B.

0 Section B Introduction
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Section B - Why do anarchists oppose the current system?

This section of the FAQ presents an analysis of the basic social relationships of modern
society and the structures which create them, particularly those aspects of society that
anarchists want to change.

Anarchism is, essentially, a revolt against capitalism. As a political theory it was born at
the same time as capitalism and in opposition to it. As a social movement it grew in
strength and influence as capitalism colonised more and more parts of society. Rather
than simply express opposition to the state, as some so-called experts assert, anarchism
has always been opposed to other forms of authority and the oppression they create, in
particular capitalism and its particular form of private property. It is no coincidence that
Proudhon, the first person to declare themselves an anarchist, did so in a book entitled
What is Property? (and gave the answer "It is theft!"). From Proudhon onwards,
anarchism has opposed both the state and capitalism (indeed, it is the one thing such
diverse thinkers as Benjamin Tucker and Peter Kropotkin both agreed on). Needless to
say, since Proudhon anarchism has extended its critique of authority beyond these two
social evils. Other forms of social hierarchy, such as sexism, racism and homophobia,
have been rejected as limitations of freedom and equality. So this section of the FAQ
summarises the key ideas behind anarchism's rejection of the current system we live
under.

This, of course, does not mean that anarchistic ideas have not existed within society
before the dawn of capitalism. Far from it. Thinkers whose ideas can be classified as
anarchist go back thousands of years and are found many diverse cultures and places.
Indeed, it would be no exaggeration to say that anarchism was born the moment the state
and private property were created. However, as Kropotkin noted, while "from all times
there have been Anarchists and Statists" in our times "Anarchy was brought forth by the
same critical and revolutionary protest that gave rise to Socialism in general." However,
unlike other socialists, anarchists have not stopped at the "negation of Capitalism and of
society based on the subjection of labour to capital" and went further to "declare
themselves against what constitutes the real strength of Capitalism: the State and its
principle supports -- centralisation of authority, law, always made by a minority for its own
profit, and a form of justice whose chief aim is to protect Authority and Capitalism." So
anarchism was "not only against Capitalism, but also against these pillars of Capitalism:
Law, Authority, and the State." [Evolution and Environment, p. 16 and p. 19]
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In other words, anarchism as it exists today, as a social movement with a long history of
struggle and with a political theory and set of ideas, is the product of the transformation of
society which accompanied the creation of the modern (nation-) state and capital and (far
more importantly) the reaction, resistance and opposition of those subject to these new
social relationships and institutions. As such, the analysis and critique presented in this
section of the FAQ will concentrate on modern, capitalist, society.

Anarchists realise that the power of governments and other forms of hierarchy depends
upon the agreement of the governed. Fear is not the whole answer, it is far more
"because they [the oppressed] subscribe to the same values as their governors. Rulers
and ruled alike believe in the principle of authority, of hierarchy, of power." [Colin Ward,
Anarchy in Action, p. 15] With this in mind, we present in this section of the FAQ our
arguments to challenge this "consensus," to present the case why we should become
anarchists, why authoritarian social relationships and organisations are not in our
interests.

Needless to say, this task is not easy. No ruling class could survive unless the institutions
which empower it are generally accepted by those subject to them. This is achieved by
various means -- by propaganda, the so-called education system, by tradition, by the
media, by the general cultural assumptions of a society. In this way the dominant ideas in
society are those of the dominant elite. This means that any social movement needs to
combat these ideas before trying to end them:

"People often do not even recognise the existence of systems of

oppression and domination. They have to try to struggle to gain their rights
within the systems in which they live before they even perceive that there is
repression. Take a look at the women's movement. One of the first steps in
the development of the women's movement was so-called 'consciousness
raising efforts.' Try to get women to perceive that it is not the natural state
of the world for them to be dominated and controlled. My grandmother
couldn't join the women's movement, since she didn't feel any oppression,
in some sense. That's just the way life was, like the sun rises in the
morning. Until people can realise that it is not like the sun rising, that it can
be changed, that you don't have to follow orders, that you don't have to be
beaten, until people can perceive that there is something wrong with that,
until that is overcome, you can't go on. And one of the ways to do that is to
try to press reforms within the existing systems of repression, and sooner
or later you find that you will have to change them." [Noam Chomsky,
Anarchism Interview]
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This means, as Malatesta stressed, that anarchists "first task therefore must be to
persuade people." This means that we "must make people aware of the misfortunes they
suffer and of their chances to destroy them . . . To those who are cold and hungry we will
demonstrate how possible and easy it would be to assure everybody their material needs.
To those who are oppressed and despised we shall show how it is possible to live happily
in a world of people who are free and equal . . . And when we will have succeeded in
arousing the sentiment of rebellion in the minds of men [and women] against the
avoidable and unjust evils from which we suffer in society today, and in getting them to
understand how they are caused and how it depends on human will to rid ourselves of
them" then we will be able to unite and change them for the better. [Errico Malatesta: His
Life and Ideas, pp. 185-6]

