Anarchy

The word anarchy is ancient Greek and means “lack of rule”. In an anarchy, there are no bosses or a government: people are free to do what they think is right. There can still be rules that people voluntarily follow. Someone who thinks anarchy is good is an anarchist.

The philosophy that deals with what such a rule-free society would look like is called anarchism. Anarchists say that domination and social order rob people of their freedom. Anarchism also says that all people have the same rights. But they have to enforce them themselves: Because anarchists reject any form of state. For example, they are against the army and police, through which a state is supposed to act and protect people. Some anarchists also think that there should be no property.

Already in ancient times there were philosophers who thought about a society without domination. The philosophy of anarchism as we know it today spread in Europe in the 19th century, around the same time as communism. Pierre-Joseph Proudhon of France is considered one of the most important thinkers of this modern anarchism.

Many people think badly about anarchism. They say that a society needs rules and leadership, otherwise it will sink into chaos. However, there is a certain order in anarchism as well. However, this does not come about through state organization, but through society itself. Anarchists suggest that people get together in groups to help each other. When there is a problem, they discuss together how to come to a solution.

There is no state in the world that has the form of rule anarchy. But there were and are groups of people who organize their life together anarchistically.