Iain McKay - Anarchist FAQ

4180 Pages·2011·44.38 MB·English

Contents
An Anarchist FAQ (01/17) 26
Introduction .............................................. 27
Welcome to our FAQ on anarchism ............................ 27
An Anarchist FAQ (02/17) 32
Section A: What is Anarchism? 33
A.1 What is anarchism? ................................... 37
A.1.1 What does “anarchy” mean? ............................ 38
A.1.2 What does “anarchism” mean? .......................... 41
A.1.3 Why is anarchism also called libertarian socialism? ....... 45
A.1.4 Are anarchists socialists? ............................... 47
A.1.5 Where does anarchism come from? ...................... 52
A.2 What does anarchism stand for? ...................... 56
A.2.1 What is the essence of anarchism? ...................... 58
A.2.2 Why do anarchists emphasise liberty? ................... 60
A.2.3 Are anarchists in favour of organisation? ................ 64
A.2.4 Are anarchists in favour of “absolute” liberty? ............ 68
A.2.5 Why are anarchists in favour of equality? ................ 68
A.2.6 Why is solidarity important to anarchists? ............... 73
A.2.7 Why do anarchists argue for self-liberation? .............. 76
A.2.8Isitpossibletobeananarchistwithoutopposinghierarchy? 80
A.2.9 What sort of society do anarchists want? ................. 84
A.2.10 What will abolishing hierarchy mean and achieve? ....... 89
A.2.11 Why are most anarchists in favour of direct democracy? .. 91
A.2.12 Is consensus an alternative to direct democracy? ........ 96
A.2.13 Are anarchists individualists or collectivists? ............ 98
A.2.14 Why is voluntarism not enough? ...................... 102
A.2.15 What about “human nature”? ......................... 105
A.2.16 Does anarchism require “perfect” people to work? ....... 111
A.2.17 Aren’t most people too stupid for a free society to work? . 116
A.2.18 Do anarchists support terrorism? ..................... 119
A.2.19 What ethical views do anarchists hold? ................ 126
A.2.20 Why are most anarchists atheists? .................... 132
A.3 What types of anarchism are there? .................. 138
A.3.1 What are the differences between individualist and
social anarchists? .......................................... 141
A.3.2 Are there different types of social anarchism? ........... 149
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A.3.3 What kinds of green anarchism are there? .............. 155
A.3.4 Is anarchism pacifistic? ............................... 160
A.3.5 What is Anarcha-Feminism? ........................... 165
A.3.6 What is Cultural Anarchism? .......................... 174
A.3.7 Are there religious anarchists? ......................... 176
A.3.8 What is “anarchism without adjectives”? ................ 183
A.3.9 What is anarcho-primitivism? ......................... 186
A.4 Who are the major anarchist thinkers? ............... 199
A.4.1 Are there any thinkers close to anarchism? .............. 209
A.4.2 Are there any liberal thinkers close to anarchism? ....... 213
A.4.3 Are there any socialist thinkers close to anarchism? ..... 219
A.4.4 Are there any Marxist thinkers close to anarchism? ...... 222
A.5 What are some examples of “Anarchy in Action”? .... 229
A.5.1 The Paris Commune .................................. 232
A.5.2 The Haymarket Martyrs .............................. 237
A.5.3 Building the Syndicalist Unions ........................ 243
A.5.4 Anarchists in the Russian Revolution ................... 248
A.5.5 Anarchists in the Italian Factory Occupations ........... 263
A.5.6 Anarchism and the Spanish Revolution ................. 276
A.5.7 The May-June Revolt in France, 1968 .................. 281
An Anarchist FAQ (03/17) 287
Section B: Why do anarchists oppose the
current system? 288
B.1 Why are anarchists against authority and hierarchy? 294
B.1.1 What are the effects of authoritarian social relationships? 299
B.1.2 Is capitalism hierarchical? ............................. 308
B.1.3 What kind of hierarchy of values does capitalism create? . 313
B.1.4 Why do racism, sexism and homophobia exist? ........... 316
B.1.5 How is the mass-psychological basis for authoritarian
civilisation created? ........................................ 324
B.1.6 Can hierarchy be ended? .............................. 331
B.2 Why are anarchists against the state? ................ 339
B.2.1 What is main function of the state? ..................... 347
B.2.2 Does the state have subsidiary functions? ............... 352
B.2.3 How does the ruling class maintain control of the state? .. 359
B.2.4 How does state centralisation affect freedom? ........... 367
B.2.5 Who benefits from centralisation? ...................... 373
B.2.6 Can the state be an independent power within society? ... 380
B.3 Why are anarchists against private property? ........ 385
