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Anarchism
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The word "anarchism" has gained some negative connotation. To some, it evokes images of angry masked folks throwing molotov cocktails. To others it simply means "everyone can do whatever they want." Neither are particularly accurate.
Anarchism is the name given to the principle under which a group of people may organize without rule. It is being against one group or person having "power over" others. For us, anarchism begins with naming and resisting those things that oppress, rejecting social hierarchies that place one group of people over another. Anarchism rejects the logic that places some over other on the basis of race, ethnic or cultural background, legal status, social status, class, gender, sexual orientation, age, ability, or any other rationale used for one group to exercise domination over another. It means challenging capitalism with its social inequalities based upon private property and wage labor and instead envisioning a society that emphasizes cooperation, mutual aid, holding land in common, and workers sharing ownership of the means of production. It means committing ourselves to undoing the legacies of oppression that have been passed down to us as we seek to build communities of hospitality and inclusion. |
Anarchism and Christianity: a Primer Mark VanSteenwyk and Sarah Lynne Gershon explore the intersection of Anarchism and Christianity at the 2011 Jesus Radicals Conference.
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Jesus' life and teachings show us a way of non-domination—a way of liberation and love that pushes back against systems of death. Jesus' emphasis on love, inclusion, and radical engagement with systems of oppression in his day can help us love our neighbors as we challenge the systems of oppression in our day.
Alexis, Nekeisha. "Embracing God and Rejecting Masters: on Christianity, Anarchism and the State."
Jesus Radicals organizer Nekeisha Alexis provides an overview of a Christian anarchist's position and the inherent tensions with regard to embracing God as a Christian and rejecting all Master's as an anarchist. Alexis balances what has been understood as a contradiction in terms (Christian+anarchist), by challenging traditional views of God as "master," through biblical accounts of God as creator, liberator, and love. Alexis shows how Jesus' rejection of "easy, worldwide domination as a means to a new society is also a choice to work outside of the established political powers in 'upside-down' ways, mirrors the anarchist position on the futility of working through the State to create social change.
Black Rose Anarchist Federation. "Black Anarchism, a Reader." http://www.blackrosefed.org/black-anarchism-a-reader/
The deceptive absence of Black anarchist politics in the existing literature can be attributed to an inherent contradiction found within the Eurocentric canon of classical anarchism which, in its allegiance to a Western conception of universalism, overlooks and actively mutes the contributions by colonized peoples. In recent years, Black militants, and others dedicated to Black anarchist politics, have gone a long way toward bringing Black anarchism into focus through numerous essays, books, interviews, and public talks, many of which are brought together for the first time in this reader. (Black Rose Anarchist Federation).
Cameron, Graham. "Revolution of Hope." Wildcat Collective, 2006.
A brief article introducing readers to the anarchic theologies in the Christian tradition.
Christoyannopoulos, Alexandre. Christian Anarchism: A Political Commentary on the Gospel. Imprint Academic, March, 2011. Print
Christian anarchism has been around for at least as long as “secular” anarchism. The existing literature cites Leo Tolstoy as its most famous (sometimes even as the only) proponent, but there are many others, such as Jacques Ellul, Vernard Eller, Dave Andrews or the people associated with the Catholic Worker movement. Both individually and collectively, these Christian anarchists offer a compelling critique of the state, the church and the economy based on numerous passages from the New Testament. Yet despite the relevance and growth of this literature, no generic study bringing together these different thinkers or reflecting on their contribution has been published to date, because such work involves meticulous searching, compiling and structuring of countless different texts and sources, not all of which are easily accessed. This book, however, provides precisely such a study, and thereby presents Christian anarchism to both the wider public and the wider academic community.
Ellul, Jaques. “Anarchism and Christianity.” Katallagete 7, no. 3 (Fall 1980): 14–24.
Kropotkin, Peter. "Mutual Aid: A Factor of Evolution."
First published in 1902, this series of essays explores cooperation as important in evolutionary development as competition. Though the specifics of his evolutionary theory are flawed, this piece remains an important one for theorizing horizontal cooperation and aid as a basis for social organization instead of hierarchical competition. Kropotkin, a self-proclaimed anarchist, explicitly argued against narratives of progress and modernity that required strong state presence or presupposed an every-man-for-himself state of nature.
LeGuin, Ursula. The Dispossesed. Harper & Row, 1974.
The seminal anarchist novel that contrasts a putative anarchist world against the kind of world we have actually created. This is no utopian novel, but a clear-sighted presentation of the pros and cons of both kinds of worlds.
Phillips, Utah and Ani DiFranco. The Past Didn't Go Away and Fellow Workers. Righteous Babe Records, 1996 and 1999.
Two record albums of songs and stories of anarchist movements in early 20th-century USA.
