Anti-authoritarianism
Anarchism as a doctrine originally stemmed from an aversion to authority. It expressed the human desire to be free and unconstrained by the arbitrary will of some external agent.
While it is hard to deny that this is among the most natural and universal features of human nature, history has shown that when humans are left completely free, it is not long before violence ensues. Consequently, anarchism as a doctrine as well as the word itself has acquired a bad name and has become associated with chaos and destruction. It is for this reason as well as to clear up any ambiguity related to the many different existing versions of anarchism that I would prefer using the term anti-authoritarianism, or AA for short.
The first self-proclaimed anarchist was Pierre-Joseph Proudhon. He defined anarchy as “the absence of a master, of a sovereign,” and urged a “Society without authority.” He influenced Mikhail Bakunin, who eventually became Karl Marx’s main rival in the Socialist International. Marx’s partisans finally prevailed over Bakunin’s and the latter was excluded by vote at the congress of 1872.
Historically, therefore, anarchism has socialist roots. What today is commonly known as socialism is only the etatist version of what was known as socialism during the agitated years of the mid 19th century. The other, competing version, was the anarchist socialism. This branch later evolved into anarcho-syndicalism in France and had a golden age in Spain, ending with the Civil War in 1939. The powerful Unions that are so active today in France (e.g. la CGT) are direct descendants of the anarcho-syndicalist movements of the late 19th and early 20th century.
The keyword of any anarchist doctrine is freedom. However, the emphasis may vary, giving rise to a diverse field of anarchist doctrines. It is not my goal to provide a comprehensive overview here, but I will confine myself to mention the distinction between socialist and capitalist brands of anarchism. Perhaps the most prominent members of each are anarcho-syndicalism and anarcho-capitalism respectively. While the former emphasizes cooperation (between workers to defend their interests) the latter emphasizes competition (allowing a totally deregulated free market to achieve true efficiency without the need for a State). There is considerable rivalry between the two currents, as can be seen on the Anarchist FAQ (see also here). Some adepts of the socialist tradition deny that anarcho-capitalists are anarchists at all, because opposition to strong government is necessary but not sufficient to call oneself anarchist. In particular, being in support of capitalism is inconsistent with the historical evolution of anarchist political theory, which is solidly socialist.
I have no wish to get involved in this argument, and will focus on the notions which interest me, namely freedom, cooperation and competition, and leave any adjacent terminology debates to the more historically inclined. Henceforth I will use the term anti-authoritarianism, or AA, for short, to refer to any movement or doctrine which is averse to authority, hierarchy or external control.
