Anti-statism

Anti-statism is any approach to social, economic or political philosophy that rejects statism. An anti-statist is one who opposes state.^[1] In anarchism, this is characterized by a complete rejection of all social hierarchical rulership.^[2] In minarchism, the state is viewed as necessary but should be minimized to only basic functions for societal order, such as the provision of courts, law enforcement, and military.

Overview[edit]

Anti-statism is present in a variety of greatly differing positions and encompasses an array of diametric concepts and practices. Anti-statists differ greatly according to the beliefs they hold in addition to anti-statism as significant difficulty in determining whether a thinker or philosophy is anti-statist is the problem of defining the state itself.

Terminology has changed over time and past writers often used the word state in a different sense than we use it today. Anarchist Mikhail Bakunin used the term simply to mean a governing organization while other writers used the term state to mean any lawmaking or law enforcement agency. Revolutionary socialist Karl Marx defined the state as the institution used by the ruling class of a country to maintain the conditions of its rule. According to liberal Max Weber, the state is an organization with an effective legal monopoly on the legitimate use of physical force in a particular geographic area.^[3]^[4] Anarcho-capitalist Murray Rothbard views the power of the state as unjustified, arguing that it restricts individual rights and prosperity, and creates social and economic problems.^[5]

Topics[edit]

Anti-militarism is the opposition to "military rule, high military expenditure or the imposition of foreign bases".^[6] It is an opposition to statist military policy, especially nuclear armament, and is closely associated with pacifism.^[7]^[8] Anarcho-pacifism is a radical form of these principles.^[8]
Civil disobedience is the practiced rejection of the legislative authority of the state. This is usually defined as pertaining to the relationship between the laws of the state and the citizen.^[9] Civil disobedience often aims to challenge the legitimacy of a political or judicial ruling through protest.
Disinformation is false information spread deliberately to deceive.
Laissez-faire is the absence of any state intervention in a market economy. The theory of laissez-faire rests on the principles that economic intervention by the government is either impractical, inefficiënt or illegitimate.
Self-governance is the ability of a group or individual to exercise all necessary functions of regulation without intervention from an external authority.
Surveillance saw the advent of technologies such as high speed surveillance computers and biometrics software. As governments now possess an unprecedented ability to monitor the activities of their subjects, many civil rights and privacy groups have expressed concern that allowing continual increases in government surveillance of citizens will end up in a mass surveillance society, with extremely limited, or non-existent political and personal freedoms.

Forms[edit]

Besides Cynicism (contemporary) and Nihilism, there are:

Political theories[edit]

Template:See more Anti-statism is a common element in anarchist and libertarian political philosophy. Anarchist schools of thought have been generally grouped into two main historical traditions, social anarchism and individualist anarchism, owing to their different origins, values and evolution. The individualist current emphasises negative liberty in opposing restraints upon the free individual, while the social current emphasises positive liberty in aiming to achieve the free potential of society through equality and social ownership. In a chronological sense, anarchism can be segmented by the classical currents of the late 19th century and the post-classical currents (anarcha-feminism, green anarchism, and post-anarchism) developed thereafter.

Beyond the specific factions of anarchist movements which constitute political anarchism lies philosophical anarchism which holds that the state lacks moral legitimacy, without necessarily accepting the imperative of revolution to eliminate it. A component especially of individualist anarchism, philosophical anarchism may tolerate the existence of a minimal state but claims that citizens have no moral obligation to obey government when it conflicts with individual autonomy. Anarchism pays significant attention to moral arguments since ethics have a central role in anarchist philosophy. Anarchism's emphasis on anti-capitalism, egalitarianism, and for the extension of community and individuality sets it apart from anarcho-capitalism and other types of economic neoliberalism.

Anarchism is usually placed on the far-left of the political spectrum. Much of its economics and legal philosophy reflect anti-authoritarian, anti-statist, libertarian, and radical interpretations of left-wing and socialist politics such as collectivism, communism, individualism, mutualism, and syndicalism, among other libertarian socialist economic theories. As anarchism does not offer a fixed body of doctrine from a single particular worldview, many anarchist types and traditions exist and varieties of anarchy diverge widely. One reaction against sectarianism within the anarchist milieu was anarchism without adjectives, a call for toleration and unity among anarchists first adopted by Fernando Tarrida del Mármol in 1889 in response to the bitter debates of anarchist theory at the time. Belief in political nihilism has been espoused by anarchists. Despite separation, the various anarchist schools of thought are not seen as distinct entities but rather as tendencies that intermingle and are connected through a set of shared principles such as autonomy, mutual aid, anti-authoritarianism and decentralisation.

I heartily accept the motto,—"That government is best which governs least"; and I should like to see it acted up to more rapidly and systematically. Carried out, it finally amounts to this, which also I believe,—"That government is best which governs not at all"; and when men and women are prepared for it, that will be the kind of government which they will have.
— Henry David Thoreau, Resistance to Civil Government^[10]

Marxist approaches to anti-statism centre on the relationship between political rule and class struggle. Karl Marx defined the state as the institution used by the ruling class of a country to maintain the conditions of its rule. To this extent, the ultimate goal of communist society was theorized as both stateless and classless.

Political movements may adopt anti-statist principles for other reasons such as aesthetic, ideological or religious beliefs, or as a result of social or political marginalization. Examples of this may include resistance movements under military occupation or a conflicting regime.

