Authors: Bogdanor
Summary: About 650 words defines anarchism, identifies areas of conceptual disagreement among anarchists, places the concept within political discourse, and describes anarchist efforts to oppose the state.
Anarchism is defined as an "umbrella term for those political outlooks that unequivocally reject the state along with other coercive forms of authority, and look forward to a social order based entirely on voluntary cooperation between individuals and groups." A careful distinction is made between anarchists who advocate terrorist activities and those who advocate instead social disorder.
The central agreement among anarchists regarding the state as an unnecessary encumbrance on social relations is highlighted, although differences over how the new anarchist society will be shaped are not overlooked. Particularly significant is the anarchist critique that all states regardless of regime type either create or protect particular political classes.
The second half of the entry identifies anarchist efforts aimed at demonstrating their opposition to the state. These efforts range from simple civil disobedience to full-scale revolutionary movements. The formation of syndicalist trade-unions in France and Italy during the European socialist movement is emphasized as perhaps the greatest accomplishment of anarchism. The entry concludes by briefly discussing anarchist influence in the US 1980 presidential election and in the libertarian ideas of the New Right.