Routledge Handbook of Anarchy and Anarchist Thought

<p>This Handbook offers an authoritative, up-to-date introduction to the rich scholarly conversation about anarchy—about the possibility, dynamics, and appeal of social order without the state. Drawing on resources from philosophy, economics, law, history, politics, and religious studies, it is designed to deepen understanding of anarchy and the development of anarchist ideas at a time when those ideas have attracted increasing attention.</p><p>The popular identification of anarchy with chaos makes sophisticated interpretations—which recognize anarchy as a <i>kind</i> of social order rather than an <i>alternative</i> to it—especially interesting. Strong, centralized governments have struggled to quell popular frustration even as doubts have continued to percolate about their legitimacy and long-term financial stability. Since the emergence of the modern state, concerns like these have driven scholars to wonder whether societies could flourish while abandoning monopolistic governance entirely.</p><p>Standard treatments of political philosophy frequently assume the justifiability and desirability of states, focusing on such questions as, <i>What is the best kind of state?</i> and <i>What laws and policies should states adopt?</i>, without considering whether it is just or prudent for states to do anything at all. This Handbook encourages engagement with a provocative alternative that casts more conventional views in stark relief. </p><p>Its 30 chapters, written specifically for this volume by an international team of leading scholars, are organized into four main parts:</p><p>I. Concept and Significance<br>II. Figures and Traditions<br>III. Legitimacy and Order<br>IV. Critique and Alternatives</p><p>In addition, a comprehensive index makes the volume easy to navigate and an annotated bibliography points readers to the most promising avenues of future research.</p> <p>Introduction <strong>Part I: Concept and Significance </strong><strong>1. </strong>Anarchism, Anarchists, and Anarchy 2. The Anarchist Landscape 3. On the Distinction between State and Anarchy 4. Methodological Anarchism 5. What is the Point of Anarchism? <b>Part II: Figures and Traditions </b>6. Anarchism against Anarchy: The Classical Roots of Anarchism 7. Kant on Anarchy 8. Barbarians in the Agora: American Market Anarchism, 1945-2011 9. Rights, Morality, and Egoism in Individualist Anarchism 10. Transcending Leftist Politics: Situating Egoism Within the Anarchist Project 11. <em>De facto</em> Monopolies and the Justification of the State 12. Two Cheers for Rothbardianism 13. Christian Anarchism <b>Part III: Legitimacy and Order </b>14. Anarchism and Political Obligation: An Introduction 15. The Positive Political Economy of Analytical Anarchism 16. Moral Parity Between State and Non-State Actors 17. Economic Pathologies of the State 18. Hunting for Unicorns 19. Social Norms and Social Order 20. Anarchy and Law 21. Anarchism, State, and Violence 22. The Forecast for Anarchy <b>Part IV: Anarchy and Critique </b>23. Social Anarchism and the Rejection of Private Property 24. The Right Anarchy: Capitalist or Socialist? 25. Anarchist Approaches to Education 26. An Anarchist Critique of Power Relations within Institutions 27. Anarchism for an Ecological Crisis? 28. States, Incarceration, and Organizational Structure: Towards a General Theory of Imprisonment 29. The Problems of Central Planning in Military Technology 30. Anarchy and Transhumanism</p>