LIBERTARIAN-SOCIALISM: AN IDEA WHOSE TIME HAS COME
6 May 2010, 06:13, by Larry Gambone
Contemporary anarchists do not believe that humans are intrinsically "good", nor should I add, did most of the classical anarchist thinkers. Believing that humanity is not essentially evil is not the same as believing that it is good. There is a more nuanced possibility. What we do believe, and this is based upon sound anthropological evidence, is that humans are intrinsically social creatures, who naturally practice reciprocity and mutual aid. This social nature is weakened by xenophobia, alienation and authoritarianism. One of the goals of anarchism is to remove those aspects that prevent sociality. But this does not mean that humans will be perfect or good - they will just be better. Nor are we opposed to all forms of authority. We are only opposed to coercive authority, and even in practice we seek to minimize it, as it is probably impossible to eliminate it entirely. This latter point, by the way is straight out of Proudhon...
Contemporary anarchists do not believe that humans are intrinsically "good", nor should I add, did most of the classical anarchist thinkers. Believing that humanity is not essentially evil is not the same as believing that it is good. There is a more nuanced possibility. What we do believe, and this is based upon sound anthropological evidence, is that humans are intrinsically social creatures, who naturally practice reciprocity and mutual aid. This social nature is weakened by xenophobia, alienation and authoritarianism. One of the goals of anarchism is to remove those aspects that prevent sociality. But this does not mean that humans will be perfect or good - they will just be better. Nor are we opposed to all forms of authority. We are only opposed to coercive authority, and even in practice we seek to minimize it, as it is probably impossible to eliminate it entirely. This latter point, by the way is straight out of Proudhon...