Anarchist communism
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Anarchist communism is a form of anarchism that advocates the abolition of the State and capitalism in favor of a horizontal network of voluntary associations through which everyone will be free to satisfy his or her needs.
Anarchist communism is also known as anarcho-communism, communist anarchism, or, sometimes, libertarian communism. However, while all anarchist communists are libertarian communists, some libertarian communists, such as council communists, are not anarchists. What distinguishes anarchist communism from other variants of libertarian communism is the former's opposition to all forms of political power, hierarchy and domination.
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[edit] Development of ideas
Anarchist communist currents manifested themselves during the English Revolution and the French Revolution of the 1700s. Gerrard Winstanley, who was part of the radical Diggers movement in England, wrote in his 1649 pamphlet, "The New Law of Righteousness," that there "shall be no buying or selling, no fairs nor markets, but the whole earth shall be a common treasury for every man," and "there shall be none Lord over others, but every one shall be a Lord of himself."<ref>Graham, Robert Anarchism - A Documentary History of Libertarian Ideas - Volume One: From Anarchy to Anarchism (300CE to 1939), Black Rose Books, 2005</ref> During the French Revolution, Sylvain Marechal, in his "Manifesto of the Equals" (1796), demanded "the communal enjoyment of the fruits of the earth" and looked forward to the disappearance of "the revolting distinction of rich and poor, of great and small, of masters and valets, of governors and governed."<ref>Ibid</ref>
An early anarchist communist was Joseph Déjacque, the first person to describe themself as "libertarian".<ref>Déjacque, Joseph. De l'être-humain mâle et femelle - Lettre à P.J. Proudhon par Joseph Déjacque (in French)</ref> Unlike Proudhon, he argued that, "it is not the product of his or her labor that the worker has a right to, but to the satisfaction of his or her needs, whatever may be their nature."<ref>Graham op. cit.</ref>
The collectivist anarchists advocated remuneration for labor, but held out the possibility of a post-revolutionary transition to a communist system of distribution according to need. As Bakunin's associate, James Guillaume, put it in his essay, Ideas on Social Organization (1876), "When... production comes to outstrip consumption... [e]veryone will draw what he needs from the abundant social reserve of commodities, without fear of depletion; and the moral sentiment which will be more highly developed among free and equal workers will prevent, or greatly reduce, abuse and waste."<ref>Guillaume, James. Ideas on Social Organization</ref>
[edit] First International
Anarchist communism was first formulated in the Italian section of the First International, by Carlo Cafiero, Errico Malatesta, Andrea Costa and other ex-Mazzinian Republicans. Out of respect for Mikhail Bakunin, they did not make their differences with collectivist anarchism explicit until after Bakunin's death.<ref>Guillaume, James. Michael Bakunin - A Biographical Sketch</ref> The collectivist anarchists sought to collectivize ownership of the means of production while retaining payment for labor, but the anarcho-communists sought to extend the concept of collective ownership to the products of labor as well. While both groups argued against capitalism, the anarchist communists departed from Proudhon and Bakunin, who maintained that individuals have a right to the product of their labor and to be remunerated for their work, by proposing that individuals should be free to access goods according to their needs without respect to how much labor they exert.
Cafeiro explains in Anarchy and Communism (1880) that private property in the product of labor will lead to unequal accumulation of capital and, therefore, undesirable class distinctions: "If we preserve the individual appropriation of the products of labour, we would be forced to preserve money, leaving more or less accumulation of wealth according to more or less merit rather than need of individuals."<ref>Graham op. cit.</ref> At the Florence Conference of the Italian Federation of the International in 1876, held in a forest outside Florence due to police activity, they declared the principles of anarcho-communism, beginning with:
"The Italian Federation considers the collective property of the products of labour as the necessary complement to the collectivist programme, the aid of all for the satisfaction of the needs of each being the only rule of production and consumption which corresponds to the principle of solidarity. The federal congress at Florence has eloquently demonstrated the opinion of the Italian International on this point..."
The above report was made in an article by Malatesta and Cafiero in the (Swiss) Jura Federation's bulletin later that year.
[edit] Peter Kropotkin
Peter Kropotkin is often seen as the most important theorist of anarchist communism. He outlined his economic ideas in The Conquest of Bread and Fields, Factories and Workshops. Kropotkin felt co-operation to be more beneficial than competition, arguing in Mutual Aid: A Factor of Evolution that this was illustrated in nature.
