An Anarchist FAQ

"An Anarchist FAQ" is an online FAQ written by an international work group of anarchists connected through the internet. It documents anarchist theory and ideas while presenting arguments in favor of anarchism. It also explores debates internal to the anarchist movement, and counters common arguments against anarchism. It has been in constant evolution since 1995. While it was started as a critique of anarcho-capitalism, by the time it was officially released it had become a general introduction to anarchism.

The FAQ is published under the terms of the GNU Free Documentation License (copyleft) and it is dedicated "to the millions of anarchists, living and dead, who tried and are trying to create a better world." It was officially released on July 19, 1996 "to celebrate the Spanish Revolution of 1936 and the heroism of the Spanish anarchist movement."

History

The FAQ was started in 1995 when a group of anarchists got together in order to write an FAQ arguing against capitalist claims of being anarchists. Those who were involved in the project had spent many hours in on-line debate with self-described anarcho-capitalists concerning whether or not capitalism and anarchism are compatible. Eventually, a group of net-activists decided to produce a FAQ explaining their thoughts on why anarchism and capitalism are incompatible. While the FAQ was written by many collaborators, the main contributors are listed in the introduction as Iain McKay (primary contributor and editor), Gary Elkin, Dave Neal and Ed Boraas, who refer to themselves as "The Anarchist FAQ Editorial Collective." [http://www.infoshop.org/faq/intro.html An Anarchist FAQ - Introduction] ] However, the editors eventually decided that an Anarchist FAQ which focused on anarchism itself would be a better idea than one solely devoted to refuting the notion of anarcho-capitalism, and so the Anarchist FAQ was born. The authors acknowledge that "it still bears some of the signs of its past-history. For example it gives the likes of Ayn Rand, Murray Rothbard, and so on, far too much space outside of Section F - they really are not that important."citequote

The FAQ thanks the following people for their contributions: Andrew Flood, Mike Ballard, Francois Coquet, Jamal Hannah, Mike Huben, Greg Alt, Chuck Munson, Pauline McCormack, Nestor McNab, Kevin Carson, Shawn Wilbur, "and our comrades on the anarchy, oneunion and organise! mailing lists."

A 748-page version of the FAQ is due to be published in paperback as "An Anarchist FAQ: v. 1" by AK Press on June 30, 2008.cite book |editor=Iain Mckay |title=An Anarchist FAQ |publisher=AK Press |location=Stirling |year=2008 |isbn=1902593901 |oclc=182529204]

Content

The editors of the FAQ identify themselves as belonging to the social anarchist branch of anarchism (defined as anarchist-communism, anarcho-syndicalism, collectivist-anarchism and Proudhon's mutualism, [http://infoshop.org/faq/secA3.html#seca32 An Anarchist FAQ - A.3 What types of anarchism are there?] ] . Despite this, the FAQ presents and describes other anarchist schools of thought such as individualist anarchism, anarcha-feminism, and some lesser known theories like platformism and anarcho-primitivism. It cites references from a variety of authors from these schools, and its [http://www.infoshop.org/faq/biblio.html bibliography] contains over five hundred sources.

Given the wide range of anarchist ideas, the authors acknowledge that many anarchists will not agree with everything that the FAQ says. However, they express their belief that "most anarchists will agree with most of what we present and respect those parts with which they do disagree with as genuine expressions of anarchist ideas and ideals."

The FAQ also explains disputes within anarchist thought, such as where and why social anarchists and individualist anarchists disagree. ] As social anarchists, the writers also explain their own views on individualist anarchism, arguing that it has contradictions and "many flaws", and stating that it would lead to a "hierarchical and non-anarchist" society. [ [http://www.infoshop.org/faq/secG4.html Section G.4] ] However, they acknowledge its importance within the anarchist movement.

The FAQ does not accept anarcho-capitalism as part of anarchism. The FAQ writers explain and criticise anarcho-capitalism in sections [http://www.infoshop.org/faq/secFcon.html F] and, to some extent, [http://www.infoshop.org/faq/secGcon.html G] of the FAQ. They claim that "outside the net [anarcho-capitalists] are irrelevant and on the net they are just annoying" and call the arguments of anarcho-capitalists "inane'". A critique of Bryan Caplan's [http://www.gmu.edu/departments/economics/bcaplan/anarfaq.htm "Anarchism Theory FAQ"] is also presented in the first appendix, along with arguments that Caplan's FAQ distorts anarchism's relationship with anarcho-capitalism.

