Summary |
Anarchist philosophy
represents a diverse set of viewpoints that are sceptical of political authority
and power. Anarchism can be framed as purely
negative theoretical idea, i.e. a rejection of the legitimacy of political authority.
Adherents of this view, sometimes called ‘philosophical anarchism’, seek to
show that arguments for the legitimacy of political authority are unsuccessful. This philosophical anarchism is nevertheless compatible, some suggest, with still maintaining that we are sometimes
or indeed often morally justified in conforming with or upholding various state
activities, e.g. following the criminal law or agreeing to redistributive taxation. Anarchism can also refer to
various political positions that offer a positive vision of how humans should structure
their interactions and the ideals to which we should aspire when we associate
with our fellows. A broad distinction can be
drawn between left-anarchism and anarcho-capitalism. Left-anarchism refers to a
diverse family of views, many of which were historically influential as an
ideological competitor to state-centric socialism and communism, that espouse distributive
equality, common ownership of resources, and/or duties of reciprocity. A guiding
preoccupation within left-anarchism explores how to secure social cooperation without
leading to the type of domination that they claim is found under statist
systems. Thus, left-anarchists broadly reject hierarchical relationships and emphasise
relating to one another as free and equal individuals (a notion that has recently
been revived in mainstream political philosophy under the guise of social or
relational egalitarianism). Anarcho-capitalists, by
contrast, place greater emphasis on the individual and negative liberty, focusing
on how we can structure cooperation primarily through the mechanism of free market
exchange. This emphasis distinguishes the anarcho-capitalist from the
left-anarchist, as such negative freedom can be inimical to the collectivist ideals
of left-anarchism. For example, anarcho-capitalists uphold the right of
individuals to harness their natural talents and strike bargains in such a way
as might eventually lead to considerable distributive inequality or the creation
of various types of hierarchy. Theorists within this tradition are, among other
things, concerned with arguing that market-based systems can efficiently solve
classic problems traditionally addressed by the state, such as providing security,
creating mutually desirable infrastructures, and solving various types of collective
action problem.
Beyond these views, a diverse collection of thinkers develop anarchism in other directions, with varying degrees of compatibility with the positions outlined above. For example, some develop an egoistic version of anarchism as means of pursuing individual perfection, some view anarchism as a method
for living in ecological harmony, and others, especially following the Tolstoyan tradition, see anarchism as the natural extension of their religious views. |