He advocated the abolition of private property through the "expropriation of the whole of social wealth" by the people themselves<ref>Kropotkin, Peter. Words of a Rebel, p99.</ref>, and for the economy to be co-ordinated through a horizontal network of voluntary associations.<ref>Kropotkin, Peter. The Conquest of Bread, p145.</ref> He maintained that, in anarcho-communism, "houses, fields, and factories will no longer be private property, and that they will belong to the commune or the nation" and that money, wages, and trade would be abolished.<ref>Kropotkin, Peter. Chapter 13 The Collectivist Wages System, from The Conquest of Bread, G. P. Putnam's Sons, New York and London, 1906.</ref> Individuals and groups would use and control whatever resources they needed as the aim of anarchist-communism was to place "the product reaped or manufactured at the disposal of all, leaving to each the liberty to consume them as he pleases in his own home."<ref>Kropotkin, Peter. The Place of Anarchism in the Evolution of Socialist Thought page 7</ref>
Moreover, he repeatedly stressed (like other communist-anarchists) that individuals would not be forced into communism, arguing that the peasant "who is in possession of just the amount of land he can cultivate," the family "inhabiting a house which affords them just enough space... considered necessary for that number of people" and the artisan "working with their own tools or handloom" would be free to live as they saw fit. <ref>Kropotkin, Peter. Act for Yourself, pp. 104-5</ref>
[edit] Theory
Anarchist communism stresses egalitarianism and the abolition of social hierarchy and class distinctions that arise from unequal wealth distribution, the abolition of capitalism and money, and the collective production and distribution of wealth by means of voluntary associations.
In anarchist communism, the state and property would no longer exist. Each individual and group would be free to contribute to production and to satisfy their needs based on their own choice. Systems of production and distribution would be managed by their participants.
The abolition of wage labor is central to anarchist communism. With distribution of wealth being based on self-determined needs, people would be free to engage in whatever activities they found most fulfilling and would no longer have to engage in work for which they have neither the temperament nor the aptitude. Anarchist communists argue that there is no valid way of measuring the value of any one person's economic contributions because all wealth is a collective product of current and preceding generations.
Anarchist communists argue that any economic system based on wage labor and private property requires a coercive state apparatus to enforce property rights and to maintain the unequal economic relationships that inevitably arise.
[edit] Philosophical arguments
Anarchist communists reject the claim that wage labor is necessary because people are by "nature" lazy and selfish. They point out that even the so-called "idle rich" sometimes find useful things to do despite having all their needs satisfied by the labor of others.
Anarchist communists support communism as a means for ensuring the greatest freedom and well-being for everyone, rather than only the wealthy and powerful. In this sense, anarchist communism is a profoundly egalitarian philosophy. Anarchist communists do not think that anyone has the right to be anyone else's boss. Some contemporary anachist communists and avocates of post-left anarchy such as Bob Black reject the concept of work altogether in favor of turning necessary subsistence tasks into voluntary free play.
Socially, many communist-anarchists are individualistic communalists believing that by people seeking to serve themselves, they will freely interact with others for mutual benefit.
[edit] Criticisms
Pierre-Joseph Proudhon, whose philosophy had great influence on early anarchist communists, nonetheless refused to use the term "communism" to describe his own views. At the time he wrote most of his works, the word "communism" was typically used to refer to the views of the utopian socialists, whom Proudhon accused of attempting to impose equality by sovereign decrees. In opposition to the communist maxim "to each according to need", Proudhon said "To each according to his works, first; and if, on occasion, I am impelled to aid you, I will do it with a good grace; but I will not be constrained" <ref>Proudhon, Pierre Joseph. System of Economical Contradictions: or, the Philosophy of Misery</ref>. However, Proudhon was against the hoarding of private property and thus supported people being equal private owners. He argued that an inegalitarian private property society would impoversh some people, "The purchaser draws boundaries, fences himself in, and says, 'This is mine; each one by himself, each one for himself.' Here, then, is a piece of land upon which, henceforth, no one has right to step, save the proprietor and his friends; which can benefit nobody, save the proprietor and his servants. Let these multiply, and soon the people . . . will have nowhere to rest, no place of shelter, no ground to till. They will die of hunger at the proprietor's door, on the edge of that property which was their birth-right; and the proprietor, watching them die, will exclaim, 'So perish idlers and vagrants.'" <ref>What is Property?, p. 118</ref>
Many individualist anarchists believe that elements of anarcho-communism are undesirable or even incompatible with anarchism. Benjamin Tucker referred to it as "pseudo-anarchism"<ref> Benjamin Tucker, Labor and its Pay</ref> when admonishing Peter Kropotkin for opposing wages. Henry Appleton said: All Communism, under whatever guise, is the natural enemy of Anarchism, and a Communist sailing under the flag of Anarchism is as false a figure as could be invented. <ref>Anarchism, True and False (1884)</ref> Victor Yarros says no logical justification, no rational explanation, and no "scientific" reasoning has been, is, will be, or can be advanced in defence of that unimaginable impossibility, Communistic Anarchism <ref>Victor Yarros, A Princely Paradox</ref>. Clarence Lee Swartz says in What is Mutualism: One of the tests of any reform movement with regard to personal liberty is this: Will the movement prohibit or abolish private property? If it does, it is an enemy of liberty. For one of the most important criteria of freedom is the right to private property in the products of ones labor. State Socialists, Communists, Syndicalists and Communist-Anarchists deny private property. William Kline says that the individualists and communists could not reconcile their differences, the Communist Anarchists dedicated to a community of property and the Individualist Anarchists deeply committed to private property and individual effort.<ref>William Kline, The Individualist Anarchists: A Critique of Liberalism</ref>