Egoism[edit]

In egoist philosophy, self-interest is held as the grounding principle of human action, morality or both. Max Stirner proposes that most commonly accepted social institutions such as the notion of state, morality and property rights are mere illusions or ghosts in the mind. In this way, noncompliance to government authority is always justified.

Anarcho-capitalism[edit]

Anarcho-capitalism opposes the public state, instead favoring private voluntary states, such as markets.^[11]^[12]

References[edit]

^ Gallaher, Carolyn; Dahlman, Carl T.; Gilmartin, Mary; Mountz, Alison; Shirlow, Peter (2009). Key Concepts in Political Geography. London: SAGE. pp. 260, 392. ISBN 978-1-4129-4672-8. Retrieved 31 July 2014.
^ Craig, Edward, ed. (31 March 2005). "Anarchism". The Shorter Routledge Encyclopedia of Philosophy. ISBN 978-0-415-32495-3.
^ Barrow, Clyde W. (2002). "The Miliband-Poulantzas Debate: An Intellectual History". In Aronowitz, Stanley; Bratsis, Peter (eds.). Paradigm Lost: State Theory Reconsidered. University of Minnesota Press. ISBN 978-0-8166-3293-0.
^ Cudworth, Erika (2007). The Modern State: Theories and Ideologies. Edinburgh University Press. ISBN 978-0-7486-2176-7.
^ Costa, Daniel (2022-10-21). "Anarcho-capitalism". Encyclopædia Britannica. Retrieved 2022-10-25.
^ Cockburn, Cynthia (2012). Antimilitarism: Political and Gender Dynamics of Peace Movements. London: Palgrave Macmillan. p. 2. ISBN 978-0230359758.
^ Woodcock, George (2004) [1962]. Anarchism: A History of Libertarian Ideas and Movements. Peterborough, Ontario: Broadview Press. ISBN 9781551116297.
^ ^a ^b Ostergaard, Geoffrey. Resisting the Nation State: The Pacifist and Anarchist Tradition. Peace Pledge. Archived from the original on 2011-05-14. Retrieved 2019-11-27.
^ Martin, Rex (January 1970). "Civil Disobedience". Ethics. 80 (2): 123–139. doi:10.1086/291760. S2CID 222437515.
^ Thoreau, Henry David (1849). Resistance to Civil Government.
^ Morriss, Andrew P. (2008-08-15). "Anarcho-Capitalism". Libertarianism.org. Retrieved 2022-08-21. Although most anarchists oppose all large institutions, public or private, anarcho-capitalists oppose the state, but not private actors with significant market power.
^ Geloso, Vincent; Leeson, Peter T. (2020). "Are Anarcho-Capitalists Insane? Medieval Icelandic Conflict Institutions in Comparative Perspective". Revue d'économie politique. 130 (6): 957–974. doi:10.3917/redp.306.0115. ISSN 0373-2630. S2CID 235008718. Anarcho-capitalism is a variety of libertarianism according to which all government institutions can and should be replaced by private ones.

[1] Gallaher, Carolyn; Dahlman, Carl T.; Gilmartin, Mary; Mountz, Alison; Shirlow, Peter (2009). Key Concepts in Political Geography. London: SAGE. pp. 260, 392. ISBN 978-1-4129-4672-8. Retrieved 31 July 2014.

[2] Craig, Edward, ed. (31 March 2005). "Anarchism". The Shorter Routledge Encyclopedia of Philosophy. ISBN 978-0-415-32495-3.

[3] Barrow, Clyde W. (2002). "The Miliband-Poulantzas Debate: An Intellectual History". In Aronowitz, Stanley; Bratsis, Peter (eds.). Paradigm Lost: State Theory Reconsidered. University of Minnesota Press. ISBN 978-0-8166-3293-0.

[4] Cudworth, Erika (2007). The Modern State: Theories and Ideologies. Edinburgh University Press. ISBN 978-0-7486-2176-7.

[:8-5] Costa, Daniel (2022-10-21). "Anarcho-capitalism". Encyclopædia Britannica. Retrieved 2022-10-25.

[6] Cockburn, Cynthia (2012). Antimilitarism: Political and Gender Dynamics of Peace Movements. London: Palgrave Macmillan. p. 2. ISBN 978-0230359758.

[Woodcock1962-7] Woodcock, George (2004) [1962]. Anarchism: A History of Libertarian Ideas and Movements. Peterborough, Ontario: Broadview Press. ISBN 9781551116297.

[Ostergaard-8] Ostergaard, Geoffrey. Resisting the Nation State: The Pacifist and Anarchist Tradition. Peace Pledge. Archived from the original on 2011-05-14. Retrieved 2019-11-27.

[9] Martin, Rex (January 1970). "Civil Disobedience". Ethics. 80 (2): 123–139. doi:10.1086/291760. S2CID 222437515.

[10] Thoreau, Henry David (1849). Resistance to Civil Government.

[:3-11] Morriss, Andrew P. (2008-08-15). "Anarcho-Capitalism". Libertarianism.org. Retrieved 2022-08-21. Although most anarchists oppose all large institutions, public or private, anarcho-capitalists oppose the state, but not private actors with significant market power.

[12] Geloso, Vincent; Leeson, Peter T. (2020). "Are Anarcho-Capitalists Insane? Medieval Icelandic Conflict Institutions in Comparative Perspective". Revue d'économie politique. 130 (6): 957–974. doi:10.3917/redp.306.0115. ISSN 0373-2630. S2CID 235008718. Anarcho-capitalism is a variety of libertarianism according to which all government institutions can and should be replaced by private ones.

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