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B.3.1 What is the difference between private property and
possession? ................................................ 389
B.3.2 What kinds of property does the state protect? .......... 393
B.3.3 Why is property exploitative? .......................... 405
B.3.4 Can private property be justified? ...................... 408
B.3.5 Is state owned property different from private property? . 414
B.4 How does capitalism affect liberty? .................. 417
B.4.1 Is capitalism based on freedom? ........................ 421
B.4.2 Is capitalism based on self-ownership? .................. 426
B.4.3 But no one forces you to work for them! ................. 434
B.4.4 But what about periods of high demand for labour? ...... 441
B.4.5 But I want to be “left alone”! ........................... 444
B.5 Is capitalism empowering and based on human
action? ................................................... 449
B.6 But won’t decisions made by individuals with
their own money be the best? ............................ 454
B.7 What classes exist within modern society? ........... 457
B.7.1 But do classes actually exist? .......................... 459
B.7.2 Does social mobility make up for class inequality? ....... 466
B.7.3 Why is the existence of classes denied? .................. 471
B.7.4 What do anarchists mean by “class consciousness”? ...... 473
An Anarchist FAQ (04/17) 478
Section C: What are the myths of capitalist
economics? 479
C.1 What is wrong with economics? ...................... 489
C.1.1 Is economics really value free? ......................... 502
C.1.2 Is economics a science? ................................ 514
C.1.3 Can you have an economics based on individualism? ..... 521
C.1.4 What is wrong with equilibrium analysis? ............... 528
C.1.5 Does economics really reflect the reality of capitalism? ... 536
C.1.6 Is it possible to a non-equilibrium based capitalist
economics? ................................................ 548
C.2 Why is capitalism exploitative? ...................... 560
C.2.1 What is “surplus value”? ............................... 564
C.2.2 How does exploitation happen? ........................ 571
C.2.3 Is owning capital sufficient reason to justify profits? ..... 577
C.2.4 Is profit the reward for the productivity of capital? ....... 583
C.2.5 Do profits represent the contribution of capital to
production? ................................................ 591
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C.2.6 Does interest represent the “time value” of money? ...... 599
C.2.7 Are interest and profit not the reward for waiting? ....... 609
C.2.8 Are profits the result of entrepreneurial activity and
innovation? ................................................ 621
C.2.9 Do profits reflect a reward for risk? ..................... 633
C.3 What determines the distribution between
labour and capital? ...................................... 642
C.4 Why does the market become dominated by Big
Business? ................................................ 650
C.4.1 How extensive is Big Business? ........................ 654
C.4.2 What are the effects of Big Business on society? ......... 658
C.4.3 What does the existence of Big Business mean for
economic theory and wage labour? ........................... 662
C.5 Why does Big Business get a bigger slice of profits? .. 669
C.5.1 Aren’t the super-profits of Big Business due to its
higher efficiency? .......................................... 674
C.6 Can market dominance by Big Business change? ..... 680
C.7 What causes the capitalist business cycle? ........... 684
C.7.1 What role does class struggle play in the business cycle? . 688
C.7.2 What role does the market play in the business cycle? .... 696
C.7.3 What role does investment play in the business cycle? .... 702
C.8 Is state control of money the cause of the
business cycle? ........................................... 711
C.8.1 Does this mean that Keynesianism works? .............. 727
C.8.2 What happened to Keynesianism in the 1970s? .......... 732
C.8.3 How did capitalism adjust to the crisis in Keynesianism? . 739
C.9Wouldlaissez-fairecapitalismreduceunemployment? 751
C.9.1 Would cutting wages reduce unemployment? ............ 764
C.9.2 Is unemployment caused by wages being too high? ....... 779
C.9.3 Are “flexible” labour markets the answer to
unemployment? ............................................ 788
C.9.4 Is unemployment voluntary? ........................... 803
C.10 Is “free market” capitalism the best way to
reduce poverty? .......................................... 809
C.10.1 Hasn’t neo-liberalism benefited the world’s poor? ....... 818
C.10.2 Does “free trade” benefit everyone? .................... 827
C.10.3 Does “free market” capitalism benefit everyone,
