            Section B - Why do anarchists oppose the current system?

   This section of the FAQ presents an analysis of the basic social
   relationships of modern society and the structures which create them,
   particularly those aspects of society that anarchists want to change.

   Anarchism is, essentially, a revolt against capitalism. As a political
   theory it was born at the same time as capitalism and in opposition to
   it. As a social movement it grew in strength and influence as
   capitalism colonised more and more parts of society. Rather than simply
   express opposition to the state, as some so-called experts assert,
   anarchism has always been opposed to other forms of authority and the
   oppression they create, in particular capitalism and its particular
   form of private property. It is no coincidence that Proudhon, the first
   person to declare themselves an anarchist, did so in a book entitled
   What is Property? (and gave the answer "It is theft!"). From Proudhon
   onwards, anarchism has opposed both the state and capitalism (indeed,
   it is the one thing such diverse thinkers as Benjamin Tucker and Peter
   Kropotkin both agreed on). Needless to say, since Proudhon anarchism
   has extended its critique of authority beyond these two social evils.
   Other forms of social hierarchy, such as sexism, racism and homophobia,
   have been rejected as limitations of freedom and equality. So this
   section of the FAQ summarises the key ideas behind anarchism's
   rejection of the current system we live under.

   This, of course, does not mean that anarchistic ideas have not existed
   within society before the dawn of capitalism. Far from it. Thinkers
   whose ideas can be classified as anarchist go back thousands of years
   and are found many diverse cultures and places. Indeed, it would be no
   exaggeration to say that anarchism was born the moment the state and
   private property were created. However, as Kropotkin noted, while "from
   all times there have been Anarchists and Statists" in our times
   "Anarchy was brought forth by the same critical and revolutionary
   protest that gave rise to Socialism in general." However, unlike other
   socialists, anarchists have not stopped at the "negation of Capitalism
   and of society based on the subjection of labour to capital" and went
   further to "declare themselves against what constitutes the real
   strength of Capitalism: the State and its principle supports --
   centralisation of authority, law, always made by a minority for its own
   profit, and a form of justice whose chief aim is to protect Authority
   and Capitalism." So anarchism was "not only against Capitalism, but
   also against these pillars of Capitalism: Law, Authority, and the
   State." [Evolution and Environment, p. 16 and p. 19]

   In other words, anarchism as it exists today, as a social movement with
   a long history of struggle and with a political theory and set of
   ideas, is the product of the transformation of society which
   accompanied the creation of the modern (nation-) state and capital and
   (far more importantly) the reaction, resistance and opposition of those
   subject to these new social relationships and institutions. As such,
   the analysis and critique presented in this section of the FAQ will
   concentrate on modern, capitalist, society.

   Anarchists realise that the power of governments and other forms of
   hierarchy depends upon the agreement of the governed. Fear is not the
   whole answer, it is far more "because they [the oppressed] subscribe to
   the same values as their governors. Rulers and ruled alike believe in
   the principle of authority, of hierarchy, of power." [Colin Ward,
   Anarchy in Action, p. 15] With this in mind, we present in this section
   of the FAQ our arguments to challenge this "consensus," to present the
   case why we should become anarchists, why authoritarian social
   relationships and organisations are not in our interests.

   Needless to say, this task is not easy. No ruling class could survive
   unless the institutions which empower it are generally accepted by
   those subject to them. This is achieved by various means -- by
   propaganda, the so-called education system, by tradition, by the media,
   by the general cultural assumptions of a society. In this way the
   dominant ideas in society are those of the dominant elite. This means
   that any social movement needs to combat these ideas before trying to
   end them:

     "People often do not even recognise the existence of systems of
     oppression and domination. They have to try to struggle to gain
     their rights within the systems in which they live before they even
     perceive that there is repression. Take a look at the women's
     movement. One of the first steps in the development of the women's
     movement was so-called 'consciousness raising efforts.' Try to get
     women to perceive that it is not the natural state of the world for
     them to be dominated and controlled. My grandmother couldn't join
     the women's movement, since she didn't feel any oppression, in some
     sense. That's just the way life was, like the sun rises in the
     morning. Until people can realise that it is not like the sun
     rising, that it can be changed, that you don't have to follow
     orders, that you don't have to be beaten, until people can perceive
     that there is something wrong with that, until that is overcome, you
     can't go on. And one of the ways to do that is to try to press
     reforms within the existing systems of repression, and sooner or
     later you find that you will have to change them." [Noam Chomsky,
     Anarchism Interview]

