Anarchy101 Q&A - Recent questions

What does third wave anarchism mean to you?

Thu, 07 Oct 2021 15:03:56 +0000

If first wave anarchism can loosely be summarized as left-anarchism, and second wave anarchism then loosely identified as post-left anarchism, in what way do you see a new shift in anarchist thought, if at all? Are there any authors in particular who you think are especially challenging post-left ideas? Or perhaps you have your own ideas that you see as a radical break from the old?

Open Source Software?

Mon, 20 Sep 2021 07:08:12 +0000

I've read & heard some people, like anarchists, commies, try to suggest that open source software & free software are examples of anarchism and/or communism/socialism in action and what not. I personally don't feel that way about it. The most permissive open source license, for example, is the Do Whatever The Fuck You Want With This license, as far as I'm aware. Once you obtain the software, you can do what you want with it. It's kind of similar to a car. With a car you can take it apart completely for whatever reason, modify it, inform others on what you did and how, give it away or sell it. It fairly similar to the concept of open source. I wouldn't say cars are examples of anarchism/communism in action. But enough with my opinion on open source licenses, I'm interested in how y'all feel about open source software in relation to anarchism.

*There are a bunch of open source software licenses that can be more restrictive than others. There's even an anti-capitalist software license. No one asked on here about this.

Can a 'man' be a lesbian?

Fri, 10 Sep 2021 19:47:57 +0000

I read an article in the August edition of Organise titled 'What is a lesbian?'. The article claimed anyone can be a lesbian. Isn't this just linguistic nonsense. Is it not telling that the article is 'What is a lesbian?' rather than 'What is a gay man?'

Is your anarchism positively constructed?

Fri, 27 Aug 2021 15:18:35 +0000

Is there anything you are for?

Are they abstract principles or concrete structures?

Are the things you are for connected to your idea of anarchism or something separate?

Do you think anarchism entails being for something (even if that something looks different to different people)?

How do you distinguish between the state and state actors?

Fri, 20 Aug 2021 00:07:39 +0000

If there is one thing anarchists can agree on (and even that is a big if sometimes) its an opposition to the state. In your analysis where does the state end and state actors begin? Do you draw the line at all? To phrase the question another way, to what degree are the humans who make up institutions separable from the institutions themselves?

who first used the term "the Beautiful Idea:"

Fri, 18 Jun 2021 01:42:47 +0000

who first used the term "the Beautiful Idea?

Coined when and where?

Does it stem from Emma Goldman's essay The Beautiful Ideal?

Has it been used to describe the idea of anarchy for as long as people have discussed it openly or did someone else revive its use contemporarily within anarchist publishing and writing circles?

Sources please!!

P.s. appreciating the Emma Goldman trivia in the Spam Filter for obvious reasons!

What do you think of cancel culture?

Sat, 29 May 2021 05:56:30 +0000

What are your thoughts about cancel culture?

I find it amusing that the people that are all about "concelling" someone for a mistake or wrong think slightly amusing. Mostly because the people that are all about it seem oblivious that it will be used against them. Overall, it seems pretty authoritarian to me.

Anti-civ books

Fri, 23 Apr 2021 03:23:10 +0000

What are some anti-civ books that explain why they believe the destruction of civilization would be better? The anti-civ stuff I've read will explain why industrialized civilization is a negative and should be destroyed, but stops there. So are there any anti-civ books that includes explanations of the negatives of civilization prior to industrialization? It's confusing if it's just limited to the negatives industrialized civilization.

To make it more confusing to me is sometimes the anti-civ people sound like they'd prefer to live in the conditions of the bourgeois prior to industrialization. For example, Bellamy's writings comes off that way to me. He suggests stuff like fishing, woodworking, herbal folk medicine... were common skills among the average person. But stuff like that was only really accessible to the elite classes prior to industrialization. A chair is something you'd think the plebs would've had in their home, but they did not. They usually had a bench and ate gruel. The average pleb usually didn't have the materials, means and know-how to make complicated stuff out of wood for themselves prior to industrialization.

I think that maybe due to many books that are about past societies tend to focus on the elite classes and so it's harder to get a sense of how average people lived in the past.

Did that Bellamy dude "cancel" himself or something?