especially working class people? ............................. 836
C.10.4 Does growth automatically mean people are better off? .. 843
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C.11 Doesn’t neo-liberalism in Chile prove that the
free market benefits everyone? .......................... 855
C.11.1 Who benefited from Chile’s “economic miracle”? ........ 864
C.11.2 What about Chile’s economic growth and low inflation? . 870
C.11.3 Did neo-liberal Chile confirm capitalist economics? ..... 873
C.12 Doesn’t Hong Kong show the potentials of “free
market” capitalism? ...................................... 882
An Anarchist FAQ (05/17) 893
Section D: How do statism and capitalism
affect society? 894
D.1 Why does state intervention occur? .................. 898
D.1.1 Does state intervention cause the problems to begin with? 906
D.1.2 Is state intervention the result of democracy? ........... 910
D.1.3 Is state intervention socialistic? ........................ 918
D.1.4 Is laissez-faire capitalism actually without state
intervention? .............................................. 923
D.1.5 Do anarchists support state intervention? ............... 926
D.2 What influence does wealth have over politics? ...... 935
D.2.1 Is capital flight really that powerful? ................... 938
D.2.2 How extensive is business propaganda? ................. 942
D.3 How does wealth influence the mass media? ......... 947
D.3.1 How does the structure of the media affect its content? ... 950
D.3.2 What is the effect of advertising on the mass media? ..... 952
D.3.3 Why do the media rely on government and business
“experts” for information? ................................... 953
D.3.4 How is “flak” used as a means of disciplining the media? . 955
D.3.5 Why is “anticommunism” used as control mechanism? ... 957
D.3.6 Isn’t the “propaganda model” a conspiracy theory? ....... 959
D.3.7 Isn’t the model contradicted by the media reporting
government and business failures? .......................... 960
D.4 What is the relationship between capitalism and
the ecological crisis? ..................................... 963
D.5 What causes imperialism? ........................... 967
D.5.1 How has imperialism changed over time? ............... 976
D.5.2 Is imperialism just a product of private capitalism? ...... 986
D.5.3 Does globalisation mean the end of imperialism? ........ 992
D.5.4 What is the relationship between imperialism and
the social classes within capitalism? ........................ 1000
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D.6 Are anarchists against Nationalism? ................ 1006
D.7 Are anarchists opposed to National Liberation
struggles? ............................................... 1012
D.8 What causes militarism and what are its effects? ... 1020
D.9 Why does political power become concentrated
under capitalism? ....................................... 1027
D.9.1 What is the relationship between wealth polarisation
and authoritarian government? ............................ 1035
D.9.2 Why is government surveillance of citizens on the
increase? ................................................. 1038
D.9.3 What causes justifications for racism to appear? ........ 1043
D.10 How does capitalism affect technology? ............ 1048
D.11 Can politics and economics be separated from
each other? ............................................. 1061
D.11.1 What does Chile tell us about the right and its
vision of liberty? .......................................... 1065
D.11.2 But surely Chile proves that “economic freedom”
creates political freedom? .................................. 1069
An Anarchist FAQ (06/17) 1077
Section E: What do anarchists think causes
ecological problems? 1078
E.1Whataretherootcausesofourecologicalproblems? 1086
E.1.1 Is industry the cause of environmental problems? ....... 1093
E.1.2 What is the difference between environmentalism
and ecology? .............................................. 1096
E.2 What do eco-anarchists propose instead of
capitalism? .............................................. 1101
E.3 Can private property rights protect the
environment? ........................................... 1112
E.3.1 Will privatising nature save it? ....................... 1120
E.3.2 How does economic power contribute to the ecological
crisis? .................................................... 1129
E.3.3 Can capitalism’s focus on short-term profitability
deal with the ecological crisis? ............................. 1141
E.4 Can laissez-faire capitalism protect the
environment? ........................................... 1146
E.4.1 Will laissez-faire capitalism actually end pollution? ..... 1152
E.4.2 Can wilderness survive under laissez-faire capitalism? .. 1157
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E.5 Can ethical consumerism stop the ecological crisis? 1167
