The following is a list of terms specific to anarchists.
Anarchism
Anarchism is a political philosophy and movement that is skeptical of all justifications for authority and seeks to abolish the institutions it claims maintain unnecessary coercion and hierarchy, typically including, though not necessa ...
is a political and social movement which advocates
voluntary association in opposition to
authoritarianism and
hierarchy
A hierarchy (from Greek: , from , 'president of sacred rites') is an arrangement of items (objects, names, values, categories, etc.) that are represented as being "above", "below", or "at the same level as" one another. Hierarchy is an important ...
.
__NOTOC__
A
:The negation of rule or "
government by none". While "anarchy" refers to the absence of a
hierarchical
A hierarchy (from Greek: , from , 'president of sacred rites') is an arrangement of items (objects, names, values, categories, etc.) that are represented as being "above", "below", or "at the same level as" one another. Hierarchy is an important ...
society-organizing ''power principle'', "acracy" refers to the absence of ''
coercion
Coercion () is compelling a party to act in an involuntary manner by the use of threats, including threats to use force against a party. It involves a set of forceful actions which violate the free will of an individual in order to induce a desi ...
''; the condition of acracy is one of voluntary
order
Order, ORDER or Orders may refer to:
* Categorization, the process in which ideas and objects are recognized, differentiated, and understood
* Heterarchy, a system of organization wherein the elements have the potential to be ranked a number of d ...
. Derived from the
Greek α-
oand κρατία
ystem of government
:A form of organic organization according to which different parts of an organization are temporarily assembled to meet the requirements of that particular point in time.
:A small non-hierarchical collective of
activists who collaborate on
direct action
Direct action originated as a political activist term for economic and political acts in which the actors use their power (e.g. economic or physical) to directly reach certain goals of interest, in contrast to those actions that appeal to oth ...
via
consensus decision-making.
:Coined by
Ernst Jünger, this refers to the ruler (i.e. individual) in a state of anarchy analogous to the
monarch in a state of
monarchy, a conception influenced by
Max Stirner's notion of the
sovereign individual
Self-ownership, also known as sovereignty of the individual or individual sovereignty, is the concept of property in one's own person, expressed as the moral or natural right of a person to have bodily integrity and be the exclusive controller ...
.
:A form of anarchism which does not declare affiliation with any specify subtype of anarchism (as may be suffixed to anarcho- or anarcha-), instead positioning itself as pluralistic, tolerant of all
anarchist schools of thought.
:Derived from the
Ancient Greek ἀν (without) + ἄρχειν (to rule) "without
archon
''Archon'' ( gr, ἄρχων, árchōn, plural: ἄρχοντες, ''árchontes'') is a Greek word that means "ruler", frequently used as the title of a specific public office. It is the masculine present participle of the verb stem αρχ-, mean ...
s," "without rulers".
:Social disorder and civil war in an absence of government, used to separate anarchy as in social order ''and'' absence of government.
:Clipping of
anarcho-socialism and/or anarcho-socialist used in informal discourse, particularly in
blogs
A blog (a truncation of "weblog") is a discussion or informational website published on the World Wide Web consisting of discrete, often informal diary-style text entries (posts). Posts are typically displayed in reverse chronological order ...
or other
internet forums.
:A library which is not organised hierarchically and that has no
catalogue. The concept is influenced by the ideas of the
Situationists.
:A set of radical left-wing political movements in
Western Europe which emerged in the late 20th century.
:A Greek word meaning "ruler"; the absence of archons and archy (rule) defines a state of ''anarchy''. Derived from the Ancient Greek άρχων, pl. άρχοντες.
B
:The "two red years" of political agitation, strikes and land occupation by
Italian workers in 1919 and 1920.
:A political philosophy primarily of
African-Americans, opposed to what it sees as the oppression of
people of colour by the
white ruling class through the power of the
state.
:An
affinity group, or cluster of affinity groups that assembles during
protests,
demonstrations, or other forms of
direct action
Direct action originated as a political activist term for economic and political acts in which the actors use their power (e.g. economic or physical) to directly reach certain goals of interest, in contrast to those actions that appeal to oth ...
. Black blocs are noted for the distinctive all-black clothing worn by members to conceal their
identity and for their intentional defiance of state
property law
Property law is the area of law that governs the various forms of ownership in real property (land) and personal property. Property refers to legally protected claims to resources, such as land and personal property, including intellectual pro ...
.
:A distinctively French form of working class organization of the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries, ''bourses du travail'' promoted
mutual aid, education, and
self-organization amongst their members.
C
:A
participatory decision making
In psychology, decision-making (also spelled decision making and decisionmaking) is regarded as the cognitive process resulting in the selection of a belief or a course of action among several possible alternative options. It could be either rati ...
process for collectives that seeks the resolution or mitigation of minority objections (according to the principle of
inclusivity) as well as the
agreement of the majority of participants.
