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BRIEF COURSE OF ANARCHY AND ANARCHISM
AND OTHER -ISMS
Brief course in economical-political systems and libertarian political economy - to get started on www.anarchy.no - version 1.8
arranged by the Economical-Political Seminar - Økonomisk-politisk seminar ØPS - in cooperation with the
Anarchist International University Federation AIUF
and the
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BRIEF
COURSE IN ANARCHY/ANARCHISM,
LIBERALISM, POPULISM/FASCISM AND MARXISM
1. Anarchy and anarchism mean "system and management without ruler(s), i.e. co-operation without repression, tyranny and slavery". In short an-arch-y = [(an = without - arch = ruler(s)) - y = system (included optimal order and law) and management, as, say, in monarch-y].
2. Anarchists are for and contribute to anarchy and anarchism world wide. One of the main tasks of anarchists is the fight against ochlarchy (mob rule broadly defined). To mix up opposites as a) anarchy and ochlarchy and b) anarchists with ochlarchists/ochlarchs, as outdated dictionaries, newsmedia and mislead youths often do, is equally authoritarian as mixing up opposites as war and peace, as Big Brother did in Orwell's "1984" newspeak. It should be stopped and anarchists make resolutions with free, libertarian criticism of this authoritarian tendency, and also contribute to other direct actions against ochlarchy, guards at demonstrations, etc.
A. Authoritarians notoriously mix up anarchy, anarchist and anarchism with authoritarian tendencies: Chaos, disorder, mob rule (narrowly defined), lawlessness, the law of the jungle, criminality, riots, theft, corruption, drugs, mafia, terrorism, autocratic rule, the right to the strongest, antisocial tyrannic behavior, etc. i.e. different types of superiors and subordinates, all in all ochlarchy (mob rule broadly defined).
B. The word anarchy origins from greek. The prefix "an" means "negation of" as in anaerobe versus aerobe and "arch" means "superior, i.e. in contrast to subordinates", as in archbishop, archangel, archduke, arch villain, etc. NB! Any villain, ochlarch/ist, is an arch vis-a-vis the victims. Thus anarchy, anarchism, anarchist, a.s.o., mean coordination on equal footing, without superiors and subordinates, i.e. horizontal organization and co-operation without coercion - practically (significant) or ideally (towards 100% anarchy degree). This is the opposite of the above mentioned authoritarian tendencies, i.e. different types of superiors and subordinates - in general ochlarchy.
C. The above mentioned mixtures of anarchist and authoritarian tendencies are principal contradictions similar to the Newspeak slogan "war is peace" in Orwell's "1984", and have correspondent repressive functions. Anarchists won't have any of that! For obvious reasons significant mixtures of anarchist and authoritarian tendencies should be denounced, i.e. as a general anarchist opinion, now and in the future. These actions may be taken on individual, municipal or international level, dependent on the situation.
D. The Anarchist International Information Service (AIIS) is a libertarian lighthouse in a mostly Orwellian "1984" newspeaking, lying, world. De facto: a) ochlarchy (mob rule) and anarchy & b) ochlarchists and anarchists - are opposites as war and peace. To say de facto ochlarchy is anarchy and ochlarchists are anarchists are lies equal to war is peace. And it has similar authoritarian, repressive, functions as Big Brother in "1984". Listen to: The pro anarchy and anti-ochlarchist anthem! Click here!
3. In the mostly Orwellian "1984" newspeaking, lying, world, the following lies are also significant: In USA, the world's largest economy, economical plutarchy, i.e. capitalism, is falsely called economic freedom! In China, the country with most people in the world, a totalitarian oligarchy is falsely called the people's democracy! And there are much more Orwellian "1984" newspeak type lies in the world - many of these lies are revealed and unmasked at www.anarchy.no! Be enlightened and prepared for real democracy, i.e. anarchy, feel free to study all at www.anarchy.no!
The truth: the only Anarchies, i.e. anarchist countries in the world, are Norway, The Swiss Confederation and Iceland, and they are only anarchies of rather low degree...
