Ideology
Anarcho-CommunismFar left
Seeks a stateless, classless society where property is held in common and production runs by voluntary cooperation, with each contributing by ability and receiving by need.
Core ideas
- Abolish the state and all hierarchies, not only capitalism.
- Common ownership of land, factories and resources, with personal belongings kept.
- Free distribution of goods under the principle "from each according to his ability, to each according to his needs".
- Society organized through horizontal networks of voluntary associations.
Where it sits on the 12 axes
On the Economy axis the position is far toward Collectivize (90), the same end as Marxism. On Government it sits near the Freedom end (5), sharing that end of the scale with several other ideologies. Diplomacy and Society are both at the midpoint (50), so this ideology makes no claim on Internationalism–Nationalism or Progressive–Traditional. The test places you here when these four scores, and nothing else, are closer to this set of values than to any other ideology in the library.
The bar shows the position on each of the four axes an ideology is matched on; the middle mark is the centre.
History
Anarcho-communism was first formulated as such in the Italian section of the International Workingmen's Association, and in 1880 the Jura Federation congress adopted Carlo Cafiero's programme of Anarchy and Communism. Peter Kropotkin's later work, including The Conquest of Bread (1892), gave it its best-known theoretical form, and the movement split over whether to build formal organizations or favour insurrection. Its supporters point to the Makhnovshchina during the Russian Revolution and to the Spanish Revolution of 1936 as examples of anarchist-communist organization, both of which ended in military defeat. Anarchist communism is thus mainly a theory and a set of historical episodes, rather than a form of government that has lasted.
Associated thinkers
- Peter Kropotkin
- Errico Malatesta
- Carlo Cafiero
Common misunderstandings
- It is not the same as Marxist communism: anarchist communists reject the transitional state and the party that Marxist-Leninists propose.
- Anarchism is not the absence of organization; this tradition describes society as voluntary federated associations rather than as disorder.
Related ideologies
Is Anarcho-Communism your closest ideology?
Take the test and see which of the ideologies your answers sit closest to.
Questions
What is anarcho-communism?
An anarchist school of thought that wants a society of voluntary associations with no state, no hierarchy and no private ownership of the means of production, while keeping personal property. Goods are distributed freely by need.
Is anarcho-communism left or right?
It is classed as far left: collective ownership of the economy and no state. A single left-right line says little here, since it is close to the Freedom end of the Security–Freedom axis.
Anarcho-communism vs communism?
Both want common ownership and a classless society. Marxist communism usually expects a transitional state, often led by a party, that later withers away. Anarchist communists reject any such state and want hierarchy abolished from the start.
How does the 12 Axes test decide I am an anarcho-communist?
The test compares your Collectivize–Privatize, Security–Freedom, Internationalism–Nationalism and Progressive–Traditional scores with each ideology's four values. The ideology with the smallest total distance is your closest match. The other eight axes are not used.