In Defense of Anarchism
Encyclopedia
In Defense of Anarchism is a 1970 book by Robert Paul Wolff
regarded as a classical work in anarchist scholarship. Wolff specifically defends individualist anarchism
; the book is premised on the idea that individual autonomy
and state authority
are mutually exclusive and, as individual autonomy is inalienable, the moral legitimacy
of the state
thus collapses.
First published by Harper and Row in 1970 as In Defense of Anarchism : With a Reply to Jeffrey H. Reiman's In Defense of Political Philosophy., it has since run to five editions, the latest of which is the University of California Press
1998 edition. It is held in the Paul Avrich
Collection in the Library of Congress
.
"how the moral autonomy of the individual can be made compatible with the legitimate authority of the state." As an anarchist, he believes that it cannot be. What follows is Wolff's account of authority
and Kantian
autonomy
, and the incompatibility of the two.
Part II, "The Solution of Classical Democracy," is Wolff's account of democratic liberalism
, the dominant political structure of the late 20th century. He investigates unanimous direct democracy, representative democracy
, and majoritarian democracy, drawing on Rawlsian
arguments for the practicality of consensus decision-making
. Wolff argues that consensus is limited by the requirement that participants are generally rational
and altruistic, and that the community in question is not too large. He goes on to critique the notion of democratic representation, pointing out that representation is an illusion as representatives do not obey the wishes of their constituents, and that it is impossible not to distinguish between the rulers and the ruled in a representational system.
In Part III, "Beyond the Legitimate State," Wolff arrives at the foreshadowed conclusion that because autonomy and the legitimacy of state power are incompatible, one must either embrace anarchism
or surrender one's autonomy, as Thomas Hobbes
proposed, to whichever authority seems strongest at the time. Democracy, in this schema, is no better than dictatorship
, a priori
, as both require forsaking one's autonomy.
, whose letters of praise "chagrined" Wolff, who was shocked to have a position that was consonant to those he thought of as "right wingers
".
Wolff's premising of "the State" and the "autonomous individual" as fixed, given entities has been criticised by Thomas Martin in Social Anarchism
as reflecting "basic assumptions arising from Renaissance
humanism, Enlightenment liberalism, and the alliance of capitalism and central authority that has marked the industrial era." Such notions have been critiqued by late 20th century currents in anarchist thought such as post-left anarchy
, insurrectionary anarchism
and particularly post-anarchism
.
Robert Paul Wolff
Robert Paul Wolff is a contemporary American political philosopher and professor at the University of Massachusetts Amherst. Wolff has written widely on many topics in political philosophy such as Marxism, tolerance , political justification and democracy. Wolff is also well known for his work on...
regarded as a classical work in anarchist scholarship. Wolff specifically defends individualist anarchism
Individualist anarchism
Individualist anarchism refers to several traditions of thought within the anarchist movement that emphasize the individual and his or her will over external determinants such as groups, society, traditions, and ideological systems. Individualist anarchism is not a single philosophy but refers to a...
; the book is premised on the idea that individual autonomy
Autonomy
Autonomy is a concept found in moral, political and bioethical philosophy. Within these contexts, it is the capacity of a rational individual to make an informed, un-coerced decision...
and state authority
Authority
The word Authority is derived mainly from the Latin word auctoritas, meaning invention, advice, opinion, influence, or command. In English, the word 'authority' can be used to mean power given by the state or by academic knowledge of an area .-Authority in Philosophy:In...
are mutually exclusive and, as individual autonomy is inalienable, the moral legitimacy
Legitimacy (political science)
In political science, legitimacy is the popular acceptance of a governing law or régime as an authority. Whereas “authority” denotes a specific position in an established government, the term “legitimacy” denotes a system of government — wherein “government” denotes “sphere of influence”...
of the state
State (polity)
A state is an organized political community, living under a government. States may be sovereign and may enjoy a monopoly on the legal initiation of force and are not dependent on, or subject to any other power or state. Many states are federated states which participate in a federal union...
thus collapses.
First published by Harper and Row in 1970 as In Defense of Anarchism : With a Reply to Jeffrey H. Reiman's In Defense of Political Philosophy., it has since run to five editions, the latest of which is the University of California Press
University of California Press
University of California Press, also known as UC Press, is a publishing house associated with the University of California that engages in academic publishing. It was founded in 1893 to publish books and papers for the faculty of the University of California, established 25 years earlier in 1868...
1998 edition. It is held in the Paul Avrich
Paul Avrich
Paul Avrich was a professor and historian. He taught at Queens College, City University of New York, for most of his life and was vital in preserving the history of the anarchist movement in Russia and the United States....
Collection in the Library of Congress
Library of Congress
The Library of Congress is the research library of the United States Congress, de facto national library of the United States, and the oldest federal cultural institution in the United States. Located in three buildings in Washington, D.C., it is the largest library in the world by shelf space and...
.
Structure
The book is structured in three parts: "The Conflict between Authority and Autonomy," "The Solution of Classical Democracy," "Beyond the Legitimate State," and an appendix, "Appendix: A proposal for Instant Direct Democracy." The book opens with Part I, "The Conflict between Authority and Autonomy," which Wolff begins by positing as the essence of modern political philosophyPolitical philosophy
Political philosophy is the study of such topics as liberty, justice, property, rights, law, and the enforcement of a legal code by authority: what they are, why they are needed, what, if anything, makes a government legitimate, what rights and freedoms it should protect and why, what form it...
