The following outline is provided as an overview of and topical guide to anarchism:
Anarchism is generally defined as the political philosophy which holds the state to be undesirable, unnecessary, and harmful, or alternatively as opposing authority and hierarchical organization in the conduct of human relations. Proponents of anarchism, known as "anarchists", advocate stateless societies or non-hierarchical voluntary associations.
Anarchism is an ideology that promotes a rejection of philosophies, ideologies, institutions, and representatives of authority, in support of liberty. It asserts that cooperation is preferable to competition in promoting social harmony; that cooperation is only authentic when it is voluntary; and that government authority is unnecessary at best, or harmful at worst. In most cases, anarchism:
Supports
Autonomy
Civil libertarianism
Cooperation
Workers' self-management
Decentrally planned economy or market socialism
Direct action
Mutual aid
Common ownership
Voluntary association
Rejects
Authoritarianism
Capitalism
Censorship
Coercion
Imperialism
Statism
Hierarchy
Paternalism
Centrally planned economy
Manifestos and expositions
Anarchism is a living project which has continued to evolve as social conditions have changed. The following are examples of anarchist manifestos and essays produced during various time periods, each expressing different interpretations and proposals for anarchist philosophy.
(1840–1914)
Anarchist Manifesto (1850) by Anselme Bellegarrigue
State Socialism and Anarchism (1886) by Benjamin Tucker
The Principles of Anarchism (c. 1890s) by Lucy Parsons
Anarchy (1891) by Errico Malatesta
The Soul of Man under Socialism (1891) by Oscar Wilde
Anarchy Defended by Anarchists (1896) by Emma Goldman & Johann Most
(1914–1984)
Anarchism and Our Times (1925) by Nestor Makhno
Organizational Platform of the General Union of Anarchists (Draft) (1926) by Dielo Truda
What's Anarchism? (1932) by Hippolyte Havel
The Philosophy of Anarchism (1940) by Herbert Read
Anatomy of the State (1974) by Murray Rothbard
Anarchism: Past and Present (1980) by Murray Bookchin
(1985–present)
Anarchism and Other Impediments to Anarchy (1985) by Bob Black
Listen, Anarchist! (1987) by Chaz Bufe
Social Anarchism or Lifestyle Anarchism: An Unbridgeable Chasm (1994) by Murray Bookchin
The Anarchist Tension (1996) by Alfredo M. Bonanno
An Anarchist FAQ (2008)
Anarchist schools of thought – Anarchism has many heterogeneous and diverse schools of thought, united by a common opposition to compulsory rule. Anarchist schools are characterized by "the belief that government is both harmful and unnecessary", but may differ fundamentally, supporting anything from extreme individualism to complete collectivism. Regardless, some are viewed as being compatible, and it is not uncommon for individuals to subscribe to more than one.
Anarchism without adjectives – in the words of historian George Richard Esenwein, "referred to an unhyphenated form of anarchism, that is, a doctrine without any qualifying labels such as communist, collectivist, mutualist, or individualist. For others, ... [it] was simply understood as an attitude that tolerated the coexistence of different anarchist schools."
Anarchist communism – theory of anarchism which advocates the abolition of the state, capitalism, wages and private property (while retaining respect for personal property), and in favor of common ownership of the means of production, direct democracy, and a horizontal network of voluntary associations and workers' councils with production and consumption based on the guiding principle: "from each according to his ability, to each according to his need".
Anarcho-capitalism – political philosophy which advocates the elimination of the state in favor of individual sovereignty, private property, and open markets. Anarcho-capitalists believe that in the absence of statute (law by decree or legislation), society would improve itself through the discipline of the free market (or what its proponents describe as a "voluntary society"). See anarchism and capitalism.
Anarcha-feminism – combines anarchism with feminism. It generally views patriarchy as a manifestation of involuntary coercive hierarchy that should be replaced by decentralized free association. Anarcha-feminists believe that the struggle against patriarchy is an essential part of class struggle, and the anarchist struggle against the state.
