"Anarchy" is a term that in the minds of most people is synonymous with the concept of "chaos", "disorder". However, in sociology and political science, this term has a slightly different meaning. In the article we will take a closer look at the concept, origin, basic teachings and directions of anarchism. Let's take a closer look at such a direction as anarcho-capitalism. What is its essence and difference from other areas of anarchism? We will try to find out further in the article.
Concept
Anarchism is a socio-political and socio-economic doctrine that denies the need for the existence of the state. The interests of the small peasantry and small businesses are opposed to the interests of large corporations.
There is a myth that anarchism is one of the directions of socialism. It took shape in our minds after the revolution and the civil war: Nestor Makhno's anarchists were a loyal ally of the Bolsheviks on the territory of modern Ukraine for a long time.
However, this is absolutely wrong. Anarchism, and especially one of its trends - anarcho-capitalism - on the contrary, denies the creation of large public corporations. Socialism - as a preliminary stage of communism - although it involves the creation of a single just and equal society, but with the dominant role of the state, which should be headed by the "right people" - Bolsheviks, Socialist-Revolutionaries, proletarians, etc. In fact, this direction also calls for the creation corporations, only, unlike capitalism, with a single owner - the state.
The philosophical basis of anarchism is individualism, subjectivism, voluntarism.
Directions
Today, there are two major areas of anarchism:
- Anarcho-individualism.
- Anarcho-socialism.
Ideologically, these are absolutely two opposite directions. They are united by only one thing - the idea of abandoning the state. All other views are diametrically opposed. Anarcho-socialism, rather, belongs to the left current, along with communism, socialism, etc. Anarcho-individualism is rather a right current. Its principles were developed by Max Stirner, Henry David, Murray Rothbard and others. Both blocks are also divided into different currents, each of which has its own views on certain processes.
The main directions of individualism
Anarcho-individualism is divided into the following areas:
- Anarcho-capitalism. We won't be heredescribe it in detail, since most of our article will be devoted to this direction.
- Anarcho-feminism. The movement originated in the United States at the beginning of the 20th century. Emma Goldman - "Red Emma" can be considered a prominent representative of it. This woman immigrated from Russia before the revolution, and settled in the United States. Anarcho-feminists also opposed the state as an apparatus for imposing traditional concepts of family relations, education, and gender roles. Emma Goldman today would be an ardent human rights activist who would continue to fight for women's equality, for the rights of sexual minorities, etc. Marriage, she believed, is an ordinary economic contract between a man and a woman. And she brought down these views on the mass consciousness through speeches, publication of books a hundred years ago, when Western society retained its religiosity and traditionalism.
- Green anarchism - focuses on the issue of environmental protection.
- Anarcho-primitivism - they call for abandoning high technologies, which, in their opinion, only strengthen the position of those in power and exploitation. Etc.
The main directions of anarcho-socialism
Anarcho-socialism is a trend that calls to fight against any form of exploitation, private property as the main reason for the social stratification (stratification) of society into rich and poor. Similar views were in the minds of Nestor Makhno's anarchists during the revolution and civil war. The direction is different from the classicBolshevism only by the fact that the latter called for the introduction of the dictatorship of the proletariat, that is, the actual creation of one class above another. Anarcho-socialism, on the other hand, denies the existence of any ruling class or estate. Its main directions:
- Mutualism (mutualism). It is based on the principle of mutual assistance, freedom, voluntary contract. The founder of the movement is considered to be Pierre Joseph Proudhon, whose works appeared in the 18th century before the anarchist currents finally took shape.
- Anarcho-communism. Supporters of this movement believed that it was necessary to create self-governing communes, in which the collective use of the means of production should be organized.
- Anarcho-collectivism or radical collectivism. Supporters of this trend called for a revolutionary way to overthrow the government. In contrast to the previous direction, anarcho-collectivists believe that in communities everyone should receive a fair pay based on their merit. Banal "leveling", in their opinion, will lead to the creation of a mass of parasites who, like "parasites", will use someone else's labor.
- Anarcho-syndicalism. Focuses on the labor movement. Its supporters seek to abandon the system of wage labor and private property. In the means of production, they see the reason for the division of society into owners and employees. Etc.
Unfortunately, within the framework of one article it is difficult to briefly convey the main differences between the directions of anarchism. However, in a few words it can be said that anarcho-capitalism isit is the opposite of anarcho-socialism. The latter completely rejects any ideas of private property, capitalism, wage labor. The first, on the contrary, welcomes these ideas. More details about it will be discussed later in the article.
The birth of anarcho-capitalism
Anarcho-capitalist direction is also called "libertarian anarchism". The term was first introduced by Murray Rothbard. The emergence of this trend dates back to the sixties of the XX century in the United States. Although its theoretical background goes back to the middle of the 19th century, to the work of market theorists, one of whom was Gustav de Molinari.