So we must explain why we want to change the system. From this discussion, it will
become apparent why anarchists are dissatisfied with the very limited amount of freedom
in modern society and why they want to create a truly free society. In the words of Noam
Chomsky, the anarchist critique of modern society means:

"to seek out and identify structures of authority, hierarchy, and domination
in every aspect of life, and to challenge them; unless a justification for them
can be given, they are illegitimate, and should be dismantled, to increase
the scope of human freedom. That includes political power, ownership and
management, relations among men and women, parents and children, our
control over the fate of future generations (the basic moral imperative
behind the environmental movement. . .), and much else. Naturally this
means a challenge to the huge institutions of coercion and control: the
state, the unaccountable private tyrannies that control most of the domestic
and international economy [i.e. capitalist corporations and companies], and
so on. But not only these." [Marxism, Anarchism, and Alternative
Futures, p. 775]

This task is made easier by the fact that the "dominating class" has not "succeeded in
reducing all its subjects to passive and unconscious instruments of its interests." This
means that where there is oppression and exploitation there is also resistance -- and
hope. Even when those oppressed by hierarchical social relations generally accept it,
those institutions cannot put out the spark of freedom totally. Indeed, they help produce
the spirit of revolt by their very operation as people finally say enough is enough and
stand up for their rights. Thus hierarchical societies "contain organic contradictions and
[these] are like the germs of death" from which "the possibility of progress" springs.
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[Malatesta, Op. Cit., pp. 186-7]

Anarchists, therefore, combine their critique of existing society with active participation in
the on-going struggles which exist in any hierarchical struggle. As we discuss in section J,
we urge people to take direct action to fight oppression. Such struggles change those
who take part in them, breaking the social conditioning which keeps hierarchical society
going and making people aware of other possibilities, aware that other worlds are possible
and that we do not have to live like this. Thus struggle is the practical school of
anarchism, the means by which the preconditions of an anarchist society are created.
Anarchists seek to learn from such struggles while, at the same time, propagating our
ideas within them and encouraging them to develop into a general struggle for social
liberation and change.

Thus the natural resistance of the oppressed to their oppression encourages this process
of justification Chomsky (and anarchism) calls for, this critical evaluation of authority and
domination, this undermining of what previously was considered "natural" or "common-
sense" until we started to question it. As noted above, an essential part of this process
is to encourage direct action by the oppressed against their oppressors as well as
encouraging the anarchistic tendencies and awareness that exist (to a greater or lesser
degree) in any hierarchical society. The task of anarchists is to encourage such struggles
and the questioning their produce of society and the way it works. We aim to encourage
people to look at the root causes of the social problems they are fighting, to seek to
change the underlying social institutions and relationships which produce them. We seek
to create an awareness that oppression can not only be fought, but ended, and that the
struggle against an unjust system creates the seeds of the society that will replace it. In
other words, we seek to encourage hope and a positive vision of a better world.

However, this section of the FAQ is concerned directly with the critical or "negative"
aspect of anarchism, the exposing of the evil inherent in all authority, be it from state,
property or whatever and why, consequently, anarchists seek "the destruction of power,
property, hierarchy and exploitation." [Murray Bookchin, Post-Scarcity Anarchism, p. 11]
Later sections will indicate how, after analysing the world, anarchists plan to change it
constructively, but some of the constructive core of anarchism will be seen even in this
section. After this broad critique of the current system, we move onto more specific areas.
Section C explains the anarchist critique of the economics of capitalism. Section D
discusses how the social relationships and institutions described in this section impact on
society as a whole. Section E discusses the causes (and some suggested solutions) to
the ecological problems we face.

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