:A maxim coined by
individualist anarchist
Individualist anarchism is the branch of anarchism that emphasizes the individual and their Will (philosophy), will over external determinants such as groups, society, traditions and ideological systems."What do I mean by individualism? I mean ...
Josiah Warren (1798–1874) to express a
normative conception of the
labor theory of value—that is, that the price of a good or service should never exceed its cost.
:Abbreviation of "counter-establishment economics", a concept in
agorist theory of the use and advocacy of
black and
grey markets and the
underground economy to erode the moral authority of and the perceived necessity for the
state.
D
:A private (or possibly cooperative) organization specialized in resolving disputes that would arise in an anarchical society (similar to a
PDA
PDA may refer to:
Science and technology
* Patron-driven acquisition, a mechanism for libraries to purchase books
*Personal digital assistant, a mobile device
* Photodiode array, a type of detector
* Polydiacetylenes, a family of conducting poly ...
).
:The concept of
revolution through the creation of "counter-institutions" in place of and in opposition to state power.
Used in
anarcho-communist discourse, it distinct from the
earlier use of the phrase by non-anarchist communists such as
Vladimir Lenin.
:Physically searching through the discarded belongings in a
dumpster or other trash receptacle, with the intention of salvaging useful material such as
food
Food is any substance consumed by an organism for nutritional support. Food is usually of plant, animal, or fungal origin, and contains essential nutrients, such as carbohydrates, fats, proteins, vitamins, or minerals. The substance is inge ...
or
information.
E
:A theory in the
philosophy of science advanced by
Paul Feyerabend which holds that there are no useful and exception-free rules governing the
progress of science, and that the pragmatic approach is a
Dadaistic "anything goes" attitude of
methodological pluralism.
F
:The practice of retrieving edible food that would otherwise go to waste and distributing it to those in need.
:A
decentralized network in which skills, information and knowledge are shared with neither the
social hierarchy nor the institutional environment of formal schooling.
:Following the Russian Revolution, the concept of
workers' councils (
soviets) that were self-governing and free from party control
:An
anti-consumerist lifestyle according to which participants attempt to restrict their consumption of natural resources and participation in the conventional economy to using salvaged and discarded goods.
:A
monetary system in the ''
Freiwirtschaft'' theory, according to which
units of currency retain their value or lose it at a certain rate, making
inflation and profiting from
interest impossible. ''Freigeld'' is a
German phrase with the literal meaning "free money".
G
:
Second-hand stores where all goods are free. An example of a
gift economy
A gift economy or gift culture is a system of exchange where valuables are not sold, but rather given without an explicit agreement for immediate or future rewards. Social norms and customs govern giving a gift in a gift culture; although there ...
.
:Nonviolent
direct action
Direct action originated as a political activist term for economic and political acts in which the actors use their power (e.g. economic or physical) to directly reach certain goals of interest, in contrast to those actions that appeal to oth ...
whereby disused plots are converted to
gardens without seeking the permission of the putative property owners. Related:
squatting
Squatting is the action of occupying an abandoned or unoccupied area of land or a building, usually residential, that the squatter does not own, rent or otherwise have lawful permission to use. The United Nations estimated in 2003 that there ...
.
H
:The seven anarchists tried and executed for the murder of a Chicago policeman during the
Haymarket affair.
:See
Haymarket Martyrs
:See
social hierarchy
:A form of non-hierarchical social organization which utilises
direct democracy
Direct democracy or pure democracy is a form of democracy in which the Election#Electorate, electorate decides on policy initiatives without legislator, elected representatives as proxies. This differs from the majority of currently establishe ...
and
consensus decision-making.
I

:A doctrine which rejects all
moral obligations
In moral philosophy, deontological ethics or deontology (from Greek language, Greek: + ) is the normative ethics, normative ethical theory that the morality of an action should be based on whether that action itself is right or wrong under a s ...
and governmental
law in favour of the satisfaction of one's own desires.
Pioneered by the
Bonnot Gang in
France and heavily influenced by the
individualist anarchist
Individualist anarchism is the branch of anarchism that emphasizes the individual and their Will (philosophy), will over external determinants such as groups, society, traditions and ideological systems."What do I mean by individualism? I mean ...
philosophy of Max Stirner
Johann Kaspar Schmidt (25 October 1806 – 26 June 1856), known professionally as Max Stirner, was a German post-Hegelian philosopher, dealing mainly with the Hegelian notion of social alienation and self-consciousness. Stirner is often seen as ...
.
[
:A philosophy which demands the embracing of immediate social interactions with people as a means of countering the antisocial consequences of consumerist capitalism.
