Anarchism in The United States - Re-emergence of Anarchism in The U.S.

Re-emergence of Anarchism in The U.S.

Anarchism dwindled into obscurity until the 1960s when it resurfaced and then "shattered into various anarchist splinters. These ranged from Anarcho-Capitalists who desired the organization of society solely on the basis of a free market to Anarcho-Communists who sought an individualized society of decentralized communes." Anarchism started making a comeback in the United States in the early 1960s, primarily through the influence of the Beat artists. Later in the 1960s, activists such as Abbie Hoffman and the Diggers identified with anarchism and were notable for the spectacular ways they put anarchist ideas into practice. In the late 60s, Murray Rothbard and Karl Hess began to call themselves anarchists and published Left and Right: A Journal of Libertarian Thought. In 1969, The Match!, which bills itself as a "Journal of Ethical Anarchism" began publication by anarchist without adjectives Fred Woodworth and has published continuously since then.

In the 1970s, anarchist ideas caught on in the anti-nuclear, feminist, and environmental movements. Murray Bookchin was a widely read anarchist thinker whose books on the environment were influential on the environmental movement. Anarchist tactics such as the affinity group were adopted by women involved in the radical feminist movement.

Anarchists became more visible in the 1980s, as a result of publishing, protests and conventions. In 1980, the First International Symposium on Anarchism was held in Portland, Oregon. In 1986, the Haymarket Remembered conference was held in Chicago, to observe the centennial of the infamous Haymarket Riot. This conference was followed by annual, continental conventions in Minneapolis (1987), Toronto (1988), and San Francisco (1989).

Recently there has been a resurgence in anarchist ideals in the United States. In the 1990s, a group of anarchists formed the Love and Rage Network, which was one of several new groups and projects formed in the U.S. during the decade. American anarchists increasingly became noticeable at protests, especially through a tactic known as the Black bloc. U.S. anarchists became more prominent as a result of the anti-WTO protests in Seattle and the Occupy movement.

In the wake of hurricane Katrina, anarchist activists have been visible as founding members of the Common Ground Collective.