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This is a list of anarchist communities, past and present.
Throughout history, anarchists have been involved in a wide variety of communities. While there are only a few instances of large scale "anarchies" that have come about from explicitly anarchist revolutions, there are examples of societies functioning according to various anarchist principles.
In anthropology, hunter-gatherer societies have been described as being acephalous, meaning they exist without state or formal leadership. Some prominent anthropologists, such as Harold Barclay, Pierre Clastres, and David Graeber, have described these earliest and modern human communities as functional examples of anarchist societies. This perspective has been explored by authors such as John Zerzan and Fredy Perlman in the modern branch of anarchism, known as anarcho-primitivism. The exploration in anarchist theory of the gift economy of these societies has been used as reference by other branches, such as anarcho-communism. Within this analysis, societies like the Bushmen have been pointed out as examples of anarchy, existing to more than ten thousand years ago till present day. Peter Kropotkin explored these indigenous people in the anarchist classic, Mutual Aid: A Factor of Evolution.
In recent history there have been numerous instances of the collapse of state authority, sometimes prompted by war but also often due to implosion of the state. In some cases, state collapse is followed by lawlessness, rioting, looting and, if disarray lasts long enough, warlordism. Although such societies are often described as anarchy, they are not organized according to anarchist principles.
However, there are instances in which a society peacefully organizes itself without a government or other form of centralized power, along philosophically anarchist lines. A functioning society would then maintain peace without a state. It is often difficult to find and research past anarchist or semi-anarchist societies, since, as Murray Rothbard points out, "The lack of recordkeeping in stateless societies– since only government officials seem to waste time, energy, and resources on such activities– produce a tendency toward a governmental bias in the working methods of historians."[1]
Classical ("Thing system") Iceland is an example of society where police and justice were guaranteed through a free market. Author Jared Diamond has written
Medieval Iceland had no bureaucrats, no taxes, no police, and no army. … Of the normal functions of governments elsewhere, some did not exist in Iceland, and others were privatized, including fire-fighting, criminal prosecutions and executions, and care of the poor.[2]
Prominent anarcho-capitalist writer David D. Friedman featured classical Iceland in his book The Machinery of Freedom, and has written other papers about it.
Medieval Icelandic institutions have several peculiar and interesting characteristics; they might almost have been invented by a mad economist to test the lengths to which market systems could supplant government in its most fundamental functions. Killing was a civil offense resulting in a fine paid to the survivors of the victim. Laws were made by a "parliament," seats in which were a marketable commodity. Enforcement of law was entirely a private affair. And yet these extraordinary institutions survived for over three hundred years, and the society in which they survived appears to have been in many ways an attractive one. Its citizens were, by medieval standards, free; differences in status based on rank or sex were relatively small; and its literary, output in relation to its size has been compared, with some justice, to that of Athens.[3]
This Icelandic "thing system" survived for several centuries. It was eventually destroyed by the Christian church, which bought up all the godards (defense agencies) creating a state monopoly. For market anarchist scholar Roderick Long, this illustrates a flaw in the thing system which differentiates it from pure anarcho-capitalism - new "startup" mutual defense units were not allowed.[4][5]
The social anarchist authors of An Anarchist FAQ took issue with Friedman's portrayal of the period, arguing that the Icelandic system was pre-capitalist in nature with numerous communal institutions.[6] Friedman accused them of misconstruing his position and not caring whether what they published was true.[7] The authors of the FAQ admitted to making mistakes, but rejected the notion that they were uninterested in the truth, and maintained their analysis that Iceland was a communal system.[8]
Religious dissenter Roger Williams founded the colony of Providence, Rhode Island after being run out of the theocratic Puritan Massachusetts Bay Colony in 1636. Unlike the Puritans, he scrupulously purchased land from local Indians for his settlement. In political beliefs, Williams was close to the Levellers of England. He describes Rhode Island local "government" as follows: "The masters of families have ordinarily met once a fortnight and consulted about our common peace, watch and plenty; and mutual consent have finished all matters of speed and pace." [9]
While Roger Williams was not explicitly anarchist, another Rhode Islander, Anne Hutchinson, was. Hutchinson and her followers emigrated to Rhode Island in 1638, bought Aquidneck Island from the Indians, and founded the town of Pocasset (now Portsmouth.) Another "Rogue Island" libertarian was Samuell Gorton. He and his followers were accused of being anarchists, and Governor John Winthrop of Massachusetts Bay called Gorton a "man not fit to live upon the face of the earth." Gorton and his followers were forced in late 1642 to found an entirely new settlement of their own, Shawomet (later Warwick). In the words of Gorton, for over five years the settlement "lived peaceably together, desiring and endeavoring to do wrong to no man, neither English nor Indian, ending all our differences in a neighborly and loving way of arbitration, mutually chosen amongst us."
