Collectivist anarchism - Politics in Minutes (2016)

Politics in Minutes (2016)

Collectivist anarchism

Pierre-Joseph Proudhon famously stated that ‘property is theft’, which remains a popular anarchist belief today. The issue of ownership is a key concern of anarchist theory. Collectivist anarchism, or anarcho-collectivism, advocates the abolition of the state, which will be overthrown through revolution, following which all property would be seized, including the means of production. In place of private ownership and control, collectivist anarchists advocate the collective ownership, management and control of the means of production by workers, through workers’ collectives.

Workers would receive salaries based on the amount of time they contribute to production, following the maxim ‘to everyone according to their labour’. Salaries would be used to buy goods in a communal market. Collectivist anarchism is mainly associated with Russian anarchist Mikhail Bakunin, who argued that religion, capitalism and the state are oppressive institutions that must be smashed if people are to be free.

image