E.6 What is the population myth? ....................... 1176
An Anarchist FAQ (07/17) 1187
Section F: Is “anarcho”-capitalism a type
of anarchism? 1188
F.1 Are “anarcho”-capitalists really anarchists? ......... 1197
F.2 What do “anarcho”-capitalists mean by freedom? ... 1211
F.2.1 How does private property affect freedom? ............. 1217
F.2.2 Do “libertarian”-capitalists support slavery? ............ 1221
F.3 Why do anarcho”-capitalists place little or no
value on equality? ...................................... 1230
F.3.1 Why is this disregard for equality important? ........... 1239
F.3.2 Can there be harmony of interests in an unequal society? 1244
F.4 What is the right-“libertarian” position on
private property? ....................................... 1255
F.4.1 What is wrong with a “homesteading” theory of property? 1262
F.5 Will privatising “the commons” increase liberty? .... 1267
F.6 Is “anarcho”-capitalism against the state? ........... 1273
F.6.1 What’s wrong with this “free market” justice? ........... 1275
F.6.2 What are the social consequences of such a system? ..... 1281
F.6.3 But surely market forces will stop abuses by the rich? ... 1284
F.6.4 Why are these “defence associations” states? ............ 1292
F.7 How does the history of “anarcho”-capitalism
show that it is not anarchist? ........................... 1296
F.7.1 Are competing governments anarchism? ................ 1299
F.7.2 Is government compatible with anarchism? ............. 1305
F.7.3 Can there be a “right-wing” anarchism? ................ 1313
F.8 What role did the state take in the creation of
capitalism? .............................................. 1318
F.8.1 What social forces lay behind the rise of capitalism? ..... 1329
F.8.2 What was the social context of the statement “laissez-
faire?” ................................................... 1333
F.8.3 What other forms did state intervention in creating
capitalism take? .......................................... 1338
F.8.4 Aren’t the enclosures a socialist myth? ................. 1346
F.8.5 What about the lack of enclosures in the Americas? ..... 1350
F.8.6 How did working people view the rise of capitalism? ..... 1359
An Anarchist FAQ (08/17) 1367
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Section G: Is individualist anarchism
capitalistic? 1368
G.1 Are individualist anarchists anti-capitalist? ........ 1377
G.1.1 What about their support of the free market? ........... 1388
G.1.2 What about their support of “private property”? ........ 1399
G.1.3 What about their support for wage labour? ............. 1406
G.1.4 Why is the social context important in evaluating
Individualist Anarchism? .................................. 1420
G.2 Why do individualist anarchists reject social
anarchism? ............................................. 1428
G.2.1 Is communist-anarchism compulsory? ................. 1430
G.2.2 Is communist-anarchism violent? ..................... 1437
G.2.3 Does communist-anarchism aim to destroy individuality? 1442
G.2.4 What other reasons do individualists give for
rejecting communist-anarchism? ........................... 1447
G.2.5 Do most anarchists agree with the individualists on
communist-anarchism? .................................... 1452
G.3 Is “anarcho”-capitalism a new form of
individualist anarchism? ................................ 1455
G.3.1 Is “anarcho”-capitalism American anarchism? .......... 1462
G.3.2 What are the differences between “anarcho”-
capitalism and individualist anarchism? .................... 1470
G.3.3 What about “anarcho”-capitalists’ support of “defence
associations”? ............................................. 1479
G.3.4 Why is individualist anarchist support for equality
important? ............................................... 1487
G.3.5 Would individualist anarchists have accepted
“Austrian” economics? ..................................... 1490
G.3.6 Would mutual banking simply cause inflation? ......... 1495
G.4 Why do social anarchists reject individualist
anarchism? ............................................. 1505
G.4.1 Is wage labour consistent with anarchist principles? .... 1527
G.4.2 Why do social anarchists think individualism is
inconsistent anarchism? ................................... 1538
G.5 Benjamin Tucker: Capitalist or Anarchist? ......... 1549
G.6 What are the ideas of Max Stirner? ................. 1561
G.7 Lysander Spooner: right-“libertarian” or
libertarian socialist? .................................... 1574
An Anarchist FAQ (09/17) 1589
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Section H: Why do anarchists oppose state
socialism? 1590
H.1 Have anarchists always opposed state socialism? ... 1599
H.1.1 What was Bakunin’s critique of Marxism? ............. 1605
H.1.2 What are the key differences between Anarchists and
