Anarchism

A detailed Summary of Anarchism

Anarchism does not mean bloodshed; it does not mean robbery, arson, etc. These monstrosities are, on the contrary, the characteristic features of capitalism. Anarchism means peace and tranquility to all."

Although the word anarchism is understood by many in its classic sense (that defined by dictionaries and by anarchists of history), the word is often misused and misunderstood. Anarchism, because of the threat it imposes upon established authority, has been historically, and is still, misused by power holders as violence and chaos. As anarchist historian George Woodcock put it, "Of the more frivolous is the idea that the anarchist is a man who throws bombs and wishes to wreak society by violence and terror. That this charge should be brought against anarchists now, at a time when they are the few people who are not throwing bombs or assisting bomb throwers, shows a curious purblindness among its champions." The claim that anarchism is chaos was refuted long ago by Alexander Berkman when he wrote:

I must tell you, first of all, what anarchism is not. It is not bombs, disorder, or chaos. It is not robbery or murder. It is not a war of each against all. It is not a return to barbarianism or to the wild state of man. Anarchism i

The government and the rich would love us to fight amongst ourselves, and all too often people do. A lot of people with jobs look down on the unemployed, and a lot of people look down on people who earn less money. Other big problems are racism and sexism. People will blame unemployment on Aboriginals or Asians, or on women working. Men are given more power than women, and white people are given more power than people of other races. But what people don't see is that the rich are laughing at all of us: black and white, male or female, none of us have much control over our lives unless we're rich. Everyone has to stand together. You have to look at whether you're taking the easy option and calling people slopes or bitches, feeling like you're on top of the world when really you're digging your own grave. All this can be pretty hard, but there's no other way. If you aren't going to try and stop being a racist or a sexist, don't bother getting in touch with us. Fight the power

However, the origin of the "circled-A" as an anarchist symbol is less clear. Many think that it started in the 1970s punk movement, but it goes back to a much earlier period. According to Peter Marshall, "[i]n 1964 a French group, Jeunesse Libertaire, gave new impetus to Proudhon's slogan 'Anarchy is Order' by creating the circled-A a symbol which quickly proliferated throughout the world." [Op. Cit., p. 445] This is not the earliest sighting of this symbol. On November 25 1956, at its foundation in Brussels, the Alliance Ouvriere Anarchiste (AOA) adopted this symbol. Going even further, a BBC documentary on the Spanish Civil War shows an anarchist militia member with a "circled-A" clearly on the back of his helmet. Other than this, there is little know about the "circled-A"s origin.

There are three main groups in society. The groups are called classes. The people who are rich and powerful are called the

Some common words found in the essay are:
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Approximate Word count = 1275
Approximate Pages = 5 (250 words per page double spaced)

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