Having read “Statism and Anarchy” by Bakunin and works by Chomsky I realized what I think is a correlation between anarchists’ reasoning for the destruction of the State and its difference from the socialists’ reasoning. We both agree wage slavery is “intolerable” and that true freedom will only come with the removal of the State, and that this is a feasible goal. But my feeling is the anarchist, or libertarian-socialist, focuses on the illegitimacy of almost all authority while the socialists focus more on the contradictions found in the capitalist system and evils of wage slavery.
Obviously I understand both sides talk about both, but I get the feeling each puts emphasis on one over the other.
I’m not going to say one is better or worse than the either, I think both need to grow together to focus on these issues equally. This is simply an observation and I wonder if others agree.
States are violent institutions. The government of any country, including ours, represents some sort of domestic power structure, and it’s usually violent. States are violent to the extent that they’re powerful, that’s roughly accurate. – Noam Chomsky
Can you elaborate on the contradictions found in the capitalist system and the evils of wage slavery?
OK, I’ll have a post soon on those issues.