And, say, Somalia, as the newspeaking lie-machines CNN, BBC, Foxnews, Reuters, Associated Press, Wikipedia and most of Internet in general, etc. falsely call 'anarchy' is in reality an ochlarchy with rivaling polyarchy, i.e. chaos, not anarchy, and the country most far from anarchy in the world! See ANARCHY VS ECONOMIC-POLITICAL CHAOS - FAILED STATES ARE STATES - ARCHIES - NOT ANARCHY at Anarchist Press Tribunal - International Branch.
In general, x-archy, where x can be anything but not 'an', is the opposite of freedom and real democracy.
www.anarchy.no has practically certain truths and likely truths, i.e. real scientific non-rejected hypothesis! Most of so called social sciences and newsmedia represent false ideology, propaganda, manufactured consent, lies and more lies!
4. Anarchists are not only against ochlarchy, but also monarchy, oligarchy, polyarchy, plutarchy, matriarchy, patriarchy, hierarchy, etc., i.e. in real terms, economic and/or political/administrative. Anarchists mean all forms of archies should be done away with, practically toward ideally. The anarchists' main strategy is direct action. The anarchists call for an end of the present authoritarian systems in many countries and a steady and orderly movement of the social, i.e. economic and political/administrative - systems towards real democracy, i.e. anarchy. This includes real revolutions and velvet revolutions; and continued increased libertarian degree, see System theory - Chapter V. B.! A development towards real democracy must be done by the people's actions - more and more , i.e. act with dignity, use real matter of fact arguments and add weight behind via direct actions, including mass actions & industrial actions, and via organization, dialog and elections! The Anarchist International (AI/IFA) and AIIS are junctions in this connection.
5. In 1903-1913 Peter Kropotkin wrote his probably most important book, "Modern Science and Anarchism", "Anarkism och modern vetenskap", see Modern science and anarchism, defining anarchy and anarchism mainly as an updated research front based on valid social science. Today the research front of anarchy and anarchism based on the non-dogmatic, non-dialectical scientifical method of Kropotkin, i.e. the hypothetical deductive method, is updated by IIFOR, in co-operation with the FICEDL-network broadly defined, the AU-AIUF - and many other people.
6. Anarchists at large are a) commune/communist anarchists regarding the long term aim, the anarchist ideal, b) individualist anarchists in individual matters and collectivist anarchists in collective matters, and social-individualist anarchists in practical libertarian policy of today, and c) anarcho-syndicalists in industrial and work matters, green/eco-anarchists regarding environmental questions, and anarcha-feminists in gender matters. Anarchy, anarchism and the different tendencies are a.o.t. based on dialog, and free -- matter of fact -- criticism. To achieve this, it is necessary to understand what it is all about.
7. "Do not expect me to provide you with a system. My system is Progress, that is to say the need to work constantly toward discovering the unknown while the past is being exhausted." P. J. Proudhon wrote in a letter of December 1851. This does not mean anarchism is without system, it is a whole set of systems related to the economic-political map. Here the term "system" means just "the way things are decided", and thus practically certain a society must have a system or several systems, and a place on the economic-political map, EPM.
This wide definition of systems includes chaotic systems, typically ochlarchy with rivaling polyarchy/oligarchy, and they are practically always connected to superiors and subordinates - significant, and are thus not anarchies. Narrowly defined, system includes order, and anarchies also have system in this sense. Related to the EPM the wide definition of system is relevant, and thus a chaotic system has a place on the map, i.e. outside the anarchist quadrant, although being without system narrowly defined.
This however means we, Proudhon, IIFOR and other anarchists, will 1. not provide you with a fixed, dogmatic system once and for all. 2. You are invited to improve the research front of anarchist systems while learning. 3. "Proudhon's system" at that time, as well as today's updated research front of anarchism, is a front of Progress: The research front, using the scientifical method of the natural sciences, the hypothetical deductive method, is all of the time developing and improved as an accumulated capital of knowledge, consistent and with small -- and sometimes large -- breakthroughs and revolutions, in a progressive way. Join in to improve the research front while learning and feel free to send a comment to IIFOR, use the e-mailform to IIFOR below.
8. The economic-political map. This scientific valid map practically always matches the economic-political terrain, i.e. reality.
100% - the libertarian/anarchist degree = the authoritarian degree =
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Fig. 1. Picture of the Anarchist Economical-Political Map
A mathematical precisation of the map is presented at the Formula of anarchism. For practical statistical methods of estimation of the authoritarian degree etc. see the chapter V. B. at System theory and economic-political map. NB! We usually have used " , ", the European standard instead of American/UK standard, i.e. " . " as decimal separator. The term "ca" is an abbreviation for the latin circa, which means about or approximately.