Sexual double-standard and anarchism

Wed, 14 Apr 2021 21:33:50 +0000

Can young (18-21 year old) anarchist man have a polygynous relationship where the girls are exclusive based on personal preference, religion, culture, nature or whatever without compromising anarchist principles, providing that:

There is NO state-involvement

There is NO physical or financial coercion

He does NOT consider himself superior to the girls.

is "anarchist" a group identity?

Thu, 11 Mar 2021 13:19:06 +0000

socialist, conservative, woman, vegan, trans, poor, jewish, rebel, ....

we are probably all far too familiar with various identity groups, even though there is likely no agreement as to what that term really means.

do you think of yourself as an anarchist? what does that mean to you, in reality? does that meaning involve others you do not know individually? do you think of yourself as anarchist based on thoughts/ideas? political perspectives? activities? lifestyle? relationships? other...?

and the followup: how would you describe the difference between group identity and individual identity?

this is kind of related to the previous question (hopefully not completely redundant):

https://anarchy101.org/14410/is-identity-politics-compatible-with-anarchism

what does trust mean to you?

Fri, 12 Feb 2021 15:02:51 +0000

of course i mean in the context of anarchistic relations.

in the world of democrapitalism, trust is essentially reliant on legal (contracts) and political (elected representatives) institutions. and that trust, as well as the supposedly "earned" or assumed trust between individuals who know each other (eg, families), is breached frequently. in a world of individuals relating freely and without institutional constraints, how would you build trust with others that you don't already know? can anything other than time and first-hand experience serve that purpose?

Anarchists Thoughts on the Development of Capitalism?

Wed, 06 Jan 2021 11:03:22 +0000

What are anarchists thoughts on the origins development and origins ? Do they have their own ideas about the origins the development and origins of capitalism that isn't just a derivative of Marx's ideas in Capital. In particular the 'so-called primitive accumulation' (part 8 of Capital)? If so, could y'all tell me who and the name of book/long essay?
There are numerous books/long essays by Marxists that try to explain how capitalism came about like Michael Pearlman, Harry Braverman, Ellen Wood, Karl Polanyi (not a marxist, but some claim he was a socialist of sorts), and probably more I'm unaware about.

I have found writings by anarchists that tries to address it, but they usually defer to the ideas developed by Marx and other Marxists. For example, the anarchist faq (F. 8) tries to, but they fall back to Marx. Kevin Carson tries to too in Studies of Mutualist Economy, but defers to Marx and/or other Marxists too most of the time. However, I have difficulties finding books/long essays on the beginning of capitalism (development) by an anarchist that is unique.

Perhaps y'all might know if there are anarchists books/long essays about the origins of capitalism that diverges or is different from Marxists ideas about it?

I couldn't find any questions on this site about capitalism origins development and origins. You can leave your personal thoughts on the origins and development of capitalism, if you want to. I couldn't make up my mind if I should ask this question or not. Primarily because there isn't really a simple-ish answer to it. I'll try to clarify questions y'all have if confuzzled.

Edit: Tried to improve my question to make it clear and understandable. Here are the names of people that have different ideas about the development and origins of capitalism: Frernand Braudel, Balki Bartokomous, Karl Polanyi, Adam Smith and def some more. You can duckduckgo them for more info

Which conversations feel tired and which feel vital?

Wed, 30 Dec 2020 00:26:38 +0000

I thought of this question in the shower, somehow I got to thinking about the violence/non-violence debate. I think there are important, even crucial questions there, but the conversation around it has felt tired to me for a long time.

It got me wondering about the shifts in discourse that happen over time, at small and large scales. The way that in certain times and places a conversation will have a vitality that later it loses, or that it still keeps but is hard to find under the layers of cruft.

Which conversations in anarchy or anarchy-adjacent spaces feel tired lately? Which feel like they are charged with life and possibility? How has this changed over time in recent years or in your life?

Bonus question: What do you do when a conversation feels tired? Do you move to another topic? Try to dig for where it's still alive? Something else?

What are your favourite anarchist texts?

Tue, 22 Dec 2020 23:15:26 +0000

I intend to finally do some anarchist homework this coming year, and am keen to hear what has influenced and been enjoyed by my favourite group of anarchists! Anarchist-adjacent, and other radical projects also interest me, so share away :) Perhaps I will finally be able to understand the SI this year
Thought this might be a fun, light-hearted question for the times. Apologies if this is a duplicate; the only similar questions *I* could find were from years ago, with little engagement. Perhaps this question will go the same way...

