Anarchism

Anarchism is a socio-political model that is based on the non-existence of an imposed form of state or government. Thus, the role of the individual in the organization of a particular territory and their ability to associate are prioritized.

The postulates of anarchism establish that the systems governed by a government are at the same time impositions. Consequently, the strength of an elite or minority would prevail over the rest of the population.

For this reason, the anarchist tries to get rid of this oppression, betting on a type of “non-state” state. Under this scheme, coexistence and collaboration among citizens should be enough tools to achieve social peace.

This arises from the anarchist premise that the natural order supposes the impossibility of one man being able to dominate another. Therefore, the logical tendency for humans would be to coexist in societies without control factors. That is, there should not be a stratum of the population (political class) with more power.

Historically we can say that anarchism is a sociopolitical movement of the late nineteenth century. Thus, it emerged under the wings of other movements such as socialism, Marxism or communism. However, anarchism differs in many respects from these currents and follows its own ideological path.

Main characteristics of anarchism

The anarchist current has a series of characteristics that define and distinguish it from other types of existing socio-political systems:

• It has a wide number of interpretations and applications, both in the academic field and in social movements.
• All his tendencies are especially based on collective individualism. That is, it assumes that human beings have the ability to fend for themselves and to function in a collective environment of society. This, thanks to free association.
• He advocates the extinction of any hierarchical system, understanding that each individual is equal in rights and that a horizontal society without ranks must be structured.
• The path to achieving anarchy must be made through disobedience to laws and institutions. Then, there will come a point where the State cannot apply its elements of force and control.
• Any reform must be done through elements outside the State. For that reason, it is not usual to see anarchist political parties in elections or voting. Instead, they are often identified with anti-establishment forces.

Criticism of anarchism

Anarchism takes different variants ranging from anarcho-capitalism (with a free market) to anarcommunism (with a planned economy). But the fundamental idea is the absence of control. Keeping that as a base, it is combined with other political currents.

However, that lack of control that we mentioned in the previous paragraph often generates fear. For this reason, one of the main criticisms of anarchism is that society cannot develop adequately without a supervisory body.

Likewise, other criticisms of anarchism arise from the opposite conception: the natural is not necessarily the best. Anarchism, among other things, is governed by the argument that we should not intervene in the natural course and order of life.