Politics: Anarchism - The State

His conversion to anarchism in the 1870s was mainly the result of his visit to the Jura Federation in Switzerland where he observed an experiment in cooperative production and living among a community of watch-makers who pooled their resources and the profits of their work.

Specifically he was an anarcho-communist, thus:

-Argued for a revolution to overthrow the state, by violent means if necessary.

-After the overthrow of the state, the state should be destroyed altogether.

-From then on, the building of small 'natural communities' (communes) could begin.

-He argued that if people were free to join whichever community (commune) they wished, they would not be subjected to any force.

-He then looked forward to a time when these communities (communes) would be self-sufficient and prosperous.

-Without scarcity, he argued, there would be no competition, and without competition there would be no inequality.

His plans were mainly described in 'Fields, Factories and Workshops' (1898).

He was disappointed with the October Revolution, as Lenin and the Bolsheviks did not abolish the state like he wanted, instead there was a development of a new state to replace the old one. Therefore, when he died in 1921, he was disillusioned by what he saw in Russia under the Communist Party. He had envisaged a very different kind of communism from that of Lenin and the Bolsheviks.

-He agreed with Marx that the state was an agent of capitalism. Therefore to him, both capitalism and the state had to be abolished.

-He also agreed with fundamental socialists that democracy was an illusion. Like religion, it was a device used to hide the authoritarian nature of the state. Mankind might imagine itself free if it is granted democratic rights and political equality, but unless there is economic equality there can be no political equality. In a democracy, those with economic power will also ultimately wield political power.

-Splitting from the Socialist International in 1872, he objected that their movement was that they were proposing to replace the capitalist state with a workers' state. Though this new state was to be temporary - ultimately to wither away as socialism established itself in the consciousness of the people - he would not accept it.

-He insisted that anarchists must oppose any state, even if it claims to operate in the interests of the working class. His reason for this was on the grounds that power corrupts people, both government and the governed, stating Therefore, the well-meaning socialists proposing the proletarian state, would cause for it to end in disaster.

-He was strongly influenced by the experience of the Paris Commune in 1871 - saw it as an anarchist revolt. It was the replacement of the oppressive state with a commune where there was to be common ownership of property, economic equality and direct democracy in place of political rule. He believed the Paris Commune was the perfect example of 'propaganda by deed', even if it was destroyed after a few weeks.

-The emancipation of workers, he argued, could not be realised through the powerful workers' state but can be achieved only if the state is abolished and replaced by independent workers' communes.

-In 'Anarcho-Syndicalism' (1938), he stated, 'Anarchism is no patent solution for all human problems, no Utopia of a perfect social order, as it has often been called, since on principle it rejects all absolute schemes and concepts. It does not believe in any absolute truth, or in definite final goals for human development, but in an unlimited perfectibility of social arrangements and human conditions which are always straining after higher forms of expression, and to which for this reason one can assign no definite terminus nor set any fixed goal'.

-To him, economic freedom was a fundamental value, but it is in every way threatened by the power of the state.

-He argued that political and economic freedom cannot be separated.

-The main aspect of the state he attacked was taxation - if we are entitled to everything we earn with our labour, then taxation becomes a form of institutionalised theft.

He coined the term anarcho-capitalism to describe his own philosophy - he claimed it was a synthesis of 3 other traditions:

-19th century classical liberalism, which proposed a small, minimalist state.

-19th century American individualist anarchism, as expressed by Henry Thoreau, Benjamin Tucker and Lysander Spooner - these individualists opposed the state on the grounds of its denial of individual sovereignty.

-The Austrian School of Economics of the mid 20th century, which proposed completely free markets for goods, labour and finance, with little or no government regulation.

He also helped develop the concept of nihilism - advocating for the abolition of the state and society:

-Some have claimed she was the first anarcha-feminist - widely seen as an individualist anarchist nonetheless.

-Coining the term, 'propaganda of the deed', she argued the best way to inspire others to join the anarchist cause was to engage in acts of violence against state and capitalist institutions.

-Her work was mainly directed at exposing the exploitative nature of capitalism, the oppressive nature of the state, and the need for violent revolution to bring both of them down.

-She rejected the idea of political reform, arguing, like Bakunin, one of her mentors, as well as Lord Acton, that the exercise of power corrupts people, so any system involving such power must be abolished.

-Passage from 'Living My Life' (1931):

'Men and women... do you not realize that the State is the worst enemy you have? It is a machine that crushes you in order to sustain the ruling class, your masters. Like naïve children you put your trust in your political leaders. You make it possible for them to creep into your confidence, only to have them betray you to the first bidder. But even where there is no direct betrayal, the labour politicians make common cause with your enemies to keep you in leash, to prevent your direct action. The State is the pillar of capitalism, and it is ridiculous to expect any redress from it.'

-In his aptly titled work 'Anarchy' (1906), he stressed the dangers of the forces of oppression that all states use: 'The basic function of government everywhere, in all times, whatever title it adopts and whatever its origin and organisation may be, is always that of oppressing and exploiting the masses, of defending the oppressors and exploiters; and its principal, characteristic and indispensable instruments are the police agent, the tax collector, the soldier and the gaoler'.

-His proposal for the peaceful abolition of the state was backed up through his membership of the French Parliament after 1848.