FREE ESSAY ON ANARCHY

ANARCHY

Throughout the ages, man has toiled with various forms of government. From early day
aristocracies to modern day democracies, man has developed theories of the ideal
government. Of these governments, Anarchy has proven itself to be an unrealistic form of
government. Anarchists pose different views of absolute liberty and the degree of
government intervention as to the governmental figure of the times. 
Anarchy comes from the Greek word, anarchos, prefix an meaning 'not,' 'the want of,' 'the
absence of,' or 'the lack of,' plus archos, meaning 'a ruler,' 'director,' 'chief,'
'person in charge,' or 'authority,' derived as 'having no government' or 'without rule'
(Ask.com). Justice defines anarchism as "the name given to a principle of 
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 various groups, territorial and
professional, freely constituted for the sake of production and consumption, as also for
the satisfaction of the infinite variety of the needs and aspirations of a civilized
being[.] In a society developed on these lines, the voluntary associations which already
now begin to cover all fields of human activity would take a still greater extension so
as to substitute themselves for the state of its functions" (Tigerden.com). 
It is the form of government where it rejects all forms of domination, as distinguished
from power (Creagh). An example of anarchism in Sir Thomas More's Utopia describes of a
governmental system where each town sends three of its older to an annual meeting at
Aircastle to discuss the general affairs of the island (74). It depicts a life of the
least amount of governmental intervention within the individual and of the state. 
Anarchism was meant to be that an individual should be free; where no one has the right
to enslave another, boss another, rob another of one's belongings, or impose upon another
person. It generally means that the individual should be free to do the things he wants
to do; and that the individual should not be compelled to do what the individual does not
want to do (Tigerden.com). 
A brief history of what and how anarchy came about as depicted in the Anarchist Timeline.
Anarchism is usually associated with its heredity found as a recent western phenomenon.
But as one digs deep into anarchy, one finds its roots reach deep within the ancient
civilization of the East. The first clear expression of anarchist awareness may be traced
as far back as sixth century B.C. to the Taoists in ancient China. Later on in history,
in ancient Greece during 270 B.C., Zeno, the founder of the Stoic philosophy, who
rejected the omnipotence of the state, its regiments and interventions, and proclaimed
the sovereignty of the moral law to that of an individual. In 1793, during the upstart of
the French Revolution, the English writer, William Godwin, was the first to devise the
political and economical conceptions of anarchism (Zpub.com). 
During the nineteenth century and later on, as acknowledged in Ask.com, shows a vast
majority of anarchist movements. For example, the Paris Commune in 1871 played an
important role in the development of both anarchist ideas and movement. It was a movement
where a major city declaring itself autonomous, organizing itself, leading by example,
and urging the rest of the planet to follow it. Shortly after on May 1, 1886, the
Haymarket Martyrs of the labor movement closely linked with the anarchist movement
occurred. The struggle of the working class using direct action in labor unions to change
the world depicts another system of anarchy in action (Ask.com). 
The Russian Revolution of 1917 shows a glimpse of an enormous growth in anarchism within
the country and many experiments in anarchist ideas according to Ask.com. The Revolution
was not brought about by ordinary people struggling towards freedom but as the means by
which Lenin imposed his dictatorship in Russia. The initial overthrow of the Tsar,
thought by many, was not enough. All across Russia, ordinary people seized workplaces and
lands and eventually overthrew the feudal exploitation of the colonies and built
organizations, unions and co-operatives in anarchist fashion. This paved the way of
having recallable delegates and united the workplace. The anarchist had put in motion the
movement for worker's self-management of production (Ask.com). 
According to Zerzan in the 1920s was an era of discontent in North America. This was when
a group of white males took the law into their own hands and declared war on any race
other than that of white. It was during this time period that the Klu Klux Klan was
considered a mass social movement of anarchy. This was, in their part, an agreement that
no other race had the right to live within, if you will, a white man's backyard. They are
the individualist anarchists who believe that it takes the action of here and now to make
a change within their society to their liking (Spunk.org).
Another incident of anarchy in action was that of the Spanish Civil War in 1930s
(Zpub.com). During this period, according to Ask.com, on the 18th of July in 1936 was the
greatest experimentation in libertarian socialism to date when the social revolution met
the Fascist coup. "It was ordinary people, undoubtedly under the influence of Faistas 
(members of the FAI) and CNT militants, who, after defeating the fascist uprising, got
production, distribution and consumption started again (under more egalitarian
arrangements, of course), as well as organizing and volunteering (in their tens of
thousands) to join the militias, which were to be sent to free those parts of Spain that
were under Franco. In every possible way the working class of Spain were creating by
their own actions a new world based on their own ideas of social justice and freedom --
ideas inspired, of course, by anarchism and anarcho-syndicalism" (Ask.com).
