[Onion Poptarts]

haha my parents just found out that i'm anarchist!

They were like: "Oh so you promote chaos and destruction?"

uhmm???.... NOOOO
Coolness

What does people here think about voting in elections?
I'm thinking about voting for the Communist Party, as this is similar to anarchism (in some sense) and is different from the other parties i can vote for

Boy your quiet the rebel.

To truly be an anarchist however you need to buy some t-shirts that display your views. Don't make them though...buy them from hot topic or some other chain store.

[Abood]

Kummi, voting for the Communist Party would be a bad idea. A social democratic party of some sort would be your best deal, in my opinion. Communist Parties are usually Leninist. You might want to check what sort of Communist Party it is, though.

[HoniSoit]

What does people here think about voting in elections?

Voting for CP is fine in my opinion.

Or you could vote for the independent, and/or vote on issues.

[Onion Poptarts]

Voting for CP is fine in my opinion.

Or you could vote for the independent, and/or vote on issues.

Nah, i think most likely he'll just end up buying the T-shirts and other anarchist trinkets like i suggested. And then he'll be in the store about to check out and one of his friends will call him and he'll be like "the elections today? Fuck!"

[kummi90]

Yes i might buy some anarchists t-shirts... any site where i can get good t-shirts with good motifs, cheap?

i might want to do more research before I figure which party to vote for... ANd it's not yet so i have plenty of time haha

[Abood]

He was taking the piss.

But if you want to buy an anarchist t-shirt, at least make sure the money goes towards an anarchist cause.

This project has some great t-shirts, but most of them aren't up for sale yet. It's a pretty new project.

[Grassy Knoll 1963]

A blockbuster movie... It could work, the only problem is, to make a blockbuster movie, you will need a distributor who will be willing to sell a movie that promotes a system that would end their business.

[kummi90]

just watched V for vendetta...pretty good movie that..but you could see symbolsims of anarchism in there... all people being equals with their masks :P probably lots more... a bettre movie title would be A for Anarchy

[Dr House]

I think the first thing ya'll gotta do is lose the name "anarchism". Too many negative connotations associated with that name (namely Anarchy = chaos). Use libertarian socialism instead.

[kummi90]

Hot topic sucks BTW...

[ninurta]

One way to better promote anarchism would be to come up with new ideas in order to point to how its better than any other system.

[Kon]

The best way to promote anarchism is through random acts of terrorism aimed at the state and state controlled apparatuses (I do not condone this) in conjunction with the organization of trade unions and the peasantry into an effective resistance through printed propaganda and "propaganda of the deed".

Use libertarian socialism instead.

This would be an incorrect usage of the phrase, as libertarian socialism also applies to certain schools of marxism (which I think are just dandy, unfortunatley the majority of "anarchists" seem opposed to anything with the word Marx in it).

Besides An Arkos= Without Leaders, which is a perfect description of the basic tenets of anarchism.

[SocialAnarchist]

Besides An Arkos= Without Leaders, which is a perfect description of the basic tenets of anarchism.

I've been having some thoughts on terminology. I've labelled myself as Anarchist and Libertarian Socialist, and most times the person I'm talking to has a wrong idea of the term. They think anarchy is chaos and they think a Libertarian Socialist is a contradiction in terms. Because to them Libertarian is the US political party and Socialist is a state centralized economy.

So I've been wondering which term would be easier to explain to someone. I've decided on Anarchist because thats the easiest one to break down the persons previous knowledge of the term.

And to go to the original question about promoting anarchism. The first thing is to teach people about news stories that they aren't hearing from the major news channels. Alternative news sources. Also we need to just spread the word in a enlightened and thoughtful way, but not a violent way. Violence just isolates us and gives them reason to believe anarchy = chaos.

[JimmiBaez]

To promote anarchism, one must first know anarchism. Read some of the works of Kropotkin, Malatesta, Goldman, Proudhon, etc. Join a local anarchist organization, (Four Star Anarchist Organization is based in Chicago, for example). Join an anarchist forum such as Anarchist Black Cat, read the FAQS at Infoshop and then find or organize a protest around your area, talk to family and friends. Things like that, read books like Everyday Anarchy/Practical Anarchy, Anarchy Archives has some good information and pamphlets. You could read articles or write articles for sites like Libcom or Anarkismo. Personally, I'd consider writing a book of some sort promoting the ideas of anarchism. I'm not sure what other ways you could do this except to make pamphlets and distribute them somehow. Other than that, you're pretty much on your own. Do something like this person has done, whenever you see it possible just spread your ideas.

