Capitalism
Throughout most of its history, anarchism has been defined by its proponents in opposition to capitalism - which they believe can be maintained only by state violence. Most non-capitalist anarchists follow Proudhon in opposing ownership of workplaces by capitalists and aim to replace wage labour with workers' associations. These anarchists agree with Kropotkin's comment that "the origin of the anarchist inception of society… the criticism… of the hierarchical organisations and the authoritarian conceptions of society" rather than in simple opposition to the state or government. They argue that the wage system is hierarchical and authoritarian in nature and, consequently, capitalism cannot be anarchist.
Many individualist anarchists, advocated markets as essential to a free society. However, most early individualist anarchists considered themselves "fervent anti-capitalists… no contradiction between their individualist stance and their rejection of capitalism." Many defined themselves as socialists. These early individualist-anarchists defined "capitalism" in various ways, but often it was discussed in terms of usury:
"There are three forms of usury, interest on money, rent on land and houses, and profit in exchange. Whoever is in receipt of any of these is a usurer."
Excluding these, however, they tended to support free trade, free competition, and varying levels of private property such as mutualism and homesteading. It is this distinction which has led to the rift between anarchism and anarcho-capitalism. The self-proclaimed descendents of such theorists, variously called anarcho-capitalists, free-market anarchists, or simply individualist anarchists, support laissez-faire free market capitalism. Historically, anarchists considered themselves socialists and opposed to capitalism. Thus, anarcho-capitalism is considered by many anarchists today as not being true anarchism.
Anarchist organisations, for example the CNT (Spain) and the Anarchist Federation (Britain and Ireland), generally take an explicitly anti-capitalist stance. In the 20th century, several economists began to formulate a form of radical American libertarianism known as anarcho-capitalism. This has met resistance from those who hold that capitalism is inherently oppressive or statist; many anarchists and scholars don't consider anarcho-capitalism to properly cohere with the spirit, principles, or history of anarchism. However, other anarchists and scholars regard anarchism as referring only to opposition to the non-privatisation of all aspects of the state, and thus do consider anarcho-capitalism to be a form of anarchism.
Read more about this topic: Issues In Anarchism
Famous quotes containing the word capitalism:
“Capitalism is an art form, an Apollonian fabrication to rival nature. It is hypocritical for feminists and intellectuals to enjoy the pleasures and conveniences of capitalism while sneering at it.... Everyone born into capitalism has incurred a debt to it. Give Caesar his due.”
—Camille Paglia (b. 1947)
“The so-called consumer society and the politics of corporate capitalism have created a second nature of man which ties him libidinally and aggressively to the commodity form. The need for possessing, consuming, handling and constantly renewing the gadgets, devices, instruments, engines, offered to and imposed upon the people, for using these wares even at the danger of one’s own destruction, has become a “biological” need.”
—Herbert Marcuse (1898–1979)
“When man has nothing but his will to assert—even his good-will—it is always bullying. Bolshevism is one sort of bullying, capitalism another: and liberty is a change of chains.”
—D.H. (David Herbert)