What do you think of the Great Reset?

Thu, 26 Nov 2020 07:22:40 +0000

The project is explained in a disturbing book entitled Covid 19 - The Great Reset by WEF founder Klaus Schwab

How many Anarchists are in the world?

Sat, 21 Nov 2020 05:24:27 +0000

I was just wondering the approximate number/percentage of people on earth who's political ideology is some form of Anarchism, including Anarcho-Capitalism and National Anarchism.

Do anarchists write romance novels?

Mon, 09 Nov 2020 01:14:29 +0000

Hi. I asked this question on here. I think it was removed. I enjoy reading romance novels and erotic fan fiction. Erotica. Both romance novels and erotic fanfic novels I enjoy are raunchy. I dont know of any romance and fanfic written by anarchist or about anarchist. Certainly anarchists have wrote romance novels and erotic fanfic .
What are good anarchist romance novels and fanfic novels?

What does the black star symbolize?

Tue, 27 Oct 2020 20:07:38 +0000

I see the black star used as an anarchist symbol. I imagine it’s the counterpart to the red star, just like the black flag, but I can’t find any information on its meaning or history.

How best to help immigrants fleeing broken countries?

Thu, 22 Oct 2020 14:54:16 +0000

Most countries in the West are dealing with increased levels of legal and illegal immigration. This is causing tension. I know this is not current 'conventional' radical thinking but I believe it would be better if we helped fix the broken countries so people don't have to leave. And I don't mean help by exploiting natural resources, creating debt traps, I mean mutual aid on an international level. And maybe we sometimes need to use violence to help topple dictatorships. Why should people be forced to flee their homes and we do nothing to solve the problems they face?

is it possible and/or desirable to have some sort of anarchist "militia(s)"?

Tue, 22 Sep 2020 21:18:20 +0000

thinking very vaguely of the recent NFAC movement, which is a black defensive militia. that particular group is completely statist/nationalist, and while they claim not to have leaders, they sure do have a loud and charismatic spokesperson. there is no pretense of anarchic desires.

recognizing the problems with "mass" organizing, is it feasible for individuals who just want freedom from the state, capital and the institutions of oppression, to take up arms and - strategically - make their presence and strength known. (which seems to be all nfac is about, flexing muscle in a defensive posture).

i am not against violence, but i am also not a masochist. and while i love to see capitalist property destroyed, i don't see that tactic as making much difference in the lives of those most (and most often) oppressed. primarily it serves to strengthen - at least the resolve of, if not the measurable strength of - the state and its supporters.

what would it mean to have a several thousand anonymous (via masks and clothes), armed militia-looking motherfuckers strolling down the streets of portland, oakland, kenosha, rochester, etc etc etc? especially if they are NOT doing the "random destructo" stuff, but rather making a strong, quiet, defensive stand?

impossible, i suspect. but definitely fun to imagine.

Is there a non-revolutionary anarchism?

Tue, 08 Sep 2020 20:18:00 +0000

In various places on the site, people have mentioned not believing in revolution. Yet many people seem to conceive of anarchism as a revolutionary position. In fact, very many of the questions people ask here (how would you deal with rape, etc) are framed in terms of "after the revolution."

How would you explain a non-revolutionary anarchism to someone who has only considered it in terms of before and after?

(To be clear, I'm not talking about gradual transition, which has its own question already.)

What is Antifa? Same as or different from anarchist?

Sun, 06 Sep 2020 17:17:20 +0000

There's been a lot of talk of "Antifa" in the news, often seemingly interchangeably with "anarchist". What is antifa? Is it a group, an organization? Doesn't it just mean "anti-fascist"? How is it the same as, or different from, anarchist?

Edit: bonus points for some idea of how or why there's so much confusion about this.

(This question is courtesy of my sister.)

how does "tradition" fit into your anarchist perspective?

Sun, 30 Aug 2020 18:53:43 +0000

for some, bloc-ing up and causing havoc in the streets is a tradition. for some, feeling and acting superior to some "other" is a tradition. for some, growing their own food is a tradition. for some, voting every 4 years is a tradition.

cultural traditions seem to be a big deal for those that are wedded to culture as a concept. also, how does tradition relate to "ritual"? or, reaching a bit further, how does "habit" relate?

i don't think i've asked this as clearly as i can, lacking sleep at the moment. i may clarify at another time, meanwhile, i am interested in folks' thoughts about tradition and its role in anarchic perspectives and relations.

how do you think things will play out from the nightmare that is 2020 in the u.s.?

