Anarchism is political philosophy where society has no government, laws, or other authority. In anarchism there is a 'free association' of all its members. Anarchism considers government and hierarchical forms of social organization to be unnecessary and undesirable. Libertarianism was often used as a synonym for anarchism. A standard objection is that, since so much of modern life seems to require a state, libertarianism’s anarchist stance is problematic. Anarchism rejects hierarchies deemed unjust and advocates their replacement with self-governed societies based on cooperative institutions. Anarchism holds the state to be harmful.
Anarchism is placed on the far-left of the political spectrum, and its economics and legal philosophy reflect anti-authoritarian interpretations of communism, collectivism, and syndicalism. The anarchist movement flourished in most parts of the world and had a significant role in worker's struggles for emancipation. Forms of anarchism espoused at times were revolutionary. Anarchists took part in several revolutions, most notably in the Spanish Civil War, where they were crushed by the fascist forces in 1939, marking the end of the classical era of anarchism. In the 21st century, the anarchist movement seems to be resurgent once more.
Major elements of the definition of
anarchism include the following:
The will for a non-coercive society.
The rejection of the state apparatus.
The belief that human nature progresses toward a
non-coercive society.
Pursuit of the ideal of anarchy.
Various factions within the French Revolution labelled their opponents as anarchists, although few such accused shared many views with later anarchists. Many revolutionaries of the 19th century such as William Godwin (1756–1836) and Wilhelm Weitling (1808–1871) would contribute to the anarchist doctrines of the next generation, but they did not use anarchist or anarchism in describing themselves or their beliefs. - Joll 1964, pp. 27–37.
Anarchism is therefore considered to be a radical left-wing ideology. Anarchism derives from the Greek anarchos, meaning "without rulers", from the prefix an-, "without"+ archê, "sovereignty or magistracy". Leonard Read rejected the concepts of "left" and "right" libertarianism, calling them "authoritarianism."
Libertarian socialism is often used as a synonym for non-individualist anarchism or socialist anarchism, to dilineate it from individualist libertarianism. The turning point towards anarchism was the French Revolution in which the anti-state and federalist sentiments began to take a form. People who do not use "libertarianism" as a synonym for anarchism but use it to refer to individualistic free-market philosophy only, refer to free-market anarchism as libertarian anarchism.
Anarchism employ various tactics in order to meet their ideal ends; these can be broadly separated in revolutionary and evolutionary tactics. Revolutionary tactics aim to bring down authority and state, and have taken a violent turn in the past. Evolutionary tactics aim to prefigure what an anarchist society would be like. Anarchism's thought, criticism and praxis has played a part in diverse fields of human society.
Collectivist anarchism, also known as anarchist collectivism or anarcho-collectivism, is a revolutionary socialist form of anarchism commonly associated with Mikhail Bakunin. Collectivist anarchists advocate collective ownership of the means of production, theorised to be achieved through violent revolution, and that workers be paid according to time worked, rather than goods being distributed according to need as in communism.