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Sumary
It is difficult to answer to the question “What is anarchism?” There are famous articles and essays
providing definitions on anarchism (that of Kropotkin in the Encyclopædia Britannica, Malatesta in
many of his writings, and brochures such as those of Sébastien Faure, Luigi Fabbri, etcetera).
Indeed, anarchism is difficult to define because it is no dogmatic belief. In addition, there is a
myriad of anarchisms (pacifist, terrorist, individualist, socialist, organizational,
anti-organizational, unionist, etcetera). If we had to search for a common denominator, we could
say that anarchism is an ethical and political conception against any type of authority of men over
men. The purpose of this paper is to set out the common fundamentals (which I call general
principles) shared by the different types of anarchism. Without stating such principles
specifically, I will give the reader the possibility to interpret them with more range and without
having to hold on to a mere enumeration. This is to rescue Malatesta’s idea that notwithstanding
little differences between anarchists, it is imperative to understand that in the end we are all
looking for the same, and that association is better than confrontation. |