More recently, advocates of post-left anarchy, such as Bob Black in Anarchy After Leftism, argue that leftists have an attachment to generic moral standards that are incompatible with anarchism and seek to establish political forms, such as platformism and direct democracy, that amount to forms of the state.<ref>It should be noted that Bob Black is a libertarian socialist and his references to "leftism" are mostly against what he perceives as Marxist influences in libertarian socialism. </ref> However, anarchist communists reject this claim, stating that direct democracy includes no hierarchy or monopolization of force and territory. It should also be noted that Bob Black is an anarchist and possibly an anarchist communist himself due to his rejection of wage labor and rejection of market systems.
One generic criticism of anarcho-communism is that such a society would not be able to keep productivity up because individuals would not be paid for their labor, since wages would be abolished and people would instead be given things "according to their needs."<ref>Busky, Donald F. Communism in History and Theory: From Utopian Socialism to the Fall of the Soviet Union. Praeger/Greenwood 2002, p. 101</ref> Anarchist Communists propose that economic distribution should be based on the maxim "to each according to their ability and to each according to their needs" believing these "needs" should be self-determined.
Anarchist communists reject markets based on the principle that all theories of monetary value are subjective and argue that private property is inherently exploitative,<ref>Berkman, Alexander. What Is Communist Anarchism? p.11</ref> and could not exist without force or without the eventual creation of a State to protect it.<ref>Kropotkin, Peter. Kropotkin's Revolutionary Pamphlets, p. 297</ref> They also put forward the idea that, by making productive property freely accessible to all, it would increase individual liberty.<ref>Kropotkin, Peter. The Place of Anarchism in the Evolution of Socialist Thought, p.14-15</ref> They argue that labor should not be an obligation and should be a voluntary task that should be enjoyable or provide necessary services.<ref>Kropotkin, Peter. Fields, Factories and Workshops Tomorrow, p. 197</ref> Alexander Berkman in particular believed that all forms of private ownership of production are authoritarian whether or not they have an established state to protect them, "[so the boss] gives you a job: that is permission to work in the factory or mill which was not built by him but by other workers like yourself. And for that permission you help to support him for . . .as long as you work for him." <ref>Alexander Berkman, What is Communist Anarchism?, p. 11</ref> Bob Black further argued, "Some people giving orders and others obeying them: this is the essence of servitude. Of course, as [right-Libertarians] smugly [observe], 'one can at least change jobs,' but you can't avoid having a job -- just as under statism one can at least change nationalities but you can't avoid subjection to one nation-state or another. But freedom means more than the right to change masters" <ref>Bob Black, The Libertarian as Conservative</ref> Charlette Wilson argued that it would not be possible to be forced into an anarcho-communist commune as the abolition of property (the anarchist conception of property) cannot be authoritarian, "every man [or woman] is free to take what he [or she] requires....[and so] it is hardly conceivable that personal necessaries and conveniences will not be appropriated.....[for] when property is protected by no legal enactments, backed by armed force, and is unable to buy personal service, its resuscitation on such a scale as to be dangerous to society is little to be dreaded. The amount appropriated by each individual . . . must be left to his [or her] own conscience, and the pressure exercised upon him [or her] by the moral sense and distinct interests of his [or her] neighbours." She further argued, "Property is the domination of an individual, or a coalition of individuals, over things; it is not the claim of any person or persons to the use of things -- this is, usufruct, a very different matter. Property means the monopoly of wealth, the right to prevent others using it, whether the owner needs it or not. Usufruct implies the claim to the use of such wealth as supplies the users needs. If any individual shuts of a portion of it (which he is not using, and does not need for his own use) from his fellows, he is defrauding the whole community." <ref>Anarchist Essays, pp. 22-23 and p. 40</ref>
However, despite criticisms, anarchist communist communes such as anarchist Catalonia in Spain during the Spanish Civil War saw increased productivity. The production of potatoes increased 50% and the production of sugar beets and feed for livestock doubled. Through the use of more modernized machinery and chemical fertilizers, the yield per hectare was 50% greater on collective property than on individually-owned land. <ref>Dolgoff, Sam. The Anarchist Collectives, ch. 10</ref>
[edit] History Of Anarchist Communist Societies
There have been several attempts both successful and unsuccessful at creating anarchist-communist societies throughout much of the world. Some anarchist-communists, especially Anarcho-primitivism forms of the theory argue that tribal societies are early forms of anarchist-communism. Egalitarian religious communities such as the Diggers Movement during the English Revolution could arguably be the first anarchist communist societies in modern history. Large communities and federations of communities such as Anarchist Catalonia and the Free Territory of revolutionary Ukraine are examples of anarchist-communism in 20th century Europe.
