anarchism
/ˈanəkɪz(ə)m
/noun [mass noun]
1Belief in the abolition of all government and the organization of society on a voluntary, cooperative basis without recourse to force or compulsion.Albert's reference point is the theories he sees as having been the main contenders in the battle for ideas in the 1960s and 1970s: Marxism, feminism, anarchism and nationalism....
- In the Romantic era one finds numerous anticipations of Marx and his sociopolitical critique, as well as early versions of socialism, communism, anarchism, and social democracy.
- In Dostoyevsky's day, urban radicals influenced by Marx and emboldened by Bakunin went out into the countryside proclaiming the doctrines of socialism and syndicalist anarchism, to little effect.
1.1A political force or movement based on belief in anarchism: socialism and anarchism emerged to offer organized protest against the injustices of Spanish society...
- He says that it was the politics of socialism and anarchism learned from ‘the radical Jewish community in New York’ that drew him to linguistics.
- To one historian of the movement, American anarchism had a ‘double tradition.’
- Though mistrust of the state and a desire for cheap and limited government is a commonplace in the British political tradition, formal anarchism has received little support.
Origin
Mid 17th century: from Greek anarkhos 'without a chief' (see anarchy) + -ism; later influenced by French anarchisme.