Anarchism and the State Essays - Anti-fascism, Political Philosophy

Anarchism and the State Essays - Anti-fascism, Political Philosophy Anarchism and the State Anarchism and the State States have varied both historically and geographically such that for example David Held distinguishes between traditional states, feudal states,the polity of estates ,absolutist states and modern states while Richards and Smith distinguish between liberal states, social democratic states, collectivist states, totalitarian states and developmental states. Such distinctions are extremely important but I shall be concentrating in the following documents on the modern liberal democratic and social democratic states and later on important more recent changes in the nature of the modern British State. A very useful brief definition of the state has been provided by Andrew Heywood. He states that " the state can most simply be described as a political association that establishes sovereign jurisdiction within defined territorial borders and exercises authority through a set of permanent institutions. Using this definition let us isolate the key features of the state follows: 1.States aim to ensure that citizens comply with their laws and they may do so by engineering the consent of the citizens and or by the use of force. The monopoly of the legitimate use of physical force is central to Max Weber's definition of the state. He states that "a compulsory political organisation with continuous operations will be called a "state" insofar as its administrative staff successfully upholds the claims to the monopoly of the legitimate use of physical force in the enforcement of its order." 2.It has also been argued by the French Marxist Louis Althusser that institutions such as the family, the church, the education system and the mass media should be seen as part of the state since they are ideological state apparatuses which function to legitimise the continued existence of the capitalist state. However other theorists would claim that these institutions are part of civil society rather than the State. 3.Modern states are organised on the basis of their Constitutions. A state's constitution may be defined as a system of rules and conventions by which the state is governed. Most importantly the Constitution specifies the relative powers of and relationships between the various political institutions of the state, most notably the Executive, the Legislature and the Judiciary and the rights and obligations of the citizen in relation to the state. Anarchism literally means without rule or without government. It has traditionally been associated with chaos, social disorder, destruction, violence and even terrorism. For example in the latter stages of the French Revolution the so-called Enrages who were critical of the Jacobin government for their failure to do more to help the poor and the disadvantaged were described by the government as anarchists in this pejorative sense and since then the word anarchist has often been used, particularly by moderates as a term of political abuse. However increasingly from the late C18th political theorists building on long standing political criticisms of authority developed an altogether more positive interpretation of the term anarchism. The case for Anarchism has come to rest essentially on the idea that political arguments in support of political authority and particularly arguments in support of the state are flawed. In the anarchist view the state does not guarantee social order, nor protect individual liberty, nor create the economic conditions for the improvement of working class life as conservatives, liberals and non-anarchist socialists would argue: rather the state constrains the individual and creates social disorder. Conversely the anarchists claim it is only individual freedom and the abolition of the state which will result in real human self-development and social harmony. To see this let us discuss the Anarchist logo. We must recognise that although the ideology of Anarchism contains important core elements there are also major divergences within this ideology. Anarchists are committed to the cause of individual liberty. They believe that individuals are the best judges of their own best interests and that they should therefore possess the high degree of liberty necessary to enable them to think and act as they see fit. The exercise of individual liberty will result also in social order and social harmony whereas if individuals are constrained by other individuals and organisations and especially if they are constrained by the State the result will be social disorder and social disharmony. All anarchists of all types are united