"how the moral autonomy of the individual can be made compatible with the legitimate authority of the state." As an anarchist, he believes that it cannot be. What follows is Wolff's account of authority
Authority
The word Authority is derived mainly from the Latin word auctoritas, meaning invention, advice, opinion, influence, or command. In English, the word 'authority' can be used to mean power given by the state or by academic knowledge of an area .-Authority in Philosophy:In...
and Kantian
Immanuel Kant
Immanuel Kant was a German philosopher from Königsberg , researching, lecturing and writing on philosophy and anthropology at the end of the 18th Century Enlightenment....
autonomy
Autonomy
Autonomy is a concept found in moral, political and bioethical philosophy. Within these contexts, it is the capacity of a rational individual to make an informed, un-coerced decision...
, and the incompatibility of the two.
Part II, "The Solution of Classical Democracy," is Wolff's account of democratic liberalism
Democratic liberalism
Not to be confused with liberal democracy, democratic liberalism aims to reach a synthesis of democracy which is the participation of the people in the power, and the rational liberalism, which declines the emotional populism....
, the dominant political structure of the late 20th century. He investigates unanimous direct democracy, representative democracy
Representative democracy
Representative democracy is a form of government founded on the principle of elected individuals representing the people, as opposed to autocracy and direct democracy...
, and majoritarian democracy, drawing on Rawlsian
John Rawls
John Bordley Rawls was an American philosopher and a leading figure in moral and political philosophy. He held the James Bryant Conant University Professorship at Harvard University....
arguments for the practicality of consensus decision-making
Consensus decision-making
Consensus decision-making is a group decision making process that seeks the consent, not necessarily the agreement, of participants and the resolution of objections. Consensus is defined by Merriam-Webster as, first, general agreement, and second, group solidarity of belief or sentiment. It has its...
. Wolff argues that consensus is limited by the requirement that participants are generally rational
Rationality
In philosophy, rationality is the exercise of reason. It is the manner in which people derive conclusions when considering things deliberately. It also refers to the conformity of one's beliefs with one's reasons for belief, or with one's actions with one's reasons for action...
and altruistic, and that the community in question is not too large. He goes on to critique the notion of democratic representation, pointing out that representation is an illusion as representatives do not obey the wishes of their constituents, and that it is impossible not to distinguish between the rulers and the ruled in a representational system.
In Part III, "Beyond the Legitimate State," Wolff arrives at the foreshadowed conclusion that because autonomy and the legitimacy of state power are incompatible, one must either embrace anarchism
Anarchism
Anarchism is generally defined as the political philosophy which holds the state to be undesirable, unnecessary, and harmful, or alternatively as opposing authority in the conduct of human relations...
or surrender one's autonomy, as Thomas Hobbes
Thomas Hobbes
Thomas Hobbes of Malmesbury , in some older texts Thomas Hobbs of Malmsbury, was an English philosopher, best known today for his work on political philosophy...
proposed, to whichever authority seems strongest at the time. Democracy, in this schema, is no better than dictatorship
Dictatorship
A dictatorship is defined as an autocratic form of government in which the government is ruled by an individual, the dictator. It has three possible meanings:...
, a priori
A priori and a posteriori (philosophy)
The terms a priori and a posteriori are used in philosophy to distinguish two types of knowledge, justifications or arguments...
, as both require forsaking one's autonomy.
Reception
The book was well received not only in academic philosophy and in traditional anarchist circles, but also by individualist anarchists of the market anarchist variety such as Murray RothbardMurray Rothbard
Murray Newton Rothbard was an American author and economist of the Austrian School who helped define capitalist libertarianism and popularized a form of free-market anarchism he termed "anarcho-capitalism." Rothbard wrote over twenty books and is considered a centrally important figure in the...
, whose letters of praise "chagrined" Wolff, who was shocked to have a position that was consonant to those he thought of as "right wingers
Right-wing politics
In politics, Right, right-wing and rightist generally refer to support for a hierarchical society justified on the basis of an appeal to natural law or tradition. To varying degrees, the Right rejects the egalitarian objectives of left-wing politics, claiming that the imposition of equality is...
".
Wolff's premising of "the State" and the "autonomous individual" as fixed, given entities has been criticised by Thomas Martin in Social Anarchism
Social Anarchism (journal)
Social Anarchism: A Journal of Theory and Practice is a biannual journal of "community self-reliance, direct participation in political decision-making, respect for nature, and nonviolent paths to peace and justice." Each issue contains essays on current anarchist theory, anarchist history, an...
as reflecting "basic assumptions arising from Renaissance
Renaissance
The Renaissance was a cultural movement that spanned roughly the 14th to the 17th century, beginning in Italy in the Late Middle Ages and later spreading to the rest of Europe. The term is also used more loosely to refer to the historical era, but since the changes of the Renaissance were not...
humanism, Enlightenment liberalism, and the alliance of capitalism and central authority that has marked the industrial era." Such notions have been critiqued by late 20th century currents in anarchist thought such as post-left anarchy
Post-left anarchy
Post-left anarchy is a recent current in anarchist thought that promotes a critique of anarchism's relationship to traditional leftism. Some post-leftists seek to escape the confines of ideology in general also presenting a critique of organizations and morality...
, insurrectionary anarchism
Insurrectionary anarchism
Insurrectionary anarchism is a revolutionary theory, practice and tendency within the anarchist movement which emphasizes the theme of insurrection within anarchist practice. It is critical of formal organizations such as labor unions and federations that are based on a political programme and...
and particularly post-anarchism
Post-anarchism
Post-anarchism or postanarchism is the term used to represent anarchist philosophies developed since the 1980s using post-structuralist and postmodernist approaches. Some prefer to use the term post-structuralist anarchism, so as not to suggest having moved "past" anarchism...
.
External links
- "In Defense of Anarchism" full hypertext at Digital Text International
- "In Defense of Anarchism" PDF version, from Invisible Molotov
- "Doing without a ruler: in defence of anarchism" - May 3, 2008 radio interview with Wolff conducted by ABC Radio