Anarchism/etymology
The word anarchy came into English from the New Latin term anarchia but derives ultimately from the Greek anarkhia, whose roots are αν(α), an(a), "without", and αρχ(ος), arkh(os), "ruler, authority". Anarchism is therefore the theory and/or practice of anarchy, that is, of living without rulers or authority.
Technically, the word "anarchism" covers
any theory that proposes the absence of government,
even though its proponents mightn't claim the term "anarchism" itself.
Authors like William Godwin, Max Stirner,
Gustave de Molinari or Leo Tolstoy
might never have claimed the title of "anarchist",
but their works nevertheless promote a society without government,
and they are widely considered as anarchists.
Another use of the word "anarchism" is to designate political movements
that specifically claim the label of "anarchist",
whether or not their theories propose a society
actually devoid of any kind of governance.
The first known usage of the word "anarchism" seems to be traced
to the French Revolution (c.1789),
when it was used as a derogatory term
against the left.
The French philosopher Pierre-Joseph Proudhon,
in the 1840s, is considered to have been the first
to refer to oneself as an "anarchist",
which he did in a non-derogatory fashion,
becoming the first to articulate a social philosophy
that called itself anarchism.
He referring to anarchy as absence of government.
Proudhon was originally a socialist,
though he incorporated some classical liberal ideas in his discourse
as he matured.
Bakunin and many others, particularly in Europe,
have developed after Proudhon an anarchist movement
that openly endorses the main socialist ideas and left-wing politics.
While members of this movement call themselves "anarchists"
without qualification, they are often called left-anarchists
or socialist anarchists, or libertarian socialists,
to disambiguate when needed.
Benjamin Tucker, who translated Proudhon into american,
insisted on the individualist[?] aspect of anarchism,
and though he did argue for some of the socialist ideas by Proudhon,
he and others clearly advocated free markets as solutions
to problems government claim to solve.
Though Tucker and other similar authors also claimed
the unqualified term "anarchist",
they are often called individualist anarchists
to disambiguate when needed.
Gustave de Molinari, who in the 1840s explicitly argued
for the abolition of government
from a classical liberal point of view,
prudently avoided to openly endorse the term "anarchist",
by fear of confusion with the usage of the term made popular by Proudhon.
Only more recently, with Murray Rothbard in the 1950s
has there been a definite movement
openly endorsing both the classical liberal school of thought
and term "anarchism".
Indeed the term is technically correct, and has no substitute.
To distinguish from other anarchist trends,
however, they called themselves anarcho-capitalists.
It is wrong to call them "right-anarchists" since they reject
the left-right axis [2] (http://www.self-gov.org/quiz.html)
For historical reasons, the term "anarchism" is often used to mean
left-anarchism and its many variants,
as other forms of anarchism have little media coverage.
Left-anarchists often call themselves "anarchists" or "libertarians"
without further qualifier,
and people often used the unqualified term
to mean specifically the left-anarchists.
Indeed, thought they can claim no monopoly
on the technical meaning of the term "anarchism",
and no clear historical precedence in the tradition of thought,
they have historical precedence in having a widely known movement
using it as a rallying name.
Also, people who thus use the term "anarchist"
exclusively for the left-anarchists
mightn't know the diversity in anarchist movements,
mightn't care for it,
or mightn't agree that other kinds of anarchist movements
deserve the title "anarchist".
Readers beware of the confusion that this biased usage of the term may bring.
See also:
Table of contents
1 Etymology of the words "Anarchy" and "Anarchism"
2 Usage of the word "Anarchism"
3 History of the word "Anarchism"
4 Bias in usage of the term "Anarchism"
Etymology of the words "Anarchy" and "Anarchism"
Usage of the word "Anarchism"
History of the word "Anarchism"
Bias in usage of the term "Anarchism"