Editing Anarchism (section)

== Key issues ==

<!-- In the interest of restricting article length, these overview summaries are meant to be brief. Thank you. -->
As anarchism is a philosophy that embodies many diverse attitudes, tendencies, and schools of thought, disagreement over questions of values, ideology, and [[Tactic (method)|tactics]] is common. Its diversity has led to widely different uses of identical terms among different anarchist traditions which has created a number of [[definitional concerns in anarchist theory]]. The compatibility of [[Anarchism and capitalism|capitalism]],{{Sfnm|1a1=Marshall|1y=1993|1p=565|2a1=Honderich|2y=1995|2p=31|3a1=Meltzer|3y=2000|3p=50|4a1=Goodway|4y=2006|4p=4|5a1=Newman|5y=2010|5p=53}} [[Anarchism and nationalism|nationalism]], and [[Anarchism and religion|religion]] with anarchism is widely disputed, and anarchism enjoys complex relationships with ideologies such as [[communism]], [[Collectivist anarchism|collectivism]], [[Marxism]], and [[trade unionism]]. Anarchists may be motivated by [[humanism]], [[God|divine authority]], [[enlightened self-interest]], [[Veganarchism|veganism]], or any number of alternative ethical doctrines. Phenomena such as [[civilisation]], technology (e.g. within anarcho-primitivism), and the [[Anarchism and statist democracy|democratic process]] may be sharply criticised within some anarchist tendencies and simultaneously lauded in others.{{Sfn|De George|2005|pp=31–32}}

=== The state ===
<!-- Important! Strive to explain how anarchists perceive authority and oppression and why they reject them. Jun (2019), p. 41. -->[[File:Fight_the_state,_not_wars.jpg|thumb|Anarchist protesters in [[Boston]] opposing state-waged war]]
Objection to the [[State (polity)|state]] and its institutions is a ''[[sine qua non]]'' of anarchism.{{Sfnm|1a1=Carter|1y=1971|1p=14|2a1=Jun|2y=2019|2pp=29–30}} Anarchists consider the state as a tool of domination and believe it to be illegitimate regardless of its political tendencies. Instead of people being able to control the aspects of their life, major decisions are taken by a small elite. Authority ultimately rests solely on power, regardless of whether that power is [[Open government|open]] or [[Transparency (behavior)|transparent]], as it still has the ability to coerce people. Another anarchist argument against states is that the people constituting a government, even the most altruistic among officials, will unavoidably seek to gain more power, leading to corruption. Anarchists consider the idea that the state is the collective will of the people to be an unachievable fiction due to the fact that the [[ruling class]] is distinct from the rest of society.{{Sfn|Jun|2019|pp=32–38}}

Specific anarchist attitudes towards the state vary. [[Robert Paul Wolff]] believed that the tension between authority and autonomy would mean the state could never be legitimate. Bakunin saw the state as meaning "coercion, domination by means of coercion, camouflaged if possible but unceremonious and overt if need be." [[A. John Simmons]] and [[Leslie Green (philosopher)|Leslie Green]], who leaned toward philosophical anarchism, believed that the state could be legitimate if it is governed by consensus, although they saw this as highly unlikely.{{Sfnm|1a1=Wendt|1y=2020|1p=2|2a1=Ashwood|2y=2018|2p=727}} Beliefs on how to abolish the state also differ.{{Sfn|Ashwood|2018|p=735}}

=== Gender, sexuality, and free love ===
{{Main|Anarchism and issues related to love and sex}}
As [[gender]] and [[Human sexuality|sexuality]] carry along them dynamics of hierarchy, many anarchists address, analyse, and oppose the suppression of one's autonomy imposed by gender roles.{{Sfn|Nicholas|2019|p=603}}

