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Anarchism Arguments For Against Meltzer 1
ANARCHISM
ARGUMENTS FOR & AGAINST

Albert Meltzer
/

AK

PRESS

© Copyright: 1996 Albert Meltzer

Anarchism: Arguments For and Against.
ISBN 1-87317619 8
Library of Congress Cataloguing-in-Publication Data
A catalogue record for this title is available from the

Library of Congress.

British Library Cataloguing in Publication Data
A catalogue record for this title is available from the
British Library.

1st published, Cienfuegos, Sanday, Orkneys 1981
2nd, Cie!lfuegos, Minneapolis (U.S.)
3rd, Belfast Anarchists
4th, ASP, Doncaster .r
5th revised edition, 1993
6th second revised edition, 1996 by:
AKPress

AKPress

P.O. Box 1 2766

P.O. Box 40682

Edinburgh, Scotland

San Francisco, CA

EH89YE

94140-0682

Design and layout work donated by Freddie Baer.
Proofread by Aimee Larsen

Table of Contents

ALBERT MELTZER

1

Stuart Christie
ANARCHISM: ARGUMENTS FOR AND AGAINST

4

Introduction

4

/The Historical Background to Anarchism

4

Inalienable Tenets of Anarchism

12
12

That Mankind is Born Free

If Mankind is Born Free, Slavery is Murder _12
As Slavery is Murder, so Property is Theft

__

If Property is Theft, Government is Tyranny

_

13
13

If Government is Tyranny, Anarchy is Liberty _13
The Class Struggle
Organisation and Anarchism

14
�-17

______

The Role of an Anarchist in an
Authoritarian Society

19

Workers Control

20

The Anarchist as Rebel

21

Nonviolence

24

Immediate Aims of the Anarchist

25

Workers' Self-Defence

28

How Will a Revolution Come About?

29

Bringing About the New Society

31

W hat Constitutes an Authoritarian Society?_ 31
Can One Do Without the State?

33

The Money Myth

35

The Myth of Taxation

37

The Effect of ImJ?1igration
The Abolition of'lhe Wage and

38

Monetary Systems

38

Community Control

41

Need There be a Transitional Society?

42

A Free Society

43

The Employers Do Not Give Work

44

Objections to Anarchism

45

Leadership

47

Is Anarchism Compatible with Capitalism? _ 40

Can Public Opinion Itself be
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