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Anarchy is a society without rulers. In practical terms, anarchy can refer to the curtailment or abolition of traditional forms of government and institutions. It can also designate a nation or any inhabited place that has no system of government or central rule. Anarchy is primarily advocated by individual anarchists who propose replacing government with voluntary institutions. These institutions or free associations are generally modeled on nature since they can represent concepts such as community and economic self-reliance, interdependence, or individualism. In simple terms anarchy means 'without rulers' or 'without authority' in which there is no rule by group or tyrant, rather instead by an individual upon themselves or by the people entirely. It is non-coercive. Although anarchy is often negatively used as a synonym of chaos or societal collapse or anomie, this is not the meaning that anarchists attribute to anarchy, a society without hierarchies. As a concept, anarchy is commonly defined by what it excludes. Etymologically, anarchy is derived from the αναρχία; where "αν" ("an") means "without" and "αρχία" ("arkhia") means "ruler". Therefore, anarchy is fundamentally defined by the absence of rulers. While anarchy specifically represents a society without rulers, it can more generally refer to a stateless society, or a society without government. Anarchy is thus defined in direct contrast to the State, an institution that claims a monopoly on violence over a given territory. Anarchists such as Errico Malatesta have also defined anarchy more precisely as a society without authority, or hierarchy. Anarchy is also often defined synonymously as chaos or social disorder, reflecting the state of nature as depicted by Thomas Hobbes. By this definition, anarchy represents not only an absence of government but also an absence of governance. This connection of anarchy with chaos usually assumes that, without government, no means of governance exist and thus that disorder is an unavoidable outcome of anarchy.

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Related concepts (16)

Social anarchism

Social anarchism, also known as left-wing anarchism or socialist anarchism, is the branch of anarchism that sees liberty and social equality as interrelated. It advocates for a social revolution to remove oppressive forms of hierarchy, such as capitalism and the state. In their place, social anarchists encourage social collaboration through mutual aid and envision non-hierarchical forms of social organization, such as voluntary associations.

Stateless society

A stateless society is a society that is not governed by a state. In stateless societies, there is little concentration of authority; most positions of authority that do exist are very limited in power and are generally not permanently-held positions; and social bodies that resolve disputes through predefined rules tend to be small. Different stateless societies feature highly variable economic systems and cultural practices.

Hierarchical organization

A hierarchical organization or hierarchical organisation (see spelling differences) is an organizational structure where every entity in the organization, except one, is subordinate to a single other entity. This arrangement is a form of a hierarchy. In an organization, the hierarchy usually consists of a singular/group of power at the top with subsequent levels of power beneath them. This is the dominant mode of organization among large organizations; most corporations, governments, criminal enterprises, and organized religions are hierarchical organizations with different levels of management, power or authority.