Marxists? ................................................ 1622
H.1.3 Why do anarchists wish to abolish the state “overnight”? 1631
H.1.4 Do anarchists have “absolutely no idea” of what to
put in place of the state? ................................... 1636
H.1.5 Why do anarchists reject “utilising the present state”? ... 1641
H.1.6 Why do anarchists try to “build the new world in the
shell of the old”? .......................................... 1648
H.1.7 Haven’t you read Lenin’s “State and Revolution”? ....... 1656
H.2WhatpartsofanarchismdoMarxistsparticularly
misrepresent? ........................................... 1668
H.2.1 Do anarchists reject defending a revolution? ........... 1676
H.2.2 Do anarchists reject “class conflict” and “collective
struggle”? ................................................ 1686
H.2.3 Does anarchism yearn “for what has gone before”? ...... 1694
H.2.4 Do anarchists think “the state is the main enemy”? ...... 1702
H.2.5 Do anarchists think “full blown” socialism will be
created overnight? ........................................ 1709
H.2.6 How do Marxists misrepresent Anarchist ideas on
mutual aid? .............................................. 1714
H.2.7 Who do anarchists see as their “agents of social change”? 1719
H.2.8 What is the relationship of anarchism to syndicalism? .. 1728
H.2.9 Do anarchists have “liberal” politics? .................. 1734
H.2.10 Are anarchists against leadership? ................... 1739
H.2.11 Are anarchists “anti-democratic”? .................... 1744
H.2.12 Does anarchism survive only in the absence of a
strong workers’ movement? ................................ 1758
H.2.13 Do anarchists reject “political” struggles and action? .. 1767
H.2.14 Are anarchist organisations “ineffective,” “elitist” or
“downright bizarre”? ...................................... 1770
H.3 What are the myths of state socialism? .............. 1781
H.3.1 Do Anarchists and Marxists want the same thing? ...... 1786
H.3.2 Is Marxism “socialism from below”? ................... 1797
H.3.3 Is Leninism “socialism from below”? ................... 1806
H.3.4 Don’t anarchists just quote Marxists selectively? ....... 1813
H.3.5HasMarxistappropriationofanarchistideaschangedit? 1818
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H.3.6 Is Marxism the only revolutionary politics which
have worked? ............................................. 1828
H.3.7 What is wrong with the Marxist theory of the state? .... 1831
H.3.8 What is wrong with the Leninist theory of the state? ... 1845
H.3.9 Is the state simply an agent of economic power? ........ 1857
H.3.10 Has Marxism always supported the idea of workers’
councils? ................................................. 1872
H.3.11 Does Marxism aim to give power to workers
organisations? ............................................ 1892
H.3.12 Is big business the precondition for socialism? ........ 1900
H.3.13 Why is state socialism just state capitalism? .......... 1912
H.3.14 Don’t Marxists believe in workers’ control? ............ 1924
H.4 Didn’t Engels refute anarchism in “On Authority”? . 1934
H.4.1 Does organisation imply the end of liberty? ............ 1940
H.4.2 Does free love show the weakness of Engels’ argument? . 1943
H.4.3 How do anarchists propose to run a factory? ........... 1945
H.4.4 How does the class struggle refute Engels’ arguments? . 1948
H.4.5 Is the way industry operates “independent of all
social organisation”? ...................................... 1951
H.4.6 Why does Engels’ “On Authority” harm Marxism? ...... 1957
H.4.7 Is revolution “the most authoritarian thing there is”? .... 1959
H.5 What is vanguardism and why do anarchists
reject it? ................................................ 1963
H.5.1 Why are vanguard parties anti-socialist? .............. 1966
H.5.2 Have vanguardist assumptions been validated? ........ 1971
H.5.3 Why does vanguardism imply party power? ............ 1975
H.5.4 Did Lenin abandon vanguardism? .................... 1980
H.5.5 What is “democratic centralism”? ..................... 1988
H.5.6 Why do anarchists oppose “democratic centralism”? ..... 1992
H.5.7 Is the way revolutionaries organise important? ......... 1996
H.5.8 Are vanguard parties effective? ....................... 1998
H.5.9 What are vanguard parties effective at? ............... 2002
H.5.10 Why does “democratic centralism” produce
“bureaucratic centralism”? ................................. 2004
H.5.11 Can you provide an example of the negative nature
of vanguard parties? ...................................... 2009
H.5.12SurelytheRussianRevolutionprovesthatvanguard
parties work? ............................................. 2013
H.6 Why did the Russian Revolution fail? ............... 2028
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