!archy
by Jon on Dec.08, 2006, under Babble, Politics
“My feeling about anarchism is that it is not a movement with an ideology. It is a tendency in the history of human thought & action which seeks to identify coercive, authoritarian, & hierarchic structures of all kinds & to challenge their legitimacy — & if they cannot justify their legitimacy, which is quite commonly the case, to work to undermine them & expand the scope of freedom.”
– Noam Chomsky
Just thought this was a nifty quote because I had described anarchism to Carter not too long ago in pretty much these same terms, without ever having heard Chomsky say it. I wasn’t nearly so eloquent of course, but the gist was the same : )
2 comments for this entry:
December 10th, 2006 on 6:30 am
Pretty nifty and compact definition of anarchy. But this makes it sound as if anarchists are roaming around looking for chinks in the armor of authority so they can attack. While that might well be the situation at times, it does not allow for what I believe is the impetus behind most anarchists. That would be some form of repression by non-benevolent leaders. In other words, I believe that much of what we call anarchy or rebellion or mutiny is triggered, not by the independent desires and motivations of the anarchists, but as reactions to being stepped on in one way or another by those in charge.
Does that make any sense at all?
December 10th, 2006 on 7:24 am
Mmm… well, if you’re talking about “anarchists” as in the college kids wearing black & throwing rocks through windows, then yes you’re probably right. Whereas what I’m talking about is anarchism as an intellectual / philosophical movement — from the left and right, Peter Kropotkin, Chomsky, Emma Goldman, Karl Hess, Murray Rothbard, etc.
The discussion had come around to whether anarchism “works”, and my point was that anarchism was not a ‘system’ that works or doesn’t (though some of the people on that list might disagree), but a mindset, a direction, and a process.