.08.14
- http://www.ditext.com/wolff/anarchy.html 28.08.14
- http://theanarchistlibrary.org/library/robert-paul-
wolff-in-defense-of-anarchism#toc10 28.08.14
- https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zvF7PoB-438 03.09.2014
- http://www.oxforddictionaries.com/definition/english/
syndicalism 26.08.14
- http://www.infoshop.org/AnarchistFAQSectionF1
05.09.2014
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