What is anarchy? What do they believe?

1. What anarchism means in principle: anti‑statism, autonomy and mutual aid

At its core anarchism is a skeptical theory of political legitimacy that denies the moral necessity of rulers and centralized authority; classic accounts stress a will for a non‑coercive society and the conviction that humans can organize without a sovereign power ^{[4] [1]}. Anarchists commonly invoke the principle of equal liberty—freedom to act so long as it does not interfere with others—and procedures built on voluntary association, direct democracy and decentralization rather than top‑down command ^{[5] [3]}.

2. Not one anarchy but many: competing visions and priorities

There are multiple “anarchisms.” Some prioritize collective ownership and anti‑capitalist economics (anarcho‑communists, anarcho‑syndicalists), others prioritize individual sovereignty and market arrangements (individualist strains and the contested anarcho‑capitalist label), while feminist, green and post‑left currents emphasize patriarchy, ecology or critiques of orthodox politics respectively; scholars caution that the term covers diverse and sometimes incompatible projects ^{[1] [6] [3]}.

3. How anarchists propose to get there: direct action, federations and prefigurative politics

Anarchist methods tend to emphasize direct action—strikes, boycotts, occupation, mutual aid networks and non‑hierarchical organizing—intended both as tactics and as a model of the kind of society sought ^{[6] [7]}. Some currents endorse revolutionary insurrection or “propaganda of the deed” historically, while others foreground principled nonviolence and building alternative institutions ^{[8] [9]}. Organizational forms favored include affinity groups, federated councils and workplace self‑management rather than centralized parties ^{[1] [6]}.

4. Historical and contemporary practice: Spain, syndicalism and modern movements

Anarchist ideas have powered large social experiments and movements—most famously the anarchist‑run collectives and syndicalist organizations in 1930s Spain and the influence of anarchist unions such as the CNT, and earlier theorists like Proudhon and Kropotkin shaped the intellectual foundation ^{[8] [2] [10]}. Contemporary anarchists surface in anti‑globalization, environmental and Occupy‑style movements and in decentralized protest tactics like black‑bloc and affinity organizing, demonstrating an ongoing revival of both theory and practice ^{[11] [1] [7]}.

5. Public perception, mischaracterisations and security concerns

Mainstream narratives often conflate anarchism with disorder or violent extremism; while some militant anarchist factions have used violence and are studied in security analyses as a low but persistent threat, most anarchist thought and practice centers on order through voluntary cooperation and justice without coercive institutions ^{[8] [5]}. Scholars and historians warn against equating the entire tradition with isolated violent acts and note the movement’s substantive contributions to labor, anti‑authoritarian and communal practices ^{[7] [10]}.

6. Bottom line: an ethical and tactical pluralism united by anti‑authoritarianism

Anarchism is best understood not as simple chaos but as a contested set of ideas and experiments united by opposition to coercive hierarchies and a commitment to organizing life by consent, mutual aid and decentralised structures; its many strands debate means and ends—economics, violence, organization—and have left a mixed record in practice that scholars continue to parse ^{[1] [3] [10]}. Sources consulted underscore both the ideological coherence around anti‑statism and the real disagreements that make “anarchies” plural rather than monolithic ^{[4] [6]}.