Pacifism And Anarchism Similarities

Anarcho-Pacifism is part of the anarchist movement which rejects the use of violence in the hope of social change and the removal of the state. The main influencers of this movement were Leo Tolstoy, Henry David Thoreau and Mohandas Gandhi. This movement gained support in the Netherlands, the United States and the United Kingdom before world war 2 and is still seen in Anarchist protests against the government with regards to the use of nuclear weapons.

Anarcho-Pacifism differs from both Pacifism and Anarchism is various ways but still remains similar to both in others. It holds the same belief of Anarchism that there should be no form of government other than one that is self governed by the people but does not share the same belief that
Anarchist thought is very diverse on views of the use of violence with various groups of anarchists believing that it is a requirement on the path to anarchy. The first uses of violence involving anarchists was in the late 19th century when anarchists labour unions use have a general strike which often caused violence between both sides and sometimes even resulted in fatalities of the anarchists. This led to to some anarchists advocating terrorism and assassination in an attempt to achieve their goal of anarchy. Over the years anarchism has been blamed for various events which have affected the reputation of the anarchist movement as a whole. For instance, the assassination of William Mckinley the united states president who was killed by Leon Czolgosz. The media immediately claimed he was an anarchist as he stated he was influenced by the writings of Emma Goldman who is a well known writer who shows anarchist sympathies. Czolgosz’s actions were widely condemned by the anarchists and even though the media stated he was an anarchist, he was not part of any anarchist
Various religions preach pacifism such as Buddhism, Jainism and Hinduism which all condone violence as a part of their core philosophy. It holds the belief that all international disputes can be resolved peacefully and the use of violence under any circumstances, even for self defence, should be abolished. Prominent pacifists include Martin Luther King Jr and Mohandas Gandhi who both condoned the use of violence in an attempt to make the world a better place. The bible also has links with pacifism as Jesus Christ says “love your enemies for they know not what they do”. People believe this is saying that there is no need to fight your enemy as they do not realise what they are doing to you so through talking they will no longer be your