Anarchism is a radical ideology centered on opposition to the state and to private ownership of capital (because it is a situation of hierarchy similar to the situation created by political government).

Anarchists like bombs.

I have usually perceived them as unsympathetic, however I have had some necessity to research them, and when I read first-hand discussion of their principles and motivations, it is much harder to just take them carelessly. They have reason and compassion, not just a compulsion to 'take down the government'.

However I find it difficult to believe that their proposed sociological structure is either ethical or possible.

Does anyone know anything about this subject? I'd like to hear your thoughts and discuss it. I am especially working through whether the way they propose to structure society would work at all.

Well...I think all forms of anarchism are opposed to the state, but there are quite a few schools of thought self-identifying as anarchist that don't oppose private ownership and that are pacifist. This Wikipedia article has a pretty good overview: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Anarchist_schools_of_thought

I've personally done quite a bit of study of Christian anarchism, which (depending on who you ask!) is founded on opposition to violence rather than opposition to hierarchy. According to the anarchist writers I've read, the state is evil because it is founded on violence, not because it's an authority over people. An ideal society in this view would still be one with hierarchy - in families, in the Church, &c. The authors I've read also don't oppose private ownership per se - they still think people have a right to own things - but they encourage giving and sharing.

At some point I will probably write up a big explanation of Christian anarchism and the best arguments for and against it, but right now I'm too busy.


You may want to read Ursula K. LeGuin's novel The Dispossessed, which has a very good and very believable portrait of an anarchist society. (Content warning: There is quite a lot of discussion of sex and related forms of immorality, and one actual scene that I skipped...but this is one of those books that I think is worth getting through all the ickiness.)

Wouldn't that be pacifism? Anarchism is pretty much defined by its opposition to state hierarchy.

It is true that no anarchists I ever read opposed private ownership of goods (some forms are based on the fact that they believe an ideal state is one in which every single citizen owns enough land to live on). What I meant was the opposition to "capitalist" monopolies and large aggregations of wealth and resources which would create intimidation based subjugation of the people to the owner of the resources.

I'd be interested.

Nice to hear from you, Juliet!


It's anarchism derived from pacifism. The line of reasoning goes: All violence is evil, and the state is essentially an institution with a monopoly of violence over a territory. Therefore, the state is evil.

I'm sure there are other Christian anarchist schools of thought, but this one is the most compelling to me.


Yes, that would align with most strains of anarchism I've come across.


Glad to hear it! I left my research for a while since it was getting to be too spiritually exhausting for me, but hopefully I'll return at some point and come to some conclusions. At the moment I have almost zero opinions about Christianity and government - after studying many different thoughtful points of view on this subject that often contradict each other, I'm mostly just confused. I need to do some more Bible study and make some decisions.

Thanks! I haven't been posting on these threads for awhile.

Ah, I see. It reminds me a little of Ghandi's style of idealogy.

Yeah. Well, it is easier for me, as I am not trying to come to any conclusions yet. I just want to understand. I hope you are able to study well!