Anarchism is a new group that has been created to discuss and debate anarchism and anarchisms.
Anarchism is a social and economic philosophy that suggests that the best form of government is no government at all. This is not necessarily taken to mean that the best society is one without an overarching organization or structure, but that such a structure would lack the essential components of government, including:
1. A Ruling Class - A class of people who are given special privileges that the population itself does not have to engage in uncivil activities such as policing and war.
2. Forced Combinations - The grouping together of people who do not want to be grouped together, otherwise known as involuntary association.
3. Territorial Monopoly - Dominion over and taxation of territories or properties that are occupied and used by "the people."
Anarchists argue that these essential components come with "accidents" such as
1. Economic Exploitation - The extraction of wealth from the lower class by the upper class.
2. Monoculture - The enforcement of a uniform culture to the detriment of diverse cultural expressions consistent with ecological and economic realities.
3. Legal Injustice - Injustice imposed by the very system that claims to serve the ends of providing justice.
This is just to name a few of the concerns that anarchists have!
To be clear, while there is one original form of anarchism (which is mutualism), there have since developed many competing ideologies as based upon particular, preferred paths to be taken. These come from both the Left and the Right.
Center anarchisms include:
1. Mutualism - The belief that the best society is one based on reciprocity
2. Individualist Anarchism - The idea that the best society is one that centers on the rights of individuals
3. Distributist Anarchism - The idea that the best society is one where property is widespread between families
4. Geo-Anarchism - The idea that the best society is one where the land is held in common and its wealth is shared
Left-wing anarchisms include:
1. Anarcho-Communism - The idea that the best society is one where there is no property, money, or demands of reciprocity
2. Collectivist Anarchism - The idea that the best society is one where property is held in common, but work gets paid
3. Anarcho-Syndicalism - The idea that the best society is one that is democratically organized by federal unions
Right-wing anarchisms include:
1. Anarcho-Capitalism - The idea that the best society is one where capitalists are free to do what they want with their private property
2. National Anarchism - The idea that the best society is one that allows people to exist voluntarily separate from one another
3. Anarcho-Monarchism - The idea that the best society is one that is established upon a voluntary trust with a monarch serving as fiduciary
Not all of these are currently factored into the group, because some of them are less popular and uncommon than the others. Many of them are contentious, insofar as some of these positions do not accept the others. This group is intended to be a place for both inner and interactive dialogue about these kinds of matters. If you would like to learn more about these different kinds of ideas, or if you want to argue in favor of or against one or the other, or just chill out and share links, please join the group.
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