In 1648, Warwick joined with the other three towns of Rhode Island to form the colony of the "Providence Plantation." From that time on Rhode Island had a government; this government, however, was far more democratic and libertarian than existed elsewhere in the American colonies. In a letter to Sir Henry Vane penned in the mid-1650s, Williams wrote, "we have not known what an excise means; we have almost forgotten what tithes are, yea, or taxes either, to church or commonwealth."
The coastal area north of Albemarle Sound in what is now northeastern North Carolina was home to a quasi-anarchistic society in the mid-17th century. Described by Murray Rothbard as "[t]echnically a part of the Virginia colony but in practice virtually independent," Albemarle was a haven for political and religious refugees, such as Quakers and dissident Presbyterians. As Rothbard has said, "This semi-libertarian condition came to an end in 1663, when the English Crown included Albemarle in the mammoth Carolina land grant bestowed on a group of eight feudal proprietors. Little is known of pre-1663 Albemarle, since historians display scant interest in stateless societies."[1]
When William Penn left his Quaker colony in Pennsylvania, the people stopped paying quitrent, and any semblance of formal government evaporated. The Quakers treated Indians with respect, bought land from them voluntarily, and had even representation of Indians and Whites on juries. According to Voltaire, the Shackamaxon Treaty was "the only treaty between Indians and Christians that was never sworn to and that was never broken." The Quakers refused to provide any assistance to New England's Indian wars. Penn's attempt to impose government by appointing John Blackwell, a non-Quaker military man, as governor failed miserably.[10]
Libertatia was a legendary free colony forged by pirates and the pirate Captain Misson, although some historians have expressed doubts over its existence outside of literature. Historian and activist Marcus Rediker describes the pirates as follows:
These pirates who settled in Libertalia would be "vigilant Guardians of the People's Rights and Liberties"; they would stand as "Barriers against the Rich and Powerful" of their day. By waging war on behalf of "the Oppressed" against the "Oppressors," they would see that "Justice was equally distributed."[11]
The pirates were against the various forms of authoritarian social constructs of their day, monarchies, slavery, and capital. The pirates practiced forms of direct democracy, where the people as a whole held the authority to make laws and rules, and used systems of councils with delegates, who were supposed to think of themselves as "comerads" of the general population, and not rulers. The pirates created a new language for their colony and operated a socialist economy.[12]
[The] pirates were anti-capitalist, opposed to the dispossession that necessarily accompanied the historic ascent of wage labor and capitalism. They insisted that "every Man was born free, and had as much Right to what would support him, as to the Air he respired." They resented the "encroachments" by which "Villains" and "unmerciful Creditors" grew "immensely rich" as others became "wretchedly miserable." They spoke of the "Natural right" to "a Share of the Earth as is necessary for our Support." They saw piracy as a war of self-preservation. [They redefined the] fundamental relations of property and power. They had no need for money "where every Thing was in common, and no Hedge bounded any particular Man's Property," and they decreed that "the Treasure and Cattle they were Masters of should be equally divided."[11]
Misson's crews often were half white and black. The pirates have been reported to have freed enslaved people because the idea of slavery went against their own ideals of freedom.
