Anarchism ("Can a Society Thrive Without Authority?")

Hello deer, I’m Seri 🌺....

..... someone who’s always been curious about how society works, but also deeply skeptical of many systems that claim to have all the answers. I don’t follow politics closely, yet I find myself drawn to ideas that challenge the status quo especially those that question power, inequality, and the way we live together.

Today, I want to share some thoughts about anarchism, a concept that often gets misunderstood but holds a lot of meaning for me.

I’ll explore its roots, the different forms it takes, and some difficult questions it raises about justice, community, and freedom. Along the way, I’ll also reflect on my own perspective and why these ideas matter in our complicated world.

🪶 Politics Before Politics: How Was Power in Hunter-Gatherer Times?

Long before kings, borders, or governments, humans lived in small, mobile communities. These were hunter-gatherers. People moved with the seasons, shared food, and deeply relied on one another to survive.

In many of these groups, there were no rulers. No police, no prisons, no formal laws. Leadership was temporary and based on trust or skill, not fear. Most decisions were made together, and anyone who tried to dominate others was often ignored or gently mocked.

Anthropologists describe this kind of life as horizontal or egalitarian. There were shared norms, but they came from relationships and stories, not from laws backed by violence.

🏛️ When Did “Politics” Begin?

Politics, in its formal sense — organized power, rules, leadership — began when humans shifted from small foraging groups to settled agricultural societies. Once people started farming, storing food, and owning land, new conflicts arose. Who owned what? Who had the right to decide? Who should enforce it?

That’s when we start to see centralized structures appear. Early states formed in places like Mesopotamia, the Nile Valley, and the Indus Valley. Leaders emerged, sometimes religious, sometimes military, often both. They created systems to manage land, labor, conflict, and trade. Writing, taxation, armies, and hierarchies began to develop.

Before this, human groups still had power dynamics. People argued, competed, made alliances, and sometimes used violence. But in smaller groups like hunter-gatherers, these dynamics were managed face to face, through social norms, relationships, and informal influence. Authority existed, but it was personal and temporary, not institutional.

The rise of settled society made political systems more rigid. Power became something that could be held, passed on, and enforced over others. That’s the origin of formal politics as we know it.

🖤 What Is Anarchism?

Anarchism is a political philosophy that seeks to abolish all forms of unjust hierarchy — especially the state — and replace them with systems based on voluntary cooperation, mutual aid, and autonomy. The term comes from the Greek word anarkhia, which means “without a ruler.”

It does not mean the absence of order, but rather the absence of imposed authority. Anarchists believe that people are capable of organizing themselves without needing domination from above. This includes not only governments, but also other authoritarian structures such as capitalism, patriarchy, and colonialism.

At its core, anarchism questions whether power must always be centralized, and whether law must always be enforced through violence or threat. It imagines society not as something that needs to be controlled from the top, but as something that can be shaped from the bottom through communities, relationships, and shared responsibility.

Anarchism also emphasizes prefigurative politics, meaning that the way we organize now should reflect the world we want to build. It isn’t only a theory of revolution or resistance, but also a vision of how to live and relate differently, here and now.

There are many currents within anarchism, but they generally share these values:

Autonomy, or the freedom of individuals and communities to decide for themselves.

Horizontalism, or the rejection of top-down leadership

Mutual aid, where people help one another based on solidarity, not profit or charity.

Voluntary association, where cooperation is not forced, but chosen.

Direct action, meaning change is created through people’s own initiatives, not through representatives or institutions.

Anarchism is not a fixed blueprint. It is a set of principles and practices that challenge domination and imagine alternatives. It asks not just how to resist power, but how to organize life without reproducing oppression.

🌸 Different Types of Anarchism

Anarchism is not one single ideology. It’s a broad current with many branches, all rooted in the rejection of unjust authority and the desire for a freer, more cooperative world. These currents sometimes disagree on strategy or economic models, but they share key values like autonomy, mutual aid, and anti-authoritarianism.

Here are some of the main tendencies:

Anarcha-feminism 🌺

This strand focuses on how systems of domination like patriarchy and state power are deeply connected. It argues that true liberation is not possible without dismantling both. Anarcha-feminists organize against gender oppression, domestic violence, reproductive injustice, and often emphasize care work, horizontal relationships, and the body as a site of resistance.

