I surprised a fellow anarchist the other day by revealing that I no longer think that capitalism is necessarily the political/economic model that anarchy would ideally follow. There are a number of reasons that I have finally come to stop coupling my concepts, but mainly it has been an effect of spending hours on /r/anarchism/ and trying in earnest understand the anarchist rainbow.
This has also been a slow and steady process of experiencing the uglier sides of a money driven society. Even though we don’t live in a truly free market society, I think that corporations rose out of the desire for people to make more money for doing less work. A few years ago I would have seen such thoughts as blasphemy, but the hard truth I have experienced is that most* upper management is made up of people who figured out how to take advantage of others in order to live luxuriously. *not all, there are a few awesome humans in upper management that I am happy to work with.
I used to be an Objectivist and read just about everything by Ayn Rand. Her work so perfectly fueled my ego that for some time I was able to get away with believing that I had more control over my own life than was actually true. Fueled my that illusion, I was able to run my own business for two years and make a decent amount of money. After two years I was so emotionally burned out and unable to go out and find new business that it folded. I took no joy from doing my own thing anymore and took a job as a manager in the same industry. That’s where I’ve been for the past four years and have found it difficult to be excited about business, especially big business.
I am also privileged. I grew up in a middle class family with an entrepreneurial father. My parents paid for my college and I have my degree. My first job was not in fast food and I was able to work closely with a businessman who was growing his own business. All of these experiences were by little to no effort of my own. I’m lucky and many people are not. Privilege is not a concept that capitalism acknowledges too readily.
And that is the big problem with a system of capitalism. It assumes that people are made completely by their own effort. It disregards the multitude of personalities, personal psychologies and circumstance. There are many propaganda phrases you’ll hear to try and make up for these shortcomings. Trickle down effect. Rising tides lift all boats. Etc…
It took me awhile to stop accepting an economic concept as a cure all for humanity. I wanted a cure all and capitalism seemed like it. Coupled with anarchism I thought just maybe I had found the perfect marriage of two concepts. But then I realized that anarchism as a concept is really incompatible with any other ism.
Power structures are formed out of political concepts. Capitalism, socialism, communism are just other ways of saying “we need a universal concept that will fit human nature perfectly”. The problem with that thinking is there will ALWAYS be someone with a different perspective from the individual and certainly from the collective.
Anarchism by itself is just a declaration that you do not think that your life or anyone else’s life should be ruled with violent threat by another individual or group of individuals. Maybe that’s just another formula for humanity, but the way it differs is that it does not require that you accept it or die. Other political concepts usually do… yes, even capitalism, which is why concepts like corporations were formed.
Does that mean I swear off all the virtues of the concept of capitalism? Hell no. I love voluntary cooperation. I love entrepreneurial spirit. I just think it needs to be coupled with the healthy seeking of other perspectives and ideas.
I enjoy the balance of personal experience coupled with large-scale observations you share in this post.
This is great! Are you familiar with the work of Voltairine de Cleyre? She’s one of my main inspirations for embracing Anarchism Without Adjectives (which is basically what you’re advocating here) and if you haven’t read her writings I really recommend you do so!
Excellent to see someone with an open mind. What do you think of geo-libertarianism?
http://embraceunity.com/economics/we-can-have-it-all-the-beauty-of-value-capture/
“A few years ago I would have seen such thoughts as blasphemy, but the hard truth I have experienced is that most* upper management is made up of people who figured out how to take advantage of others in order to live luxuriously”
True dat!!! So long anarcho-capitalism…
There are a number of reasons that I have finally come to stop coupling my concepts, but mainly it has been an effect of spending hours on /r/anarchism/ and trying in earnest understand the anarchist rainbow. – that place is populated by communists
Really, “anarchism without adjectives” is all there is logically.. Anarchism doesnt extend itself into the variance of “economics” in the way socialists and “anarcho” communists think it MUST.. Logically anarchism is simply a philosophy of no rulers over other humans. Naturally, if people wanted to voluntarily collectivize, that would be consistent.. the same as if a person wanted to have their own farm and have hired h elp. As long as things are voluntary, no one has initiated force or fraud, it is consistent.
And really, “capitalism” is all there is. A group collectively owning means of production, goods for future “investment” in whatever regard, etc.. does not “abolish ownership” or “capitalism” – .. communists are free to go live on what will inevitably be a failed commune, but it will be hard them to do it if they “arent allowed to have their own means of production.” The “anarchist” faq they cite as holy doctrine on that reddit thread is vehemently anti-capitalist, creates some false distinction between “private property and possessions,” and says an anarchists goal is to ‘abolish work,” and starve to death i guess. it’s complete nonsense.. they often say that individual cannot have their own private property. in that case, they are statists.
the easiest way, imo, to debunk that silly “anarcho communist” nonsense is to say “so you dont want to work for a ‘capitalist’” ? i suggest you try to get your own property and means of production then.” sometimes they get it… sometimes they say ‘the capitalists have them all’ …. D’oh!