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Why have Anarchists believed that the state is unnecessary?
Anarchism can be defined as an ideology by its absolute rejection of the state and its institutions. Whilst anarchists may disagree about other aspects of the theory, they are all united by the belief that the state is unnecessary for various reasons.
Firstly, the state is an agent of oppression. The political state is owned and governed by the ruling classes, who utilise it to oppress the masses. This is achieved by the states promotion of capitalism, as the two support each other. The economy maintains the status quo of bourgeois and proletariat, whilst the ‘democratic’ government protects the market through the use of force and economic policy. This is a principle that has not changed since the birth of anarchist thought.
As stated above, the use of force by the state means it unjustly infringes upon the sovereignty of the individual. The creation of artificial laws inhibit the freedoms of individual, and are enforced by the rule of law, i.e. the police and prisons in the UK, but in states such as America, even capital punishment. Anarchists argue that a state cannot justly utilise these punishments against a individual who has not handed them rational authority. Effectively, the state can imprison and even murder you because the rule of law is a ‘tradition’ and the tyranny of the majority are deluded into believing it is just. The use of unjust force by the state is keenly highlighted through ‘propaganda by the deed’. It is also summarised well by a quote from Voltairine de Cleyre: “the basis of all political action is coercion; even when the State does good things, it finally rests on a club, a gun, or a prison, for its power to carry them through.”
Much like liberals, anarchists also argue that just the act of governing is corrupting. They disagree with the socialist idea that the state will be able to wither away, as the dictatorship of the proletariat would inevitably become corrupted by it’s power, as highlighted by the use of terror and oppression by Lenin and the eventual path into totalitarianism under Stalin.
Ultimately the state is an artificial construct. If nations are nothing more than enforced superstition, then the creation of a political body to rule over it is bogus. Kropotkin argued that the natural society of man would be formed out of self-governing communes, not an all-encompassing state. The abolition of said state would mean a return to a more natural, historical form of community not nationhood.
It is clear to see then why Anarchists see the state as unnecessary. It is an oppressive, unjust, coercive, corrupting and unnatural entity with the sole purpose of repressing the common man for the benefit of the ruling class.
Comments
This essay is aimed at people studying for A Level Politics, but will be suitable for other people too.
Originally submitted by sav on TSR Forums.