[H8w0w8H]

To promote anarchism, one must first know anarchism. Read some of the works of Kropotkin, Malatesta, Goldman, Proudhon, etc

very much agreed, particularly on Proudhon

all I'd add Karl Hess and Kevin Carson

The problem with anarchism is that it contains a wide variety of proposed anarchist economic systems

you have the

far left socialist anarchists

center left mutulalist anarchists

center right Georgist anarchists

and far right capitalist anarchists

I'm in agreement with both center left and center right anarchism which are mutually inclusive (excuse the pun )

The problem with anarchism are the "anarchists" who claim anarchism, then spend their time defending statists, beacuse they enact an authoritarian version of the economic system the desire

That would be the far left and far right anarchists
they need to resolve their differences
which would essentially mean adopting aspects of centrist anarchism
then all anarchists need to work together

there were attempts at this in the mid-late sixties in the USA which inspired most centerist anarchist thought nowerdays

[H8w0w8H]

The left need to accept some aspects of property
particularly capital gained from ones own labor

the right need to reject some aspects of property
land property and intellectual property

this is in keeping with Proudhon's

property is theft
property is freedom
property is impossible

Land property is theft
capital (from labor) is freedom
intellectual property is (becoming) impossible

[DubiousDan]

Kummi90:

I was wondering how we could promote the ideas of anarchism to convince people (or otherwise)?

Personally I see that people gives you a hard time being anarchist, becasue (of own experience) 95% of the people believe it is the belief of chaos, destruction, violence, and no rules

Me:
First we must understand Anarchism. That is in the context of open ended knowledge. We cannot understand Anarchism, but we can improve in our understanding.
Perfection is unobtainable, improvement is very easy.

Second there are some simple principles of anarchism that we should understand.

A great right of Humanity, perhaps its greatest right, is the right to be stupid.
To become an Anarchist, you have to renounce that right.
That does not mean becoming intelligent, that means giving up the right to be unintelligent.

In order to have Anarchy, you must have human organization. So if you cannot organize, or be organized, you cannot be a successful anarchist. The common error is Anarchy first, organization second. This is unsustainable. Organization first, Anarchy second.

People admire success, they despise failure. Of course, failure and success depend upon the game. If you would advance anarchism, you must make the game clear. To do that, first you must understand the game.

If you play by the rules of others, you will most likely lose. Understand the rules, and why they are made, then try to follow the rules by which you have a chance of winning. Choice must be in the context of perceived reality. Some rules must be followed, others can be ignored, or selectively followed. Those who rule a social order do this, thus it behooves a member of a social order to do the same from the perspective of his ability and his goals.

Civilization and Anarchy cannot coexist. That does not mean that all of the products of civilization must be discarded in order to attain Anarchy. There was technology before there was civilization. Agriculture is technology, pottery is technology, and pressure flaking flint is technology. Civilization can be discarded and Humanity can go on to the stars. If civilization remains, most likely Humanity will perish. However, to understand this, one must understand what civilization really is.

To put it simply, learn, organize, and master self discipline. If you succeed in this, then people will seek to learn from you, fail, and they will ignore you.

The above applies to Anarchism. In other matters, to be the King of fools, it helps to be a fool.

[JimmiBaez]

Free pamphlets delivered to your door.

http://store.crimethinc.com/x/free.html

Anything else in the store is very cheap, starting at two dollars for at least 20 posters or stickers. It may not be your ideal place to shop, but stuff's gotta get started somewhere.

[Northern-Anarchist-X]

I personally think that some socially democratic parties can be vehicles for legitimate anarchistic change: that's not a rule though, but a possibility. They're also a great way to spread basic ideals of anarchism ...

But inherently they're not like that:

"If voting changed anything, they wouldn't let us do it." If you want the existing systems to do anything worthwhile, unfortunately I think you have to participate in them directly and nanny them while constantly realizing their fallibility ...