Anarchism and Authority

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Anarchism and Authority ANARCHISM AND AUTHORITY Examining the political theory of anarchism from a philosophical and historical perspective, Paul McLaughlin relates anarchism to the fundamental ethical and political problem of authority. The book pays particular attention to the authority of the state and the anarchist rejection of all traditional claims made for the legitimacy of state authority, the author both explaining and defending the central tenets of the anarchist critique of the state. The founding works of anarchist thought, by Godwin, Proudhon and Stirner, are explored and anarchism is examined in its historical context, including the influence of such events as the Enlightenment and the French Revolution on anarchist thought. Finally, the major theoretical developments of anarchism from the late-nineteenth century to the present are summarized and evaluated. This book is both a highly readable account of the development of anarchist thinking and a lucid and well-reasoned defence of the anarchist philosophy. ASHAGTE NEW CRITICAL THINKING IN PHILOSOPHY The Ashgate New Critical Thinking in Philosophy series brings high quality research monograph publishing into focus for authors, the international library market, and student, academic and research readers. Headed by an international editorial advisory board of acclaimed scholars from across the philosophical spectrum, this monograph series presents cutting-edge research from established as well as exciting new authors in the field. Spanning the breadth of philosophy and related disciplinary and interdisciplinary perspectives Ashgate New Critical Thinking in Philosophy takes contemporary philosophical research into new directions and debate. Series Editorial Board: David Cooper, Durham University, UK Simon Critchley, New School for Social Research, USA; University of Essex, UK Joseph Friggieri, University of Malta, Malta Alan Goldman, College of William and Mary, USA Paul Helm, Regent College, Canada David Lamb, University of Birmingham, UK Peter Lipton, University of Cambridge, UK Alan Musgrave, University of Otago, New Zealand Graham Priest, University of Melbourne, Australia; University of St Andrews, UK Sean Sayers, University of Kent, UK Anarchism and Authority A Philosophical Introduction to Classical Anarchism PAUL McLAUGHLIN University of Tartu, Estonia © Paul McLaughlin 2007 All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording or otherwise without the prior permission of the publisher. Paul McLaughlin has asserted his moral right under the Copyright, Designs and Patents Act, 1988, to be identified as the author of this work. Published by Ashgate Publishing Limited Ashgate Publishing Company Gower House Suite 420 Croft Road 101 Cherry Street Aldershot Burlington, VT 05401-4405 Hampshire GU11 3HR USA England Ashgate website: http://www.ashgate.com British Library Cataloguing in Publication Data McLaughlin, Paul Anarchism and authority : a philosophical introduction to classical anarchism. - (Ashgate new critical thinking in philosophy) 1. Anarchism 2. Authority I. Title 320.5’7 Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data McLaughlin, Paul. Anarchism and authority : a philosophical introduction to classical anarchism / Paul McLaughlin. p. cm. -- (Ashgate new critical thinking in philosophy) Includes bibliographical references and index. ISBN 978-0-7546-6196-2 (hardcover) 1. Anarchism. I. Title. HX833.M35 2007 335’.83--dc22 2007007973 ISBN 978-0-7546-6196-2 Printed and bound in Great Britain by Antony Rowe Ltd, Chippenham, Wiltshire. Contents Acknowledgements vii Introduction 1 Part 1 Anarchism and the Problem of Authority 1 Defining Anarchism 25 2 The Nature of Authority 37 3 Forms of Authority 61 4 The Legitimacy of the State 81 Part 2 Anarchism and the History of Ideas 5 The Historical Foundations of Anarchism 101 6 Foundational Texts of Anarchism 117 7 Theoretical Developments of Anarchism 155 Conclusion 169 Bibliography 185 Index 197 This page intentionally left blank Acknowledgements Many individuals deserve thanks for their help over the last five years. Prof. John Cleary of NUI Maynooth and Boston College supervised my work with an open yet critical mind, and continued to support the project in a time of personal tragedy. I am most grateful to him. Two employers, Prof. Roman Bäcker of Nicolaus Copernicus University and Prof. Margit Sutrop of the University of Tartu, allowed me to give courses on anarchism. I have found that there is no better basis for my research than teaching, and am thankful to them for the opportunities they offered to me. Heartfelt thanks must go, as always, to family, friends, colleagues, and students, wherever they may be: Ireland, England, Belgium, Poland, Germany, Estonia, Finland. You know who you are! However, two people should be singled out for special thanks: my mother, Maura McLaughlin, and my partner, Marta Majdecka. This book is dedicated to them. This page intentionally left blank Introduction A Philosophical Approach to Anarchism This book aims to define – or to re-define – anarchism in relation to the fundamental ethico-political problem of authority. Authority is defined in terms of the right to exercise social control (as explored in the ‘sociology of power’) and the correlative duty to obey (as explored in the ‘philosophy of practical reason’). Anarchism is distinguished, philosophically, by its scepticism towards such moral relations – by its questioning of the claims made for such normative power – and, practically, by its challenge to those ‘authoritative’ powers which cannot justify their claims and which are therefore deemed illegitimate or without moral foundation. Part 1 of the book analyzes both the nature of anarchist scepticism (Chapter 1) and the nature of authority itself (Chapter 2). It pays particular attention to the authority of the state and the anarchist rejection of all traditional claims made for the legitimacy of state authority (Chapter 4). However, it also seeks to establish that anarchism cannot be defined simply in terms of its rejection of the state, still less in terms of its supposed rejection of authority as such. The anarchist sceptic must, in principle, be open to the possibility that authority of every kind can be justified. Indeed, a comprehensive treatment of authority (moral, theoretical, and practical) demonstrates that there are forms of authority that all but the most absolutist or abstract of anarchists (so-called ‘philosophical anarchists’) believe to be legitimate (Chapter 3). Part 2 places anarchism in historical context, attempting to locate the origins of the political philosophy outlined in Part 1. It is argued that the three most important influences on the development of anarchism were the eighteenth century Enlightenment, the French Revolution of 1789–1793, and the radical enlightenment philosophy of Left Hegelianism that flourished in the 1830s and 1840s (Chapter 5). The three foundational texts of anarchism – William Godwin’s An Enquiry Concerning Political Justice and Its Influence on General Virtue and Happiness (1793), Pierre-Joseph Proudhon’s What is Property? (1840), and Max Stirner’s The Ego and Its Own (1844) – are studied in some detail (Chapter 6). Finally, the major theoretical developments of anarchism from the late-nineteenth century to the present are summarized (Chapter 7). This book is, therefore, largely a work of conceptual analysis. However, it is premised on the understanding that political ideas are products of history. The intellectual aspect of this history is central to the study. We will attempt to frame our analysis of the problem of authority within this intellectual history, thus blending conceptual analysis (in Part 1) with the history of ideas (in Part 2). In Part 1, we will analyze anarchism as a critical social philosophy and investigate its philosophy of authority: its conceptualization of authority, its scepticism towards the notion of its legitimacy, and its critique of claims made for the legitimacy of 2 Anarchism and Authority various forms of authority. Particular attention will be paid to the issue of political authority and the anarchist critique of the claims made for the legitimacy of the state. Of course, anarchism as an ideology involves a good deal more than this, including diverse visions of ‘anarchy’ and interpretations of the means required to realize it. It is these aspects of the ideology that divide the tradition along individualist and socialist, gradualist and revolutionary, pacifist and terrorist, and other such lines.1 But even taking into account these ideological elements, one is still left wondering about precisely what it is that unites anarchists, about what exactly the ‘anarchist idea’ is.2 This can only be determined at a fundamental philosophical level. Indeed, when confined to this level of abstraction, and divorced from other ideological elements, the anarchist idea is affirmed (often in absolutist terms) by the so-called ‘philosophical anarchist’ – in David Miller’s words, ‘a rather bloodless member of the [anarchist] species’.3 The account of anarchism presented here may appear to characterize the present author in this light, though, for what it’s worth, I would be extremely uncomfortable with such a characterization, and will attempt, especially in the Conclusion, to draw anarchism back from the realm of abstractions into the realm of concrete problems and radical solutions. The Conclusion,
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