Tue, 28 Jul 2020 23:13:39 +0000

and how would you LIKE things to play out?

the covid-19 pandemic. major social unrest due (initially) to systemic racism in law enforcement. a president (and cohorts) that seems intent on establishing an authoritarian dictatorship of some sort, while setting the stage to contest - or possibly prevent - the upcoming presidential election that he seems likely to lose.

shit seems ripe for something dramatic. what are your thoughts and desires about how this shit might play out? what will things look like in february 2021? what would you realistically want them to look like?

just looking for some discussion, really.

What to expect from riots

Mon, 08 Jun 2020 12:38:14 +0000

Hi all,

While watching a commentary on current riots in the US, there was a remark that I see all the time, which says that such riots are too disorganized, lack political formulations and "ideology", passive and lacks constitutive aspects - "do not shoot us" hardly points towards a new way of living but instead just a reaction to the current state of things - so in the end they just die off without any considerable impact to the established order and political power usually manages to bring it to its advantage, by consolidating its own popular support for example. Such criticism can be heard in many, many riots and protests that have happened in last decade, perhaps because they share similar characteristics.

So my question is, what do you expect from riots? I personally think that greatest benefit of such riots are a break in the normal and consequent transformations they lead in the individual. But apart from that, i think instead of riots, build-up in "normal" times are much more important for pushing towards social change. Riots are just tactical showdowns to see how successful protestors can be against the police and keep the initiative.

what is anarchism

Fri, 29 May 2020 21:23:27 +0000

I'm new and don't know much about it. just please explain it. i like what i have seen. :)

What does capitalism rely on?

Thu, 28 May 2020 15:54:51 +0000

i recently noted that capitalism relies on ("runs on") convenience. Funky@ added "work ethic." years ago Bornagain@ noted the foundational character of how the english language uses the verb "to be" as problematic.

more as a game than anything else, what are the things that you see as foundational to the-badness-around-us (i guess emphasizing capitalism, though someone was arguing to me that capitalism and christianity are too linked to effectively parse separately, but maybe that's a point for another time) and how do you figure? (and if you want, how do you reject it/them in your daily life?)

here's the link, though it doesn't add much... https://anarchy101.org/22243/does-current-crisis-inspire-make-radical-changes-your-life

edit: oh, i guess i should say that i don't think i agree that capitalism rests on the work ethic, since the work ethic can work against it as much as for it. i might put in the place of that something like... addiction? an unthinking need for something that fills one gap while draining everything else in our lives... can be closely related to the work ethic, obviously.

here are some older questions that are along similar lines: https://anarchy101.org/12600/is-the-state-necessary-for-modern-capitalism?show=12600#q12600

https://anarchy101.org/7916/what-is-capitalism?show=7916#q7916

What contradictions are people seeing in their friends and others during this time-of-breakage?

Wed, 29 Apr 2020 15:01:42 +0000

I was having a conversation yesterday with a friend who lives with a lot of people he's known for years, and he was remarking that part of what's hard is the smack in the face about how far they've actually drifted apart. He was (with reservations) appreciating the way that the system is failing, and his housemates (many of them parents) were concerned that things weren't (and might not) get back to normal.

Other anarchists are believing the state lines fully and insisting that all the rules given are the ones we should follow. Yet others are not apparently taking the opportunity to fuck shit up at a time when that would be easier than other times.

How have people surprised you during this time? Good surprises would be nice to hear about too! (lol)

does the current "crisis" inspire you to make any radical changes in your life?

Wed, 25 Mar 2020 14:06:21 +0000

while i am curious in general, i am particularly interested in how city folk see this.

as a former city-dweller (for 40 years, up until 20 years ago), i know how dependent on the state and large-scale economy cities generally are. waste management alone is a massive nightmare, let alone access to decent water and food.

so i wonder if, and how, urban @s are thinking more towards self-sufficiency in these times. clearly many (most?) city folk are not inclined to bail and head for the hills.

it ain't like country folk are all self-sufficient and free of the state and shit, but in my experience (aside from the rich fucks) there tends to be more of a mindset of taking care of your own needs, and understanding what is necessary to do so.

just thinking out loud here...

what, if anything has changed on this site?

