An Anarchist FAQ
Encyclopedia
"An Anarchist FAQ" is an FAQ
written by an international work group of social anarchists
connected through the internet. It documents anarchist theory and ideas while arguing that social anarchism
is a better form of anarchism than individualist anarchism
, which it critiques. It also explores other debates internal to the anarchist movement, and counters common arguments against anarchism. It has been in constant evolution since 1995. While it was started as a critique of anarcho-capitalism
, by the time it was officially released it had become a general introduction to anarchism
.
The FAQ is published under the terms of the GNU Free Documentation License
(copyleft
) and it is dedicated "to the millions of anarchists, living and dead, who tried and are trying to create a better world." It was officially released online on July 19, 1996 "to celebrate the Spanish Revolution of 1936
and the heroism of the Spanish anarchist movement
."
. Those who were involved in the project had spent many hours in on-line debate with self-described anarcho-capitalists concerning whether or not capitalism and anarchism
are compatible. Eventually, a group of net-activists decided to produce an FAQ explaining their thoughts on why anarchism and capitalism are incompatible. While the FAQ was written by many collaborators, the main contributors are listed in the introduction as Iain McKay (primary contributor and editor), Gary Elkin, Dave Neal and Ed Boraas, who refer to themselves as "The Anarchist FAQ Editorial Collective." However, the editors eventually decided that an Anarchist FAQ which focused on anarchism itself would be a better idea than one solely devoted to refuting the notion of anarcho-capitalism, and so the Anarchist FAQ was born. The authors acknowledge that "it still bears some of the signs of its past-history. For example it gives the likes of Ayn Rand, Murray Rothbard, and so on, far too much space outside of Section F - they really are not that important."
The FAQ thanks the following people for their contributions: Andrew Flood, Mike Ballard, Francois Coquet, Jamal Hannah, Mike Huben, Greg Alt, Chuck Munson, Pauline McCormack, Nestor McNab, Kevin Carson, Shawn Wilbur, "and our comrades on the anarchy, oneunion and organise! mailing lists." A 2003 Critical Studies in Media Communication study declared the FAQ the most prominent core anarchist website, finding that it received incoming links from 20% of the anarchist websites studied.
A 748-page version of the FAQ was published in paperback as An Anarchist FAQ: v. 1 by AK Press
in 2008.
branch of anarchism (defined as anarchist-communism, anarcho-syndicalism
, collectivist-anarchism and Proudhon's mutualism
.) Despite this, the FAQ presents and describes other anarchist schools of thought
such as individualist anarchism
, anarcha-feminism
, and some lesser known theories like platformism
and anarcho-primitivism
. It cites references from a variety of authors from these schools, and its bibliography contains over five hundred sources. According to the FAQ, anarchism is synonymous with "libertarian socialism", "free socialism", "libertarian communism" and "free communism".
Given the wide range of anarchist ideas, the authors acknowledge that many anarchists will not agree with everything that the FAQ says. However, they express their belief that "most anarchists will agree with most of what we present and respect those parts with which they do disagree with as genuine expressions of anarchist ideas and ideals."
The FAQ also explains disputes within anarchist thought
, such as where and why social anarchists and individualist anarchists disagree. As social anarchists, the writers also explain their own views on individualist anarchism, arguing that while individualist anarchism has importance it has contradictions and "many flaws", and stating that it would lead to a "hierarchical and non-anarchist" society. They also defend against individualist anarchists' criticisms of social anarchism, claiming that "much of this opposition was rooted in misunderstandings and, at times, outright distortion."
The FAQ does not accept anarcho-capitalism
as part of individualist anarchism, nor of anarchism in general. The FAQ writers explain and criticise anarcho-capitalism in sections F and, to some extent, G of the FAQ. They claim that "outside the net [anarcho-capitalists] are irrelevant and on the net they are just annoying" and call the arguments of anarcho-capitalists "inane'". A critique of Bryan Caplan
's "Anarchism Theory FAQ" is also presented in the first appendix
, along with arguments that Caplan's FAQ distorts anarchism's relationship with anarcho-capitalism
.
called it an "invaluable resource" and "highly recommended" for people wishing "to gain a better understanding of anarchism
". Flint Jones, a member of NEFAC
, hailed the FAQ as "the most comprehensive [anarchist] resource available" The Workers Solidarity Movement
, an Irish anarchist group, called it "the primary source of information about anarchism on the world wide web". Quebecer anarchist Normand Baillargeon calls it a "monumental and essential FAQ dedicated to anarchism" The FAQ has been cited by Harvard resident fellow Joseph Reagle "[as] an exemplar of the principles [of community governance]."
