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<title>Section B - Introduction</title>
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<h1>Section B - Why do anarchists oppose the current system?</h1>
This section of the FAQ presents an analysis of the basic social
relationships of modern society and the structures which create them,
particularly those aspects of society that anarchists want to change.
<p>
Anarchism is, essentially, a revolt against capitalism. As a political
theory it was born at the same time as capitalism and in opposition to
it. As a social movement it grew in strength and influence as capitalism
colonised more and more parts of society. Rather than simply express
opposition to the state, as some so-called experts assert, anarchism
has always been opposed to other forms of authority and the oppression
they create, in particular capitalism and its particular form of private
property. It is no coincidence that Proudhon, the first person to declare
themselves an anarchist, did so in a book entitled <b>What is Property?</b>
(and gave the answer <i><b>"It is theft!"</b></i>). From Proudhon onwards, anarchism has
opposed both the state and capitalism (indeed, it is the one thing such
diverse thinkers as Benjamin Tucker and Peter Kropotkin both agreed on).
Needless to say, since Proudhon anarchism has extended its critique of
authority beyond these two social evils. Other forms of social hierarchy,
such as sexism, racism and homophobia, have been rejected as limitations
of freedom and equality. So this section of the FAQ summarises the key ideas
behind anarchism's rejection of the current system we live under.
<p>
This, of course, does not mean that anarchistic ideas have not existed
within society before the dawn of capitalism. Far from it. Thinkers whose
ideas can be classified as anarchist go back thousands of years and are
found many diverse cultures and places. Indeed, it would be no exaggeration
to say that anarchism was born the moment the state and private property
were created. However, as Kropotkin noted, while <i>"from all times there
have been Anarchists and Statists"</i> in our times <i>"Anarchy was brought
forth by the same critical and revolutionary protest that gave rise to
Socialism in general."</i> However, unlike other socialists, anarchists have
not stopped at the <i>"negation of Capitalism and of society based on the
subjection of labour to capital"</i> and went further to <i>"declare themselves
against what constitutes the real strength of Capitalism: the State and
its principle supports -- centralisation of authority, law, always made
by a minority for its own profit, and a form of justice whose chief
aim is to protect Authority and Capitalism."</i> So anarchism was <i>"not only
against Capitalism, but also against these pillars of Capitalism: Law,
Authority, and the State."</i> [<b>Evolution and Environment</b>, p. 16 and p. 19]
<p>
In other words, anarchism as it exists today, as a social movement with
a long history of struggle and with a political theory and set of ideas,
is the product of the transformation of society which accompanied the
creation of the modern (nation-) state and capital and (far more
importantly) the reaction, resistance and opposition of those subject
to these new social relationships and institutions. As such, the analysis and critique presented
in this section of the FAQ will concentrate on modern, capitalist, society.
<p>
Anarchists realise that the power of governments and other forms of hierarchy
depends upon the agreement of the governed. Fear is not the whole answer, it is
far more <i>"because they [the oppressed] subscribe to the same values as their
governors. Rulers and ruled alike believe in the principle of authority, of
hierarchy, of power."</i> [Colin Ward, <b>Anarchy in Action</b>, p. 15] With this in
mind, we present in this section of the FAQ our arguments to challenge this
"consensus," to present the case why we should become anarchists, why
authoritarian social relationships and organisations are not in our
interests.
<p>
Needless to say, this task is not easy. No ruling class could survive
unless the institutions which empower it are generally accepted by
those subject to them. This is achieved by various means -- by
propaganda, the so-called education system, by tradition, by the
media, by the general cultural assumptions of a society. In this
way the dominant ideas in society are those of the dominant elite.
