• PM_ME_VINTAGE_30S [he/him]@anarchist.nexus
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      14 hours ago

      Not to be divisive, but…not completely. I would argue that anarchism is more comprehensive in its desire to eliminate hierarchy and authority than socialism. Anarchists are socialists, but most anarchists want to go further than socialism, and we all want to do it in a way that respects means-ends unity, i.e. the means we use to achieve our ends should resemble those ends.

      For this reason, even though anarchists and other socialists both want to abolish capitalism and put workers in control of the means of production…we have wildly different visions for what that looks like. We share a common language primarily, and many common values (e.g. egalitarianism, anti-racism, anti-fascism, feminism, anti-LGBTphobia, internationalism, anti-imperialism, anti-capitalism), but the theoretical and practical divide between anarchism and Marxism is fundamental.

      That being said, non-anarchist socialists are absolutely leftists. No question. We do share enough commonality to share that label. But we do not have exactly the same goals.

      • agamemnonymous@sh.itjust.works
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        1 hour ago

        Anarchists are socialists, but most anarchists want to go further than socialism

        I’d argue that’s most socialists. Ideologically I’m an anarcho-communist, if I could snap my fingers and instantly give everyone class consciousness and a stable anarch-communist society, I would. But I can’t, so I think in terms of steps to get there. Shifting the perspectives of hundreds of millions of people takes time and effort.

        Right now, the next obvious step to me is market socialism. Eventually the market should yield to spontaneous mutual aid, but that will take time. Consequentially, I presently advocate Democratic Socialism. Once we have that, I’ll take another step towards anarchy, rinse and repeat.

        we all want to do it in a way that respects means-ends unity, i.e. the means we use to achieve our ends should resemble those ends.

        I think this perspective underestimates the strength of the forces opposing us. Not just the actual individuals deliberately working against us, but also the alienated and propagandized working class.