In recent years the FAQ has been cited in various published works, such as Viable Utopian Ideas: Shaping a Better World (2003) by Arthur B Shostak, and Utopia and Organization (2002) by Michael Parker. It has been described as "very comprehensive", by Paul Graham and John Hoffman in their Introduction to Political Ideologies (2006). Various versions of the FAQ have been translated into 8 languages, and it has been included in every stable Debian
release since 1999.
An older version of the FAQ was once criticised by one of the anarcho-capitalists it was written to oppose. Writing in 1997 and referring to the 1996 version of the FAQ, David Friedman
complained about what he called the authors' "irresponsibility" in making errors in their account of Icelandic history, and by attributing to him a position which he did not hold. He claimed that the authors' methodology was to first "make up their facts," then correct errors as he points them out, hoping that they eventually come up with a true account. The authors corrected their misstatement of Friedman's view in later versions when they became aware of his criticism.
While they acknowledged that the 1996 version of the FAQ did contain some errors concerning medieval Iceland and was poorly fact-checked, they denied that this represents a "disregard for the truth", and they argue their critique was still valid despite "some serious errors in details." Friedman has not replied.
Mutualist
and individualist anarchist Kevin A. Carson
, called the FAQ a "[m]onumental compendium on anarchist history, theory and practice". Carson however disagreed with the FAQ's analysis of anarcho-capitalism
. He referred to the FAQ's treatment of anarcho-capitalism as "probably the FAQ's weakest spot", continuing "[While] I consider anarcho-capitalism to be considerably diverged from classical individualist anarchism
, [I] also reject any blanket assertion that they can't be 'real anarchists'."
FAQ
Frequently asked questions are listed questions and answers, all supposed to be commonly asked in some context, and pertaining to a particular topic. "FAQ" is usually pronounced as an initialism rather than an acronym, but an acronym form does exist. Since the acronym FAQ originated in textual...
written by an international work group of social anarchists
Social anarchism
Social anarchism is a term originally used in 1971 by Giovanni Baldelli as the title of his book where he discusses the organization of an ethical society from an anarchist point of view...
connected through the internet. It documents anarchist theory and ideas while arguing that social anarchism
Social anarchism
Social anarchism is a term originally used in 1971 by Giovanni Baldelli as the title of his book where he discusses the organization of an ethical society from an anarchist point of view...
is a better form of anarchism than individualist anarchism
Individualist anarchism
Individualist anarchism refers to several traditions of thought within the anarchist movement that emphasize the individual and his or her will over external determinants such as groups, society, traditions, and ideological systems. Individualist anarchism is not a single philosophy but refers to a...
, which it critiques. It also explores other debates internal to the anarchist movement, and counters common arguments against anarchism. It has been in constant evolution since 1995. While it was started as a critique of anarcho-capitalism
Anarcho-capitalism
Anarcho-capitalism is a libertarian and individualist anarchist political philosophy that advocates the elimination of the state in favour of individual sovereignty in a free market...
, by the time it was officially released it had become a general introduction to anarchism
Anarchism
Anarchism is generally defined as the political philosophy which holds the state to be undesirable, unnecessary, and harmful, or alternatively as opposing authority in the conduct of human relations...
.
The FAQ is published under the terms of the GNU Free Documentation License
GNU Free Documentation License
The GNU Free Documentation License is a copyleft license for free documentation, designed by the Free Software Foundation for the GNU Project. It is similar to the GNU General Public License, giving readers the rights to copy, redistribute, and modify a work and requires all copies and...
(copyleft
Copyleft
Copyleft is a play on the word copyright to describe the practice of using copyright law to offer the right to distribute copies and modified versions of a work and requiring that the same rights be preserved in modified versions of the work...