Green anarchism (or eco-anarchism) 🍃

Green anarchists criticize the environmental destruction caused by industrial capitalism and centralized systems. They believe that ecological balance requires decentralized, small-scale living, often inspired by indigenous knowledge or permaculture. Some also critique modern technology as a tool of control and alienation.

Anarcho-communism 💭

This current advocates for collective ownership of land and resources, the abolition of private property (not personal belongings), and the free distribution of goods based on need. It envisions communities organizing production and care together, without markets, money, or bosses. Decisions are made horizontally through assemblies and councils.

Mutualism 🍃

Mutualists support free cooperation between individuals and small producers through networks of fair exchange. They imagine a decentralized economy based on mutual credit, voluntary contracts, and small-scale ownership, without landlords, monopolies, or exploitation. It’s a bridge between anarchism and cooperative economics.

Individualist anarchism 🎀

This form centers the individual’s freedom to live according to their own values, without being forced into collective norms. It often focuses on personal autonomy, non-conformity, and voluntary association. Some individualist anarchists emphasize artistic expression, philosophical egoism, or alternative lifestyles, rather than collective revolution.

While these tendencies differ in their focus, some more economic, others ecological or personal, they all reject hierarchy and domination. Their methods and visions vary, but the shared goal remains: a society built on freedom, not force.

☁️ Anarchy and Anomie: Why People Think It Means Chaos

Many people believe that anarchy means chaos or destruction. This misunderstanding often comes from confusion with the term anomie but the two are very different.

Anarchy comes from the Greek anarkhia, meaning “without rulers.” It is a political idea that challenges domination and hierarchy, but it does not reject all forms of structure. Anarchists believe in self-organization, cooperation, and collective responsibility. Their goal is not disorder, but a different kind of order, one built from the bottom up, not the top down.

Anomie, by contrast, is a sociological term that refers to a state of normlessness, when social rules break down, and people feel disconnected, isolated, or unsure of how to behave. This can happen during times of crisis, rapid change, or collapse of authority. Anomie leads to confusion and despair, not liberation.

The two are often confused because both involve a lack of imposed structure. But where anomie results in breakdown, anarchy seeks intentional rebuilding, not in chaos, but through shared values and mutual agreements.

Many systems teach us that “without rulers, people will turn wild.”

But history and anthropology show that this isn’t always true. Small communities, including hunter-gatherer groups and stateless societies, have long managed conflict, care, and cooperation without centralized authority. Anarchy, in this sense, is not about burning everything down, it’s about planting new ways of living together, rooted in trust rather than fear.

🏡 How Would an Anarchist Society Work?

An anarchist society would still have structure, but it would not function like a state. It would be organized without rulers, based on local decision-making rather than central control.

Local assemblies or councils could handle community matters. These would not involve voting for someone to rule, but instead allow people to speak, listen, and make collective decisions. Leadership might still exist, but it would not be permanent or dominant. It could rotate or be based on trust or skill, not authority.

Rules would not be enforced by police or threats. They would come from shared values and community agreements. Conflicts might be addressed through dialogue, mediation, or restorative practices instead of punishment or prison.

An anarchist society would not be without problems. There would still be disagreements and flaws. But the core idea is that people can take care of each other and make decisions together without relying on domination or control.

⚖️ What About Crime?

This is one of the most difficult and honest questions. If there are no police, no prisons, then how would an anarchist society respond to violence, harm, or serious conflict?

Anarchists do not pretend that crime would disappear. But they believe that punishment and control are not the only ways to respond. Many support systems like restorative or transformative justice, where the focus is on understanding, healing, and repair, not punishment.

For example, if someone causes harm, they would not simply be locked away. Instead, they would be asked to face those they hurt, listen, take responsibility, and find ways to make things right. This might involve helping the victim heal, repairing broken trust, or contributing to the community in a meaningful way.

It takes time. It requires emotional honesty, support, and patience from everyone involved. But it creates a space where people can grow instead of being thrown away.

Anarchists know that no system is perfect. Even in their own communities, mistakes happen, and safety can be fragile. But they still believe it is possible to deal with harm without relying on punishment or fear. They believe in facing conflict together, rather than hiding it behind walls or uniforms.

It is not a simple solution, but it is a human one.

Here are some real and theoretical examples of how punishment (or rather, accountability and conflict resolution) can work in anarchist or anarchist-inspired communities:

🧩 1. Restorative Justice

This system focuses not on punishing the offender harshly, but on repairing the harm done. It's used in some indigenous communities and also in anarchist circles.