This means that any social movement needs to combat these ideas
before trying to end them:
<p><blockquote><i>
"People often do not even recognise the existence of systems of
oppression and domination. They have to try to struggle to gain
their rights within the systems in which they live before they
even perceive that there is repression. Take a look at the women's
movement. One of the first steps in the development of the women's
movement was so-called 'consciousness raising efforts.' Try to
get women to perceive that it is not the natural state of the
world for them to be dominated and controlled. My grandmother
couldn't join the women's movement, since she didn't feel any
oppression, in some sense. That's just the way life was, like
the sun rises in the morning. Until people can realise that it
is not like the sun rising, that it can be changed, that you
don't have to follow orders, that you don't have to be beaten,
until people can perceive that there is something wrong with
that, until that is overcome, you can't go on. And one of the
ways to do that is to try to press reforms within the existing
systems of repression, and sooner or later you find that you
will have to change them."</i> [Noam Chomsky, <b>Anarchism Interview</b>]
</blockquote><p>
This means, as Malatesta stressed, that anarchists <i>"first task
therefore must be to persuade people."</i> This means that we <i>"must
make people aware of the misfortunes they suffer and of their
chances to destroy them . . . To those who are cold and hungry
we will demonstrate how possible and easy it would be to assure
everybody their material needs. To those who are oppressed and
despised we shall show how it is possible to live happily in
a world of people who are free and equal . . . And when we will
have succeeded in arousing the sentiment of rebellion in the
minds of men [and women] against the avoidable and unjust
evils from which we suffer in society today, and in getting
them to understand how they are caused and how it depends on
human will to rid ourselves of them"</i> then we will be able to
unite and change them for the better. [<b>Errico Malatesta:
His Life and Ideas</b>, pp. 185-6]
<p>
So we must explain <b>why</b> we want to change the
system. From this discussion, it will become apparent why anarchists are
dissatisfied with the very limited amount of freedom in modern
society and why they want to create a truly free society. In the words of
Noam Chomsky, the anarchist critique of modern society means:
<p><blockquote>
<i>"to seek out and identify structures of authority, hierarchy, and domination
in every aspect of life, and to challenge them; unless a justification for
them can be given, they are illegitimate, and should be dismantled, to
increase the scope of human freedom. That includes political power,
ownership and management, relations among men and women, parents and
children, our control over the fate of future generations (the basic moral
imperative behind the environmental movement. . .), and much else.
Naturally this means a challenge to the huge institutions
of coercion and control: the state, the unaccountable private tyrannies
that control most of the domestic and international economy [i.e.
capitalist corporations and companies], and so on. But not only these."</i>
[<b>Marxism, Anarchism, and Alternative Futures</b>, p. 775]
</blockquote><p>
This task is made easier by the fact that the <i>"dominating class"</i>
has <b>not</b> <i>"succeeded in reducing all its subjects to passive
and unconscious instruments of its interests."</i> This means that
where there is oppression and exploitation there is also
resistance -- and hope. Even when those oppressed by hierarchical
social relations generally accept it, those institutions cannot
put out the spark of freedom totally. Indeed, they help produce
the spirit of revolt by their very operation as people finally
say enough is enough and stand up for their rights. Thus
hierarchical societies <i>"contain organic contradictions and
[these] are like the germs of death"</i> from which <i>"the possibility
of progress"</i> springs. [Malatesta, <b>Op. Cit.</b>, pp. 186-7]
<p>
Anarchists, therefore, combine their critique of existing society
with active participation in the on-going struggles which exist
in any hierarchical struggle. As we discuss in <a href="secJcon.html">section J</a>, we urge
people to take <i><b>direct action</b></i> to fight oppression. Such struggles
change those who take part in them, breaking the social conditioning
which keeps hierarchical society going and making people aware of
other possibilities, aware that other worlds are possible and that
we do not have to live like this. Thus struggle is the practical
school of anarchism, the means by which the preconditions of an
anarchist society are created. Anarchists seek to learn from such
struggles while, at the same time, propagating our ideas within them
and encouraging them to develop into a general struggle for social
liberation and change.
<p>
Thus the natural resistance of the oppressed to their oppression
encourages this process of justification Chomsky (and anarchism)
calls for, this critical evaluation of authority and domination, this
undermining of what previously was
considered "natural" or "common-sense" <b>until we started to question
it.</b> As noted above, an essential part of this process is to encourage
direct action by the oppressed against their oppressors as well as
encouraging the anarchistic tendencies and awareness that exist (to
a greater or lesser degree) in any hierarchical society. The task
of anarchists is to encourage such struggles and the questioning
their produce of society and the way it works. We aim to encourage
people to look at the root causes of the social problems they are
fighting, to seek to change the underlying social institutions and
relationships which produce them. We seek to create an awareness
that oppression can not only be fought, but ended, and that the
struggle against an unjust system creates the seeds of the society
that will replace it. In other words, we seek to encourage hope and
a positive vision of a better world.
<p>
However, this section of the FAQ is concerned directly with the
critical or "negative" aspect of anarchism, the exposing of the evil
inherent in all authority, be it from state, property or whatever
and why, consequently, anarchists seek <i>"the destruction of power,
property, hierarchy and exploitation."</i> [Murray Bookchin, <b>Post-Scarcity
Anarchism</b>, p. 11] Later sections will
indicate how, after analysing the world, anarchists plan to change it
constructively, but some of the constructive core of anarchism will be
seen even in this section. After this broad critique of the current system,
we move onto more specific areas. <a href="secCcon.html">Section C</a> explains the anarchist critique
of the economics of capitalism. <a href="secDcon.html">Section D</a> discusses how the social
relationships and institutions described in this section impact on society
as a whole. <a href="secEcon.html">Section E</a> discusses the causes (and some suggested
solutions) to the ecological problems we face.
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