From: Travas Gunnell (travasg@hotmail.com)
Date: Thu Feb 17 2000 - 19:16:03 MST
>At 02:29 AM 2/17/00 -0500, "Michael S. Lorrey" <retroman@turbont.net>
>wrote:
>>upgrade wrote:
>> > Anyone interested?
>>
>>Certainly, so long as it doesn't get inundated by anarchists who are
>>closet socialists (the whole Eugene gang).
>>
>>Mike Lorrey
I feel the need to butt in with my two cents worth here. In "left"
anarchist thought, two very different definitions of socialism are
recognized. The first, "state socialism", is the familiar authoritarian
Marxist kind that we're all familiar with, and the second (in opposition to
the first),
" . . . To quote Peter Kropotkin, Anarchism is 'the no-government system of
socialism.' [Kropotkin's Revolutionary Pamphlets, p. 46]. In other words,
'the abolition of exploitation and oppression of man by man, that is the
abolition of private property [i.e. capitalism] and government.' [Errico
Malatesta, 'Towards Anarchism,' in Man!, M. Graham (Ed), p. 75]"
"Anarchism, therefore, is a political theory that aims to create a society
which is without political, economic or social hierarchies. Anarchists
maintain that anarchy, the absence of rulers, is a viable form of social
system and so work for the maximisation of individual liberty and social
equality. They see the goals of liberty and equality as mutually
self-supporting. Or, in Bakunin's famous dictum:
'We are convinced that freedom without Socialism is privilege and
injustice, and that Socialism without freedom is slavery and brutality.'
[The Political Philosophy of Bakunin, p. 269]"
" . . . rather than being purely anti-government or anti-state, anarchism is
primarily a movement against hierarchy. Why? Because hierarchy is the
organisational structure that embodies authority. Since the state is the
"highest" form of hierarchy, anarchists are, by definition, anti-state; but
this is not a sufficient definition of anarchism. This means that real
anarchists are opposed to all forms of hierarchical organisation, not only
the state. . . ."
>From _An Anarchist FAQ_ Sect A.1 What is anarchism?
http://www.geocities.com/CapitolHill/1931/secA1.html
>Initially the list could be promoted to libertarian and
>anarcho-capitalist types. After it has 100+ subscribers
>and has been going for a month or two, it could also
>be promoted to other anarchists.
>
>Maybe means can be found to bridge the gap between
>right and left anarchists. In an anarcho-capitalist world
>with property rights, left anarchists can acquire property
>and can, on that property, implement socialist systems.
>Provided they don't attempt to coercively impose their
>systems on others, they wouldn't disturb harmony.
>
>The list guidelines could spell out how right and left
>anarchists might coexist harmoniously. Attacks between
>right and left anarchists would be discouraged. The list
>would be moderated.
>
>Frederick Mann
Please don't construe this as an attack or an attempt to generate some sort
of flame war. My intent is to point people to information that they're
probably not familiar with; it is my perception that most of the people on
the list are not very familiar with the body of "left" anarchist political
theory. Located at http://www.geocities.com/CapitolHill/1931/ is _An
Anarchist FAQ_, this is an excellent source with a huge amount of data.
-Travas
http://www.crosswinds.net/~nano/
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