Core Ideas and Principles of Anarchism
Anarchism is the political tradition defined by its rejection of the state: the word comes from the Greek for 'without rulers', and anarchists argue that the state is not a necessary evil but an illegitimate and corrupting institution that should be abolished, not merely limited or reformed.
Before you start
No specific prerequisites - this is a good place to start.
Method
- Always start with anarchism's one non-negotiable principle: the state itself, not just a particular government or policy, is illegitimate, because it rests on coercion rather than consent.
- Explain WHY anarchists reject the state rather than just asserting that they do: because obedience to a ruler is incompatible with using one's own reason and judgement, and because concentrated power tends to corrupt those who hold it, regardless of how it was acquired.
- State anarchism's view of human nature clearly: broadly optimistic, holding that people can cooperate and govern themselves without external coercion, in contrast to conservative or classical liberal views that see some form of authority as necessary to restrain human selfishness.
- Apply the four core principles: human nature (capable of self-government), the state (illegitimate and unnecessary, not just too large), society (organised through voluntary cooperation rather than command), and the economy (contested between collective ownership and mutualist or individual possession, but always opposed to concentrated, unearned property).
- Distinguish anarchism from other ideologies that also criticise the state: unlike classical liberals, who want a minimal state, anarchists want no state at all; unlike Marxists, who see a transitional workers' state as a necessary stage, anarchists reject any state, even a temporary one.
- For an evaluate question, use the collectivist/individualist split (covered in detail elsewhere) to show anarchism is not one single blueprint but a shared rejection of the state combined with rival visions of what a free society would look like.
Worked example
Plan an answer to: 'Explain why anarchists reject the state.' Focus on two distinct reasons rather than one restated point.
- Identify reason one: authority is incompatible with individual autonomy, since obeying a ruler's command rather than one's own reason and judgement is a form of enslavement, however mild.
- Support reason one with an application: even a democratically elected government still issues commands backed by force (law, police, prisons) that individuals did not personally consent to in any meaningful, ongoing sense.
- Identify reason two: power corrupts, so concentrating the legitimate use of force in a single institution, the state, creates a body that will tend to serve its own interests and those of the powerful, rather than the people it claims to represent.
- Support reason two with an application: anarchists argue this is true whatever a state's declared ideology, which is why anarchists reject both capitalist states and Marxist 'workers' states' as equally likely to become self-serving and oppressive.
- Close with a link: both reasons point to the same conclusion, that the problem is the state as an institution of concentrated, coercive power, not simply which party or class controls it, which is why anarchists seek to abolish it rather than capture or reform it.
Practice questions
Try each question, then tap to reveal the answer.
Q1What does the word 'anarchy' literally mean?Show answer
Answer: 'Without rulers', from the Greek.
Q2Are anarchists generally optimistic or pessimistic about human nature?Show answer
Answer: Optimistic - they believe people are capable of rational self-government and voluntary cooperation without coercive authority.
Q3State anarchism's central and defining claim about the state.Show answer
Answer: That the state is illegitimate and unnecessary, not merely too large or in need of reform, and should be abolished entirely.
Q4Name the two broad strands anarchism divides into.Show answer
Answer: Collectivist (or social) anarchism and individualist anarchism.
Q5Give one form of hierarchy, other than the state, that anarchists typically reject.Show answer
Answer: Organised religion, inherited privilege, or (for most anarchists) capitalist private property and the authority of employers.
Q6How does anarchism's rejection of the state differ from classical liberalism's view of the state?Show answer
Answer: Classical liberals want a minimal state to protect individual rights; anarchists reject the state entirely, believing any state, however small, rests on illegitimate coercion.
Exam-style questions
Written in the style of a A Level Politics exam paper, with a full mark scheme.
Explain and analyse two reasons anarchists believe human nature makes a stateless society possible.
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'The state is always illegitimate, whatever form it takes.' Analyse and evaluate this anarchist claim.
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See real A Level Politics past-paper questions, with official mark schemes →
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