Anarchism is more closely linked to socialism than liberalism
‘Anarchism is more closely linked to socialism than liberalism.’
The core principle and very definition of anarchism, is the opposition to the state, where individuals are free from any compulsory contracts e.g.- anarchists would go against Locke’ concept of rational individuals going into a ‘social contract’, in order to avoid, as Hobbes puts it, a ‘nasty brutish and short life.’ Some may argue anarchism is a reactionary movement but still it overlaps the two ideologies i.e.- socialism and liberalism, where all three reach an anti-statist conclusion. From this, it would appear both rivalling ideologies indeed have relations to anarchism.
A particular strand of anarchism i.e.- individualist anarchism, shares a similar approach to liberalism. One key similarity is the idea of sovereign individuals, the most radical ideas originating from Max Stirner’s ‘The Ego and His Own’. Like Marx, Stirner was hugely influenced by the works of Hegel, however coming to the conclusion of extreme individualism i.e.- ‘egoism’. Stirner like some liberal thinkers believed in the term ‘egoism’, e.g.- liberal thinkers like Thomas Hobbes and John Locke accepted that individuals are self-interested or self-seeking, as one of the definition of egoism suggests. However, these liberals would then go on to argue that self-interestedness causes conflict, hence the need of a state, going against every anarchist. Like the individual anarchist William Godwin, any restrictions held on an individual is evil, and if those constraints are enforced by the state, then it is absolute evil. Going back to human rationality, much like Mill and other classical liberals, anarchism tends to share the distrust of the state, and the concentrated importance of individual liberty. Where an anarchist argues the state is unnecessary and evil, many liberals believe the individual is rational, that they have reasoning above any collective body. In addition, as humans are self-interested, the state will
The core principle and very definition of anarchism, is the opposition to the state, where individuals are free from any compulsory contracts e.g.- anarchists would go against Locke’ concept of rational individuals going into a ‘social contract’, in order to avoid, as Hobbes puts it, a ‘nasty brutish and short life.’ Some may argue anarchism is a reactionary movement but still it overlaps the two ideologies i.e.- socialism and liberalism, where all three reach an anti-statist conclusion. From this, it would appear both rivalling ideologies indeed have relations to anarchism.
A particular strand of anarchism i.e.- individualist anarchism, shares a similar approach to liberalism. One key similarity is the idea of sovereign individuals, the most radical ideas originating from Max Stirner’s ‘The Ego and His Own’. Like Marx, Stirner was hugely influenced by the works of Hegel, however coming to the conclusion of extreme individualism i.e.- ‘egoism’. Stirner like some liberal thinkers believed in the term ‘egoism’, e.g.- liberal thinkers like Thomas Hobbes and John Locke accepted that individuals are self-interested or self-seeking, as one of the definition of egoism suggests. However, these liberals would then go on to argue that self-interestedness causes conflict, hence the need of a state, going against every anarchist. Like the individual anarchist William Godwin, any restrictions held on an individual is evil, and if those constraints are enforced by the state, then it is absolute evil. Going back to human rationality, much like Mill and other classical liberals, anarchism tends to share the distrust of the state, and the concentrated importance of individual liberty. Where an anarchist argues the state is unnecessary and evil, many liberals believe the individual is rational, that they have reasoning above any collective body. In addition, as humans are self-interested, the state will