What is Anarchy?

What Anarchy Means to Me

Anarchy is the opposition to authority, the rejection of hierarchy and the unending struggle for autonomy and self-determination.

Anarchy is above all a practice, not a theory. It is about actively working to end authoritarian relationships wherever they exist, and build non-authoritarian alternatives.

It is not about trying to prescribe a way of life for an imagined place and time, and imagined people. It is for real people and dealing with real problems.

Anarchy is a living and breathing praxis that we incorporate into our everyday lives. A personal stance against authority that informs all our decisions and thus shapes the trajectory of our existence.

There is no end-goal to anarchy. It is an ongoing, unending fight against hierarchical systems and the authority figures that construct them.

Anarchy is a desire for freedom from tyranny. Anarchy is countless generations of disparate people with the drive to be freer than they are under the systems that forcibly govern them.

Developing Anarchist Praxis

When we talk to people about anarchy, they often ask, "how practical is it? Can you demonstrate anarchy to me, so that I can appreciate its effectiveness?" Praxis is how we show anarchy working.

Praxis is any action that embodies and realizes anarchy. It's a valuable method for creating awareness of anarchist causes and building solidarity in your community.

There are countless examples of anarchist praxis. Online communities like anarchistnews.org or raddle.me are examples of anarchist praxis, as they demonstrate anarchist management and create community, solidarity, education, and opportunities to organize. Setting up a Food Not Bombs chapter in your community is great praxis. Squatting an unused building to provide a safe space for homeless people. Starting a free shop that people can freely take what they need from. Building community gardens to feed and engage the community. Preparing free meals for refugees in your country. Making a zine or a podcast about an important topic to raise awareness and open a dialogue. Creating and disseminating memes from an Anarchist perspective. Assassinating a dictator. Creating an autonomous zone. Stopping pipelines from being built. Teaching people to be self-sufficient by gardening, foraging for food, and upcycling. Forming a human chain to stop cops from arresting migrants. Teaching self-defence. Closing roads and ports to inhibit global trade. Starting an anarchist bike collective to fix people's bikes. Flying a drove near an airport. Making music that shines a light on injustices in the world. Setting up a community mesh-net to share data with your community in a decentralized manner.

There are just some examples of good things anarchists do in our communities every day. Just writing about this and perhaps inspiring some people to do anarchy is praxis.