Anarchism: Economic Freedom

Anarchists disagree on many issues, but they all oppose the state's role in the economy. Collectivist anarchists want to eliminate capitalism and replace it with a fairer system. They support methods like direct, face-to-face interactions or a voucher system based on hours worked. On the other hand, right-wing anarcho-capitalists think the free market can handle what the state does, but more effectively.

Anarchists generally do not view the overthrow of the state as their main goal. Instead, they focus on challenging social and economic structures. Bakunin noted that political power and wealth are closely linked. In the 19th century, anarchists often engaged with the working-class movement and aligned with socialist ideas. They saw capitalism as a system where a ruling class exploits and oppresses the masses. This ruling class is not just economic but includes anyone who holds power, such as kings, politicians, judges, and religious leaders, along with industrialists and bankers. Bakunin identified three social groups in society: the vast majority who are exploited; a minority who both exploit and are exploited; and a small elite of pure exploiters. Nineteenth-century anarchists allied themselves with the poor and sought a social revolution that would dismantle both capitalism and the state.

The economic structure reveals key tensions within anarchism. While many anarchists share a common dislike for property and inequality, some defend property rights and appreciate competitive capitalism. This creates a divide between collectivist and individualist anarchists. Collectivist anarchists promote cooperative economies with shared ownership, while individualist anarchists favour markets and private property.

Neo-Liberalism 

Despite their differences, anarchists agree on their rejection of the economic systems that dominated the 20th century. They oppose the managed capitalism that emerged in Western nations after 1945. Collectivist anarchists believe state intervention supports class exploitation and gives capitalism a friendly face. Individualist anarchists argue that such intervention distorts the market and leads to monopolies. Anarchists are united in their criticism of Soviet-style state socialism. Individualist anarchists condemn the infringement on property rights and personal freedom in a planned economy, while collectivist anarchists view state socialism as contradictory since the state merely replaces the capitalist class as the source of exploitation. All anarchists prefer an economy where individuals manage their affairs without state ownership or regulation, allowing for a range of economic systems from anarcho-communism to anarcho-capitalism.

Proudhon argued for mutualism, where all the means of production would be owned collectively by the workers and society would be organised within small communities.

Kropotkin argued for mutual aid, which although subtly different from mutualism, required common ownership and a federation of communities.

Bakunin viewed economic freedom via collectivisation (which limited individual freedom too much for Proudhon and Kropotkin to favour).

Anarcho-syndicalism  see's the means of production as controlled by the workers rather than by individual exploitative owners.

Egoism emphasizes that people have their own rights similar to those of a country. Individuals seek to meet their needs. Without a controlling state, these sensible individuals, equal in skills and abilities, will create a fair economy to prevent social conflicts, as it benefits them.

Anarcho-capitalism supports private property and the free market, in contrast to collectivist anarchism. It believes that the free market offers more individual economic freedom. It will efficiently provide public services like education, healthcare, and infrastructure, which the government often fails to deliver. Rational individuals know better how to serve their interests than the state does.