Although the existence of Libertatia is contested, the radical ideas that it represented were very common in various pirate-era events. After the American Revolution, pirates fleeing from England crashed on an island and set up their own Libertatia. They called their new island "the Republic of Spensonia", and according to A. L. Morton, it "looks backward to the medieval commune and forward to the withering away of the state."[13]
Utopia was an individualist anarchist colony begun in 1847 by Josiah Warren and associates, on a tract of land in the United States approximately 30 miles (48 km) from Cincinnati, Ohio. Personal invitation from the first settlers was required for admission to the community, because Warren reasoned that the most valuable individual liberty was "the liberty to choose our associates at all times". Land was not owned communally, but individually, with lots being bought and sold at cost, as required by contractual arrangement. The economy of the community was based on private property and a market economy where labor was the basis of exchange value (see Mutualism (economic theory)). Goods and services were traded by the medium of "labor notes". By the mid-1850s, the community came to contain approximately 40 buildings, about half of which were of an industrial nature. Also present were two "time stores" (see Cincinnati Time Store). The impact of the American Civil War, the rising prices of surrounding land (which made expansion difficult), and the requirement of being invited by the original settlers are said to have led to the eventual dissolution of the project. However, as late as 1875 a few of the original occupants were still in residence and some business in the area was still being conducted by labor notes.
Modern Times was an individualist anarchist colony begun on March 21, 1851 on 750 acres (3 km²) of land on Long Island, New York, by Josiah Warren and Stephen Pearl Andrews. By contract, all land was bought and sold at cost, with 3 acres (12,000 m2) being the maximum allowable lot size. The community was said to be based in the idea of "individual sovereignty" and "individual responsibility". There was an understanding that there was to be no initiation of coercion, leaving all individuals to pursue their self-interest as they saw fit. All products of labor were considered private property. The community had a local private currency based upon labor exchange in order to trade goods and services (see Mutualism). All land was private property, except for alleys which were initially considered common property but later converted to private property. No system of authority existed in the colony: there were no courts, jails, or police; yet, there are no reports of any problem with crime existing there. This appears to have given some credence to Warren's theories that the most significant cause of violence in society was most attributable to policies and law which did not allow complete individuality in person and property. However, the modest population of the colony might be considered a factor in this characteristic. The Civil War, and a gradual infiltration into the community by those who did not share the same libertarian and economic philosophy, is said to have contributed to its eventual dissolution. The colony's location is now known as Brentwood, New York. Almost all of the original buildings that existed in Modern Times have been destroyed. Modern Times is given tribute at Twin Oaks, a contemporary community of 100 members in Virginia. All Twin Oaks' buildings are named after communities that are no longer actively functioning, and "Modern Times" is the name of one of the multi-purpose buildings there.
Whiteway Colony in the Cotswolds near Stroud, Gloucestershire was set up in 1898 and still exists today.[14] Though it no longer has an explicitly anarchist outlook, it retains a flavor of its roots and many of its residents are aware and proud of its origins.[14] The traces of its anarchist past can be seen in the communal facilities such as the playing field, hall and swimming pool built and used by residents, and in the way the governance of the community is still carried out by general meeting of all residents. Whiteway is regarded as a collectivist anarchist society and is one of the longest-running anarchist experiments in existence.
Following the anarchistic teachings of Leo Tolstoy, many peasant communes were formed voluntarily after the October Revolution based on his values of labor and non-violence. Repressed heavily by the Soviets, the history of many of these communes is lost. One of the largest was the Life and Labor Commune which at its peak had almost a thousand members.
