Anarchism and Freedom for the Society - Report Example

Lecturer: Anarchism and freedom for the society Introduction Anarchism can be considered as a social philosophy that perceives the state as being unwanted, needless and detrimental, instead its favors a stateless society (May 54). Proponents of anarchism focus on diminishing or eliminating dependence on claims of authority in how human beings relate and this has led to broad disagreements on the additional criteria that is significant or of value to anarchism as well as the human society. Anarchism is perceived as being anti-authoritarian as far as social philosophies are concerned. Additionally, social anarchism seeks a system that is characterized by common ownership in regard to modes of production along with democratic control of all the firms without any form of authority or coercion from the government. Social anarchism is the main and largest school of thought in anarchism and it is against private property since it is a source of social inequality but it strongly encourages cooperation together with mutual aid. Thesis statement: Anarchists believe that no individual is superior enough to govern other individuals without their willing consent. How anarchism creates the most freedom for the society Proponents of anarchism emphasize on liberty for themselves and other people while at the same time considering individuality, which is an aspect that makes an individual unique as the most significant characteristic of humans. Anarchists are aware that a person cannot exist in a vacuum, as individuals are a social phenomenon. Without the society, it is impossible for an individual to exist because a person needs other people for their development, expansion and growth. Furthermore, between the development of individuals and the society, there is a reciprocal impact in that people grow within while being shaped by a specific society. At the same time, these individuals assist in shaping and changing the characteristics of the society through how they behave and think. Societies that are not based on free people, their dreams, ideas and hopes is considered as hollow and dead and this makes making a human a collective process in which the individual and the community have to take part. In this view, political theories based entirely on the society or the individual are considered as false since individuality only develops to the fullest extent when anarchists view it important to come up with a society that is founded on freedom, equality and solidarity, as independent aspects. Freedom is important as far as blossoming of human intelligence, originality and self-respect is concerned. Therefore, being dominated by another human being is seen as being denied the chance of thinking and acting for oneself, which is the only way of growing and developing a person’s individuality. Authority also suffocates innovation as well as personal responsibility and this leads to conformity and unevenness, therefore, a society that is able to maximize the growth of the individual has to be founded on voluntary associations and not coercion and authority. Freedom is important for total development of individuality in the same way that equality is an integral aspect of the existence of liberty (Roshwald, p. 58). Real freedom cannot be achieved in a society that is class-stratified, hierarchical and riddled with inequalities in terms of power, wealth and privilege. In a society like this only the few people at the peak of the hierarchy are considered free while the rest remain semi-slaves, for that reason, freedom becomes a mockery if there is no equality. Additionally, in these conditions, even the elite are not considered as being truly free as they are forced to live in stunted society that is characterized by the majority being alienated and tyrannized. Since individuality is encouraged by broad contact and other free individuals, the people belonging to the elite will be restricted in terms of the possibilities of their development through scarcity of free people with whom they can be able to interact. Solidarity, which is an aspect of anarchism, denotes mutual aid like working in cooperation with other people sharing the same visions and interests. However, without freedom and equality, the society becomes a pyramid characterized by competing classes founded on the domination of the people in the lower strata by those in the higher ones. In this form of society, the people adopt a policy of “dominate of be dominated” or everyone for themselves”, therefore, this promotes individualism at the expense of the community making those at the bottom resent the people above them while those above fearing the ones below them. In this conditions, solidarity will not exist across the society since only a partial type of solidarity within the classes with opposed interests will exist thus weakening the entire society. It is therefore imperative to note that solidarity, as an aspect of anarchism does not imply self-sacrifice or self-negation. Anarchists consider other people along with the planet they live in as their real wealth, but honoring individuality does not necessarily imply that proponents of anarchism are idealists. The growth and development of individuality occurs in the society as a reaction to material and intellectual experiences and interactions that are actively analyzed and interpreted by the people. This makes anarchism a materialist theory that recognized the fact that ideas come from social interactions as well as the mental activities of people. This implies that an anarchist society will be a creation of people and not some deity or any other form of transcendental belief as nothing really arranges itself especially as far as human relations are concerned (Berkman 42). For this reason, anarchism develops a basis on the power of ideas and the capability of people to act and transform their way of living based on the aspects they consider as right; freedom. The anarchists may be considered as fanatic lovers of freedom who view it as the exceptional environment that allows intelligence, dignity and happiness of humanity to grow and increase (Jun 123). Since human beings are thinking creatures, denying them freedom is denying them a chance to think for themselves and this is denying them their existence as human beings, as for proponents of anarchism, freedom is a product of humanity. Freedom involves individuals pursuing their own in the manner they consider best and doing so requires the activity and power of people when they are making decisions that affect them and other people. Only freedom can makes sure that the individual grows and develops since when individuals govern themselves while at the same time deciding to exercise their powers on their own and this may have no additional impact except the expansion and stimulation of the people involved. Liberty for anarchists entails a non-authoritarian society that is characterized by individuals and groups practicing self-management, as they are able to govern themselves. The implications of this are significant as this implies that an anarchist society will be non-coercive whereby violence of threats of violence cannot be used to convince people to act in a certain manner. Secondly, it suggests that anarchists are strong supporters of individual independence and based on this support, they are also against institutions, which are founded on coercive authority such as hierarchies. Lastly, it suggests that the opposition of anarchists to governments implies only that they are against centralized and bureaucratic organizations of government. This is because they are not against self-government through associations of decentralized organizations as long as they are founded on direct democracy instead of delegating power to representatives. As authority is the direct opposite of freedom, any type of organization that is founded on delegation of power threatens freedom and self-respect of the people who are subjects to this power. Conclusion Since freedom is a social connection, it implies that anarchists should have awareness that freedom can only be realized when a society becomes organized on an appropriate foundation. Society should be organized to make sure that autonomy, equality and solidarity. Anarchist societies are founded on specific key ideas and these are demonstrated in the organizations existing in a free society. Free association allows individuals to become members of associations and leave associations since in this way, they will identify the communities, which make them comfortable. These suitable surroundings allow them to be free and happy. In an association, people must be engage in the daily running of activities and freedom to associate cannot be considered as freedom if individuals simply take orders in the association. Groups are therefore supposed to manage their fates through governing themselves in a collective manner, and through having a voice in the association, people can shape it in the manner they want. Works cited Berkman, Alexander. The ABC Of Anarchism. Mineola, N.Y.: Dover Publications, 2005. Print. Jun, Nathan J. Anarchism And Political Modernity. New York: Continuum, 2012. Print. May, Todd. The Political Philosophy Of Poststructuralist Anarchism. University Park, Pa.: Pennsylvania State University Press, 1994. Print. Roshwald, Mordecai. Liberty. Westport, Conn.: Greenwood Press, 2000. Print. Read More