Abstract: Where is anarchist theory going? Where should it be going? It's useful to make a comparison with other bodies of theory. Marxism and feminism spring to mind. Despite the collapse of socialist states, Marxism remains influential among scholars, among whom the study of Marx's works continues to play a big role. Anarchism shares with Marxism a preoccupation with classic theorists - for Marx and Engels substitute Bakunin and Kropotkin - but anarchism has never had anything like the scholarly attention or intellectual commitment inspired by Marxism. Feminism remains a vibrant theoretical enterprise, drawing on a variety of thinkers. Once again, anarchism has received far less scholarly attention. Both Marxism and feminism were inspired by, and inspired, social movements. Each has developed esoteric theoretical branches, largely restricted to scholars (and maybe their students) and separate from the day-to-day concerns of activists. Anarchism has not had a theoretical wing of similar scale or exclusiveness. In a narrow sense, anarchism can refer to a critique of the state and to antistate practice. In a broader sense, it can refer to a critique of domination - incorporating a critique of the state plus critiques of capitalism, patriarchy, racism and other oppressive systems - and associated practices. Anarchists seldom try to impose an anti-state lens on all forms of oppression. But few Marxists and feminists are one-dimensional either. More than other forms of critique, anarchism contains a vision of an alternative - a self-managing society - and preferred means for achieving it, namely a practice that reflects the goal. This is unlike Marxism, in which the ultimate goal of communism, a society without the state, has never been well articulated, and in which the means are justified by the ends: capturing state power is the means to achieve stateless communism. Feminists subscribe to an ideal of gender equality, but this has many versions, from anarcha-feminist visions to a hierarchical society in which women hold just as many positions of power as men. Feminists differ considerably concerning the means to achieve their ideals. If social goals and methods play a large role in the anarchist project, what does this say about anarchist theory? Should scholarship be dismissed as elitist and therefore incompatible, as a means, with the goal of an egalitarian society? This doesn't make sense, at least in the short term, because anarchist practice needs critical scrutiny, like any other practice. But are there ways to supplement conventional modes of scholarly production? Anarchists point to a long tradition of radical education, including schools in which teachers and learners make decisions collectively. Modes of decisionmaking are a key part of what is often called the hidden curriculum, namely the things learned through the structure of the educational process rather than the formal things studied. Egalitarian education suggests a different process for producing and using theory. There is also a tradition of activist learning and teaching, especially in times of oppression, social crisis or revolution, such as teach-ins against wars and learning within opposition movements. However, this does not seem to have had much effect on the content of what is learned, nor has it given rise to sustained alternative modes of intellectual production. …
Publication Year: 2007
Publication Date: 2007-07-01
Language: en
Type: article
Access and Citation
AI Researcher Chatbot
Get quick answers to your questions about the article from our AI researcher chatbot