The person who caused harm must face the victim, acknowledge what they did, and work toward restoring the relationship or the damage emotionally, socially, or materially.

This can include things like apologizing, paying for therapy, working for the community, or making public amends.

It’s about accountability without dehumanizing anyone.

✨ Example: In Zapatista communities in Mexico, when someone breaks trust, they often have to do community work, apologize publicly, or participate in group healing practices. Jail is rarely used.

🧩 2. Community Accountability Processes

Instead of police or judges, a group (chosen by the people involved) mediates a process to understand what happened and decide on consequences.

This process includes listening, dialogue, and often multiple steps.

It can result in temporary exclusion from some group activities, therapy requirements, or learning sessions.

✨ Example: In some queer anarchist collectives in North America, when someone is abusive or violent, they’re asked to step away from events and go through a process of reflection and change, often supported by others, not isolated.

🧩 3. Temporary Exile or Separation

If someone is dangerous or refuses to repair harm, some anarchist communities choose temporary or permanent separation, meaning the person is not allowed to join collective activities anymore.

This isn’t done to “punish” out of revenge, but to protect others.

The door might remain open for return if the person takes responsibility later.

✨ Example: In anarchist squats or communes, people who repeatedly break rules (stealing, harming others) are sometimes asked to leave and are not welcomed back until a conversation or change happens.

🧩 4. Voluntary Agreements & Consequences

Many anarchist groups function through consensus-based rules — everyone agrees in advance on basic principles. If someone breaks those, they already agreed to the consequences.

This gives people autonomy, but also clear social responsibility.

Punishment can take the form of loss of privileges, trust, or tasks.

✨ Example: In Catalonia during the Spanish Civil War, some anarchist unions set up local committees to solve conflicts, and people respected them because they were chosen by the workers themselves, not imposed by a government.

☁️ In summary:

Anarchism does not mean “do whatever you want without consequences.” It just believes that punishment should come from the people directly affected, not from some distant authority. It’s based on repair, protection, transformation, and collective responsibility, not fear.

🌿 What Is Pragmatic Anarchism?

Pragmatic anarchism is not about chaos or dreaming of a perfect world. It is about applying anarchist values — like autonomy, cooperation, and mutual care — in ways that actually work, step by step, inside a world that is still shaped by systems of control.

Instead of trying to destroy everything at once, pragmatic anarchists focus on building what they want to see. This might be food cooperatives, free schools, community defense groups, or shared gardens. They know change is slow and that total revolution may not come. But they believe that each act of care and resistance matters.

Pragmatic anarchists often still live within states, pay rent, and work jobs. They are not pure or above others. What makes them anarchist is the way they choose to organize, relate, and support others without domination, even within small spaces.

They ask questions like:

How can we make decisions fairly? 🍃

How can we protect each other without police? 🍃

How can we share resources without bosses? 🍃

They are not waiting for a perfect world. They are trying to create pieces of it, here and now.

A pragmatic anarchist society...

... would not be utopian or perfectly organized but it would be alive, constantly evolving through cooperation, trust, and community responsibility rather than top-down control.

🌱 Work and Economy

Instead of companies with bosses and workers, people might form cooperatives or mutual aid networks. You work with others, share the rewards, and decide how things are run.

Needs like food, healthcare, and housing are seen as rights, not as things you earn through money. Resources would be shared or traded locally, and no one should be left behind. Some people still might have more than others, but the community would try to prevent extreme inequality.

🛡️ Safety and Conflict

There are no police, but there could be community defense groups, trained to de-escalate situations and protect people from harm. If someone causes harm, the focus is not punishment but restorative justice, helping the victim heal and helping the person who caused harm to take real responsibility.

If someone refuses to cooperate or keeps hurting others, the community might create boundaries. It’s not a free-for-all. It just means that justice is done through relationships, not violence or prisons.

📚 Learning and Growth

Schools would likely be free and based on curiosity, not obedience. Children might learn through apprenticeships, exploration, and community mentors. Learning is shared, not imposed. Adults would keep learning too, because education would be lifelong.

🌏 Coexistence with Larger Systems

A pragmatic anarchist society might still exist within a state system. So people might still pay taxes or use public hospitals. But inside their own spaces, they create different ways of living, resisting unjust systems while building something better.

Some places already do this: parts of Rojava in Syria, Zapatista villages in Chiapas, or squatted community centers in Europe. They are not perfect, but they show that parts of this are possible.

