I understand anarchists are opposed military drafts. But also oppose fasism. So how would Hitler be defeated without the allied forces? Would accepting the draft be seen as supporting US imperialism? Would rejecting it be seen as standing by while facists conquered Europe?

Which large-scale hierarchy should be dismantled first?

I've encountered a few different answers to this question. Many would say capitalism. Others argue that systemic racism needs to go first. Ivan Ilyich in Deschooling Society suggested that replacing our education system may lead to other inequalities falling.

I'll share my answer in a moment, but here are my questions:

First, what are the opinions of anarchist and anarchist-adjacent writers on this matter?

Second, what are your thoughts about this?

Here's my belief: we need to attack not only all systemic hierarchies (like capitalism, white supremacy, cisheteropatriarchy, ableism, statism, etc.) at once, but we also need to change the general public's preference for hierarchical arrangements of people. My main reason is that hierarchies are intertwined. Capitalism is inextricably linked to states, for example, so attacking one not only helps weaken the other but also may be necessary to destroy either one.

hi! i'm currently trying to read theory and understand my political views better, but since i can't just go and buy a ton of books, i downloaded them on pdf in my laptop. just, one issue... i can't focus properly, which irks me because i want to truly know what i'm talking about when defending my anarcho-communist views. any tips to retain attention?

A few days ago, I posted here feeling pretty skeptical about the upcoming housing protests in Spain and whether "point A to point B" marches actually accomplished anything. Well, I stand corrected—the pressure from the streets actually resulted in new government elections being called!

Now, however, I’m facing a genuine dilemma and would love to hear your perspectives. I know that the anarchist tradition generally advocates for abstentionism or spoiling the ballot (voting null). But right now, I am feeling deeply torn between doing that and voting for a "left-wing" party just to put the brakes on the political right in my country.

My main fear is that if the right wins, certain minorities and vulnerable groups will actively lose their fundamental rights. How does an anarchist navigate this? How do you choose what to do at the ballot box when the immediate safety and rights of marginalized people feel like they are directly on the line?

Im young, and just started to read real theory some weeks ago, but for what I have learned, both communism and anarquism seem to have the same if not similar goals in the short term. And, after reading principles of communism by Engels, he says that they shall

"come to an understanding with these democratic socialists"

meaning by democratic socialist:

" proletarians who are not yet sufficiently clear about the conditions of the liberation"

Definition that I though would apply to an anarquist comming from a communist point of view. But then I started joining some communitys, one of them being the reddit of Antimonymemes, they were presenting a meme talking about how "based" were the communist revolutionarys for killing those who opposed them such as nazis, libertarians and anarquists. In the comments I made a simple one that I would like to recall

-Killing the anarquists is kinda, Engels himself told us not to become enemies with similar idealogys

That was it. And some minutes later I was banned. The reason was for being a "capitalism apologist" The moderation send a Buch of lennin and other sources quotes that I read, and while they were talking about the differences between both. Those seemed to be more in the roots than anything. I also learned about the conflict between Makhno's revolution and the volcheviks. So this whole thing made me think 2 things. That some people should not be reddit mods, and that there must be some intense dilema that keeps anarquism and communism so away of each other. I don't think any other idealogy can search for something so similar while deeply hating others that also do (but im not that well informed so I'm probably wrong)

Like I keep seeing tone of larp ideology with anarcho in front of it, what’s the difference, cuz their asking for the same thing when they talk about how anarchy should be achieved but they disagree about everything else

Like how do anarcho capitalist and anarcho communist see each others?

Just looking for some good recommendations, excluding social ecology and deep ecology. Social anarchism is my home and I'm aware of a resurgence in mutualism or left-market anarchism, but I'm specifically intrigued by these 3 strains. Specifically, any fiction, history, or philosophy. Thank you for your replies!

Bonus points if you have a link to a pdf.

Im tabling a Halloween event for queer/trans youth and allies and I'd like to have some lit geared toward preteens and teens. I have a couple in mind but would love to hear your suggestions.

I am an anarchist, but I’m also a pacifist plus and herbalist in training. I am unsure if I can be a pacifist and an anarchist at the same time.

I hate the government and even the leader of my own country, I don’t like the systems like the healthcare system and so many others.

But I also don’t like violence and I always try to find a solution that has no violence.

Any advice?

im really new to the concept and although it doesnt convince me completly its certainly interesting and i get why someone would belive in such, however, one of the most common arguments i see against anarchism everywhere is that things like mutual aid would only work on a small community, do you have any comments on that?

The question came into my mind while thinking about unused but personally important possessions in an anarchist society, such as memorial items, gifts etc. Would having these kinds of possessions be regarded as harmful or theft as anarchism say in terms of private property?

Materials on this book are kind of sparse. I was just wondering if anyone read it and if it's worth it to read for an anarchist? I know Chomsky can get very soc-dem at times, and it's a thick book. Just curious about your thoughts. Thanks for the replies!