Concept
Market anarchism - another name for anarcho-capitalism - is based on the belief in free ownership of private property. He denies the state as an institution of power, as it interferes with the support of a competitive market. At one time, the famous reformer - E. Gaidar - said: "The market will put everything in its place." Although the Russian prime minister was not a supporter of this philosophy, one of the ideas of market anarchism can be traced in this phrase of his. The idea of free market relations tied on a voluntary basis is put at the forefront. It is this principle that will serve the formation of a stable society, which itself can organize the rule of law, create its own legislative base, protection and the necessary infrastructure, organized through commercial competition.
Goals
Murray himselfRothbard realized that the state is, in modern terms, an organized criminal group that is actually engaged in robbery through taxes, fees, duties, licenses, etc. Almost all modern capitalist governments have become proteges of large financial magnates. Capitalism, according to the theorist, is the predominance of small owners, and today we see that small businesses around the world are losing their positions in all economic sectors. Instead of a thousand small private entrepreneurs, we are seeing one big magnate who spreads his influence to many countries.
Therefore, modern libertarianism and anarchism have common goals with socialist and communist ideologies - they all call for breaking the existing order that has developed in the world.
Ideas for the future of social organization
This philosophical direction has many critics among economists, political scientists and sociologists. Even socialists and communists with the ideas of a "bright future", "social equality", "freedom", "brotherhood" do not call for abandoning the state as a regulator of social relations. The main theorist of anarcho-capitalism - Murray Rothbard - on the contrary, called for a complete abandonment of it. How, then, should a capitalist society function, in which private property should be sacredly guarded? To do this, it is necessary to create private security structures that must operate on a competitive basis. They should be financed not from taxes, but from private funds. Personal and economic activities shouldgoverned by natural laws, the market and private law. Society, according to the theorists of this philosophical trend, will soon intuitively understand how to live. People will refuse many crimes, since it is the state that is the root cause of their commission.
Is it realistic to implement the ideas of libertarianism?
Many consider the ideas of libertarianism to be an absolute utopia. As the main argument, they cite the fact that the nature of people is such that it is impossible to eradicate such human vices as envy, anger, betrayal, the desire to take advantage of other people's labor, the desire to take possession of other people's property, etc. Recall the psychological test: “If you see in the supermarket, that no one guards the products, what will you do? The correct answer to it will be the one that offers to steal groceries from the supermarket. Other answers are considered dishonest by psychologists, hiding the true essence of the subject. That is, the nature of a person cannot be changed, therefore, he himself, without the help of an external power regulator, will not learn to live “correctly”. All ideas that are designed to change human nature through the creation of various social conditions are considered utopian. Therefore, market anarchism should be considered as such. However, some believe that libertarianism can be implemented. For this, certain conditions must arise. We will talk about them in more detail later.
Conditions for the implementation of the idea of market anarchism
So, in order for the ideas of Murray Rothbard to be realized, the following conditions must occur:
- The dominance of the power of ethics. In a society where everything is sold and everything is bought, it is difficult to educate a person in the spirit of “this is not right”, “not good”, etc. Today we see that the children of multimillionaires violate all laws: they do not observe the speed limit on the roads, they can be insulted representatives of law and order, speak disparagingly about the country in which they live, etc. Such behavior is not forgiven for “ordinary” citizens: they, as a rule, receive the most severe punishment. Only where ethics and the value of freedom prevail over hard cash can an ideal society be built.
- Establishment of several institutions. If the state is absent, then its functions should be performed by other social institutions. They must have power and authority, otherwise they will be useless. The main condition is that there must be several of them, otherwise, instead of one form of state, we will get another: theocracy, clan, wild capitalism, etc.
- United value system. The libertarian system will only function if all members of society adhere to the idea of anarcho-capitalism. With the appearance of a significant number of people who ignore his principles and the power of institutions, the system will quickly collapse.
Symbols of anarcho-capitalism
We covered the theory of libertarianism. Let's talk a little about symbolism. The banner of anarcho-capitalism is the black and yellow flag. Black is the traditional symbol of anarchism. Yellow - symbolizes gold, a medium of exchange in the market without participationstates. The black and yellow flag is found in various variants. There is no strict arrangement of flowers. Sometimes there are various images on it: a crown, a dollar sign, etc.
Anarcho-capitalism in Russia
In our country, there are few people who adhere to the views of market anarchism. In our country, if there are followers of anarchism, then they are rather supporters of anarcho-syndicalism, who create various youth subcultures. Sociologists note that modern neo-anarchists, as a rule, do not understand the basic ideology of anarcho-syndicalism, they use only symbols - red and black flags. At all events with their participation, as a rule, only anti-fascist slogans are heard.
The goal of neo-anarchism in Russia
Modern neo-anarchist protest in Russia is perhaps the only non-partisan fundamentally street initiative that is not controlled by the authorities. Its leaders believe that the goal of the movement is to fight against fascism, as well as against its root cause - capitalism, which generates social inequality and migration in its modern form.