The apex of Korean anarchism came in late 1929 outside the actual borders of the country, in Manchuria. Over two million Korean immigrants lived in Manchuria at the time when the Korean Anarchist Communist Federation (KACF) declared the Shinmin province autonomous and under the administration of the Korean People’s Association. The decentralized, federative structure the association adopted consisted of village councils, district councils and area councils, all of which operated in a cooperative manner to deal with agriculture, education, finance and other vital issues. An Army to fight for the defense of Shinmin was also set up and spearheaded by the great Korean Anarchist Kim Jwa-jin which had great successes against the Japanese and Stalinist Armies using hit-and-run guerrilla tactics. KACF sections in China, Korea, Japan and elsewhere devoted all their energies towards the success of the Shinmin Rebellion, most of them actually relocating there. Dealing simultaneously with Stalinist Russia’s attempts to overthrow the Shinmin autonomous region and Japan’s imperialist attempts to claim the region for itself, the Korean anarchists had been crushed by 1932[citation needed].
In 1936, against the background of the fight against fascism, there was a profound libertarian socialist revolution throughout Spain.
Much of Spain's economy was put under direct worker control; in anarchist strongholds like Catalonia, the figure was as high as 75%, but lower in areas with heavy Socialist influence. Factories were run through worker committees, agrarian areas became collectivized and run as libertarian communes. Even places like hotels, barber shops, and restaurants were collectivized and managed by their workers. George Orwell describes a scene in Aragon during this time period, in his book, Homage to Catalonia: [ISBN 978-0156421171, Harvest Books, Fort Washington]
The communes were run according to the basic principle of "From each according to his ability, to each according to his need," without any Marxist dogma attached. In some places, money was entirely eliminated. Despite the critics clamoring for maximum efficiency, anarchic communes often produced more than before the collectivization. The newly liberated zones worked on entirely egalitarian principles; decisions were made through councils of ordinary citizens without any sort of bureaucracy. It is generally held that the CNT-FAI leadership was at this time not nearly as radical as the rank and file members responsible for these sweeping changes.
In addition to the economic revolution, there was a spirit of cultural revolution. For instance, women were allowed to have abortions, and the idea of free love became popular. In many ways, this spirit of cultural liberation was similar to that of the "New Left" movements of the 1960s.
Anarchist Catalonia (July 21, 1936 - February 10, 1939) was the stateless territory and anarchist society in part of the territory of modern Catalonia during the Spanish Civil War, because Catalonia was one of the most industrializated zones of Spain, the collectivizations were mostly on urban zones (factories, cinemas, restaurants...).
Anarchist Aragon (October 6, 1936 - August 10, 1937) was the stateless territory and anarchist society in the eastern part of the territory of modern Aragon during the Spanish Civil War. That was the territory conquered by the anarchist forces (Durruti Column, South-Ebro Column) that came from Barcelona at the first months of the war. The collectivizations in this territory were mainly in agrarian areas, because it was a rural zone.
The Kibbutz movement was an outgrowth out of socialist strands of the Zionist Movement, many of which stressed Arab-Jewish cooperation. The movement revolved around anarchist principles of non-hierarchy, self-management of production, and direct democracy. The early kibbutz collectives could be seen to be following the doctrine of, "...from each according to ability, to each according to need". New people joining the collective farms, however, were expected to give up most of their assets to the greater whole.
The early kibbutzim were examples of a closely-knit egalitarian community, based on common ownership of the means of production and consumption, where all, conferring together, made decisions by majority vote and bore responsibility for all. Decisions were generally made during general assembly dinners, and direct democracy was used to come to consensus. In discussions, which often continued late into the night, members would decide how to allocate the following day's work, guard duties, kitchen chores and other tasks, as well as debate problems and make decisions. Beyond farm land and dining halls, many centers included offices, sports areas, libraries, and entertainment areas.
When kibbutzim were smaller, social and cultural life was characterized by togetherness and being "one big family". This found expression in the high involvement of members in planning, organizing and carrying out activities, which ranged from campfires and nature walks to choirs and folk dancing. Each kibbutz appointed a cultural director to plan and coordinate events.
After the creation of the state of Israel, the kibbutz movement began to become much more hierarchical and wage-labor based. Ideas of egalitarianism still existed, but became seen as not as important. To this date however, hundreds of thousands of people have existed and worked in worker-self-managed kibbutz farms.