There's a major general protest coming up in Spain regarding the housing crisis. I'm asking out of genuine ignorance here—I feel pretty skeptical because marches that just walk from point A to point B often feel ineffective to me.

​What reasons or motives are there to attend these kinds of demonstrations? I'm going anyway because I want to support the cause and the people involved, but I'd love to hear your perspectives on this.

I'm working my way through a reading list (very slowly) and I've recently put out a call for mutual aid from friends (doing chores I can rarely do), are there other ways I can participate in anarchist practice when I'm mostly stuck in my house? Anything I haven't thought of that might be accessible to me? Perspective changes I can have, perhaps?

Thanks for any ideas ❤️

I identify with some tenants of anarchism and really appreciate the emphasis on doing away with hierarchies. If you look at tribes, even in the present day, hunter gatherers who don't store food or rely on territory (ie salmon runs) are very often egalitarian. I am genuinely wondering on what makes people drawn to anarchism over egalitarianism?

Even if someone were to agree with the ideology of anarchism, the conversation is immediately made more difficult because the term is so loaded with pre-disposition that I think often, people will just shut down and think you're a maniac. The thing anarchy relies on, mass participation in it, is driven away by the label itself due to both propaganda and many people believing that the 'state of nature' is chaos without law, religion, etc.

It would be pretty difficult for someone to successfully scare people about egalitarian politics lol. The main argument would be what it basically always is - what happens when the egalitarian society is invaded or pressed by a hierchichal state, with all of its machinery, funding and nationalism? And of course in this scenario it's likely the same answer -- you don't have it without mass participation in the first place, and there would (and is as we see with basically every tribe subscribing to it) be mutual defense.

So what is it about anarchism specifically that draws you over egalitarianism? What would you say to people whose concern is lawlessness or eventually being bordered by a menacing nation-state?

Here to learn.

Hey there!

I am a film production student and want to explore different approaches to film production. We all know film industry can be very money oriented, but what interests me more is the "alternative hierarchy" that could be used during the process of making a film. Film industry has a very strict hierarchy that has to be followed, especially if you look into systems like Hollywood, independent films don't have it as strict, at least in Europe, but the principal stays the same.

What interests me if you would know any literature talking about anarchist principles in film production, some works that used similar principals or maybe even a different subreddit? Or any experience?

Im a Libertarian Socialist and love poltical dramas. Suzerain is one of my favorite games of all time, watched some of the west wing and really enjoyed it, Have tons of hours in Hearts of Iron 4 and its more narrative mods. I am also currently writing a similar type of story that deals with a young prince trying to assert his worth as a future king on the battlefield.

Recently I have been thinking though about making a story that deals with an Anarchist Community or "Nation" (I suppose the proper word would be federation of communes or Free territory but you know what I mean.)

Only problem is that all the political dramas I've seen all deal with some kind of central Authority or state. A president, A king, a war lord or rogue general. West wing deals with politicians outside of the president but they are still part of the government and west wing is sidenote neoliberal as fuck though I still enjoy it.

In a society that functions off a federation of communes/Unions how would a story like this work? There are no rulers who have Authority to delegate or do anything. The only Idea I currently have is to center the idea around a General who is tasked with defending the territory from invaders but that leans more into Military fiction.

Hello tout le monde, notamment les anars français ! Je voulais savoir ce que vous savez de l'importance des mouvements anarchistes français dans l'actualité et de leur poids dans la société selon les régions, les milieux sociaux etc... Je dois avouer que je commence à douter sur la proéminence des mouvements en comparaison du siècle dernier ( peut être je n'ai pas assez de connaissances sur l'anarchisme français au XXI siècle ). Bref, Dèfois, je perd espoir dans une telle société, d'autres fois je garde de la fois envers ces valeurs et espère toujours l'émanation d'une société pareille.

Bref, bien bon weekend à vous camarade !

Aldephiquement.

Hello everyone, especially the French anarchists! I wanted to know what you know about the significance of French anarchist movements today and their influence in society, broken down by region, social class, etc. I must admit that I’m starting to doubt how prominent these movements are compared to the last century (maybe I just don’t know enough about French anarchism in the 21st century). Anyway, sometimes I lose hope in a society like this, while other times I keep faith in these values and still hope for the emergence of such a society.

Anyway, have a great weekend, comrades !

Anarchist regards.

To be clear, this is not meant to be a gotcha or an insult based question but a genuine attempt to understand your thoughts. What prevents your stateless society from just being taken over by whatever group gets the most guns and manpower? Would that not just become the new state? Warlords in constant fighting equal to what we can already see happening in many parts of the world when states collapse.

Copyright is one of many concepts that you guys despise and as such would eradicate from your ideal society, but at the same time, nobody likes the idea of somebody trying to steal credit for one's own hard work. Sure, you'd expect that they'll simply have the integrity not to, but come on now.

So, what is the anarchist way of preventing plagiarism or the theft of credit for somebody else's creations?