[edit] See also
- Anarchism
- Communism
- Inclusive Democracy
- Direct Democracy
- Participatory democracy
- Platformism
- Libertarian Socialism
- Socialism
- Workers' Councils
- Gift economy
- Peer-to-peer (meme)
[edit] People
- Mikhail Bakunin
- Alexander Berkman
- Murray Bookchin
- Joseph Déjacque
- Emma Goldman
- Daniel Guérin
- Peter Kropotkin
- Nestor Makhno
- Errico Malatesta
- Alan Moore
- Lorenzo Kom'boa Ervin
- Emiliano Zapata
- Ricardo Flores Magon
- Kuwasi Balagoon
- Ashanti Alston
- George Woodcock
[edit] References
<References/>
[edit] Books
- Federazione dei Comunisti Anarchici, Anarchist Communists: A Question Of Class, others
- Alexander Berkman, What is Communist Anarchism?, Prison Memoirs of an Anarchist, others
- Mikhail Bakunin, God and the State, The Paris Commune and the Idea of the State, others
- Emma Goldman, Anarchism and Other Essays, Living My Life, others
- Kropotkin, Peter Mutual Aid: A Factor of Evolution, 1998 paperback, London: Freedom Press. ISBN 0-900384-36-0, also at Project Gutenburg
- Kropotkin, Peter The Conquest of Bread, first published 1892, also at Anarchy Archives
- Kropotkin, Peter Fields, Factories and Workshops, available at Anarchy Archives
- Bookchin, Murray Post Scarcity Anarchism (1971 and 2004) ISBN 1-904859-06-2
- Nestor Makhno Ida Mett Piotr Arshinov Valevsky Linsky, The Organizational Platform of the Libertarian Communists (available in: Castellano, čeština, English, Έλληνικά, Français, Italiano, Ivrit, Magyar, Nederlands, Polska, Português, Pyccкий, Svenska, Türkçe)
- Robert Graham (anarchist historian), Anarchism: A Documentary History of Libertarian Ideas, Volume 1: From Anarchy to Anarchism (300CE-1939)[1] contains extensive selections from the anarchist communists, including Joseph Dejacque, Carlo Cafiero, Peter Kropotkin, Luigi Galleani, Errico Malatesta, Charlotte Wilson, Ricardo Flores Magon, Shifu, Hatta Shuzo, Alexander Berkman, Voline, and Isaac Puente.
[edit] External links
- Anarkismo.net - Anarchist communist news, discussion and theory from across the globe
- libcom.org - The home of anarchism and libertarian communism in the UK
- Anarchist Federation - Anarchist communist organisation in Britain
- Conceivia.com - Technology development and support of the world movement
- Work - Community - Politics - War: An easy introduction to anti-political insurrectionist communism
- Federazione dei Comunisti Anarchici (FdCA)
- Anarchist-Communism by Alain Pengam
- North Eastern Federation of Anarcho-Communists - (NEFAC)
- Workers Solidarity Movement - Anarchist communist organisation in Ireland
[edit] Criticisms
- A Critique of Anarchist Communism by Ken Knudson A criticism from an individualist anarchist perspective
- My Anarchism S. E. Parker explains his conversion from communist anarchism to Egoist individualist anarchism
- The Death Wish of Anarcho-Communists by Murray Rothbardcs:Libertinský komunismus
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