:A space (often a social center) that serves as a node for anarchists involved with radical movements and countercultures for trading publications (typically books, zines, stickers and posters), meeting and networking with similar individuals and groups. The primary directive of an infoshop is the dissemination of information. Related: ]zine library
A zine ( ; short for ''magazine'' or ''fanzine'') is a small-circulation self-published work of original or appropriated texts and images, usually reproduced via a copy machine. Zines are the product of either a single person or of a very sma ...
.
:A vanguardist organisation of revolutionaries first proposed by Mikhail Bakunin.
J
:Exploitation of differences in national laws and regulations to maximise liberty. Related: dynamic geography, panarchism Panarchy may refer to:
* Panarchy (Dartmouth), student society at Dartmouth College
* Panarchy (ecology)
A social-ecological system consists of 'a bio-geo-physical' unit and its associated social actors and institutions. Social-ecological system ...
.
K
: Dutch anarchists influenced by Peter Kropotkin
Pyotr Alexeyevich Kropotkin (; russian: link=no, Пётр Алексе́евич Кропо́ткин ; 9 December 1842 – 8 February 1921) was a Russian anarchist, socialist, revolutionary, historian, scientist, philosopher, and activis ...
who sought to promote awareness of alternatives to authoritarian and capitalist solutions to social problems in 1960s Amsterdam.
L
:A slogan expressing the desire of freedom from landowners originally used by the revolutionary leaders of the Mexican Revolution
The Mexican Revolution ( es, Revolución Mexicana) was an extended sequence of armed regional conflicts in Mexico from approximately 1910 to 1920. It has been called "the defining event of modern Mexican history". It resulted in the destruction ...
. Spanish: ''Tierra y Libertad'', Russian: Земля и Воля ''Zemlya i Volya''.
:A doctrine asserting that each individual has the right to assert their fullest liberty to act so long as it does not extend them greater liberty than any other individual. Named by Herbert Spencer.
:A pejorative term for a set of French laws passed during 1893–1894 restricting the freedom of the anarchist press in the aftermath of an outbreak of propaganda of the deed.
M
:Mass movement to establish anarchist-communism in Ukraine, led by the Ukrainian anarchist revolutionary Nestor Makhno (1888–1934) and his followers in the Revolutionary Insurgent Army of Ukraine.
: American
American(s) may refer to:
* American, something of, from, or related to the United States of America, commonly known as the "United States" or "America"
** Americans, citizens and nationals of the United States of America
** American ancestry, pe ...
schools formed in the early 20th century based on the ideas of educator and anarchist Francesc Ferrer i Guàrdia
Francesc Ferrer i Guàrdia (; January 14, 1859 – October 13, 1909), widely known as Francisco Ferrer (), was a Spanish radical freethinker, anarchist, and educationist behind a network of secular, private, libertarian schools in and aroun ...
and modelled after his '' Escuela Moderna''.
:The voluntary reciprocal exchange of resources and services for mutual benefit. Related: gift economy
A gift economy or gift culture is a system of exchange where valuables are not sold, but rather given without an explicit agreement for immediate or future rewards. Social norms and customs govern giving a gift in a gift culture; although there ...
, voluntarism.
N
:Low-intensity social conflict employing a network structure for organisational control and communication. Related: Security culture.
:A prohibition against the initiation of force
The non-aggression principle (NAP), also called the non-aggression axiom, is a concept in which aggression, defined as initiating or threatening any forceful interference (violating or breaching conduct) against either an individual, their propert ...
, or the threat of force, against persons or property (usually referred to as aggression or coercion).
P
:
:
:
:
:
:
:Used interchangeably with anarcho-primitivist
Anarcho-primitivism is an anarchist critique of civilization (anti-civ) that advocates a return to non-civilized ways of life through deindustrialization, abolition of the division of labor or specialization, and abandonment of large-scale or ...
.
:
:
:
:
R
:
:A free market based on the principle of gift economics
A gift economy or gift culture is a system of exchange where Anthropological theories of value, valuables are not sold, but rather given without an explicit agreement for immediate or future rewards. Social norms and customs govern giving a gift ...
whereby participants bring gifts and resources to share with one another, without money being exchanged. Related: participatory economics, voluntary association.
:
:
:
:
:
S
:The creation of permanent dwellings on the ocean, analogous to homesteading
Homesteading is a lifestyle of self-sufficiency. It is characterized by subsistence agriculture, home preservation of food, and may also involve the small scale production of textiles, clothing, and craft work for household use or sale. Pur ...
on land. A seastead is a structure meant for permanent occupation on the ocean. Related to Permanent Autonomous Zones.