Anarcho-naturism – union of anarchist and naturist philosophies, that advocates vegetarianism, free love, nudism, hiking and an ecological world view within anarchist groups and outside them. Anarcho-naturism also promotes an ecological worldview, small ecovillages, and most prominently nudism as a way to avoid the artificiality of the industrial mass society of modernity.
Anarcho-pacifism – tendency within the anarchist movement which rejects the use of violence in the struggle for social change and the abolition of the state.
Anarcho-primitivism – anarchist critique of the origins and progress of civilization. According to anarcho-primitivism, the shift from hunter-gatherer to agricultural subsistence gave rise to social stratification, coercion, alienation, and population growth.
Anarcho-syndicalism
Black anarchism
Buddhist anarchism
Christian anarchism
Collectivist anarchism
Crypto-anarchism
Green anarchism
Illegalism
Individualist anarchism
Insurrectionary anarchism
Mutualism
Philosophical anarchism
Platformism
Post-anarchism
Post-left anarchy
Queer anarchism
The following terms do not refer to specific branches of anarchist thought, but rather are generic labels applied to various branches.
Individualist anarchism
Infoanarchism
Lifestyle anarchism
Social anarchism
History of anarchism – Although social movements and philosophies with anarchic qualities predate anarchism, anarchism as a specific political philosophy began in 1840 with the publication of What Is Property? by Pierre-Joseph Proudhon. In the following decades it spread from Western Europe to various regions, countries, and continents, impacting local social movements. The success of the 1917 October Revolution in Russia initiated a decline in prominence for anarchism in the mid-20th century, roughly coinciding with the time period referred to by historians as The short twentieth century. Since the late 1980s, anarchism has begun a gradual return to the world stage.
Historic precedents and background events (pre-1840)
1793 – William Godwin publishes Enquiry Concerning Political Justice, implicitly establishing the philosophical foundations of anarchism.
1827 – Josiah Warren opens the Cincinnati Time Store, an early experiment in mutualist economics.
Classical development and global expansion (1840 – 1917)
1840 – Pierre-Joseph Proudhon publishes What Is Property? and becomes history's first self-proclaimed anarchist.
1864 – International Workingmen's Association founded. Early seeds of split between anarchists and Marxists begin.
1871 – Paris Commune takes place. Early anarchists (mutualists) participate.
1872 – IWA meets at the Hague Congress. Anarchists expelled by Marxist branch, beginning the anarchist/Marxist conflict.
1878 – Max Hödel fails in assassination attempt against Kaiser Wilhelm I. Ushers in era of propaganda of the deed.
1882 – God and the State by Mikhail Bakunin is published.
1886 – Haymarket affair takes place. Origin of May Day as a worker's holiday. Inspires a new generation of anarchists.
1892 – The Conquest of Bread by Peter Kropotkin published. Establishes anarchist communism.
1911 – The High Treason Incident leads to the execution of twelve Japanese anarchists; the first major blow against the Japanese anarchist movement.
Post-WWI decline (1918 – c. 1980s)
1917 –The Russian Revolution creates first "socialist state." The combination of a Soviet dictatorship in the east, the Red Scare in the west, and the global Cold War, discourage anarchist revolution throughout the following decades.
1919–21 – The Free Territory, the first major anarchist revolution, is established in the Ukraine.
1919–21 – The Palmer Raids effectively cripple the anarchist movement in the United States.
1921 – The Communist Party of China is founded. The anarchist movement in China begins slow decline due to communist repression.
1929–31 – The autonomous Shinmin region, the second major anarchist revolution, is established in Manchuria.
1936–39 – The Spanish Revolution, the third and last major anarchist revolution, is established in Catalonia and surrounding areas.
1959 – The Cuban Revolution establishes a communist dictatorship. The Cuban anarchist movement is immediately repressed.
1974 – Dallas Accord, libertarian anarchism is tolerated inside Libertarian Party.
Post-Cold War resurgence (c. 1990s – present)
1999 – Anarchists take part in riots which interrupt the WTO conference in Seattle. Is viewed as part of an anarchist resurgence in the United States.