[[File:AnarchaFeminism.png|thumb|upright=1.2|Collection of [[anarcha-feminist]] protests, symbols, and flags]]
Sexuality was not often discussed by classical anarchists but the few that did felt that an anarchist society would lead to sexuality naturally developing.{{Sfn|Lucy|2020|p=162}} Sexual violence was a concern for anarchists such as [[Benjamin Tucker]], who opposed [[age-of-consent laws]], believing they would benefit predatory men.{{Sfn|Lucy|2020|p=178}} A historical current that arose and flourished during 1890 and 1920 within anarchism was [[free love]]. In contemporary anarchism, this current survives as a tendency to support [[polyamory]], [[relationship anarchy]], and [[queer anarchism]].{{Sfnm|1a1=Nicholas|1y=2019|1p=611|2a1=Jeppesen|2a2=Nazar|2y=2012|2pp=175–176}} Free love advocates were against marriage, which they saw as a way of men imposing authority over women, largely because marriage law greatly favoured the power of men. The notion of free love was much broader and included a critique of the established order that limited women's sexual freedom and pleasure.{{Sfn|Jeppesen|Nazar|2012|pp=175–176}} Those free love movements contributed to the establishment of communal houses, where large groups of travelers, anarchists and other activists slept in beds together.{{Sfn|Jeppesen|Nazar|2012|p=177}} Free love had roots both in Europe and the United States; however, some anarchists struggled with the jealousy that arose from free love.{{Sfn|Jeppesen|Nazar|2012|pp=175–177}} Anarchist feminists were advocates of free love, against marriage, and [[Abortion-rights movement|pro-choice]] (using a contemporary term), and had a similar agenda. Anarchist and non-anarchist feminists differed on [[Women's suffrage|suffrage]] but were supportive of one another.{{Sfn|Kinna|2019|pp=166–167}}

During the second half of the 20th century, anarchism intermingled with the [[second wave of feminism]], radicalising some currents of the feminist movement and being influenced as well. By the latest decades of the 20th century, anarchists and feminists were advocating for the rights and autonomy of women, gays, queers and other marginalised groups, with some feminist thinkers suggesting a fusion of the two currents.{{Sfn|Nicholas|2019|pp=609–611}} With the [[third wave of feminism]], sexual identity and [[compulsory heterosexuality]] became a subject of study for anarchists, yielding a [[post-structuralist]] critique of [[Heteronormativity|sexual normality]].{{Sfn|Nicholas|2019|pp=610–611}} Some anarchists distanced themselves from this line of thinking, suggesting that it leaned towards an individualism that was dropping the cause of social liberation.{{Sfn|Nicholas|2019|pp=616–617}}

=== Education ===
{{Main|Anarchism and education}}
{|class="wikitable" style="border: none; float: right;"
|+ Anarchist vs. statist perspectives on education<br/>{{Small|Ruth Kinna (2019){{Sfn|Kinna|2019|p=97}}}}
|-
!scope="col"|
!scope="col"|Anarchist education
!scope="col"|State education
|-
|Concept || Education as self-mastery || Education as service
|-
|Management || Community based || State run
|-
|Methods || Practice-based learning || Vocational training
|-
|Aims || Being a critical member of society || Being a productive member of society
|}
The interest of anarchists in education stretches back to the first emergence of classical anarchism. Anarchists consider proper education, one which sets the foundations of the future autonomy of the individual and the society, to be an act of [[Mutual aid (organization theory)|mutual aid]].{{Sfnm|1a1=Kinna|1y=2019|1pp=83–85|2a2=Suissa|2y=2019|2pp=514–515, 520}} Anarchist writers such as William Godwin (''[[Political Justice]]'') and Max Stirner ("[[The False Principle of Our Education]]") attacked both [[State school|state education]] and private education as another means by which the ruling class replicate their privileges.{{Sfnm|1a1=Suissa|1y=2019|1pp=514, 521|2a1=Kinna|2y=2019|2pp=83–86|3a1=Marshall|3y=1993|3p=222}}

In 1901, [[Catalonia|Catalan]] anarchist and free thinker [[Francisco Ferrer]] established the [[Escuela Moderna]] in Barcelona as an opposition to the established education system which was dictated largely by the Catholic Church.{{Sfn|Suissa|2019|pp=511–512}} Ferrer's approach was secular, rejecting both state and church involvement in the educational process while giving pupils large amounts of autonomy in planning their work and attendance. Ferrer aimed to educate the working class and explicitly sought to foster [[class consciousness]] among students. The school closed after constant harassment by the state and Ferrer was later arrested. Nonetheless, his ideas formed the inspiration for a series of [[Modern School (United States)|modern schools]] around the world.{{Sfn|Suissa|2019|pp=511–514}} [[Christian anarchism|Christian anarchist]] [[Leo Tolstoy]], who published the essay ''Education and Culture'', also established a similar school with its founding principle being that "for education to be effective it had to be free."{{Sfn|Suissa|2019|pp=517–518}} In a similar token, [[A. S. Neill]] founded what became the [[Summerhill School]] in 1921, also declaring being free from coercion.{{Sfn|Suissa|2019|pp=518–519}}