Anarchism vs Other political parties ⚖️

🌱 Anarchism isn’t a political party. It’s more like a philosophy or worldview. It doesn’t want to gain power, it wants to dismantle power that dominates, especially hierarchical and coercive systems. It believes people can self-organize without rulers, bosses, or centralized control. It focuses on mutual aid, voluntary cooperation, and local decision-making. The goal isn’t to rule better but to stop ruling altogether.

🏛️ Political parties (like liberal, conservative, socialist, etc.) usually believe that the state should exist, just run differently depending on their values.

A conservative might want strong borders, tradition, and free markets.

A liberal might want human rights, diversity, and regulated capitalism.

A socialist might want worker control and state-managed services to ensure equality.

All these still accept some version of centralized authority — governments, elections, institutions. Anarchism questions even that. It says: why should anyone have power over others? Even with good intentions, that power tends to corrupt, to exclude, or to become distant from everyday life.

So the main difference is:

Most political parties want to take or share power.

Anarchism wants to dissolve it and replace it with community effort.

Anarchism vs. Liberalism

Liberalism supports democracy, elections, individual rights, free markets (or regulated capitalism), and reform through laws.

Anarchism thinks even a democratic government still holds too much power over people’s lives. It criticizes capitalism and sees the state as a tool of domination — even if it’s elected.

Key difference: Liberals want to improve the system. Anarchists want to live without it.

Anarchism vs. Conservatism

Conservatism values tradition, authority, national borders, and often religion or hierarchy. It defends the current system or seeks to return to a more "ordered" past.

Anarchism sees hierarchy and authority (like patriarchy, monarchy, or nationalism) as oppressive and outdated.

Key difference: Conservatives want strong control. Anarchists want no domination at all.

Anarchism vs. Socialism (Statist/Marxist)

Socialism, especially Marxist or Leninist forms, often believes the state must control the economy and lead the revolution. It sees government as a tool to protect workers.

Anarchism agrees with socialism’s critique of capitalism, but disagrees that the state can ever be trusted even a “worker’s state.”

Key difference: Marxists want to seize power. Anarchists want to avoid power altogether.

Anarchism vs. Social Democracy

Social democracy mixes capitalism and welfare. It wants universal healthcare, education, and protections within a market system often through voting and state programs.

Anarchism sees this as patchwork. It believes real justice comes from organizing at the community level, not from relying on state systems that still control people.

Key difference: Social democracy works with the system. Anarchism builds outside of it.

Anarchism vs. Libertarianism (Right-wing)

Right-wing libertarians also say they want less government especially in markets and personal freedom. But they usually defend private property, capitalism, and inequality as “natural.”

Anarchism, especially left-anarchism, sees capitalism as a source of domination just like the state. It opposes both state and corporate power.

Key difference: Libertarians want freedom through markets. Anarchists want freedom from markets.

🌍 Is returning to anarchy possible?

Technically? Yes. There are still places where anarchist values are practiced or experimented with, in small communities, autonomous zones, indigenous territories, and even within some activist movements. These examples show that it's not impossible to live without centralized state power. But…

On a global or national scale? Extremely difficult. The modern world is deeply interwoven with institutions: states, police, banks, borders, corporations. These systems rely on control and hierarchy, and they resist any movement that tries to function outside of them.

To “come back” to anarchism, society would need to unlearn a lot, especially the belief that control equals safety. That kind of shift takes generations, not just revolutions. It requires deep trust, local organization, mutual aid, and a cultural change toward cooperation instead of competition.

🧭 So is it just a dream?

Is a fully anarchist world likely soon? No, realistically, it’s not.

But can anarchist principles be used today? Absolutely.

Small-scale efforts like community gardens, collective housing, non-hierarchical cooperatives, or harm-reduction programs are real, not utopian. They don’t overthrow capitalism overnight, but they build something alongside it. That’s pragmatic anarchism.

Some people say: “We can't go back to a past before governments.” That’s true. But anarchism isn’t about going back. It’s about imagining new ways forward, with less domination and more cooperation.

So maybe not a return, but a re-invention. One slow step at a time.

🕊️ 1. Intentional Anarchist Communities

These are small, self-organized groups that choose to live without formal government, often guided by principles like mutual aid, non-hierarchy, and cooperation.

Zapatistas in Chiapas, Mexico

Since the 1990s, many Indigenous communities have rejected the Mexican state and govern themselves with assemblies and councils. They have their own education, justice, and health systems based on dignity, not profit or punishment.