Influence and reception

The FAQ has been complimented by several sources. Flint Jones, a member of NEFAC, hailed the FAQ as "the most comprehensive [anarchist] resource available" [ [http://www.infoshop.org/rants/flint_org.html Anarchist Organization: an Oxymoron, or Not? - Infoshop.org ] ] The Workers Solidarity Movement, an Irish anarchist group, called it "the primary source of information about anarchism on the world wide web". [Workers Solidarity, no. 62] French anarchist Norman Baillargeon calls it a "monumental and essential FAQ dedicated to anarchism" [L'order moins le pouvoir: Histoire et actualité de l'anarchisme] The FAQ has been cited by Harvard resident fellow Joseph Reagle " [as] an exemplar of the principles [of community governance] ." [ [http://cyber.law.harvard.edu/people/reagle/regulation-19990326.html Why the Internet is Good - Community governance that works well] ]

In recent years the FAQ has been cited in various published works, such as "Viable Utopian Ideas: Shaping a Better World" (2003) by Arthur B Shostak,cite book |last=Shostak |first=Arthur |title=Viable Uptopian Ideas |publisher=M.E. Sharpe |location=Armonk |year=2003 |isbn=9780765611048 ] and "Utopia and Organization" (2002) by Michael Parker. [cite book |last=Parker |first=Martin |title=Utopia and Organization |publisher=Blackwell Pub |location=Cambridge |year=2002 |isbn=9781405100724 ] It has been described as "very comprehensive", by Paul Graham and John Hoffman in their "Introduction to Political Ideologies" (2006). [cite book |last=Hoffman |first=John |title=Introduction to Political Ideologies |publisher=Longman |location=New York |year=2006 |isbn=9781405824392 ] Various versions of the FAQ have been translated into [http://infoshop.org/faq/translations.html 8 languages] , and it has been included in every stable Debian release since 1999. [ [http://packages.debian.org/stable/doc/anarchism Debian - Details of package anarchism in etch ] ]

Anarcho-capitalist theorist David D. Friedman criticized the FAQ for misrepresenting some of his positions on anarchism in Medieval Iceland (in what was formally [http://www.geocities.com/CapitolHill/1931/secF9.html Section F9] ), accusing the authors of "not car [ing] whether what they publish is true".cite web |last=Friedman |first=David D |title=Iceland Anarch FAQ2 reply |url=http://www.daviddfriedman.com/Libertarian/My_Posts/Iceland_Anarch_FAQ2_reply.html |accessdate=2007-08-12 ] The FAQ contributors admitted that they made mistakes, particularly in the initial version of this section produced in 1996, but claim that all mistakes were subsequently fixed when they became aware of them. [ [http://www.infoshop.org/faq/10years.html Infoshop.org - An Anarchist FAQ after ten years ] ] and reject Friedman's claim that they are uninterested in the truth. [ [http://anarchism.ws/writers/anarcho/anarchism/iceland.html An Anarchist FAQ, David Friedman and Medieval Iceland] accessed 27 July 2008]

Mutualist and individualist anarchist Kevin A. Carson, while calling the FAQ a " [m] onumental compendium on anarchist history, theory and practice", disagreed with the FAQ's analysis of anarcho-capitalism.cite web |last=Carson |first=Kevin A |title=Mutualist. Org: Free Market Anti-Capitalism: Links |url=http://www.mutualist.org/id44.html |accessdate=2007-12-14 ] He referred to the FAQ's treatment of anarcho-capitalism to be "probably the FAQ's weakest spot", continuing " [While] I consider anarcho-capitalism to be considerably diverged from classical individualist anarchism, [I] also reject any blanket assertion that they can't be 'real anarchists.'"cite web |last=Carson |first=Kevin A |title=Anarchist FAQ Update |url=http://mutualist.blogspot.com/2006/07/anarchist-faq-update.html |accessdate=2007-08-12 ]

ee also

*Anarchism and capitalism
*Anarchism and anarcho-capitalism

References

External links

* [http://www.infoshop.org/faq/ An Anarchist FAQ] at Infoshop.org - Main host
* [http://www.geocities.com/CapitolHill/1931/ The most recent update]
* [http://www.geocities.com/CapitolHill/1931/10years.html An Anarchist FAQ after ten years] - by Iain McKay, written for the 10th anniversary of the FAQ's creation.
* [http://www.infoshop.org/faq/mirrors.html List of "An Anarchist FAQ" mirrors]
* [http://www.gmu.edu/departments/economics/bcaplan/anarfaq.htm Anarchist Theory FAQ] by Bryan Caplan
* [http://www.ozarkia.net/bill/anarchism/library/rg-anarcho-cap.html Response to An Anarchist FAQ] by Richard A. Garner