Andreas Wittel's essay 'On Anarchism'

On Anarchism

Author: Andreas Wittel[1]

Translator: Ramin Khajehpour

Whenever public protests escalate and lead to violent behavior, mainstream media are often quick to link them to "anarchy" or "anarchism." These outlets label protesters who set tires on fire or engage in public clashes as "anarchists." In this type of narrative, anarchists are lawless villains, and anarchy means chaos and blind violence.

A recent example of such an event is the Million Mask March[2] in London on the fifth of November. This event was actually organized by a number of anarchist groups—and was accompanied by limited violent riots—but equating chaos and violence with anarchism is as ingenious as equating a circle with a square. Such a view of anarchism is, in fact, simplistic, unfamiliar, and a misrepresentation.

So what is anarchism? Anarchism is a fundamental and revolutionary political and economic philosophy. Although there are many definitions of anarchism, most align with the one provided by Peter Kropotkin[3]. This definition of anarchism was expressed in an article Kropotkin wrote for the eleventh edition of the Encyclopædia Britannica.

According to Kropotkin, anarchism is: "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."

A Free Society of Free Individuals

Let me elaborate a little. The etymology of the term goes back to the ancient Greek word "anarkhia," which means "without a ruler" or "without governing authority." The term signifies the absence of domination, hierarchy, and the exercise of power over others.

Anarchism is a process through which a horizontal, egalitarian, and non-hierarchical structure replaces the power and domination of rulers; this is achieved through voluntary cooperation among people. Anarchism is a type of social organization that has a set of key principles, such as self-organization, voluntary participation, freedom, autonomy, solidarity, direct democracy, egalitarianism, and mutual aid.

Based on these principles and values, anarchism rejects both the capitalist economy and the nation-states governed through electoral democracy. Anarchism is a utopian project that dreams of combining the best aspects of liberalism and communism.

A Long History

The political philosophy of anarchism emerged in the mid-nineteenth century as part of Enlightenment thought. Prominent anarchist thinkers include Pierre-Joseph Proudhon[4], William Godwin[5], Peter Kropotkin, Mikhail Bakunin[6], Emma Goldman[7], and Max Stirner[8]. Proudhon was the first to call himself an anarchist and is often recognized as the founder of classical anarchism. Proudhon particularly developed the concept of spontaneous order in society, a concept according to which organizations can emerge without coordination from a central or higher authority.

In fact, Godwin developed his theory of anarchism half a century earlier—without ever using the term anarchism. Godwin's writings constitute a fundamental critique of government and its structural violence. Godwin argues that government and its state system have a detrimental effect on society, creating a kind of involuntary dependency. Godwin makes it clear that rights and legislation are created by the wealthy and powerful. Sound familiar?

But it must be emphasized that most of the tenets of anarchism, including its fundamental beliefs and ethical principles, were by no means invented in modern anarchist theory—they are as old as human civilization. Of course, just as the political philosophies of liberalism and communism have different definitions, anarchism too—like most political ideologies—is not a uniform or coherent concept. Anarchism evolves in the same way that different peoples cobble together the core essence of ideologies.

But at the very least, we can distinguish between two branches of anarchist thought: social anarchism and liberal anarchism (or free-market anarchism). While social anarchism emphasizes society and often advocates for a political economy that socializes the means and methods of production, liberal anarchism is keen to ensure maximum freedom for individuals. In liberal anarchism, the will of the individual is far more important than a harmonious and egalitarian society.

Anarchism and Praxis

Over the past two decades, anarchist action has undergone a remarkable revival. This can be observed especially in those social movements influenced by organizations with an anarchist shape and form, organizations with a horizontal structure and without electoral decision-making processes.

Regarding the global change movement[9], various forms of anarchist resistance have been widely consciousness-raising—a movement that believes in the advantages of thinking globally but rejects the global economy. The 1999 Battle of Seattle was perhaps the first invigorating moment for anarchism. This event was followed by movements and other forms of resistance such as the Reclaim the Streets movement[10], the movement of migrants and temporary workers in Europe[11], and many environmental movements, and more recently the Occupy movement and the group Anonymous[12]. These movements are quite influential. One could easily argue that anarchist forms of resistance are now performing far better than socialist and hierarchical forms of resistance.

Oscar Wilde, who was a liberal anarchist, would have agreed with the ironic remark: "The trouble with socialism is that it takes up too many afternoons."

Is an Anarchist World Possible?

But there are questions about the practicality of anarchism. While anarchist organizations can easily function at the local level, at the level of small communities, and in rural areas (look at the Zapatista movement or large parts of rural Kurdish regions), it is still unclear whether a social, anarchist organization can be created in large urban areas or at the national and global levels.

How can forms of direct democracy, like the general assembly of the Occupy movement, be created and conducted with a large population of people? At first glance, such a thing seems improbable, but if we look more closely, digital technologies have opened a path to new possibilities for creating large-scale anarchist organizations. Anarchism is certainly growing.

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[1] . Andreas Wittel, Senior Lecturer in Social Theory at Nottingham Trent University, England

[2] . An annual march held on November 5th, aiming to promote self-governance and to oppose militarism, political corruption, and police violence. The first Million Mask March took place in 2012, with the largest crowds marching in London and Washington D.C. The march is held in various countries around the world, and people typically gather outside government buildings.