Kurdish regions of Rojava (Northern Syria)

During the Syrian war, Kurdish people created a system called democratic confederalism, inspired by anarchist thinker Murray Bookchin. They focus on feminism, ecology, direct democracy, and ethnic cooperation. Though still facing war and danger, it’s a living example of anarchist-inspired governance.

Christiania (Copenhagen, Denmark)

A self-proclaimed autonomous neighborhood in the heart of a city. It began in the 1970s and is still functioning today with its own rules, communal decision-making, and no official state control inside the zone.

Anarchism isn’t simply no government. It’s a choice to organize without domination, with shared responsibility. In most of the world today, that kind of society is rare but not nonexistent.

🍃 My Personal View

1. I’m not into politics.

I don’t trust any political party or system, none of them truly reflect what I believe in. Political systems often promise change, but most are built on hierarchies and power struggles that ignore everyday people’s needs.

2. Why am I interested in anarchism?

Because I’m anti-capitalist, meaning I reject the system where everything is built around profit, even people, even the Earth. In capitalism, those who already have power tend to gain more, while the rest are left to struggle, compete, or survive. It doesn’t feel human anymore.

I also believe in individualism within society, not the selfish kind, but the idea that each person should be free to express who they are without being boxed in by norms, labels, or forced roles.

And I’m anti-patriarchy, which means I oppose the system where men (and masculinity) are placed above women and others, creating imbalances in power, expectations, and even in how we’re allowed to feel or live.

3. I’m especially drawn to eco-anarchism.

This branch of anarchism focuses on living in harmony with nature, protecting the planet, and rejecting systems that destroy it for profit.

Even though I don’t fully support all forms of mainstream feminism (which can sometimes be institutional or aligned with the same systems I critique), I do share some values with anarcha-feminism — a form of feminism within anarchism. It strongly fights against patriarchy and aims to create horizontal, non-hierarchical relationships in both public and private life.

4. Regarding crimes and laws...

..... it’s not something I can answer easily, it’s complex.

But I do believe that this society, with all its inequalities, has created many of the conditions that push people toward crime.

That doesn’t mean I’m against punishment. I support stricter forms of punishment when needed like longer separations from the community, restrictions on certain freedoms, and community service.

I also believe in compensation for the victims : the guilty party should be held responsible for things like therapy, healthcare, or other reparations.

Punishment isn’t the problem the way this system punishes without healing or responsibility is.

Closing Thoughts 💭

Anarchism invites us to imagine a world where power isn’t concentrated in the hands of a few but shared among many. It asks difficult questions about how we organize ourselves, how we hold each other accountable, and what freedom truly means.

For me, anarchism is not about chaos or an impossible dream. It’s a call to rethink how we relate to each other, to the earth, and to the systems that shape our lives. It acknowledges the pain and complexity of the world but still dares to hope for something better: a life where care, responsibility, and respect guide us.

This journey isn’t simple or perfect. But opening ourselves to these questions is the first step toward creating communities where everyone can live with dignity and freedom.

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What is Individualism in Society?

Individualism is the belief that each person is unique and valuable, with their own thoughts, feelings, and rights. It emphasizes the importance of personal freedom, autonomy, and self-expression.

But individualism in society is not just about being independent or doing whatever you want alone. It’s about balancing personal freedom with responsibility to others.

🎀 Key points to understand:

1. Respecting personal autonomy

Individualism values that each person should be able to make choices about their own life—what they believe, how they live, who they love—without being forced into roles or expectations by family, society, or culture.

2. Recognizing uniqueness

Everyone has different needs, desires, and ways of being. Individualism means honoring those differences instead of pushing everyone to be the same or fit into fixed categories.

3. Freedom within community

No person lives completely alone. Individualism in society means people have freedom but also live in connection with others—in families, neighborhoods, and groups—where they share values, support each other, and make decisions together.

4. Rejecting oppressive conformity

It opposes social pressure to conform just because “that’s how things are.” This includes resisting gender roles, cultural stereotypes, or laws that limit personal expression.

5. Balancing rights and duties

Individualism accepts that personal freedom comes with responsibility not only for yourself but also for the wellbeing of your community. Freedom isn’t license to harm others or ignore social bonds.

In practical terms :

You can express yourself freely, but also listen and respect others’ freedom.

You’re encouraged to follow your own path, but also to cooperate and support those around you.

Society works best when it allows individual creativity and choice while nurturing care and connection.