Sun, 22 Mar 2020 01:22:14 +0000

glad to see the site up and running again....i've missed it!

What do anarchists think about the swiss banking system?

Mon, 21 Jan 2019 17:41:55 +0000

I guess I'm pretty new to anarchism and I thought "Why not just ask some people who actually can call themselves anarchist"

Now, I'm sorry if this question is dumb, but I'm a slow learner and don't really understand anything by just reading, without any examples of how to deal with it in praxis. So, what do 'anarchists' think of the swiss banking system, or switzerland, its politics etc. in general?

Are all cops really bastards?

Fri, 18 Jan 2019 17:55:50 +0000

Does being a cop make someone a bad person? Obviously a lot of police do terrible things with their authority, but aren't there many other cops that actually help their communities by catching violent people (murderers, rapists, hard drug dealers, etc), deterring violent crime when they are physically present, and showing leniency towards otherwise nice people for minor infractions?

How to fight for anarchy (peacefully)

Tue, 08 Jan 2019 20:43:59 +0000

I'm new to this concept of anarchy, but this is very appealing so far.

However it would be difficult to go against the system: I have to pay my bills for example.

I guess the best strategy for now is just to debunk myths about anarchy and explain it to people?

How will abolishing the FDA and other non-violent branches of government result in a more peaceful world?

Tue, 11 Dec 2018 20:59:32 +0000

What do you think about fear?

Tue, 04 Dec 2018 20:47:46 +0000

Hi, nowadays i think about fear and its relevance to action. Fear is usually considered as something to be negated, authorities use fear to paralyze people, we do not resist because we fear etc. While rightness of this line of thinking seems to be obvious, i started to approach to the question of fear differently: we do not fear enough. Or we do not fear in a correct way. Because considering the ecological crisis, possible economic crisises, most people around me do not do anything about these problems. What i mean by "do" is not like hardcore revolutionary action, for instance i started to learn self-defence because, well, you never know. But having the (false) belief that future is gonna be same as today, relieve people from doing anything or preparing themselves, or canalize their efforts to feel-good actions. I fear that terrible things can happen to me and to my loved ones so i want to be prepared. Of course political action can also cause harsh consequences, but fear of these consequences can also lead to tactical and strategical awareness.

In short i started to think that instead of getting rid of the fear, i try to canalize it to increase my potential while avoiding its paranoid side. Any thoughts on the things i said so far?

Oh and let us not forget that according to Hobbes fear is what led people to action and make the social contract to raise the leviathan, maybe it is the fear of its consequences that can also motivate people to undo it x)

Do Oppression and Exploitation Require the Consent of the Victim?

Mon, 19 Nov 2018 14:47:51 +0000

"It should be noted, from the jump, that there can be no really pervasive system of oppression, such as that in the United States, without the consent of the oppressed." Florynce Kennedy (1970)

do inside info and need-to-know practices have value to anarchists? do these methods work?

Sat, 17 Nov 2018 17:01:02 +0000

Anarchist conceptions of love?

Tue, 13 Nov 2018 15:43:16 +0000

Having grown up in a Christian family, I was inculcated with certain beliefs about what love is, the nature of love. I was taught that there were three kinds of love - Philos (‘brotherly love’, ie non-erotic love), Eros (erotic or romantic love) and Agape (Godly love). In the Christian conception of love I was taught, love is expressed through self-sacrifice and altruism. Love was beautiful and morally good because it involved self-renunciation - you give up your desires for the sake of others. These notions persisted with me even after I became an anarchist, and it wasn’t until I encountered Stirner that I began to seriously question them. I’ve had to work on redefining what all kinds of love mean to me, what I want them to look like when I express or experience them, and I’d like to hear what y’all think.

As an anarchist, how do you think about and practise love, in all it’s forms? Do you divide it up and categorise it? Is love altruistic? Is it transactional? Is it transcendental? Is it egoistic? Can love be unconditional? Can it be emancipatory or liberating?

I want to hear your experiences and your pontifications!

How do you read?