Anarchism in Africa
Anarchism in the Americas
Anarchism in Brazil
Anarchism in Canada
Anarchism in Cuba
Anarchism in Ecuador
Anarchism in Mexico
Anarchism in the United States
Anarchism in Asia
Anarchism in China
Anarchism in Egypt
Anarchism in India
Anarchism in Israel
Anarchism in Japan
Anarchism in Jordan
Anarchism in Korea
Anarchism in Turkey
Anarchism in Vietnam
Individualist anarchism in Europe
Anarchism in Austria
Anarchism in France
Anarchism in Greece
Anarchism in Ireland
Anarchism in Italy
Anarchism in Poland
Anarchism in Russia
Anarchism in Spain
Anarchist Catalonia
Anarchism in Sweden
Anarchism in Ukraine
Anarchism in the United Kingdom
The Free Territory
Anarchism in Oceania
Anarchism in Australia
more...
Paul Avrich
David Goodway
Daniel Guerin
Peter Marshall
Max Nettlau
George Woodcock
Historical societies
Anarchy Archives
Centre International de Recherches sur l'Anarchisme
Kate Sharpley Library
Labadie Collection
These are concepts which, although not exclusive to anarchism, are significant in historical and/or modern anarchist circles. As the anarchist milieu is philosophically heterogeneous, there is disagreement over which of these concepts should play a role in anarchism.
Formal anarchist organizational initiatives date back to the mid-19th century. The oldest surviving anarchist organizations include Freedom Press (est. 1886) of England, the Industrial Workers of the World (est. 1905), Anarchist Black Cross (est. 1906), Central Organisation of the Workers of Sweden (est. 1910) and the Confederación Nacional del Trabajo (est. 1910) of Spain.
Jura federation (est. 1870)
Freedom Press (est. 1886)
Argentine Regional Workers' Federation (est. 1901)
Industrial Workers of the World (est. 1905) (not formally anarchist, but has a significant anarchist presence)
Anarchist Black Cross (est. 1906)
Mexican Liberal Party (est. 1906)
Central Organisation of the Workers of Sweden (est. 1910)
Confederación Nacional del Trabajo (est. 1910)
Unione Sindacale Italiana (est. 1912)
Black Guards (est. 1917)
International Workers Association (est. 1922)
Federación Anarquista Ibérica (est. 1927)
Mexican Anarchist Federation (est. 1945)
Fédération Anarchiste (est. 1945)
Federazione Anarchica Italiana (est. 1945)
Confédération nationale du travail (est. 1946)
Japanese Anarchist Federation (est. 1946)
Argentine Libertarian Federation (est. 1955)
Uruguayan Anarchist Federation (est. 1956)
International of Anarchist Federations (est. 1968)
Confederación General del Trabajo (est. 1979)
Solidarity Federation (est. 1979)
Federazione dei Comunisti Anarchici (est. 1985)
Alternative libertaire (est. 1991)
Anarchist Federation (Britain and Ireland) (est. 1986)
Zabalaza Anarchist Communist Front (est. 2003)
more...
Anarchist organizations come in a variety of forms, largely based upon common anarchist principles of voluntary cooperation, mutual aid, and direct action. They are also largely informed by anarchist social theory and philosophy, tending towards participation and decentralization.
Affinity group (e.g. Black bloc)
Adhocracy
Collective
Federation
Participatory organization
Popular assembly
Security culture
Spokescouncil
List of anarchist books
List of anarchist periodicals
Guy Debord
Friedrich Engels
Michel Foucault
Charles Fourier
William Godwin
Daniel de Leon
Herbert Marcuse
Sylvain Maréchal
Karl Marx
Friedrich Nietzsche
Franz Oppenheimer
Jean-Jacques Rousseau
Max Stirner
Raoul Vaneigem
Gerrard Winstanley
Zeno of Citium
Communalism and democratic confederalism
Communization
Existentialism
Libertarian Marxism
Neozapatismo
