Portal:Anarchism


THE ANARCHISM PORTAL
Black flag waving
Black flag waving

Anarchism is a political philosophy and movement that is skeptical of all justifications for authority and seeks to abolish the institutions it claims maintain unnecessary coercion and hierarchy, typically including, though not necessarily limited to, governments, nation states, and capitalism. Anarchism advocates for the replacement of the state with stateless societies or other forms of free associations. As a historically left-wing movement, usually placed on the farthest left of the political spectrum, it is usually described alongside communalism and libertarian Marxism as the libertarian wing (libertarian socialism) of the socialist movement.

Humans lived in societies without formal hierarchies long before the establishment of formal states, realms, or empires. With the rise of organised hierarchical bodies, scepticism toward authority also rose. Although traces of anarchist thought are found throughout history, modern anarchism emerged from the Enlightenment. During the latter half of the 19th and the first decades of the 20th century, the anarchist movement flourished in most parts of the world and had a significant role in workers' struggles for emancipation. Various anarchist schools of thought formed during this period. Anarchists have taken part in several revolutions, most notably in the Paris Commune, the Russian Civil War and the Spanish Civil War, whose end marked the end of the classical era of anarchism. In the last decades of the 20th and into the 21st century, the anarchist movement has been resurgent once more, growing in popularity and influence within anti-capitalist, anti-war and anti-globalisation movements. (Full article...)

Selected article

Alexander_Berkman, 1892

Alexander Berkman (November 21, 1870 – June 28, 1936) was an anarchist known for his political activism and writing. He was a leading member of the anarchist movement in the early 20th century.

Berkman was born in Vilnius in the Russian Empire and emigrated to the United States in 1888. He lived in New York City, where he became involved in the anarchist movement. He was the lover and lifelong friend of anarchist Emma Goldman.

In 1892, Berkman attempted to assassinate Henry Clay Frick as an act of propaganda of the deed. Though Frick survived the attempt on his life, Berkman served 14 years in prison. His experience in prison was the basis for his first book, Prison Memoirs of an Anarchist.

After his release from prison, Berkman served as editor of Goldman's anarchist journal, Mother Earth, and he established his own journal, The Blast.

In 1917, Berkman and Goldman were sentenced to two years in jail for conspiracy against the newly instated draft. After their release from prison, they were arrested—along with hundreds of others—and deported to Russia. Initially supportive of that country's Bolshevik revolution, Berkman quickly voiced his opposition to the Soviet use of violence and the repression of independent voices. In 1925, he published a book about his experiences, The Bolshevik Myth.

While living in France, Berkman continued his work in support of the anarchist movement, producing the classic exposition of anarchist principles, Now and After: The ABC of Communist Anarchism. Suffering from ill health, Berkman committed suicide in 1936. (read more...)

Selected image

Black Bloc demonstrators taunting liberal protesters at a 2005 protest
Black Bloc demonstrators taunting liberal protesters at a 2005 protest

Black Bloc demonstrators taunting liberal protesters at Malcolm X Park during the January 20, 2005 counter-inaugural protest. The tactic of black bloc affinity groups advocating direct action instead of nonviolent resistance was pioneered by European autonomes in the 1980s.

Did you know?

Selected quote

Anniversaries for April 8

Relevant lists

Categories

Anarchism
Anarchism by continent
Anarchism by country
Anarchist schools of thought
Anarchism by region
Anarchists
Anti-anarchism
Anarchist communities
Anarchist culture
History of anarchism
Anarchism lists
Anarchist movements
Anarchist organizations
Police abolition movement
Anarchist symbols
Anarchist theory
Anarchist works
Works about anarchism
Anarchism stubs

Parent portals


Socio-political portals

Parent projects

Economics · Philosophy
Politics · Sociology

Socio-political projects

Anarchism
Cooperatives · Fascism
Libertarianism · Marxism
Gender Studies · LGBT studies
Organized Labour · Socialism
Social and political philosophy

Topics

Things you can do

Thank you for your interest in improving the coverage of anarchism on Wikipedia!

  • For tasks you can do, visit the anarchism cleanup listing, an automated list of articles needing improvement.
  • If you would like to help maintain the anarchism portal, a list of tasks needing attention is maintained on its talk page.
  • You are also invited to visit the Anarchism Task Force, a work group organizing the collective effort to improve anarchism's coverage on Wikipedia! If you are interested in joining it, please add your details to the list of participants.

The following Wikimedia Foundation sister projects provide more on this subject:

Discover Wikipedia using portals
  • Shortcuts to this page: P:AN
This article is issued from Wikipedia. The text is licensed under Creative Commons - Attribution - Sharealike. Additional terms may apply for the media files.