THE RELATIONSHIP BETWEEN ANARCHISM AND THE STATE

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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- 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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THE RELATIONSHIP BETWEEN ANARCHISM AND THE STATE

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