) and it is dedicated "to the millions of anarchists, living and dead, who tried and are trying to create a better world." It was officially released online on July 19, 1996 "to celebrate the Spanish Revolution of 1936
Spanish Revolution
The Spanish Revolution was a workers' social revolution that began during the outbreak of the Spanish Civil War in 1936 and resulted in the widespread implementation of anarchist and more broadly libertarian socialist organizational principles throughout various portions of the country for two to...
and the heroism of the Spanish anarchist movement
Anarchism in Spain
Anarchism has historically gained more support and influence in Spain than anywhere else, especially before Francisco Franco's victory in the Spanish Civil War of 1936–1939....
."
History
The FAQ was started in 1995 when a group of anarchists got together in order to write an FAQ arguing against capitalist claims of being anarchistsAnarchism and anarcho-capitalism
This article discusses similarities and differences between anarcho-capitalism and other types of anarchism. Some social anarchists argue that anarcho-capitalism is not a form of anarchism due to their understanding of capitalism as inherently authoritarian...
. Those who were involved in the project had spent many hours in on-line debate with self-described anarcho-capitalists concerning whether or not capitalism and anarchism
Anarchism and capitalism
Some anarchists advocate free-market, laissez-faire capitalism, while most anarchists not only oppose it, but believe capitalism and anarchism to be inherently incompatible.-Anarchist support of capitalism or aspects thereof:...
are compatible. Eventually, a group of net-activists decided to produce an FAQ explaining their thoughts on why anarchism and capitalism are incompatible. While the FAQ was written by many collaborators, the main contributors are listed in the introduction as Iain McKay (primary contributor and editor), Gary Elkin, Dave Neal and Ed Boraas, who refer to themselves as "The Anarchist FAQ Editorial Collective." However, the editors eventually decided that an Anarchist FAQ which focused on anarchism itself would be a better idea than one solely devoted to refuting the notion of anarcho-capitalism, and so the Anarchist FAQ was born. The authors acknowledge that "it still bears some of the signs of its past-history. For example it gives the likes of Ayn Rand, Murray Rothbard, and so on, far too much space outside of Section F - they really are not that important."
The FAQ thanks the following people for their contributions: Andrew Flood, Mike Ballard, Francois Coquet, Jamal Hannah, Mike Huben, Greg Alt, Chuck Munson, Pauline McCormack, Nestor McNab, Kevin Carson, Shawn Wilbur, "and our comrades on the anarchy, oneunion and organise! mailing lists." A 2003 Critical Studies in Media Communication study declared the FAQ the most prominent core anarchist website, finding that it received incoming links from 20% of the anarchist websites studied.
A 748-page version of the FAQ was published in paperback as An Anarchist FAQ: v. 1 by AK Press
AK Press
AK Press is a worker-managed independent publisher and book distributor that specialises in radical left and anarchist literature. It is collectively owned and operated.-History:...
in 2008.
Content
The editors of the FAQ identify themselves as belonging to the social anarchistSocial anarchism
Social anarchism is a term originally used in 1971 by Giovanni Baldelli as the title of his book where he discusses the organization of an ethical society from an anarchist point of view...
branch of anarchism (defined as anarchist-communism, anarcho-syndicalism
Anarcho-syndicalism
Anarcho-syndicalism is a branch of anarchism which focuses on the labour movement. The word syndicalism comes from the French word syndicat which means trade union , from the Latin word syndicus which in turn comes from the Greek word σύνδικος which means caretaker of an issue...
, collectivist-anarchism and Proudhon's mutualism
Mutualism (economic theory)
Mutualism is an anarchist school of thought that originates in the writings of Pierre-Joseph Proudhon, who envisioned a society where each person might possess a means of production, either individually or collectively, with trade representing equivalent amounts of labor in the free market...
