Anarchism, broadly speaking, is the political philosophy of human emancipation.
Humans are happiest and most productive, anarchists argue, when they are free to exercise their creative powers in cooperation with one another outside of modern state and corporate institutions.
Equally, human beings are most miserable and under-valued in modern capitalist states. These structures of authority, however, cannot last forever.
Indeed, throughout history, oppressed people have tended to”seek out and identify structures of domination and authority, and [have challenged] them to justify themselves.” When justifications could not be given, these structures have been forcibly overturned. This has been the essence of all Anarchist philosophy since its first inception.
Anarchism, as a coherent political ideology and social movement, first appeared within the labor movement of the 1800′s as a reaction to the rapid increase in industrialization and the centralization of private power. Anti-capitalism remains a central tenet of Anarchism today.
Anarchists, therefore, argue that despite a facade of Democracy in the United States today, Americans – the vast, working class majority of them – are not allowed to exercise any control over economic institutions. Large corporations and multinationals are governed by a very small number people, who in turn can manipulate and control the land, capital, factories, wages, working hours, and the quality of life of millions of laborers.
Accordingly, Anarchists stress that control of our work lives is central to our emancipation. They propose that in place of markets, we should organize our economic activities freely and democratically.
Further, anarchists propose that communities should organize themselves to address their own needs, without either state or corporate mandates, refusing to allow capital to mediate their relationships to one another or the earth.
Because Anarchists favor this kind of self-management and mutual aid, they reject forms of domination and inequality which impede the ability of communities and individuals to cooperate.
In light of this, Anarchists argue that we should root out not only government and corporate tyranny, but all forms of hierarchy in our communities, including white supremacy, patriarchy, and homophobia, because these systems are obstacles to any true sense of kinship and democracy.
Below you can find three videos introducing more topics of interest on Anarchism.