(million mask march)

[3] . Peter Kropotkin

[4] . Pierre-Joseph Proudhon

[5] . William Godwin

[6] . Mikhail Bakunin

[7] . Emma Goldman

[8] . Max Stirner

[9] . alter-globalization movement

[10] . Reclaim the Streets

[11] . Euromayday

[12] . Anonymous

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What is anarchism all about?

Whenever public protests ignite into violent behaviour, the mainstream media are often quick to refer to “anarchy” and to “anarchists”. Those who are referred to as anarchists are protesters who burn tyres or engage in battles with the police. In this narrative, anarchists are lawless hooligans and anarchy is about chaos and pointless violence.

The latest example is the Million Mask March in London on November 5. This event was indeed organised by a number of anarchist groups – and there were limited outbreaks of violence – but the equation of chaos and violence with anarchism is about as productive as the equation of circles with squares. It is a crude and bizarre misrepresentation.

What is anarchism anyway? It is a radical and revolutionary political philosophy and political economy. While there are many definitions and many anarchisms, most would agree to the definition formulated by Peter Kropotkin. This definition is in an article which Kropotkin was invited to write for the 11th edition of the Encyclopædia Britannica.

According to Kropotkin, anarchism: “is a 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 the 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 civilised being.”

Free society of free individuals

Let’s unpack this a bit. The etymology of the term traces back to the Greek word “anarkhia”, which means “without rulers” or “without authority”. It stands for the absence of domination, hierarchy and power over others.

Anarchism is a process whereby authority and domination is being replaced with non-hierarchical, horizontal structures, with voluntary associations between human beings. It is a form of social organisation with a set of key principles, such as self-organisation, voluntary association, freedom, autonomy, solidarity, direct democracy, egalitarianism and mutual aid.

Based on these principles and values, anarchism rejects both a capitalist economy and a nation state that is governed by means of a representative democracy. It is a utopian project that aspires to combine the best parts of liberalism with the best parts of communism.

At its heart is a mix of the liberal emphasis on individual freedom and the communist emphasis on an equal society. I particularly like the definition of Cindy Milstein about anarchism being a “free society of free individuals”.

Long history

The political philosophy of anarchisms emerged in the mid-19th century – as part of the thought of Enlightenment. Key anarchist thinkers include Pierre-Joseph Proudhon, William Godwin, Peter Kropotkin, Mikhail Bakunin, Emma Goldman, and Max Stirner. Proudhon is credited as the first self-proclaimed anarchist and is often seen as the founder of classic anarchist thinking. In particular, he developed the concept of spontaneous order in society, where organisations can emerge without central or top-down coordination.

In fact, Godwin developed his anarchist theory half a century earlier – without ever using the term. His writings are a profound critique of the state and its structural violence, arguing that the state and its government has a bad influence on society in that it produces unwanted dependency. He has also pointed out that law and legislation is created by the rich and powerful. Sound familiar?

Coming sometime, maybe? Jeff Meyer/flickr, CC BY

However, it is also important to emphasise that most anarchist principles, convictions and moral positions are not at all an invention of modern anarchist theory – they are as old as human civilisation. And due to the rather different political philosophies of liberalism and communism, anarchist theory – like most political ideologies – is not a consistent and homogeneous concept. It evolves as different people articulate its core ideologies in different ways.

We can at least distinguish between two rather different schools: social anarchism and libertarian anarchism (or free market anarchism). While social anarchism puts emphasis on society and often supports a political economy that socialises the means of production, libertarian anarchism is mostly concerned with ensuring the maximum amount of liberty for the individual. Here, the will of the individual is considered to be more important even than a harmonious and egalitarian society.

Anarchism and activism

Over the past two decades or so, anarchist practice has enjoyed a significant revival. This is particularly visible in new social movements that have been influenced by anarchist forms of organisation with horizontal structures and non-representative decision-making processes.

Anarchist forms of resistance have also largely informed the alter-globalisation movement – which believes in the benefits of global thinking but rejects economic globalisation. The 1999 battle of Seattle was perhaps the first moment of a reinvigorated anarchism. It has been followed my many other movements and forms of resistance such as Reclaim the Streets, EuroMayDay, various environmental movements, and more recently the Occupy movement and the hacktivist group Anonymous. And they are having quite an impact. One could easily argue that anarchist forms of resistance are now outperforming the more socialist and hierarchical forms of resistance.

Oscar Wilde, a libertarian anarchist, is widely associated with the following bon mot: “The problem with socialism is that it takes up too many evenings.”

An anarchist world?

But questions must be raised about the feasibility of anarchist practice. While anarchist organisation clearly can work on a local level, on the level of small communities and on a rural regional level (see the Zapatista movement or large parts of Kurdish rural regions) the jury is still out on whether anarchist social organisation can be embedded in large urban areas, or on a national or global level.

How can forms of direct democracy, such as the general assembly of the Occupy movement, be built and maintained in settings with large populations? At first glance, this seems rather unlikely. Then again, digital technologies might open up new possibilities for large-scale forms of anarchist organisation. Certainly, anarchism is on the rise.

For a non-academic, fictional approach to an understanding of anarchism I would warmly recommend The Dispossessed, a 1970s sci-fi novel by feminist writer Ursula Le Guin.

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