.) Despite this, the FAQ presents and describes other anarchist schools of thought
Anarchist schools of thought
Anarchism is generally defined as the political philosophy which holds the state to be undesirable, unnecessary, and harmful, or alternatively as opposing authority in the conduct of human relations...
such as individualist anarchism
Individualist anarchism
Individualist anarchism refers to several traditions of thought within the anarchist movement that emphasize the individual and his or her will over external determinants such as groups, society, traditions, and ideological systems. Individualist anarchism is not a single philosophy but refers to a...
, anarcha-feminism
Anarcha-feminism
Anarcha-feminism combines anarchism with feminism. It generally views patriarchy as a manifestation of involuntary hierarchy. Anarcha-feminists believe that the struggle against patriarchy is an essential part of class struggle, and the anarchist struggle against the state...
, and some lesser known theories like platformism
Platformism
Platformism is a tendency within the wider anarchist movement originally theorised by Nestor Makhno and is mainly based on his concept of anarchism and the organisational theories in the tradition of Dielo Truda's Organizational Platform of the General Union of Anarchists ...
and anarcho-primitivism
Anarcho-primitivism
Anarcho-primitivism is an anarchist critique of the origins and progress of civilization. According to anarcho-primitivism, the shift from hunter-gatherer to agricultural subsistence gave rise to social stratification, coercion, and alienation...
. It cites references from a variety of authors from these schools, and its bibliography contains over five hundred sources. According to the FAQ, anarchism is synonymous with "libertarian socialism", "free socialism", "libertarian communism" and "free communism".
Given the wide range of anarchist ideas, the authors acknowledge that many anarchists will not agree with everything that the FAQ says. However, they express their belief that "most anarchists will agree with most of what we present and respect those parts with which they do disagree with as genuine expressions of anarchist ideas and ideals."
The FAQ also explains disputes within anarchist thought
Issues in anarchism
Anarchism is a heterogeneous philosophy with many different tendencies and schools of thought; differences on questions of ideology, values and tactics are common. Ideas about how an anarchist society might work vary considerably, especially with respect to economics...
, such as where and why social anarchists and individualist anarchists disagree. As social anarchists, the writers also explain their own views on individualist anarchism, arguing that while individualist anarchism has importance it has contradictions and "many flaws", and stating that it would lead to a "hierarchical and non-anarchist" society. They also defend against individualist anarchists' criticisms of social anarchism, claiming that "much of this opposition was rooted in misunderstandings and, at times, outright distortion."
The FAQ does not accept anarcho-capitalism
Anarcho-capitalism
Anarcho-capitalism is a libertarian and individualist anarchist political philosophy that advocates the elimination of the state in favour of individual sovereignty in a free market...
as part of individualist anarchism, nor of anarchism in general. The FAQ writers explain and criticise anarcho-capitalism in sections F and, to some extent, G of the FAQ. They claim that "outside the net [anarcho-capitalists] are irrelevant and on the net they are just annoying" and call the arguments of anarcho-capitalists "inane'". A critique of Bryan Caplan
Bryan Caplan
Bryan Caplan is an American economist, a Professor of Economics at George Mason University, Research Fellow at the Mercatus Center, adjunct scholar of the Cato Institute, and blogger for Econlog. He is best known for his work in public choice theory and for his libertarian ideology.-Personal...
's "Anarchism Theory FAQ" is also presented in the first appendix
Addendum
An addendum, in general, is an addition required to be made to a document by its reader subsequent to its printing or publication. It comes from the Latin verbal phrase addendum est, being the gerundive form of the verb addo, addere, addidi, additum, "to give to, add to", meaning " must be added"...
, along with arguments that Caplan's FAQ distorts anarchism's relationship with anarcho-capitalism
Anarchism and anarcho-capitalism
This article discusses similarities and differences between anarcho-capitalism and other types of anarchism. Some social anarchists argue that anarcho-capitalism is not a form of anarchism due to their understanding of capitalism as inherently authoritarian...
.
Influence and reception
The FAQ has been complimented by several sources. The anarcho-syndicalist Solidarity FederationSolidarity Federation
The Solidarity Federation, also known by the abbreviation SolFed, is a federation of class struggle anarchists active in Britain. The organisation advocates a strategy of anarcho-syndicalism as a method of abolishing capitalism and the state...
called it an "invaluable resource" and "highly recommended" for people wishing "to gain a better understanding of anarchism
Anarchism
Anarchism is generally defined as the political philosophy which holds the state to be undesirable, unnecessary, and harmful, or alternatively as opposing authority in the conduct of human relations...
