definitions
"Anarchism is used for a very wide range of actions, tendencies, beliefs, and so on. There’s no settled definition of it. Those who use the term should be indicating clearly, as clearly as you can, what element in this range you’re talking about. I’ve tried to do that. Others do it. You know, anarcho-syndicalism, communitarian anarchism, anarchy in the sense of let’s get rid of everything, the old kind of primitive anarchism, many different types. And you’re not going to find a definition."
--Noam Chomsky
I have felt this way for a while now, that my sympathies with anarchism depend on what the particular anarchist is saying about anarchism. There are many schools of thought within anarchism, and I think--this is at least one of the points of anarchism--that nobody is in charge of what anarchism is. You get to have your own definition of anarchism. (This is also my approach to Zen.)
For me, anarchism means at least trying to think of a solution to your problem that does not involve coercion, whether the coercion comes from an implied threat of violence, or an implied threat of poverty. Whether the coercion comes from a government, a business, a neighbor, or somebody who claims to love you.
A capitalist democracy tends to solve problems via either implied threats of violence from the government or implied threats of poverty from employers. An anarchist approach asks individuals to solve their problems via either direct action or group cooperation.
I'm not sure there is or can be an anarchist solution for every problem. But neither can governments solve every problem. Neither can businesses solve every problem. I view each of economic trade, the rule of law, and voluntary cooperation as tools, not as religious icons.
--Noam Chomsky
I have felt this way for a while now, that my sympathies with anarchism depend on what the particular anarchist is saying about anarchism. There are many schools of thought within anarchism, and I think--this is at least one of the points of anarchism--that nobody is in charge of what anarchism is. You get to have your own definition of anarchism. (This is also my approach to Zen.)
For me, anarchism means at least trying to think of a solution to your problem that does not involve coercion, whether the coercion comes from an implied threat of violence, or an implied threat of poverty. Whether the coercion comes from a government, a business, a neighbor, or somebody who claims to love you.
A capitalist democracy tends to solve problems via either implied threats of violence from the government or implied threats of poverty from employers. An anarchist approach asks individuals to solve their problems via either direct action or group cooperation.
I'm not sure there is or can be an anarchist solution for every problem. But neither can governments solve every problem. Neither can businesses solve every problem. I view each of economic trade, the rule of law, and voluntary cooperation as tools, not as religious icons.