:Secrecy practiced by an affinity group which engages in illegal activities, and its precautions to avoid surveillance or infiltration by law enforcement. Related: direct action
Direct action originated as a political activist term for economic and political acts in which the actors use their power (e.g. economic or physical) to directly reach certain goals of interest, in contrast to those actions that appeal to oth ...
, netwar
:
:
:
:
:
:
:
:
:
T
:Acronym coined by libertarian science fiction
Libertarian science fiction is a subgenre of science fiction that focuses on the politics and social order implied by right-libertarian philosophies with an emphasis on individualism and private ownership of the means of production—and in some ...
writer Robert A. Heinlein in '' The Moon Is a Harsh Mistress'' for "There Ain't No Such Thing As A Free Lunch". Used to express scepticism towards socialist economics.
:The name given to a series of violent confrontations between the Spanish army and the anarchist-backed working classes in Catalunyan cities from July 25-August 2, 1909.
: A show trial
A show trial is a public trial in which the judicial authorities have already determined the guilt or innocence of the defendant. The actual trial has as its only goal the presentation of both the accusation and the verdict to the public so th ...
in 1894 in Paris, France, aimed at legitimizing the '' lois scélérates'' passed in 1893–1894 against the French anarchist movement
Anarchism in France can trace its roots to thinker Pierre-Joseph Proudhon, who grew up during the Restoration and was the first self-described anarchist. French anarchists fought in the Spanish Civil War as volunteers in the International Brigad ...
and at restricting press freedom by proving the existence of an effective association between anarchists. French: ''Procès des trente''
V
:The political philosophy of veganism (more specifically animal liberation) and anarchism
Anarchism is a political philosophy and movement that is skeptical of all justifications for authority and seeks to abolish the institutions it claims maintain unnecessary coercion and hierarchy, typically including, though not necessa ...
, creating a combined praxis as a means for social revolution
Social revolutions are sudden changes in the structure and nature of society. These revolutions are usually recognized as having transformed society, economy, culture, philosophy, and technology along with but more than just the political syst ...
.
:The use of or reliance on voluntary action to maintain an institution, carry out a policy, or achieve an end.
:A political philosophy which advocates voluntary association as the foundation of society, and opposes coercion
Coercion () is compelling a party to act in an involuntary manner by the use of threats, including threats to use force against a party. It involves a set of forceful actions which violate the free will of an individual in order to induce a desi ...
and aggression
Aggression is overt or covert, often harmful, social interaction with the intention of inflicting damage or other harm upon another individual; although it can be channeled into creative and practical outlets for some. It may occur either reacti ...
.
W
:A term which asserts a similarity between slavery—the ownership and control of one person by another—and wage labour.
:A form of workplace decision-making in which the workers rather than professional managers decide on issues related to the operation of the business.
Z
:Compound of '' zen'' and "archy
Archy may refer to:
*Archy (software), a software system
*Archy (character), fictional cockroach of Archy and Mehitabel
*Sir Archy (1805–1833), American Thoroughbred racehorse
See also
* Archie (disambiguation)
* Archy Kirkwood, a British polit ...
". The social order which arises from meditation. As a doctrine, zenarchism is the belief that "universal enlightenment" is a prerequisite to the abolition of the state.
:A low-circulation, non-commercial periodical of original or appropriated texts and images. Usually reproduced via photocopier on a variety of colored paper stock.
:A repository of zines and other associated artifacts, such as small press
A small press is a publisher with annual sales below a certain level or below a certain number of titles published. The terms "indie publisher" and "independent press" and others are sometimes used interchangeably.
Independent press is general ...
books. Zine libraries are typically run on a minimal budget, and have a close association with infoshops and other forms of DIY culture
"Do it yourself" ("DIY") is the method of building, modifying, or repairing things by oneself without the direct aid of professionals or certified experts. Academic research has described DIY as behaviors where "individuals use raw and semi ...
and independent media
Independent media refers to any media, such as television, newspapers or Internet-based publications, that is free of influence by government or corporate interests. The term has varied applications. Within the United States and other developed ...
.
See also
* List of basic anarchism topics
References
{{DEFAULTSORT:Anarchist Terminology
Anarchism
Anarchism is a political philosophy and movement that is skeptical of all justifications for authority and seeks to abolish the institutions it claims maintain unnecessary coercion and hierarchy, typically including, though not necessa ...
Anarchism
Anarchism is a political philosophy and movement that is skeptical of all justifications for authority and seeks to abolish the institutions it claims maintain unnecessary coercion and hierarchy, typically including, though not necessa ...
Anarchism
Anarchism is a political philosophy and movement that is skeptical of all justifications for authority and seeks to abolish the institutions it claims maintain unnecessary coercion and hierarchy, typically including, though not necessa ...