Anarchist education is based largely on the idea that a child's right to develop freely and without manipulation ought to be respected and that rationality would lead children to morally good conclusions; however, there has been little consensus among anarchist figures as to what constitutes [[Manipulation (psychology)|manipulation]]. Ferrer believed that moral indoctrination was necessary and explicitly taught pupils that equality, liberty and [[social justice]] were not possible under capitalism, along with other critiques of government and nationalism.{{Sfnm|1a1=Avrich|1y=1980|1pp=3–33|2a1=Suissa|2y=2019|2pp=519–522}}

Late 20th century and contemporary anarchist writers ([[Paul Goodman]], [[Herbert Read]], and [[Colin Ward]]) intensified and expanded the anarchist critique of [[State school|state education]], largely focusing on the need for a system that focuses on children's creativity rather than on their ability to attain a career or participate in [[consumerism]] as part of a consumer society.{{Sfn|Kinna|2019|pp=89–96}} Contemporary anarchists such as Ward claim that state education serves to perpetuate [[Economic inequality|socioeconomic inequality]].{{Sfn|Ward|1973|pp=39–48}}

While few anarchist education institutions have survived to the modern-day, major tenets of anarchist schools, among them respect for [[Children's rights movement|child autonomy]] and relying on reasoning rather than indoctrination as a teaching method, have spread among mainstream educational institutions. Judith Suissa names three schools as explicitly anarchists' schools, namely the Free Skool Santa Cruz in the United States which is part of a wider American-Canadian network of schools, the Self-Managed Learning College in [[Brighton|Brighton, England]], and the Paideia School in Spain.{{Sfn|Suissa|2019|pp=523–526}}

=== The arts ===
{{Main|Anarchism and the arts}}
[[File:Apple Harvest by Camille Pissarro.jpg|thumb|340px|''Les chataigniers a Osny'' (1888) by anarchist painter [[Camille Pissarro]] is a notable example of blending anarchism and the arts.{{Sfn|Antliff|1998|p=99}}]]
The connection between anarchism and art was quite profound during the classical era of anarchism, especially among artistic currents that were developing during that era such as futurists, surrealists and others.{{Sfn|Mattern|2019|p=592}} In literature, anarchism was mostly associated with the [[New Apocalyptics]] and the [[neo-romanticism]] movement.{{Sfn|Gifford|2019|p=577}} In music, anarchism has been associated with music scenes such as [[Punk subculture|punk]].{{Sfnm|1a1=Marshall|1y=1993|1pp=493–494|2a1=Dunn|2y=2012|3a1=Evren|3a2=Kinna|3a3=Rouselle|3y=2013|p=138}} Anarchists such as [[Leo Tolstoy]] and [[Herbert Read]] stated that the border between the artist and the non-artist, what separates art from a daily act, is a construct produced by the alienation caused by capitalism and it prevents humans from living a joyful life.{{Sfn|Mattern|2019|pp=592–593}}

Other anarchists advocated for or used art as a means to achieve anarchist ends.{{Sfn|Mattern|2019|p=593}} In his book ''Breaking the Spell: A History of Anarchist Filmmakers, Videotape Guerrillas, and Digital Ninjas'', Chris Robé claims that "anarchist-inflected practices have increasingly structured movement-based video activism."{{Sfn|Robé|2017|p=44}} Throughout the 20th century, many prominent anarchists ([[Peter Kropotkin]], [[Emma Goldman]], [[Gustav Landauer]] and [[Camillo Berneri]]) and publications such as ''[[Anarchy (magazine)|Anarchy]]'' wrote about matters pertaining to the arts.{{Sfn|Miller|Dirlik|Rosemont|Augustyn|2019|p=1}}

Three overlapping properties made art useful to anarchists. It could depict a critique of existing society and hierarchies, serve as a prefigurative tool to reflect the anarchist ideal society and even turn into a means of direct action such as in protests. As it appeals to both emotion and reason, art could appeal to the whole human and have a powerful effect.{{Sfn|Mattern|2019|pp=593–596}} The 19th-century [[neo-impressionist]] movement had an ecological aesthetic and offered an example of an anarchist perception of the road towards socialism.{{Sfn|Antliff|1998|p=78}} In ''Les chataigniers a Osny'' by anarchist painter [[Camille Pissarro]], the blending of aesthetic and social harmony is prefiguring an ideal anarchistic agrarian community.{{Sfn|Antliff|1998|p=99}}