Introduction
Today’s guest article on the ideology of anarchism was written by Professor Garrett Ward Sheldon, who has written a few excellent articles for the site in the past, most recently one on cultural Marxism in universities. This article should tie in well with my recent article on the fact that Democrats support the riots that are ripping America apart and are, in effect, fanning the flames of those riots.
And, more importantly, it will show you what is wrong with America right now. While the problem of too much control would exist under Biden because we have forgotten the American creed, we also have the problem of too little government authority in the right areas. That lack of government authority in the one area where it really matters domestically- the streets- is what is destroying America. The state should have a monopoly on violence. But, right now, with the Antifa thugs causing chaos across America, it appears that the government no longer has that monopoly on the use of force.
The reason for that, as Professor Sheldon shows, is anarchism- the ideology of today’s far-left. Enjoy reading and learning more about anarchism! -Gen Z Conservative
Anarchism is Behind this Unrest
To most Americans, the sight of mass protests, riots, burning of buildings and cars, looting and violence is very disturbing. Who would celebrate such social disorder? The answer is in the ideology of Anarchism.
The article on “Anarchism” in Encyclopedia of Political Thought by Garrett Ward Sheldon, states that this theory believes that almost everyone is oppressed by arbitrary and unjust Authority (in Government, Family, School, Community, Law, Church, and Business).
Supporters of Anarchism think that everyone is as angry and unhappy as they are, just waiting for some attack on Authority and then there will be a mass uprising of the population, overthrowing all those institutions of power and control.
Like one small match thrown on a pile of dry hay, a riot, bombing, assassination or toppling of a statue will cause a massive revolt and revolution overthrowing every institution and liberating a utopia of peace and love, sharing and freedom never known before.
The psychology underlying Anarchism (as Rousseau’s “democracy” and Marxist Communism) is that humans are naturally nice, peaceful, unselfish, generous, and loving. Its only laws and social structures that make people evil. So, eliminate those authoritarian social structures and everyone will be perfect, and society will be harmonious, happy, and heavenly (like a “Summer of Love”).
Most of Western social thought (as shown in The History of Political Theory: Ancient Greece to Modern America) takes issue with this idealistic view of human nature. Aristotle places humans BETWEEN gods and beasts, and without moral education and Social regulation we fall below the animals in violence and cruelty. The Christian tradition places evil “in the heart of man,” not social structures (which actually civilize humans). St. Augustine, Aquinas and Calvin all emphasize the reality of sin which, undisciplined, unpunished and uncontrolled, causes terrible destruction and suffering. Machiavelli is the most stark in his assessment of human lust and greed: everyone’s desires are infinite, their means to satisfy them finite, so left to their natural dispositions, without restraint, they are greedy, frustrated and criminal.
But Anarchists do not see the evil in their own hearts – only in the privileged and powerful. So, any means is justified in destroying the existing order, and then peace and light will prevail, without law, religion, police, or money.
In the late 19th Century, Russian Anarchists allied with the Bolsheviks to overthrow the Czar. After the October Revolution in Russia, those Anarchists planned to disband the State, the military, the police, the Church, and any ruling elite. The Russian Communists planned to establish an all-powerful Totalitarian “Dictatorship of the Proletariat.” Guess who won?
