What makes a society communist or anarchist?

[Arakir]

What are the defining characteristics of an anarchist society? What is the definition of a state? What are the defining characteristics of a society where a state is in place? Also, is direct democracy considered to be anarchistic?

What are the defining characteristics of a communist society? Is a communist society simply one where there are no social classes or private means of production? In a communist society, will there be any means of rewarding people for their work?

[kasama-rl]

For maoist communists, the overthrow of the "four alls" is the basic characterization of a future communism.

The "four alls" are drawn from a statement of Marx, which we Maoists have raised as a view of the goals of the communist revolution.

To put our goals (or our view of the game) in one place, the Four Alls are:

1) the abolition of class distinctions generally,
2) the abolition of all the relations of production on which they rest,
3) the abolition of all the social relations that correspond to these relations of production, and
4) the revolutionising of all the ideas that result from these social relations.

This is quite a sweeping (even breath taking) vision of what we communists are seeking to accomplish globally in this epoch.


http://kasamaproject.org/topics/strategy/4146-78communist-earthquake-what-is-the-game-about


http://kasamaproject.org/theory/657-89the-4-alls-capsule-of-communist-goals-or-discardable-jargon

[DDR]

What are the defining characteristics of an anarchist society?
A society where there's no state.


What is the definition of a state?
Appart from the monopoly of violence is also the tool of dominance of one class over the others, by judicial, cultural, represive, etc. means.


What are the defining characteristics of a society where a state is in place?

That depends of the historical period, ruling class, form of goverment, etc.


Also, is direct democracy considered to be anarchistic?

No, Switzerland has plenty of referemdums, open list, etc. yet it isn't a anarchis society.


What are the defining characteristics of a communist society?

A classless, stateless society.


Is a communist society simply one where there are no social classes or private means of production?

No, there isn't either of those, nor state.


In a communist society, will there be any means of rewarding people for their work?

IMO reward-punishment is probably the worst motive to do stuff, but since there's no money and there's plenty for everyone why would you like to get more?

[Fourth Internationalist]

"What are the defining characteristics of an anarchist society?"

Same as a communist society.

"What is the definition of a state?"

An institution by which a class rules over the others.

"What are the defining characteristics of a society where a state is in place?"

There is a ruling class.

"Also, is direct democracy considered to be anarchistic?"

Not neccesarily, no.

"What are the defining characteristics of a communist society?"

Global, statless, classesless, socialist society.

"Is a communist society simply one where there are no social classes or private means of production?"

Not simply, but what you mentioned is a characteristic.

"In a communist society, will there be any means of rewarding people for their work?"

Yes, you get all the resources and goods to live a happy and joyful life.

This was typed from my phone so I could not give very deatiled answers.

[Skyhilist]

Is seems as though your first two responses have come from Maoists. I'm an anarchist, so perhaps I can give you some more perspective in addition to what you've already heard.


What are the defining characteristics of an anarchist society?

No state, and therefore (as anarchists see it), no illegitimate authority. Don't be confused by this though. Some who call themselves "anarcho"-capitalists will claim to be anarchists because they don't support the existence of a state. These people are not actually anarchists, because under such a system rich business owners controlling the means of production would basically act as a state.


What is the definition of a state?

A centralized government or means of controlling society.


What are the defining characteristics of a society where a state is in place?

Every official country in the world has a state. To put it as simply as possible, some people have more authority than other people and these people are within a centralized form of government that dictates how society runs.


Also, is direct democracy considered to be anarchistic?

Not necessarily. Many anarchists support direct democracy combined with federalism as part of an anarchist system, however being a direct democracy doesn't automatically make a society anarchist.


What are the defining characteristics of a communist society?

A classless society that seeks to abolsih private property (e.g. ownership of the ground) while respecting personal property (e.g. your house). Either the workers (also know as "proletarians") themselves or a state that's supposed to represent the interests of the workers control the means of production.


Is a communist society simply one where there are no social classes or private means of production?

Also no private property. Most will also say that there is no state or at least a state that isn't very authoritarian. Leninists support communism as the end goal of socialism, and refer to it as a society where the state can "whither away" after capitalist resistance fades. Anarcho-communists on the other hand support the direct abolition of the state and establishment of communism. Another prominent trend is left communism. They're pretty diverse and might define "communism" slightly differently even amongst themselves, so I'll let them speak for themselves here.


In a communist society, will there be any means of rewarding people for their work?

There are numerous ways work is recognized. For example, one goal that many communists have is to liberate humans from undesirable work as much as possible. So if you take work off of your comrades hand via crafty new innovation or doing work yourself you'll likely be very well liked, and vise versa if you do the opposite. Different types of communism also have different forms of providing "rewards" for work. Under gift economics for example the idea being generous to others makes them more likely to share with you, and vise versa if you are greedy. In the end what it boils down to is trying to provide a situation that is a "win-win" for everyone while also providing incentive to work using mechanisms such as the ones I've mentioned as well as a variety of others that might get mentioned in this thread. Really though, incentive is built into the system because so long as you work to your ability you have all the resources that you need.

[newdayrising]

That's no dichotomy between an "anarchist society" and a "communist society".
Communism is a stateless, classless society.
Some communists are Anarchists, because they come from the Anarchist tradition.
Some communists are Marxists, because they come from the Marxist tradition.

The difference between the two is mainly on the "how to get there" department. Most Anarchists reject the notion of a transitional phase where there's a state run by the working class, while most Marxists believe it to be necessary in one form or another.

Other Anarchists however, aren't communists, but in favor of some kind of stateless market echonomy, mutualism and the like or even people with no particular politics whatsoever who follow what they believe to be an anarchist lifestyle.
And many so called Marxists aren't communists either, just people who use Marxian categories to defend bourgeois projects.