On Anarcho-Communism

[MaximMK]

Im communist and support the Marxist ideas of a transitional society and all but was always afraid the ideas and socialism can be abused to gain power and keep us forewer in the "transitional" society. Now i heard about Anarcho-Communism which wants to go straight to the last stage of communism without a transitional society which i think is anarchism. I understand the difference between communism and anarcho-communism but i dont get the difference between anarcho-communism and anarchism.

[robbo203]

Im communist and support the Marxist ideas of a transitional society and all but was always afraid the ideas and socialism can be abused to gain power and keep us forewer in the "transitional" society. Now i heard about Anarcho-Communism which wants to go straight to the last stage of communism without a transitional society which i think is anarchism. I understand the difference between communism and anarcho-communism but i dont get the difference between anarcho-communism and anarchism.


It needs to repeated again and again - Marx did not advocate a "transitional society". What he advocated was a transitional stage. Big big difference. See this - the definitive article on the subject

http://bataillesocialiste.wordpress.com/english-pages/1975-the-myth-of-the-transitional-society-buick/

[The Insurrection]

Im communist and support the Marxist ideas of a transitional society and all but was always afraid the ideas and socialism can be abused to gain power and keep us forewer in the "transitional" society. Now i heard about Anarcho-Communism which wants to go straight to the last stage of communism without a transitional society which i think is anarchism. I understand the difference between communism and anarcho-communism but i dont get the difference between anarcho-communism and anarchism.

Anarchist communists believe in a transitional stage, but reject centralised political authority as a legitimate way of achieving a proper transitions into communism.

The transitional stage would likely resemble anarchist collectivism (as per the Spanish experience).

[MaximMK]

So how is this transitional stage different from what comes afterwards since both have no government and all this from anarchism? - talking about anarcho-communism

[The Insurrection]

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Collectivist_anarchism

[Tim Cornelis]

Anarchism encompasses mutualism (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mutualism_(economic_theory)), anarcho-collectivism (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Collectivist_anarchism), the ideas of anarchist economist Silvio Gesell (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Freiwirtschaft), and anarchist communism. Participatory economics and inclusive democracy are arguably also anarchist.

Anarchist communism is simply one of the many anarchist tendencies (and the most prominent)


So how is this transitional stage different from what comes afterwards since both have no government and all this from anarchism? - talking about anarcho-communism

Usually, it would mean labour credits or rationing would temporarily be used until distribution according to needs is feasible.

[Lanky Wanker]

Im communist and support the Marxist ideas of a transitional society and all but was always afraid the ideas and socialism can be abused to gain power and keep us forewer in the "transitional" society. Now i heard about Anarcho-Communism which wants to go straight to the last stage of communism without a transitional society which i think is anarchism. I understand the difference between communism and anarcho-communism but i dont get the difference between anarcho-communism and anarchism.

Anarcho-communism is indeed a type of anarchy which has the goal of reaching a communist society through anarchy (as opposed to through a socialist transition with a state and all that kind of jazz). Like Kropotkin said, anarchy leads to communism and and communism leads to anarchy. However, the term 'anarchy' alone in its simplest definition just means no government, and therefore doesn't define any particular end goal (communism, collectivism, capitalism etc.) so a better way of wording it would be to say that anarcho-communism leads to communism, and communism (both libertarian/anarchist and authoritarian) leads to anarchy (no government rule).

[Bloodwerk]

Anarcho-communism is indeed a type of anarchy which has the goal of reaching a communist society through anarchy (as opposed to through a socialist transition with a state and all that kind of jazz). Like Kropotkin said, anarchy leads to communism and and communism leads to anarchy. However, the term 'anarchy' alone in its simplest definition just means no government, and therefore doesn't define any particular end goal (communism, collectivism, capitalism etc.) so a better way of wording it would be to say that anarcho-communism leads to communism, and communism (both libertarian/anarchist and authoritarian) leads to anarchy (no government rule).

Thanks for clearing that out for me. I wanted to ask exactly the same thing.

[Lanky Wanker]

Thanks for clearing that out for me. I wanted to ask exactly the same thing.

No problemo, sir. I always wanted to know the answer to this when I first heard about anarcho-communism but strangely enough I never found one.

[Искра]

Anarchist communists believe in a transitional stage, but reject centralised political authority as a legitimate way of achieving a proper transitions into communism.
Since when?

All I know is that anarchists do not know what exactlly is a transitional stage and they probably believe that Lenin was born before Marx.

[Smyg]

All I know is that anarchists do not know what exactlly is a transitional stage and they probably believe that Lenin was born before Marx.


Trust me, I know. It's kinda mandatory, Trotskyist past and all.

[Lanky Wanker]

Since when?

All I know is that anarchists do not know what exactlly is a transitional stage and they probably believe that Lenin was born before Marx.

Anarchy/communism won't be achieved over night, and any idiot who thinks so might as well just listen to their TV. There obviously will be SOME kind of transitional stage, aye? Also, to assume that all anarchists are thick as shit is like saying that all authoritarian communists are evil, back-stabbing dictators.

[The Insurrection]

Since when?

Since the first international.


All I know is that anarchists do not know what exactlly is a transitional stage and they probably believe that Lenin was born before Marx.What...? Maybe it's because the anarchists you hang out with aren't really up on their history and theory.

It's called collectivist anarchism. It's talked about by anarchist communists as far back as the international.