The traditions of Anarchism
Each tradition answers the same spec questions differently. Learn the split and you can compare them in an essay.
Collectivist Anarchism
Proudhon (mutualism), Bakunin, Kropotkin (mutual aid), Goldman
- Optimistic, sociable, cooperative; mutual aid; capable of being shaped by environment; complex (Bakunin)
Individualist Anarchism
Stirner (egoism); anarcho-capitalism
- Rational, self-interested, sovereign; egoism; voluntary cooperation through self-interest, not duty
Anarcho-communism
Kropotkin (mutual aid, common ownership); Goldman also relevant
- Cooperative, altruistic, sociable; mutual aid as a scientific principle
Mutualism
Proudhon (possession not property, What Is Property?)
- Cooperative; capable of fair exchange; liberty is the mother of order
Egoism
Stirner (the sovereign ego, Union of Egoists)
- Rational, self-interested, sovereign; the ego owes no allegiance to any authority
Anarcho-capitalism
No named 9PL0 spec thinker; position described in MS as supporting an unfettered free market and private property
- Rational, autonomous, competitive, self-interested
Side by side
The four core spec areas across every tradition.
| Theme | Collectivist | Individualist | Anarcho-communist | Mutualist | Egoist | Anarcho-capitalist |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Human Nature | Optimistic, sociable, cooperative; mutual aid; capable of being shaped by environment; complex (Bakunin) | Rational, self-interested, sovereign; egoism; voluntary cooperation through self-interest, not duty | Cooperative, altruistic, sociable; mutual aid as a scientific principle | Cooperative; capable of fair exchange; liberty is the mother of order | Rational, self-interested, sovereign; the ego owes no allegiance to any authority | Rational, autonomous, competitive, self-interested |
| The State | Reject the state in all forms; it protects property and inequality; voluntary federations replace it | Reject the state as restriction on individual freedom; voluntary association only | State defends inequality and private property; abolish by revolution | Reject the state; peaceful means; anarchy is order | State crushes self-sovereign liberty; insurrection not revolution | State unnecessary; the market supplies order; private institutions protect property and contract |
| The Economy | Reject capitalism; common ownership; mutual aid; mutualism (Proudhon), anarcho-syndicalism, anarcho-communism (Kropotkin) | Free market and private property; anarcho-capitalism; voluntary economic exchange between rational individuals | Common ownership; distribution by need; products at the disposal of the whole community | Possession not property; workers keep the fruits of their labour | Voluntary exchange when it serves the ego; opposes capitalism as a system | Unfettered free market; private property central to economic freedom |
| Society | Self-managing communes voluntarily federated; mutual aid; reject hierarchy; freedom AND equality | Society of self-interested individuals voluntarily associating; Union of Egoists; market-organised | Decentralised federated communes; mutual aid; anarchy is order | Self-managing communities of small producers, voluntarily federated | Union of Egoists; society is what individuals agree to, nothing more | Market-organised society; no inherent need for decentralisation |