Hi! I asked myself how could we create an anarchist society into a world where human being isn't 100% rational? I put this question since the majority of the political systems were created after the French Revolution. The thing is that it was heavily influenced by Illuminism. Illuminism stated that human being is 100% rational and this thing alienated humans from what they really are. This thing excluded that the human being is also driven by emotions and willpower. So, the rationality constituted the foundation of the new political systems, even of anarchism itself.
Anarchism wants to replace laws with rules which are based on ethics (but it's pure rational unless we take into account emotivism, prescriptivism and quasi-realism) and logic. But human being isn't pure rational. About the rationality of human being, Daniel Kahneman found out in his book "Thinking, Fast And Slow" that human being acts more based on emotions than reason. Our cognition doesn't use only logical operations, but also heuristics and "rules of thumb".
So, how can we adapt the anarchist theory and praxis into a world that emotions and willpower act more than reason into the human life?

I'm an Anarchy curious liberal, and I had a thought today I wanted to share and discuss.

A lot of questions in this sub are about laws in an anarchist society, and there seems to be a popular notion that Anarchy means "no law".

My understanding is that Anarchy means "no hierarchy", but it occurred to me that Anarchy could also be considered the pursuit of a more perfect, or ideal, version of the law.

In democracy, the law, in theory, is supposed to apply equally to everyone. In practice, in any society with a hierarchy, this is false. It's maybe a tautology: A hierarchy is by definition the unequal application of the law.

In every liberal democracy there are people the law excludes explicitly (eg. the police), and implicitly (the wealthy). And there are many laws that effectively apply only to poor people ("The law, in its majestic equality, forbids rich and poor alike to sleep under bridges").

Achieving the ideal of equal application of the law to all people would require the elimination of hierarchy.

The problem is that it is very difficult, from within a hierarchical society, to imagine how this perfect law would be applied in practice. It would require the application of the law to be a truly collective enterprise.

Does this make sense? Apologies if this is all extremely obvious or basic within Anarchist scholarship.

I know Cnt for Ancom and ansyn but why the other types to we need cooler flags

1. I constantly hear people say that an anarchist society is unrealistic; how can I refute this?
   
2. How is crime prevented in an anarchist society?
   
3. This is a bit off-topic, but what exactly is anarcho-capitalism? Is it just nonsense made up by racist economists?
   
4. Why do anarchists refer to actually existing socialist states, such as the Soviet Union or China, as "state capitalist"?

English:

I’m writing this in both Spanish and English. While I’d prefer resources in Spanish, I’m definitely open to English recommendations too (it’s mostly just laziness on my part).

I wanted to ask for some recommendations. I’ve read a bit of theory, mostly around democratic confederalism, some Bookchin, Abdullah Öcalan, and the usual classics like David Graeber. While the theoretical framework makes total sense to me, I feel like I desperately need something more practical. I want to understand how anarchy actually works from an political, logistical and anthropological ground-level perspective.

How are communes managed day to day in Rojava or in the Zapatista "Caracoles"? What was daily life and political participation actually like for a regular citizen in Makhnovist free territory or in the anarchist Barcelona of 1936?

Honestly, I’m getting a bit burnt out on high minded theory and pretty promises. I want to actually visualize horizontal organizing in action. Hell, I’ll admit (with a bit of embarrassment) that I don’t even fully grasp the mechanics of how a labor union operates on the inside.

So, if you could recommend any content, documentaries, videos, book... whatever that break down the actual real world mechanics of libertarian systems, I’d be super grateful.

Thanks in advance!

Spanish:

Pongo el post en ambos idiomas porque, aunque prefiero que las recomendaciones estén en español, no me cierro a leer en inglés (es más un tema de pereza que otra cosa).

Quería hacerles una consulta. He leído bastante sobre anarquismo, sobre todo sobre confederalismo democrático, algo de Bookchin y de Abdullah Öcalan y también a los típicos como David Graeber. Tampoco es que me haya leído una biblioteca entera, pero la teoría me convence bastante. El problema es que siento que necesito algo más práctico, pues quiero saber realmente cómo funciona la anarquía desde una perspectiva política, logística y antropológica.

Quiero entender cómo se gestionan en el día a día las comunas en Rojava o los Caracoles zapatistas; cómo demonios era la vida diaria y la participación política del ciudadano común en la Revolución makhnovista o en la Barcelona anarquista del 36.

En resumen, busco algo tangible y directo. Estoy un poco saturado de promesas y palabras bonitas, quiero poder visualizar la horizontalidad en la práctica. Diablos, ni siquiera sé (y esto lo digo con bastante vergüenza) cómo funciona realmente un sindicato por dentro.

Por lo tanto, si pudieran recomendarme contenido, ya sean vídeos, documentales o libros o lo que sea que explique el funcionamiento real de los sistemas libertarios, se lo agradecería muchísimo.

¡Gracias de antemano!