From the publications of philosophical scholars and the actions taken by its readers
emerged two types of anarchists, the individualist and the socialist. They both hold true
of the same belief of anti-state, anti-authoritarian, and anti-capitalism (Ask.com). And
that the law of anarchism stated by Nozick holds true in each form of anarchism as, "the
bounds of the law of nature require that no one ought to harm another in his life,
health, liberty, or possessions" (10). The individualist anarchists described by Ask.com
regards to the means of action in the here and now. They are primarily evolutionists, not
revolutionists, and detest social anarchists' use of direct action to generate
revolutionary provisos. They regard revolution as being in contradiction to anarchist
principles as it involves the expropriation of capitalist property and, therefore,
authoritarian means. Rather they seek to return to society the wealth taken out of
society by property by means of a new, alternative system of economics based around
mutual banks and co-operatives (Ask.com). Individualists emphasize the growth of an
individual's unique personality and the idea of individual freedom (nothingness.org).
They believe that self-actualization is only achieved if there were to be no one telling
them what to do or how to do something (nothingness.org). 
Social anarchists use both political philosophy and personal lifestyle, as it promotes
community self-reliance, direct participation in political decision-making, respect for
nature, and nonviolent paths to peace and justice (Nothingness.org). Social anarchists
tend to use direct actions to construct revolutionary situations. The anarchist movements
throughout history may have started out as individualist proposals but ended up as
socialistic movements. They rely on revolutions to change the world and mass movements to
have an everlasting effect on the world. The general socialists idea is based on a
communal society where everyone has ownership and access to everything (Ask.com). An idea
generated from Sir Thomas More's Utopia ideals. 
Social Anarchism when examined closely has spawned into four major political theories:
mutualism, collectivism, communism and syndicalism in accordance with Ask.com. Mutualism
is based around a form of market socialism, where workers' co-operatives exchange their
product of their labor via a system of community banks. These banks in return would be
formed by the community, not for the especial advantage of any person or class, but for
the benefit of all. In collectivism, communism and syndicalism, these systems are based
upon a common (or social) ownership by federations of producers' associations and
communes rather than mutualism's system of individual co-operatives. They believe that
communalizing production and sharing information and products freely would bring harmony
and freedom for all (Ask.com). Through these systems of social anarchism, the word
anarchism and its significance has been failed by age and by the social working class as
a whole.
Although the word anarchism is understood in its classic tense as provided within this
essay, the term has often been misused and misunderstood according to Jason Justice.
Anarchism, for the reason that it imposes a threat upon the established authority, has
been misconstrued as violence and chaos. "I must tell you, first of all, what anarchism
is not. It is not bombs, disorder, or chaos. It is not robbery or murder. It is not a war
of each against all. It is not a return to barbarianism or to the wild state of man.
Anarchism is the very opposite of all that" (Tigerden.com). These false proofs of
stereotypes that are associated with anarchism are sometimes trampled by the popular
misuse of the word. An example would be when the media would phrase a Middle Eastern
nation in the midst of U.S. imposed turmoil as complete anarchy (Tigerden.com). 
Anarchy for some, is an ethical choice, for others a certain artistic perspective, a form
of culture, or a utopia (RA). In Plato's The Republic, Socrates speaks of justice and
it's role within an individual's life. Socrates concludes that justice is a quality of
human character and thus brings about a true source of happiness (374). Anarchists
believe that conducting a life without a government would bring about happiness. Meaning
that less governmental intervention or no government at all would bring about justice in
an anarchical society. 
Bibliography
Work Cited
? Anarchist Action Network. 12 April 2001. Anarchist Timeline.
.
? Ask Jeeves. 14 April 2001. What is Anarchism?. .
? Creagh, Ronald. 21 June 1996. Research on Anarchism. 12 April 2001. 
.
? Justice, Jason. 20 December 1999. Defining Anarchism. 16 April 2001. 
.
? More, Thomas. Utopia. Turner, Paul. London: Penguin Books, 1965.
? Nozick, Robert. Anarchy, State, and Utopia. New York: Basic Books Inc., 1974.
? Plato. The Republic. 2nd Ed. Lee, Desmond, ed. London: Penguin Books, 1955.