Free Essays on Greatest Challenge

Challenge Essay When it comes to challenges, most young adults might say it’s trying to please their parents or trying to keep up with their car and insurance payments, but I feel that my greatest challenge, so far, is trying to stay positive and focused. Some might not see this as being a real challenge, but in my situation, that seems to get harder and harder each and every day. I am an 18 year old senior in high school. I’m on the varsity football team and also active in many clubs and class activities. I have a 3.6 GPA and ranked 50th among graduating seniors; but I don’t think I would have made it this far, if it weren’t for the help I received from my teachers and me staying positive and focused. About a year ago, my family and I were place in one of the toughest situations a family could go through, being homeless. Imagine being a junior in high school and losing almost everything you ever had. It was even more detrimental for my mother. She’s a single parent, making only $1,500 a month, trying to raise three children, put a descent roof over our heads, and taking on a car note and many other expenses, all without any assistance. After being evicted, we entered into a shelter for homeless families. This is where we now reside, but it’s only a one bedroom apartment and we could only stay there for one year: so now we are going through the pain stakes of getting packed and moving. Through all the hardships we have endured, and I truly mean hardships, we have been determined to stay positive. As of now, I have to constantly stay positive and focused. I wake up at five o’clock in the morning to catch the bus to go to school and make sure I stay focused on what needs to be done in class and try not to go to sleep. After school is over, I have football practice, which leaves me tired and exhausted, and from there I go straight to work. To add to the frustration, I have to also make sure my sister and brother h... Free Essays on Greatest Challenge Free Essays on Greatest Challenge Challenge Essay When it comes to challenges, most young adults might say it’s trying to please their parents or trying to keep up with their car and insurance payments, but I feel that my greatest challenge, so far, is trying to stay positive and focused. Some might not see this as being a real challenge, but in my situation, that seems to get harder and harder each and every day. I am an 18 year old senior in high school. I’m on the varsity football team and also active in many clubs and class activities. I have a 3.6 GPA and ranked 50th among graduating seniors; but I don’t think I would have made it this far, if it weren’t for the help I received from my teachers and me staying positive and focused. About a year ago, my family and I were place in one of the toughest situations a family could go through, being homeless. Imagine being a junior in high school and losing almost everything you ever had. It was even more detrimental for my mother. She’s a single parent, making only $1,500 a month, trying to raise three children, put a descent roof over our heads, and taking on a car note and many other expenses, all without any assistance. After being evicted, we entered into a shelter for homeless families. This is where we now reside, but it’s only a one bedroom apartment and we could only stay there for one year: so now we are going through the pain stakes of getting packed and moving. Through all the hardships we have endured, and I truly mean hardships, we have been determined to stay positive. As of now, I have to constantly stay positive and focused. I wake up at five o’clock in the morning to catch the bus to go to school and make sure I stay focused on what needs to be done in class and try not to go to sleep. After school is over, I have football practice, which leaves me tired and exhausted, and from there I go straight to work. To add to the frustration, I have to also make sure my sister and brother h...

Athenian Democracy Paper Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1500 words

Athenian Democracy Paper - Essay Example Hence, the people had no say or no choices regarding the laws made for them and were forced to follow what was laid out for them by the autocratic leadership. However, democracy is a different branch of leadership, which aims to account for the opinions and needs of the people that the laws are being made for and they do not give the leader the right to oppress the people in any way. The leader or so-called government is answerable to the public regarding the laws, policies, and procedures taken. While this form of leadership seems just and fair, it has been in existence for a long time (Tharley, 1996, pp. 32-36). â€Å"Democracy† is a word taken from the Greek language and refers to a system of being â€Å"ruled by the people†. This system originated in Athens, Greece and has been prevalent for approximately 2500 years now. Before this time, people were ruled according to other systems for a period of approximately 4000 years. Hence, democracy has not been perfected ye t as regards to other systems as it is relatively newer than the previous forms of rule (Tharley, 1996, pp. 26-28). However, Athenian democracy had its advantages and disadvantages while it prevailed as a system. Beginning in approximately the 5th century B.C., democracy has been practiced in varying forms and with different levels of thoroughness and understanding. However, it was regarded as one of the best systems till date (Laurex, 2006, pp. 167-168). The Athenians thought that the people should be given free will to express their ideas and this was carried out on a ten-day basis in an Assembly that constituted of all the male adults over the age of eighteen. The system was efficient and fair as all citizens were given equal rights to vote and common people were making laws for themselves. Another advantage was that were no protocols or extravagant arrangements made for elections or prolonged campaigns. Money was not wasted in this manner and ordinary people of the land got toge ther and collectively decided upon laws for the whole land (Jones, 1953, p. 16). This was a reasonably good system and it worked well with the Athenians. The main reason for the continuous success of this system was the morality and righteousness of the citizens. Extremes were absolutely avoided in politics and the very first lawgiver of Athens believed in promoting the â€Å"greater good† which meant that all decisions were taken to benefit society as a whole instead of focusing upon individual goals. This feeling or phenomenon is greatly missing in society today and this notion is not prevalent in today’s politicians who are mainly seeking to promote selfish goals and their own individual benefits. The greater good for the benefit of society is missing and as society may want to play a role in their own governmental activities, they are not given active participation or due say in today’s democracy (Jones, 1953, pp. 13-14). However, looking at the Athenian sys tem from a modern perspective, it can be said that while the system was fair in most regards and encouraged equal participation regardless of status, caste, or any other means of discrimination, it was biased against females. Females were not given due recognition if any at all in the Athenian system of democracy as mainly all the males over the age of eighteen were elected to assemblies and were given the opportunity to vote and make laws for everyone in the land.