"What me, an 
narchist?"
When you hear the words "Anarchist"
what is your first thought? Do you find yourself thinking of bomb-throwing,
wild-eyed maniacs running loose without any regard for civility or order?
This would characterize how the majority of people in our culture come
to view anarchists and anarchism. Many feel threatened by anarchism without
even realizing what it is in any sense. This feeling is mainly attributed
to ignorance and the propagation of this stereotype by the media and the
existing power structures. These powers that be exist mainly to control
our lives under the guise of serving the public good. This charade is propped
up by a hierarchical power structure where the voices of the people attempting
to voice their outrage at this subversion are removed and summarily labeled
radicals or enemies of the state. The more I learn of anarchism the greater
respect I have for those who struggled and died to express and spread their
beliefs. I have only recently begun to understand anarchism in a personal
sense. I admittedly was a skeptic upon entering the Anarchy
and the Internet class this Spring. What possible good could Anarchy
be to the world, I thought. Then as I began to read some of the material
by Godwin,
and some of the other cynosures
in anarchism, it began to take shape for me as a valid study in political
thought. I learned that there are almost as many different factions to
anarchism as there are number of people who believe in it. I was now ready
to learn about this topic which suspiciously had had no mention in any
of my previous history courses. After putting my suspicions aside, anarchism
began to make sense.
As I mentioned, at first I did
not understand anarchism but I was willing to listen. What was the need
for anarchism? Professor Ward
summed it up this way, "What gives anyone the right to tell you what
to do..." At first I was taken back by this statement. I thought "What
do you mean, what gives you the right?" I thought that if you are
a "boss" then that is your right. But that is exactly what the
anarchist contests. A boss is no more of a human being than the worker,
hence has no moral or other superior authority over the "supervised."
By being forced to comply with the demands of the boss, the worker suffers
a mental oppression because his opinions or judgment are deemed by the
existing power structure to be insignificant. However anarchy is more than
a struggle for workers’ rights. In general, anarchism is about freedom
in the ultimate sense. No one person has more power or authority over another.
People cooperate with each other on an equal and consensual basis. No decisions
are made without great discussion and often consensus. Although this may
seem at first to be impractical, it is possible. I feel that the majority
of my skepticism arose initially because the impracticality of an anarchist
system seemed insurmountable. However many communities that have existed
in our nation’s history did so living by anarchistic principles. Including
the Oneida commune which has been successfully producing silverware for
many years. Other examples includes Modern Times on Long Island, established
in the 1850's, and Hopedale established in the 1840's. Both were anarchist
communes that were located within the United States. Mondragon is an example
of successful worker operated company located in Spain. Mondragon is a
huge conglomeration which is worker owned, consisting of hundreds of smaller
companies. They specialize in everything from engineering to fishing. Mondragon
remains one of the most successful companies utilizing this system of worker
control. Now as I mentioned, my tendencies have shifted to a more individualistic
stance of anarchism. Many cooperatives and communes exist today and have
been successful communities. Also, many worker owned companies are far
more efficient and productive than their hierarchical counterparts. Proving
that the workers have the ability within themselves to work efficiently
without heavy-handed supervision. Worker owned companies are not a foreign
concept however to us here in the United States. Companies such as United
Airlines are employee owned, and continue to be very successful in its
field. United Airlines' workers maintain shareholder control, meaning that
incentives exist to be successful, but management isn’t directly accountable
to the workers which is a slight problem, but a sense of worker involvement
still exists. Although many working within these companies may be ignorant
that the concept of worker owned and operated companies in anarchistic.
The fact is that hierarchical power has been done away with and the power
remains now with each worker each with an equal voice.
My progression from skepticism
to a partial believer of anarchy has mostly arisen because of the variety
of doctrines within the realm of anarchistic belief. I have always considered
myself to be an individualist. I had long been displeased with the standard
two-party system. I then learned a little about libertarianism, but found
it a bit too extreme. I basically found myself as an independent voter,
not affiliated with any party, mainly to avoid mailings and requests for
donations. With anarchy, one can be individualistic but maintain a social
safety-net through a local network of friends in the community. This is
very similar to the social structure of the Quakers.
Decisions which affect the community are discussed in a town-hall format
where a consensus is reached before action is taken. Let me explain how
my evolution from skepticism came about. I learned that some of the basic
tenets of anarchy include: society without hierarchy; moral responsibility
based on natural law; abstention from electoral politics; the state is
the determining influence on social, political, and economic structures;
freedom and equality; separation between power and expertise; and finally
voluntary association. I was surprised by this. I think my surprise arose
because I found myself agreeing with many of these tenets. I think many
others would likewise if they realized what anarchy is and not what others,
including the media, tell them it is or is not.
My views lie mostly in line
to the previous tenets of anarchism which I mentioned. I feel that only
by being allowed freedom in making wise personal decisions can we truly
be free. In a society with a hierarchical power structure this cannot be
accomplished because we are always being told or forced to do things which
seem counter to our intuition. This does not mean that we do not make informed
decisions or deny what the "experts" have to say, simply a choice
should exist for each individual to make rather than a law. That admittance
of expert opinion is important because it is an important distinction to
make. It is important because it separates the common link of power with
expertise which often exists in a hierarchical society.
The second principle deals with
moral responsibility based on natural law. I also feel that this very important
idea also goes along with the idea of society without hierarchy in that
morally one has the responsibility not to infringe upon the rights of others
and to rely upon natural justice and moral judgment to prevail. People
then become able to control behavior by reason, not authority. Freedom
and equality are obviously things that we all strive for as intelligent
beings. We want to prevent anyone from suffering oppression in any form,
be it mentally, physically or socially based. Voluntary association is
also an important aspect of anarchy because no one is forced to do anything
against his or her will. If you have the choice to participate or not then
you still maintain freedom. Obviously all of these tenets are closely interconnected.
One cannot be a true anarchist without realizing a sense of morality, freedom,
and trust that must exist in order for an anarchist society to be successful.
As the semester has progressed,
I’ve learned more about anarchy than I would have ever learned on my own
concerning this subject. I feel that it is a true shame that this subject
is so dismissed by our society. The warped perception of anarchism is maintained
because not enough people have the opportunity to be educated to all view
points being presented. I am very pleased to say that I really learned
something valuable this semester that had great personal worth. I will
most definitely spread the truth and attempt to dispel the common rumors
whenever possible. It’s important for all to remember to always keep your
mind open.