Core ideas and debates
Each area is a debate. Open it for the question, where the traditions agree, and where they divide. This is the raw material of every essay.
Human Nature›
The debate: Naturally cooperative, or rationally self-interested?
Where they agree
Both strands are optimistic about human potential in the absence of the state. Both believe humans can produce a stable, peaceful, stateless society - 'anarchy is order' (Proudhon). Both see the state and existing coercive relationships as the corrupter, not human nature itself. The 2022 mark scheme: 'most anarchists agree that humanity has been corrupted by the existing state... when they are removed, the potential of humanity will be revealed.'
Where they differ
The core anarchist divide on human nature. Collectivists see humans as naturally cooperative and social (Kropotkin's mutual aid as a scientific principle of survival). Individualists see humans as rational and self-interested (Stirner's egoism). The 2022 and 2023 mark schemes both treat this as the central split: 'individualists see the individual as rational and self-seeking... whilst collectivists argue order will emerge due to the social nature of humanity through cooperation.' These different views of human nature drive everything else.
The State›
The debate: Same conclusion - reject the state - but for the same reason?
Where they agree
Both strands completely reject the state in all its forms. The 2022 mark scheme calls this 'the core principle that unites together anarchists.' All anarchists agree the state is unjust, controlling, coercive and corrupting (Goldman). Both believe order can arise spontaneously without state coercion - anarchy is order (Proudhon). Both reject hierarchy and authority. This is the strongest area of agreement within anarchism.
Where they differ
Both strands reject the state, but for different reasons. Collectivists fight the state because it protects private property and enforces inequality (Goldman, Bakunin). Individualists fight the state because it restricts individual autonomy (Stirner). The 2021 mark scheme: 'Stirner advocates the view that the state limits the autonomy of the individual... collectivist anarchists see the state as protecting private property and inequality.' The post-state structures also differ - federated communes versus a Union of Egoists.
The Economy›
The debate: Common ownership and mutual aid, or free market and private property?
Where they agree
Both reject state regulation of the economy - the 2019 MS: 'all forms of anarchism, individualist and collectivist, argue for an economic system without any state regulation.' Both believe economic order arises spontaneously when state interference is removed. Both see economic freedom as central to liberty. The disagreement is over what economic freedom means and what arrangements deliver it.
Where they differ
The deepest divide within anarchism. Collectivists want common ownership and mutual aid (Kropotkin, Bakunin), or possession-without-property mutualism (Proudhon). Individualist anarcho-capitalists want unfettered free markets and private property. The 2019 mark scheme captures the contrast: 'collectivist anarchism is a form of ultra-socialism, and individualist anarchism is a form of ultra-liberalism, showing how fundamentally different their views on a future society are.' Within collectivism, further variation: mutualism, anarcho-syndicalism, anarcho-communism.
Society›
The debate: Federated communes, or a Union of Egoists?
Where they agree
Both strands want a stateless society. Both reject coercive hierarchy and authority. Both see liberty as the foundation of social order. Both believe society can be peaceful, stable and ordered without state coercion. The 2022 mark scheme: 'all anarchists are committed to liberty and the removal of all forms of political authority and hierarchy.'
Where they differ
Collectivists want self-managing communes voluntarily federated, built on cooperation and mutual aid (Kropotkin, Bakunin, Proudhon). Individualists want a Union of Egoists (Stirner) or a market-organised society (anarcho-capitalism). The 2021 mark scheme: 'Stirner saw the stateless society as a Union of Egoists... whilst collectivists tend to favour some form of federation of self-managing communes.' Critics within collectivism argue the individualist vision recreates hierarchy through economic concentration.
Rejection of the state›
The debate: Why reject the state? Both strands agree to reject - but for the same reason?
Where they agree
Rejection of the state is the deepest agreement in anarchism. Both strands agree the state is immoral, rules by coercion, and must be abolished. The 9PL0 spec treats this as the defining shared principle: anarchism just is the rejection of the state.
Where they differ
Both strands reject the state but for different reasons. Collectivist anarchism rejects the state because it defends economic inequality and enforces class oppression (Kropotkin, Bakunin). Individualist anarchism rejects the state because it crushes self-sovereign individual liberty (Stirner). Same conclusion, different ground.
Liberty›
The debate: Is liberty about cooperative self-rule or self-sovereign individual freedom?
Where they agree
Both strands treat liberty as critical to human nature and incompatible with state authority. Both reject any political authority that overrides the person. The disagreement is whether liberty is realised through community or against it.
Where they differ
Positive versus negative liberty. Collectivist anarchism treats liberty as realised through cooperative community and mutual aid (Kropotkin); freedom requires others. Individualist anarchism treats liberty as freedom from all authority including the collective (Stirner); the self-sovereign individual is the unit. The 9PL0 spec captures the disagreement: 'differing views of liberty and human nature within anarchism.'
Anarchy is order›
The debate: Does social order emerge naturally from human nature without a state?
Where they agree
Anarchy is order is a defining shared principle. Both strands believe social order emerges naturally without a state - peaceful, stable and stateless. The 9PL0 spec presents this as core anarchism, with the strands offering different accounts of why.
Where they differ
Both strands agree anarchy is order. Collectivist anarchism explains the order through cooperative human nature: communes self-organise via mutual aid (Kropotkin). Individualist anarchism explains it through self-interest: the Union of Egoists (Stirner) or market exchange (anarcho-capitalism). Same outcome, different mechanism.
Economic freedom›
The debate: Common ownership and mutual aid, or free market without state regulation?
Where they agree
Both strands reject state ownership and state regulation of the economy. Both treat economic freedom as a space where free individuals manage their own affairs without the state. The disagreement is whether that space is collective common ownership or private market exchange.
Where they differ
The sharpest area of disagreement. Collectivist anarchism requires common ownership and the abolition of private property (Proudhon, Kropotkin). Individualist anarchism protects private property and supports a free market without state regulation (Stirner, anarcho-capitalism). The 9PL0 spec captures both: economic freedom is 'a space where free individuals can manage their own affairs without state ownership or regulation' - but the form differs radically.
Utopian›
The debate: Is the anarchist future an idealised model - and is that a strength or a weakness?
Where they agree
Both strands face the charge of being unachievable and unrealistic. Both reject the charge. Both insist their vision is rooted in real human nature - cooperative on the collectivist view, self-sovereign on the individualist view. The 9PL0 spec lists utopian as a shared area of contestation.
Where they differ
Collectivist anarchism is more openly utopian: federated communes living by mutual aid (Kropotkin) is a positive vision. Individualist anarchism is less invested in a future model - the focus is the moral primacy of the individual now (Stirner). The 9PL0 spec utopian charge - 'unachievable and unrealistic' - lands harder on collectivist anarchism.