Anarchism

Anarchism is a political school of thought that encompasses a large number of varying socio-economic theories that advocate the elimination of compulsory, or even all, forms of government.

Etymology

The word 'anarchism' is derived from the Greek 'anarchos' ('without archons (rulers)').

Theories

Most anarchist theories do not call for the absolute destruction of human self-governance but the destruction of the state, instead believing that it is necessary for humans to organise themselves in local communities. Several major anarchist theories exist, many of which are drastically different with only a few common ideas. Macronationally, there have been very few modern Anarchist states due to the immense impracticalities of operating such political and economic systems with large populations, with the most successful and famous one being Anarchist Catalonia during the Spanish Civil War. Somalia is sometimes regarded as a modern example of anarchy due to the absolute collapse of its effective government, although the nation is now largely ruled by the courts. Other projects that are considered modern examples of anarchy include the Rebel Zapatista Autonomous Municipalities and the Autonomous Administration of North and East Syria.

Anarchist ideologies

There are many ideologies that derive from Anarchism, implementing the central idea of the abolishment of the State in many different ways and combining with many different theories. Some of these include:

• Anarcho-communism: A theory of anarchism which advocates the abolition of the state, private property, and capitalism in favour of common ownership of the means of production, direct democracy and a horizontal network of voluntary associations and workers' councils.
• Anarcho-syndicalism: A theory advocating the abolishment of the wage system, regarding it as wage slavery, and state or private ownership of the means of production.
• Anarcho-feminism: Ishivanism A theory which views patriarchy as a manifestation of involuntary hierarchy and as part of the overall class struggle, as well as the anarchist struggle against the state.
• Anarcho-capitalism: A theory with a view that society should be based on the voluntary trade of private property and services (including money, consumer goods, land, and capital goods) in order to maximise individual liberty and prosperity, and the abolishment of the State in favour of the elevation of the sovereign individual in a free market.
• Queer anarchism: An anarchist school of thought advocating anarchism and social revolution as a means of the abolition of heternormativity and the gender binary. Notable proponents include Oscar Wilde and Daniel Guerin.

Anarchism in micronationalism

Micronationally, anarchy is exceptionally rare, although not completely unheard of. It is argued that micronations have a much larger capacity to operate an anarchist system effectively than macronations, mainly due to the lack of a need for an effective State and even leader. Despite this, most people prefer to establish micronations based on democracy or autocracy. Micronations that are governed as anarchies tend to be social and political experiments rather than micronations or genuine new country projects. The only anarchist micronation is the Byzantine Peoples Republic (2019-2020).