46 lines
2.5 KiB
Plaintext
46 lines
2.5 KiB
Plaintext
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"But while anarchism is a broad river, it is possible to discern a number of
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distinctive currents. What principally divides the family of anarchists
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is their different views of human nature, strategy and organisation. The
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mainstream is occupied by the social anarchists, but the individualists
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form an important part of the flow. Amongst the social anarchists, there
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are mutualists, collectivists, communists, and syndicalists, who differ
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mainly on the issue of economic organization. Some may be grouped
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according to their strategies, like pacifist anarchists.
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The social anarchists and individualists often work together but
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bear differing emphases. The individualists see the danger of obligatory
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cooperation and are worried that a collectivist society will lead to the
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tyranny of the group. On the other hand, the social anarchists are
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concerned that a society of individualists might become atomistic and that
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the spirit of competition could destroy mutual aid and general solidarity.
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Such differences do not prevent both wings coming together in the notion
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of communal individuality, which attempts to achieve a maxim um degree of
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personal freedom without destroying the community."
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Peter Marshall, 'Demanding the Impossible', page 6
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"In the absence of a professional police force, communites are quite
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capable of maintaining public security for themselves and have done so
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for centuries."
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Peter Marshall, 'Demanding the Impossible', p645
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Anarcho-capitalists are against the State simply because they are
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capitalists first and foremost. Their critique of the State ultimately
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rests on a liberal interpretation of liberty as the inviolable rights to
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and of private property. They are not concerned with the social
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consequences of capitalism for the weak, powerless and ignorant. Their
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claim that all would benefit from a free exchange in the market is by no
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means certain; any unfettered market system would most likely sponsor a
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reversion to an unequal society with defence associations perpetuating
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exploitation and privilege. If anything, anarcho-capitalism is merely a
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free-for-all in which only the rich and cunning would benefit. It is
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tailor-made for 'rugged individualists' who do not care about the damage
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to others or to the environment which they leave in their wake. The
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forces of the market cannot provide genuine conditions for freedom any
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more than the powers of the State. The victims of both are equally
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enslaved, alienated and oppressed."
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Peter Marshall in "Demanding the Impossible: A History of Anarchism"
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