". Flint Jones, a member of NEFAC
NEFAC
NEFAC is a platformist anarchist communist organization based in the northeast region of the United States...
, hailed the FAQ as "the most comprehensive [anarchist] resource available" The Workers Solidarity Movement
Workers Solidarity Movement
The Workers Solidarity Movement is an anarchist organisation in Ireland broadly in the platformist tradition of Nestor Makhno. It was set up in 1984 and publishes the paper Workers Solidarity and the magazine Red and Black Revolution....
, an Irish anarchist group, called it "the primary source of information about anarchism on the world wide web". Quebecer anarchist Normand Baillargeon calls it a "monumental and essential FAQ dedicated to anarchism" The FAQ has been cited by Harvard resident fellow Joseph Reagle "[as] an exemplar of the principles [of community governance]."
In recent years the FAQ has been cited in various published works, such as Viable Utopian Ideas: Shaping a Better World (2003) by Arthur B Shostak, and Utopia and Organization (2002) by Michael Parker. It has been described as "very comprehensive", by Paul Graham and John Hoffman in their Introduction to Political Ideologies (2006). Various versions of the FAQ have been translated into 8 languages, and it has been included in every stable Debian
Debian
Debian is a computer operating system composed of software packages released as free and open source software primarily under the GNU General Public License along with other free software licenses. Debian GNU/Linux, which includes the GNU OS tools and Linux kernel, is a popular and influential...
release since 1999.
An older version of the FAQ was once criticised by one of the anarcho-capitalists it was written to oppose. Writing in 1997 and referring to the 1996 version of the FAQ, David Friedman
David D. Friedman
David Director Friedman is an American economist, author, and Right-libertarian theorist. He is known as a leader in anarcho-capitalist political theory, which is the subject of his most popular book, The Machinery of Freedom...
complained about what he called the authors' "irresponsibility" in making errors in their account of Icelandic history, and by attributing to him a position which he did not hold. He claimed that the authors' methodology was to first "make up their facts," then correct errors as he points them out, hoping that they eventually come up with a true account. The authors corrected their misstatement of Friedman's view in later versions when they became aware of his criticism.
While they acknowledged that the 1996 version of the FAQ did contain some errors concerning medieval Iceland and was poorly fact-checked, they denied that this represents a "disregard for the truth", and they argue their critique was still valid despite "some serious errors in details." Friedman has not replied.
Mutualist
Mutualism (economic theory)
Mutualism is an anarchist school of thought that originates in the writings of Pierre-Joseph Proudhon, who envisioned a society where each person might possess a means of production, either individually or collectively, with trade representing equivalent amounts of labor in the free market...
and individualist anarchist Kevin A. Carson
Kevin A. Carson
Kevin Amos Carson is a American social and political theorist and scholar of political economy writing in the mutualist and individualist anarchist traditions....
, called the FAQ a "[m]onumental compendium on anarchist history, theory and practice". Carson however disagreed with the FAQ's analysis of anarcho-capitalism
Anarcho-capitalism
Anarcho-capitalism is a libertarian and individualist anarchist political philosophy that advocates the elimination of the state in favour of individual sovereignty in a free market...
. He referred to the FAQ's treatment of anarcho-capitalism as "probably the FAQ's weakest spot", continuing "[While] I consider anarcho-capitalism to be considerably diverged from classical individualist anarchism
Individualist anarchism
Individualist anarchism refers to several traditions of thought within the anarchist movement that emphasize the individual and his or her will over external determinants such as groups, society, traditions, and ideological systems. Individualist anarchism is not a single philosophy but refers to a...
, [I] also reject any blanket assertion that they can't be 'real anarchists'."
External links
- An Anarchist FAQ
- An Anarchist FAQ blog
- An Anarchist FAQ after ten years (Archived 2009-10-25) - by Iain McKay, written for the 10th anniversary of the FAQ's creation.
- List of "An Anarchist FAQ" mirrors