AN ANARCHIST MANIFESTO
by anarchist collective
anarchists seek to maximize freedom for all.
we believe all people should be as free as possible to determine their own destinies and activities within the limits required by a respect for the equal rights of others. this freedom should actual and practical, unhindered by unnecessary legal prohibitions or material constraints.
anarchists are opposed to authority and hierarchy.all persons must be considered as equals. no-one has the right to coerce or expect obedience from others except where necessary to protect the equal rights of others.
anarchists are opposed to patriarchy.as a coercive set of social relations based on gender hierarchy, patriarchy oppresses and silences women. patriarchal structures must be destroyed wherever they are recognized.
anarchists are not opposed to organization.anarchy is about organization. it is about co-operation amongst equals, free of oppressive power relations. we are opposed, however, to types of organization which are based on authority and hierarchy or which involve the unnecessary regimentation and subordination of individuals. we are implacably opposed to the centralization of power.
anarchists believe in the necessity of direct democracy.where disagreements exist amongst persons which cannot be resolved co-operatively, the will of the majority must be respected. representative and parliamentary democracy are frauds which separate the government from the people. real democracy places power in the hands of the people by making all decisions at the lowest possible level by voting in workplace and community councils.
anarchists seek the destruction of the state.the state, a government which holds itself to be separate from and above the people, is always an oppressor. we will not be free while the state exists.
anarchists seek an end to private property.the capitalists' monopoly of the means of production, their control of society's wealth, enslaves us to them. true social equality requires equal access to the means of production.
anarchists believe in the need for a total revolution.there is no aspect of capitalism, patriarchy and the state, that we can afford to leave intact if we seek to build a world free of oppression. because our goals are radical, involving the total overthrow of the existing order, we cannot hope to accomplish them by reformist means within that order.
anarchists deny the distinction between ends and means.we will never be able to achieve freedom through authoritarian methods or destroy the state by seizing control of it.
anarchists follow no leaders.no-one can lead us to take responsibility for our own lives. only we can liberate ourselves. the only "leadership" we recognize is by example.
anarchists believe in a brighter future.we envisage a future free of oppression, of people living in community and in control of their own lives. we see a society governing itself, making decisions at the lowest possible level and cooperating and organizing together. we believe in a society where economic decisions about production and distribution which affect all of us are made democratically rather than left in the hands of a privileged and unelected few. we will build our own future.
anarchists know that it can work.
we gain strength from the examples of anarchist revolutionaries at the forefront of progressive movements throughout history. we learn from other existing anarchist organizations and from our own experiences as we attempt to put anarchist theory into practice in our own lives.