It is impossible to estimate, when the idea of anarchism was born. It was not developed by philosophers, but it has been existing in minds and hearts of people for centuries. The idea of anarchism is that people may live peacefully in societies without governments and politicians. The anarchists claim that States organizing our life are really bad for an individual. Moreover, it is not fair that we are born into the kind of society, which limits our personal freedom. Nowadays in Europe and the USA, we live in capitalistic countries. The reality created by this kind of political system is very harmful for a citizen. We are considered a part of huge market. All of us are supposed to be useful for the economy and development of the state. According to anarchistic ideology, people should have a right to be truly free. The governments cannot expect us to serve them, we should be free to with our lives whatever we want and not be limited or disregarded for what we do.
The anarchists believe that the most important thing in a life of a person is individual freedom. In the societies we live in, our freedom is limited by authorities. Such societies are divided into several groups. There is a group of those, who give the rules and orders- it is the least numerous group of people. The other group consists on those, who are expected to follow these rules and it consists of all other people in the society. Bakunin wrote: "ask nothing, better than to see others (…) exercise over us a natural and legitimate influence, freely accepted and never imposed, we accept all authorities and influences by fact, none by right".
The anarchists are idealists- they would want to live in the society free from institutions and authorities. They claim that the institutionalized authority is unnecessary and very harmful for people. Erich Fromm claimed that there are two different meanings of the word 'authority'. One is rational- it is 'being an authority' and the other is irrational- 'having an authority'. The former one means that a person is recognized by many others as responsible and is respected by people. The latter, on the other hand, is related to the net of social relationships, dependant on the position in the hierarchical society, not on individual characteristics.
Capitalism is a strictly hierarchical system. People consider labor the value in itself. We work- the bosses pay us, they buy us, they buy our time and work. The bosses give the workers different orders. There is a clear hierarchy- bosses on the top and workers on the bottom. Labor is a product, which is bought by bosses, people are treated as machines.
The anarchists are against private ownership of the slavery of wages and the means of production. According to them, we all have the right to undertake any labor free willingly and to be able to control what we do ourselves. Marks claimed that labor should be the most important value in our lives. In capitalism, where the authorities make the workers do their work, it is impossible for the worker to work because of the inner need. No matter, what the government might do, the situation cannot change. The wage-labor is most miserable of all.
In contemporary Western societies some people own the authority, and the other, at the same time, have no right to be or to have it. Ackelsberg wrote: 'Hierarchies make some people dependant on others, blame the dependant for their dependency, and then use that dependency as a justification for further exercising of authority.' Such relationships are the reason for social inequalities, which, in turn, cause numerous problems.
George Caplan introduced a way of measuring the rate of inequality in a society. Together with his colleagues, he made a survey in many different countries. In conclusions, he claimed that the states, where the inequality in the distribution of income is higher, have also higher rate of unemployment, they spend little money on education, have fewer high schools and so on. All these aspects in turn make the general inequality greater. Proudhon- considered the father of anarchism- noticed that poverty is the most important reason of all evils in the societies. In capitalism, people care for the right of an individual to posses different goods, sell and protect properties. The rich may get much more goods on the expense of the poor- who have much less.
As there are many unemployed people, those, who have their work may think that they take advantage of the labor market, as there are always more people ready to get their job. The workers have to be careful and they should not fight for their rights, if they do not want to lose their jobs. The employers in this system are favored and the employees are constantly threatened by the unemployment. They are ready to take any work and be obedient to all the orders given by a boss. As the rate of unemployment is so high, the employees hardly ever fight for their rights and strike.
What is the reason of the great unemployment in capitalistic system? In capitalism there is no place for people to take a break. The system has to grow, or otherwise it dies. The employees are constantly stressed that they may lose their job. They have to work to support their families and to have something to eat. Even the employers have no time to relax, as they have to make the workers work more productively (not giving them more money), which is profitable for them. The bosses have to exploit their workers so as to get sufficient profits. Neither the boss, nor the worker, can ever take a rest.
The existence of anarchism in the capitalistic state is supposed not to let those on the top of the hierarchy freely exercise their power over the rest of the society. The anarchists engage people to care for their personal freedom and to become aware of the reality they live in. Their goal is to get rid of all authorities, owners of the properties and authoritarian relationships within a society.
Proudhon claimed that the employees have to associate so as not to be subordinate and dependant on those in power. There should be no more bosses and wage- workers. The only authority, which could exist in a new type of society is the rational one. People are truly free. There is no need for hierarchies, people in power and subordinates. Relationships between people depend on natural influences. All individuals are free, because they live in the society of free people. No authoritarian society can give its members real personal freedom.
The employees during the hours of their work are not their own masters. In that period of time, they belong to the employer. In contemporary world labor is separated from other activities, which we all have to do. Labor is not our own activity, it is a subject of the laws of the market. Such labor does not let an individual live normal life- our lives are based on competition and different contracts, not by natural laws, needs and desires. I do not claim that work should be fun, but we all have a need to do something creative and something that gives us satisfaction. In capitalism we are made to serve the system. It is a simple denial of personal freedom and liberty, that is why I claim that capitalism is an enslaving social system.
The anarchist society, free from authorities, also exists in most states. It consists on people, who deny the value of State, government and bureaucracy. Anarchism is not an utopia. In the history we may find many examples of that ideology influencing numerous people. The most significant revolutions have always been connected to anarchists ideas. In 1848 in Paris, the groups of workers started great revolution, which was the reason if the collapse of monarchy in France. In Paris Commune there gathered hundreds of workers. They declared Paris a free city and made a federation. The city had to reorganize itself from bottom to the top. New society had to be created. Paris Commune totally negated State. Its policy and economy was based on anarchism. It had a chance to exist and develop. Unfortunately, the bloody fights with the followers of monarchy stopped the communards and the idea of new society was buried.
Moreover, the CTN- anarcho-syndicalist union in Spain in the 1930s became extremely powerful- it had more than 1,5 million members in 1936. Also in many other European countries CTN had many followers and supporters. The anarcho-syndicalists claimed that economy and market ought not to be based on the laws and statuses given by the government. To make the economy free, the workers should associate, make collaborations and take over the control over factories and companies. After that all areas and branches of industry might become really independent parts of the economic market. They would be responsible for producing and distributing different products and goods in the community.
Anarchism can be seen as a process. It does not concern future only, but it is also the struggle of many people to change the way our societies are organized. The most important aspects of the activities of anarchists are the struggles to make people aware that they have a right for self- liberation and for fighting for their ideas, needs and desires. All individuals have a right to know that they are being mislead by the authorities. It is not true that the anarchist ideology could only create disorder and chaos. This ideology and movement has a goal to create the society of free (not only 'free from', but also 'free to') people, who act for the good of themselves, the others and the world. Human beings are good and humane in themselves. We do not need the State to direct our lives in any direction. We have our reasons and we can choose, what we want and have to do.