The Kibbutz movement deviates from anarchist philosophy. The Kibbutz system is highly organized in a more oligarchical way and quite democratically. The economic system paired with anarchy, communism, is a classical pairing not in accordance with the actual definitions of the words. The kibbutz system is not anarchy but rather an example of an effective form of socialist economic policy controlled by oligarchical democracy, and in many cases direct democracy with participation by all members.
Christiania was founded in 1971, when a group of hippie squatters occupied an abandoned military barracks in Copenhagen, Denmark. One of the more influential people involved was Jacob Ludvigsen, who published an anarchist newspaper which widely proclaimed the establishment of the free town. The people of Christiania developed their own set of rules—independent of the Danish government—which include the prohibition of cars, stealing, guns, bulletproof vests and hard drugs. Cameras are not allowed, and locals will wave their hands and shout "No photo!" if they see a picture being taken. Famous for its main drag, known as "Pusher Street" as hash was sold openly from permanent stands until 2004. Such commerce is controversial, but cannot be removed without complete community consensus. For years the legal status of the region was in limbo, as the Danish government attempted, without success, to remove the squatters.
The neighborhood is accessible only through two main entrances, and cars are not allowed. Danish authorities have repeatedly removed the large stones blocking the entrance, which have been replaced each time by residents. The authorities claim that the area must be accessible for safety concerns, but the residents suspect that it will instead be used by the police. The town negotiated an arrangement with the Danish defense ministry, the legal owners of the location, in 1995, resulting in resident taxation. The future of the area remains in doubt, as Danish authorities continue to push for its removal.
The inhabitants fight back with humour and persistence—for instance, when authorities in 2002 demanded that the hash trade be made less visible, the stands were covered in military camouflage nets. On January 4, 2004, the stands were finally demolished by the owners themselves (without stopping the hash trade as such, which continued on a person-to-person basis) as a way of persuading the government to allow the Free Town to continue to exist. Before they were demolished, the National Museum of Denmark was able to get one of the more colourful stands, and includes them now part of an exhibit.
   | The Take - Film Collection - National Film Board of Canada |
| | http://flag.blackened.net/revolt/platform/makhno37.html - Review: History of the Makhnovist Movement |
| | Nestor Makhno Archive, Information on Anarchism in the Russian Revolution - The Nestor Makhno Archive |
| | Anarchist FAQ - What are some examples of "Anarchy in Action"? - Infoshop.org - An Anarchist FAQ - A.5 What are some examples of "Anarchy in Action"? |
| | Pirate Utopias (Do or Die) - Piracy and Anarchism - Pirate Utopias (Do or Die) |
| | Anarchism in the Italian Factory Councils - Anarchism in the Italian Factory Councils |
| | Anarchism in the Spanish Revolution - Anarchism in the Spanish Revolution |
| | Hungary's Worker's Councils - History | libcom.org |
| | The Emerging Economic Paradigm of Open Source - The Emerging Economics of Open Source Software |
| | People Without Government - An Anthropology of Anarchy by Harold Barclay - People Without Government: An Anthropology Of Anarchy :: AK Press |
| | The Free Software Movement - Anarchism in Action - UK Indymedia - The Free Software Movement - Anarchism in Action |
| | Why Software Should Be Free - Why Software Should Be Free - GNU Project - Free Software Foundation (FSF) |
| | The Origins of Individualist Anarchism in the US - The Origins of Individualist Anarchism in the US - Murray N. Rothbard - Mises Institute |
| | http://www.loshorcones.org.mx - DIRECTORIO DE ENLACES - WEB LINKS - DIRECTORY LINKS - PAGINAS WEBS |
| | Utopia Britannica: British Utopian Experiments, 1325-1945 - The History communal living |
| | Free Software - is it a political question? - Free Software - is it a political question? |
| | The Grenada Revolution online - The Grenada Revolution Online |
| | www.escapeartist.com - Living Overseas - International Real Estate, Overseas Jobs - Asset Protection - Expatriate Resources - Overseas Retirement |
| | ''The Anarcho-statists of Spain'' - The Anarcho-Statists of Spain |
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