The star(s) [ * ] indicate the position of the Norwegian economical-political system after the revolutionary change in 1994/95, i.e. at ca 53% anarchy degree. Read more about it at Anarchy in Norway and IJA 1994-96. The Norwegian system of today is placed just above the star(s) with ca 54% degree of anarchy. It has been and is an anarchist social-individualist system in Norway since 1994/95. This means an anarchy of low degree in Norway, "anarchist light", in the sector of social-individualism, within the Quadrant of Anarchism, between advanced marxist social democracy and advanced social-liberalism, seen in international perspective. See (click on:) IJA 1 (37).
The anarchy degree = 100 % - the authoritarian degree, within the anarchist quadrant. In general the term libertarian degree = 100 % - the authoritarian degree is used. Progressive means upwards on the map, the vertical axis that can be drawn through the middle point of the map is the progressive vs reactionary axis. The horizontal axis that can be drawn through the middle point of the map represents the traditional left vs right dimension in politics.
9. Concepts related to the EP-map.
a) Autonomy = significant political/administrative self-management and self-administration plus grassroots influence on de facto policy. Significant horizontal political/administrative organization. A political/administrative "bottom up" approach. Significant political/administrative efficiency and fairness. The opposite of statism.
b) Socialism = significant economic freedom, equality and real economic democracy. Significant flat, horizontal economic organization. An economic "bottom up" approach. Significant economic efficiency and fairness. The opposite of capitalism.
c) Capitalism = significant economical plutarchy, i.e. rule by the rich - the rich are rulers, economical hierarchy and/or lack of economic freedom. Top heavy economic pyramid - lack of economic efficiency and/or fairness. An economic "top down" approach. The opposite of socialism.
d) Statism = significant political/administrative hierarchy, top heavy political/administrative pyramid. A political/administrative "top down" approach - lack of political/administrative efficiency and/or fairness. The opposite of autonomy.
An economic-political system has both environmental/green as well as market goods and services. Efficiency and fairness etc. include environmental/green aspects and are defined from the people's perspective, not the perspective of the rulers or more general the superiors economic and/or political/adminstrative. The people here seen as a class as opposed to the superiors in rank and/or income, i.e. political/administrative and/or economically.
The results of the economic-political systems of the anarchies Norway, the Swiss Confederation and Iceland confirm the basic libertarian hypothesis that a horizontal structure, i.e. a significant autonomous and socialist system, is efficient and fair. Empirical data of other systems confirm that a top heavy structure, capitalist (economical plutarchist) and/or statist, is unfair and/or inefficient.
10. The State broadly defined as a societal concept. The State as a broad societal concept is archy, i.e. x-archy, where x can be anything but not 'an', that is top heavy political/adminstrative and/or economical societal pyramid. Statism is one dimension of the State and economical plutarchy, i.e. capitalism, the other. The State may also be an ochlarchy, etc. The State = government = authority/ies = archy must not be mixed up with public sector and the central administration. The public sector and the central administration, often wrongly called state or government or authority/ies in Orwellian "1984" newspeak, if significantly horizontally organized, i.e. without top heavy pyramid, are anarchist. A well functioning public sector and central administration are necessary for anarchy and anarchism. The State may be present in several forms both in private and public sector. Anarchist are against the State in general, both in public and private sector.
11. If you want more information, try the anarchist search engine powered by Google at www.anarchy.no. If you have problems with understanding words that are not defined at the AIIS Web-pages, try, say, (click on) The Cambridge Dictionary. If you, after doing the best to understand, still have problems learning the material, use the e-mail contact-link to AIUF/AU below on this Webpage for help. If you have questions about the research and/or want more results, click on a) IIFOR or b) use the e-mail contact-link to IIFOR, below.
Resolution, decided with general consent, by:
The International Anarchist Congress
The 11th Anarchist Biennial 27-28.11.2010
International Congress-Seminar on Anarchism
The AI/IFA network represents more than 50 000 anarchist world wide
To see the Website of the Congress - Click here!
Updated
Anarchist greetings from
P. Johansen
Research fellow at IIFOR
