Hah, wouldn’t you like to know!

In fact, if you ask a hundred anarchists, “what is anarchism?,” you’ll likely get a hundred answers. But, generally speaking, anarchism is a historical trend, philosophical “doctrine,” and social movement that seeks the abolition of the State (centralized government, etc.), Capitalism, and all hierarchical social relations, including but certainly not limited to patriarchy, white supremacy, homophobia, etc.  As opposed to using electoral politics or political parties or military coups, we believe in direct action. Rather than the ownership of society’s wealth and resources by a private ruling class of rich people (capitalism) or a hierarchical, bureaucratic State (State Socialism, etc.), we believe these resources should be held in common by everyone, with decisions made “horizontally” by groups of those most affected, etc. The “economic” expression of this can generally be found in the phrase, “From each their abilities, to each their needs.” This suggests a society that maintains an emphasis on both personal initiative and individual freedom, as well collective responsibility and care.

The variations on this revolutionary philosophy are myriad, as one can imagine. Questions of technology and ecology, civilization and industrialization, feminism and identity politics, critical race theory, economics and labor, sexuality, and the role of the individual, are constant, and debates around these issues neverending. There is no single canon for anarchists, making our movements and ideas flexible and ever-evolving, but also diverse and sometimes even contradictory and in conflict. In our best moments, this functions as a strength, allowing different anarchists to do what they do best, and making sure our ideas remain flexible and open and (therefore) relevant for years to come.

In the US, next to reformist socialism, anarchism was the predominant ideology of working-class social movements until the early 1920′s. (This was true internationally as well.) It had a minor resurgence during the movements of the 1960s and 70s, and then a major resurgence in the late 90′s and early 2000′s during the anti-globalization movement. With the demise of authoritarian socialism(s) in the early 90s, anarchism has continued to be the primary expression of revolutionary politics in the US since, finding even more adherents and public visibility with the recent rise of the Occupy movement, which it helped in part to create.

For a general FAQ on anarchism and anarchists, we suggest checking out www.infoshop.org.