this post was submitted on 26 Nov 2024
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37
What is the central tenet(s) of political anarchism? What makes a political philosophy anarchism vs something else? (lemmy.sdf.org)
submitted 5 months ago by lousyd@lemmy.sdf.org to c/nostupidquestions@lemmy.world
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[–] A_Union_of_Kobolds@lemmy.world 26 points 5 months ago* (last edited 5 months ago) (1 children)

Opposition to hierarchy.

From Greek for without rulers. Anarchism is rooted in opposition to forms of domination and coercion; historically, its three main opponents have been the Church, the State, and capitalism. The main Western tradition of anarchism dates back to the advent of socialism, although there have been many anarchic societies and philosophers the world over for pretty much as long as people have existed.

There are lots of forms of anarchism, generally relating to either different visions of an ideal horizontal social structure, or just boiling down to what that particular activist focuses on (anarcho-feminists are mostly concerned with patriarchy, for instance). Mostly, anarchists aren't prescriptivist - as long as people are trying to take power into their own lives, anarchists are for it.

[–] lousyd@lemmy.sdf.org 5 points 5 months ago (2 children)

What counts as hierarchy? Like, if I pay a plumber to fix my plumbing problems because I don't know how to, does that imply some hierarchy between us?

[–] A_Union_of_Kobolds@lemmy.world 15 points 5 months ago (1 children)

No, because the plumber doesn't have power over you.

Your boss has power over you - he can decide to remove your source of income, and uses that as leverage to get you to do what he wants.

Your government has power over you - they have a monopoly on the use of violence and use it to maintain control.

Your preacher has power over you - by making you afraid for your soul, he can manipulate you unwillingly, or severely impact your social status.

Your plumber is someone providing a service, that's completely different.

[–] lousyd@lemmy.sdf.org -3 points 5 months ago (1 children)

It doesn't seem that different, in essence. He could withhold his service and let my bathroom flood.

[–] ChronosTriggerWarning@lemmy.world 6 points 5 months ago (1 children)

And you call a different plumber.

[–] lousyd@lemmy.sdf.org -3 points 5 months ago (1 children)

But that's what people say about bosses. You don't like this one, go get a different one. I'm not understanding the difference in terms of hierarchy and power and so on.

[–] ChronosTriggerWarning@lemmy.world 5 points 5 months ago (1 children)

If you don't understand the difference between a boss and a tradesman that you called, then I'm out. Either you're too dense to understand, which would make explaining a waste of time, OR you're just sealioning, as i suspect, which would make explaining a waste of time.

[–] lousyd@lemmy.sdf.org -1 points 5 months ago (1 children)

Okay. Maybe someone else can explain.

[–] prole@lemmy.blahaj.zone 2 points 5 months ago* (last edited 5 months ago) (1 children)

I believe most anarchists are against unjustifiable hierarchies.

If you want to consider the dynamic between a tradesman and their customer as a hierarchy, it's justifiable because it's one person who is an expert in their trade, working on that trade for something in return. Both parties have consented to this temporary "hierarchy" in order for both parties to receive their desired outcomes.

Now if we want to talk about HOAs... Add them, and their ability to come in and say, "you can't use that color paint," and you now have a completely unjustifiable (imo) hierarchy.

[–] lousyd@lemmy.sdf.org 2 points 5 months ago (1 children)

That makes sense. Is there some way to determine what is justified and what's not?

[–] prole@lemmy.blahaj.zone 2 points 5 months ago

Sorry for the delay, I tend to neglect my comment reply notices...

I believe I said in another comment in this thread that I recommend reading, "Anarchism and other Essays" by Emma Goldman, and, "The Conquest of Bread," by Piotr Kropotkin.

"Mutual Aid: A Factor in Evolution" by Kropotkin is also very good.

I know that theory can be boring, but I've found both Kropotkin and Goldman to be very compelling reads... Just make sure you have a pencil or highlighter ready, because so much shit hits home

[–] Cattypat@lemmy.blahaj.zone 7 points 5 months ago

exchange AFAIK isn't considered hierarchy, a trade of goods (in your example money for service) is equal

[–] Nosavingthrow@lemmy.world 23 points 5 months ago (2 children)

Hierarchy must justify its existence, or it must be dismantled.

[–] KombatWombat@lemmy.world 2 points 5 months ago (1 children)

But that's just a pithy statement that someone of any political position would likely agree with. Everyone wants their government to be efficient. What does justification mean to anarchist specifically?

[–] Nosavingthrow@lemmy.world -3 points 5 months ago

Nope. You're wrong.

[–] prole@lemmy.blahaj.zone 4 points 5 months ago* (last edited 5 months ago)

I have recently started reading "Anarchism and other Essays" by Emma Goldman, and it's very enlightening about what the ideology actually means. I highly recommend checking her out. She was an absolute badass.

Also, I believe Kropotkin is considered some sort of anarchist, and I would also recommend reading his book, "The Conquest of Bread". I've found Kropotkin to be a great writer, and his stuff is pretty compelling rather than dry (which this stuff can be). I'm currently reading "Mutual Aid: A Factor in Evolution" by him, and it's also great so far.

I don't necessarily agree with Kropotkin's concepts for fixing things, but I've found that he was incredible at describing the problems. So much of it could have been written yesterday, it's still all so relevant. Despite being written over 100 years ago.

I'm not sure I would call myself an anarchist, but after educating myself about their actual ideals, I find that I agree with quite a bit.