   This means, as Malatesta stressed, that anarchists "first task
   therefore must be to persuade people." This means that we "must make
   people aware of the misfortunes they suffer and of their chances to
   destroy them . . . To those who are cold and hungry we will demonstrate
   how possible and easy it would be to assure everybody their material
   needs. To those who are oppressed and despised we shall show how it is
   possible to live happily in a world of people who are free and equal .
   . . And when we will have succeeded in arousing the sentiment of
   rebellion in the minds of men [and women] against the avoidable and
   unjust evils from which we suffer in society today, and in getting them
   to understand how they are caused and how it depends on human will to
   rid ourselves of them" then we will be able to unite and change them
   for the better. [Errico Malatesta: His Life and Ideas, pp. 185-6]

   So we must explain why we want to change the system. From this
   discussion, it will become apparent why anarchists are dissatisfied
   with the very limited amount of freedom in modern society and why they
   want to create a truly free society. In the words of Noam Chomsky, the
   anarchist critique of modern society means:

     "to seek out and identify structures of authority, hierarchy, and
     domination in every aspect of life, and to challenge them; unless a
     justification for them can be given, they are illegitimate, and
     should be dismantled, to increase the scope of human freedom. That
     includes political power, ownership and management, relations among
     men and women, parents and children, our control over the fate of
     future generations (the basic moral imperative behind the
     environmental movement. . .), and much else. Naturally this means a
     challenge to the huge institutions of coercion and control: the
     state, the unaccountable private tyrannies that control most of the
     domestic and international economy [i.e. capitalist corporations and
     companies], and so on. But not only these." [Marxism, Anarchism, and
     Alternative Futures, p. 775]

   This task is made easier by the fact that the "dominating class" has
   not "succeeded in reducing all its subjects to passive and unconscious
   instruments of its interests." This means that where there is
   oppression and exploitation there is also resistance -- and hope. Even
   when those oppressed by hierarchical social relations generally accept
   it, those institutions cannot put out the spark of freedom totally.
   Indeed, they help produce the spirit of revolt by their very operation
   as people finally say enough is enough and stand up for their rights.
   Thus hierarchical societies "contain organic contradictions and [these]
   are like the germs of death" from which "the possibility of progress"
   springs. [Malatesta, Op. Cit., pp. 186-7]

   Anarchists, therefore, combine their critique of existing society with
   active participation in the on-going struggles which exist in any
   hierarchical struggle. As we discuss in [1]section J, we urge people to
   take direct action to fight oppression. Such struggles change those who
   take part in them, breaking the social conditioning which keeps
   hierarchical society going and making people aware of other
   possibilities, aware that other worlds are possible and that we do not
   have to live like this. Thus struggle is the practical school of
   anarchism, the means by which the preconditions of an anarchist society
   are created. Anarchists seek to learn from such struggles while, at the
   same time, propagating our ideas within them and encouraging them to
   develop into a general struggle for social liberation and change.

   Thus the natural resistance of the oppressed to their oppression
   encourages this process of justification Chomsky (and anarchism) calls
   for, this critical evaluation of authority and domination, this
   undermining of what previously was considered "natural" or
   "common-sense" until we started to question it. As noted above, an
   essential part of this process is to encourage direct action by the
   oppressed against their oppressors as well as encouraging the
   anarchistic tendencies and awareness that exist (to a greater or lesser
   degree) in any hierarchical society. The task of anarchists is to
   encourage such struggles and the questioning their produce of society
   and the way it works. We aim to encourage people to look at the root
   causes of the social problems they are fighting, to seek to change the
   underlying social institutions and relationships which produce them. We
   seek to create an awareness that oppression can not only be fought, but
   ended, and that the struggle against an unjust system creates the seeds
   of the society that will replace it. In other words, we seek to
   encourage hope and a positive vision of a better world.

   However, this section of the FAQ is concerned directly with the
   critical or "negative" aspect of anarchism, the exposing of the evil
   inherent in all authority, be it from state, property or whatever and
   why, consequently, anarchists seek "the destruction of power, property,
   hierarchy and exploitation." [Murray Bookchin, Post-Scarcity Anarchism,
   p. 11] Later sections will indicate how, after analysing the world,
   anarchists plan to change it constructively, but some of the
   constructive core of anarchism will be seen even in this section. After
   this broad critique of the current system, we move onto more specific
   areas. [2]Section C explains the anarchist critique of the economics of
   capitalism. [3]Section D discusses how the social relationships and
   institutions described in this section impact on society as a whole.
   [4]Section E discusses the causes (and some suggested solutions) to the
   ecological problems we face.

References

   1. file://localhost/home/mauro/baku/debianize/maint/anarchy/secJcon.html
   2. file://localhost/home/mauro/baku/debianize/maint/anarchy/secCcon.html
   3. file://localhost/home/mauro/baku/debianize/maint/anarchy/secDcon.html
   4. file://localhost/home/mauro/baku/debianize/maint/anarchy/secEcon.html
