Rejection of the State

Unnecessary

• The state should be abolished

• Anarcho-communists advocate for voluntary associations (communes or workers' federations).

• Cooperation should be voluntary, not enforced by artificial political units.

• Laws counteract individual sovereignty.

• Human nature allows for self-organization through voluntary cooperation.

• Reject 'top-down' hierarchies and incentive/sanction systems.

Evil

• State power is corrupting and oppressive.

• Must be resisted and destroyed.

• The state is an agent of the capitalist ruling class, hindering economic justice.

• Corrupts those in command.

Anti-Clericalism

• Religion is an artificial construct that oppresses and suppresses individualism.

• State and religious authorities form an authoritarian nexus.

• Religion is the 'opium of the masses' (Marx).

• Creates illusions of an afterlife, diverting from the state's true nature.

• The almighty god concept is suppressive.

• "If God existed, it would be necessary to abolish Him." (Bakunin).

Opposition to the Liberal State

• Individuals can't surrender sovereignty to higher authorities.

• Liberal state denies basic human nature.

• The actions of one generation can't bind future generations.

• Rejects 'government by consent of the people' claims.

• Democracy is an illusion (Goldman: "If voting changed anything, they'd abolish it").

• Democracy hides the state's authoritarian nature (Marx).

• Oppose the division of the world into artificial nations.

Role of Democracy

• Some collective anarchists (e.g., Kropotkin) accept elements of direct democracy within communes.

• Bakunin: Democracy is a scam, obscuring elite oppression.

• Democracy divides people into artificial nations.

• The tyranny of the majority is unjust.

• Democracies infringe on individual property rights.

• Democracies support capitalism, entrenching inequality.

• Politicians can't truly represent others.

• Democracy benefits elites, not society as a whole.

Rejection of Direct Democracy

• Rousseau: Direct democracy is impractical due to self-interest.

• Only works in small, well-informed communities.

Rejection of the Socialist State

• Socialist states have vast state machinery, creating an elite.

• Officials become corrupt.

• Undermines individual responsibility and local communities (individual anarchists)

• Relies on state aid instead of mutual aid (anarcho-communists)

Rejection of Organized Religion

• Only a few anarchists (Godwin, Tolstoy) maintained Christian faith.

• Religion is an unwanted authority, controlling the masses.

• Religious officials promise the afterlife for obedience and supporting authority.

• Bakunin: "If God really existed, it would be necessary to abolish him."

Liberty

• Incompatible with political authority.

• True freedom = individual liberty without laws or force.

• Godwin: Private judgment leads to respect for others' freedom.

• Kropotkin: Humans are sociable, finding freedom in voluntary groups.

Anarchy is Order

• State of Nature: Real/imaginary world before society, with autonomous individuals.

• Human nature is corrupted by the state and government.

• Removing the state restores true human nature.

• Three views on human nature:

1. Self-interested and egotistical.

2. Tabula rasa

3. Sociable and rational, preferring cooperation.

Order in Anarchy

• Individualist anarchists: Free individuals will naturally cooperate.

• Order emerges naturally from peaceful sentiments within communities.

• Bakunin: Larger-scale communities can maintain order.

• Kropotkin: Prefers smaller communities, larger federations need rules.

• Anarcho-capitalists: Capitalism can function without state regulation, with private organizations enforcing contracts and protection.

Economic Freedom

• Free individuals should manage the economy without state control.

• Collectivist anarchists: Capitalism creates inequality; the new economic order should not be based on free-market values.

• Labour should be paid at true value, goods exchanged based on labour input.

• Individualist anarchists: Capitalism restricts freedom; people should trade fairly among themselves.

Utopianism

• Utopianism: Ideal society vision (positive) or impractical beliefs (negative).

• Anarchists envision an ideal society with the state abolished.

• Different branches have different visions but agree on abolishing the state.

• Individualists: Abolition of state and any economic/social organization.

• Anarcho-communists/collectivists: Society based on mutual aid, common ownership, and economic equality with natural communities.

• Anarcho-capitalists: Economic competition without state regulation.

Criticisms

• Anarchists don't explain how to achieve their visions.

• No large-scale anarchist society has existed, suggesting it's unrealistic.

• Over-optimistic view of human nature (conservatives).

• Collectivists misunderstand the importance of private property (liberals).

• Collectivists are naive about achieving equality without state management (socialists).

• Anarcho-capitalism would create disorder due to capitalism's winners and losers, leading to discontent (socialists).