Sun, 11 Nov 2018 20:07:06 +0000

Lately I've been re-thinking the way I read. I've seen in myself and others the tendency of really "liking" pieces, but when pressed as to why it often is because it reinforces something they already believe. I'm wondering if people have run into something in the recent past that really brought them a new idea of, or perhaps changed their thinking in a fundamental, if even in a very small, way. How did it do this? I'm not sure that I've really had an "a-ha!" moment, or if I have made it into that after the fact.

How do @s reconcile using amenities/resources provided by capitalist industries while opposing said industries?

Wed, 17 Oct 2018 17:35:31 +0000

For example "Oh you don't like the oil/gas industry? You drive a car don't you?"

What is the anarchist response to "equality of what"?

Sat, 01 Sep 2018 19:26:21 +0000

Amartya Sen's famous essay "Equality of what?" and subsequent development of "capability approach" to justice seems to adapt well with anarchist ideals of a society with equal access to means for fulfillment of needs. But, Sen's theory is clearly a liberal welfarist approach to the quesrioq of justice. Does anarchist theory offer any critique of Sen's theory? Even broad outline will be much appreciated.

Why can't we abolish corporations and the military without abolishing all government?

Wed, 22 Aug 2018 10:28:28 +0000

implications of disrupting gatherings/preventing people from speaking?

Mon, 20 Aug 2018 03:41:14 +0000

some would say "freedom of speech" is irrelevant because counter protests and disruptions are not the same thing as government censorship and repression

some would say its a slippery slope

some would say its self defense in response to people who are using that speech as a tool to enact an authoritarian nightmare and put people (maybe you or me?) in camps

some would say the constitution only protects speech from the government not to promote a legal view of things but to point out that "freedom of speech" is a right handed down by authorities and similar observations

what do you say?

so essentially, is there a difference between gov censorship and popular censorship? where do you draw the line between dangerous aggression and "just sharing their views", when words and ideas can become physically dangerous so quickly (aren't words actions)? why is it okay to stop someone from acting in a way that is harmful towards you but not speaking is there a difference?

historical events (that ended) like the charlottesville unite the right event?

Mon, 20 Aug 2018 03:27:15 +0000

other than the haymarket affair

Linguistic Anarchy?

Tue, 14 Aug 2018 14:32:54 +0000

For ten years I routinely surveyed people online and discovered that not a single person knew the dictionary was as common as dirt and only contained popular definitions, listed according to how commonly they are used. What's worse, over half of them confided they enjoyed making up their own definitions and debating them with others. Similarly, the famous New Atheist and expert in Darwinism and survival of the fittest, Richard Dawkins, invented his own nonsense word "meme" encouraging billions of people to babble nonsensically, in the name of reason, science, and the future of humanity.

My question is, "How can anarchists possibly hope to promote anarchy when one in five Americans insists the sun revolves around the earth and their teachers are so clueless they are puzzled as to why none of their students believe in Darwinism? Without clarity, anarchism is nothing more than chaos.

what is the anarchist response to "cultural alienation"?

Mon, 13 Aug 2018 18:01:46 +0000

the term is one that i made up, because no other term that i know of seems to signify the concept. cultural alienation is the process of capitalism stripping a people of it's culture or the experience of not having a culture. e.g. having your community and natural habitat razed to make way for a shopping mall.

this is something that fascists often focus on as well, but their response is to rally around an amorphous white identity. i ask this question mainly to be better able to counter fascist propaganda.

Anarcho-Autism?

Sun, 12 Aug 2018 00:33:41 +0000

Has anyone heard of this before? If not, what do you think of it? Here's a pdf explaining it (it's 120 pages, but you can skip a lot of it if try to read it). I've been diagnosed with the autisms when I was younger and I find it bizarre by trying to turn autism into some sort of ideology and political identity to strive for. Apparently, the person that wrote it is self-diagnosed and that kinda explain things to me a bit.

How do you peoples define ideology

Mon, 06 Aug 2018 03:52:44 +0000

How do you peoples define ideology, ideologue, ideological thinking... They're used on here often but, I don't think i've seen it specifically defined.

Can/Do anarchists have friends or acquaintances who are police/correctional officers/military?

Thu, 02 Aug 2018 19:42:57 +0000

Can anarchists use force or coercion against authoritarians?

Mon, 30 Jul 2018 16:12:08 +0000