VanSteenwyk, Mark. That Holy Anarchist: Reflections on Christianity and Anarchism.
In That Holy Anarchist, Mark Van Steenwyk, co-founder of the Mennonite Worker in Minneapolis gives us a primer on the intersection of Christianity and anarchism. This is a great book for those who may have an interest in such an intersection because it is both brief and easy to understand without too much oversimplification. It also provides suggestions for further reading for those who wish to explore this lifestyle on a deeper level.
York, Tripp. Living on Hope While Living in Babylon: The Christian Anarchists of the 20th Century. Wipe & Stock, 2009.
This book explores and defines Christian anarchism in the 20th century primarily through a consideration of the Catholic Workers movement, Clarence Jordan's commune Koinonia Farm, and the Brothers Berrigan.
Jesus Radicals organizer Nekeisha Alexis provides an overview of a Christian anarchist's position and the inherent tensions with regard to embracing God as a Christian and rejecting all Master's as an anarchist. Alexis balances what has been understood as a contradiction in terms (Christian+anarchist), by challenging traditional views of God as "master," through biblical accounts of God as creator, liberator, and love. Alexis shows how Jesus' rejection of "easy, worldwide domination as a means to a new society is also a choice to work outside of the established political powers in 'upside-down' ways, mirrors the anarchist position on the futility of working through the State to create social change.
Black Rose Anarchist Federation. "Black Anarchism, a Reader." http://www.blackrosefed.org/black-anarchism-a-reader/
The deceptive absence of Black anarchist politics in the existing literature can be attributed to an inherent contradiction found within the Eurocentric canon of classical anarchism which, in its allegiance to a Western conception of universalism, overlooks and actively mutes the contributions by colonized peoples. In recent years, Black militants, and others dedicated to Black anarchist politics, have gone a long way toward bringing Black anarchism into focus through numerous essays, books, interviews, and public talks, many of which are brought together for the first time in this reader. (Black Rose Anarchist Federation).
Cameron, Graham. "Revolution of Hope." Wildcat Collective, 2006.
A brief article introducing readers to the anarchic theologies in the Christian tradition.
Christoyannopoulos, Alexandre. Christian Anarchism: A Political Commentary on the Gospel. Imprint Academic, March, 2011. Print
Christian anarchism has been around for at least as long as “secular” anarchism. The existing literature cites Leo Tolstoy as its most famous (sometimes even as the only) proponent, but there are many others, such as Jacques Ellul, Vernard Eller, Dave Andrews or the people associated with the Catholic Worker movement. Both individually and collectively, these Christian anarchists offer a compelling critique of the state, the church and the economy based on numerous passages from the New Testament. Yet despite the relevance and growth of this literature, no generic study bringing together these different thinkers or reflecting on their contribution has been published to date, because such work involves meticulous searching, compiling and structuring of countless different texts and sources, not all of which are easily accessed. This book, however, provides precisely such a study, and thereby presents Christian anarchism to both the wider public and the wider academic community.
Ellul, Jaques. “Anarchism and Christianity.” Katallagete 7, no. 3 (Fall 1980): 14–24.
Kropotkin, Peter. "Mutual Aid: A Factor of Evolution."
First published in 1902, this series of essays explores cooperation as important in evolutionary development as competition. Though the specifics of his evolutionary theory are flawed, this piece remains an important one for theorizing horizontal cooperation and aid as a basis for social organization instead of hierarchical competition. Kropotkin, a self-proclaimed anarchist, explicitly argued against narratives of progress and modernity that required strong state presence or presupposed an every-man-for-himself state of nature.
LeGuin, Ursula. The Dispossesed. Harper & Row, 1974.
The seminal anarchist novel that contrasts a putative anarchist world against the kind of world we have actually created. This is no utopian novel, but a clear-sighted presentation of the pros and cons of both kinds of worlds.
Phillips, Utah and Ani DiFranco. The Past Didn't Go Away and Fellow Workers. Righteous Babe Records, 1996 and 1999.
Two record albums of songs and stories of anarchist movements in early 20th-century USA.
VanSteenwyk, Mark. That Holy Anarchist: Reflections on Christianity and Anarchism.
In That Holy Anarchist, Mark Van Steenwyk, co-founder of the Mennonite Worker in Minneapolis gives us a primer on the intersection of Christianity and anarchism. This is a great book for those who may have an interest in such an intersection because it is both brief and easy to understand without too much oversimplification. It also provides suggestions for further reading for those who wish to explore this lifestyle on a deeper level.
York, Tripp. Living on Hope While Living in Babylon: The Christian Anarchists of the 20th Century. Wipe & Stock, 2009.
This book explores and defines Christian anarchism in the 20th century primarily through a consideration of the Catholic Workers movement, Clarence Jordan's commune Koinonia Farm, and the Brothers Berrigan.