Prelude to the Anti-State: Anarchism before
Anarchists
Damian Seth Harris
Brown Mackie College
Prelude to the Anti-State: Anarchism before Anarchists
When most people see that infamous red “A” with a circle
around it they often get that feeling that they are faced with a radical rebel
who listens to punk rock music and has no respect for civilization. They view
the label “Anarchist” as that belonging to adolescent trend, who intentionally
disregards the laws and rules of society. In political conversations, this
causes the ideals of anarchism to become somewhat of a red flag word, which
immediately rejects the attention of the opponent in debate. I would like to
take a moment to express to the readers how these stereotypes are far from
true.
Anarchism is a political and social ideology with
philosophical roots which stretch back to antiquity, and in its modern
inception, stems back from the same primordial melting pot which spawned
socialist and communist ideologies in the late 19th century and the
early 20th century. Through the works of it predecessors, Anarchism
would become a diverse political and social ideologies which in recent days
have started reemerging as a very prominent force in events around the world.
Etymology
Like any idea given form, the origin of the name itself is
the greatest starting point for understanding what it means. Anarchism has two
main points of usage in order to be understood. The first is in the classical
definition from which it originated and the second is how it came into a modern
usage as an ideology.
Classical Linguistics
Anarchism is a compound of the prefix anarchy and the
suffix ism. Anarchy comes from the ancient Greek word anarchos which means
“without rulers”. A, or an, is the prefix which means “without” and Archos
meaning “rulers”. By adding “ism” as the suffix we have the term presented as a
belief or an ideology. The first known use of the term was in 1539.
(Merriam-Webster, 2013)
Modern Usage
Immediately following the French revolution lawyer and
politician Maximilian de Robespierre used the term “anarchist” to attack left
wing revolutionaries whom he had made great use of during the revolution, but
now wanted to be rid of them. Though writers such as William Godwin and Wilhelm
Weitling wrote many philosophical doctrines which would be integral to
anarchism, the first known writer to to proclaim himself an anarchist was
Pierre-Joseph Proudhon. (Joll, 1964) This birthed the term as an established
ideology and was synonymous with the term libertarianism until the 1950s when
the term took on a different meaning in the United States. (Nettlau, 1996)
(Ward, 2004)
Classical
Influences
Just like the word itself, the beliefs which comprise
anarchism are rooted in much older philosophical schools of thought. These
schools hail from both eastern and early classical western schools.
Western Philosophy
In ancient Greek philosophy early ideals of anarchism can
be seen in the schools of Stoicism and Cynicism. For the cynics the purpose of
life is to live in virtue and in agreement with nature. Anarchists hold that
this means that we are beholden to ourselves to do what is right as a natural
conclusion. Stoicism contends that it destructive emotions are the result of
errors in judgment and that in order to avoid such emotions we must approach
them with logical determination. This is compatible with the anarchist view
that rationality is the key to a just society and thus could potentially render
authoritarianism as unnecessary. (Kropotkin, 1910)
Eastern Philosophy
The earliest anarchist themes can be found in the works of
Taoist philosopher Laozi who said "The best people are like
water, which benefits all things and does not compete with them. It stays in
lowly places that others reject. This is why it is so similar to the Way."
(Laozi, 6th Century B.C.E) This is train of thought was later
expounded on by Taoist philosopher Zhuangzi who said “A petty thief is put in
jail. A great brigand becomes the ruler of a nation.” (Rothbard, 2008)
Historical
Precedents
Anarchism became properly known as an ideology in its own
right when Proudhon wrote his well known work, “What is Property?” It was Proudhon who became known as the first
self proclaimed anarchist. Prior to that publication, however, there were two
significant events which would pave the way for a new social movement.
1793, William Godwin and Political Justice
William Godwin was a political philosopher, and writer
from England and a exponent of Utilitarianism. His written work, Enquiry Concerning Political Justice and its
Influence on Morals and Happiness, was written as a response to Thomas
Paine’s The Rights of Man. It argued
that mankind would inevitably progress and that established institutions such
as property monopoly, marriage, and monarchy hindered mans ability to progress
socially. This is a obvious precursor to the anarchist opposition to
capitalism, ownership of persons, and authoritarianism. (McCann, 2001)
1827, Josiah Warren
opens the Cincinnati Time Store
Josiah Warren was an American inventor, musician, author
and later individualist anarchist. On May 18, 1827 he opened a store as a
mutualist experiment called the Cincinnati Time Store. Based on his own idea of
“Cost the limit of Price” he would contend that a commodity’s price should be
based on the cost to produce or acquire it. This is a precursor to
Anarcho-Communism and Syndicalism because it challenges the Capitalist notion
that any person should have control over a resource. (Palmer, 2010)
Conclusion
As stated before these events would be the precursors to
Proudhon’s works in 1840. Over the next 173 years we would see anarchism change
and adapt in many ways. In the late 19th and early 20th
centuries we would see philosophers such Bakunin and Kropotkin help build the
foundations of revolution alongside more well known figures such as Karl Marx.
Through study we can see that Anarchism has been alongside many of the great
revolutions of the 20th centuries and how it has continued to
influence counter culture and fringe politics. Even today we see the black flag
waved high in the turmoil taking place in countries such as Turkey and Greece.
References
Merriam-Webster (2013) definition of Anarchism extracted
from http://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/anarchy
Joll, James (1964) The
Anarchists, Harvard University Press pp 27-37
Nettlau, Max (1996) A
Short History of Anarchism, Freedom Press p. 162
Russell, Dean (1955) Who
is a libertarian? Foundation For Economic Education :Ideeas on Liberty”
Ward, Collin (2004) Anarchism:
A Very Short Introduction, Oxford University Press p.62
Kropotkin, Peter (1910) “Anarchism”
Encyclopedia Britannica
Rothbard, Murray (2008) “Concepts
of the role of intellectuals in social change toward Laissez Faire”
McCann, Andrew (2001) “Enquiry Concerning Political
Justice and its Influence on Modern Morals and Manners." The
Literary Encyclopedia
Palmer, Brian (2010) What do Anarchist Want From us? Slate.com
