This chapter begins by laying out the major features of capitalism as analysed by anarchists historically, noting similarities and differences arising from the various tendencies within the libertarian milieu. Defining anarchist contributions to political economy through identification and analysis of wage labour/exploitation, private property, markets, class society, and states allows for an engagement with historical and contemporary voices within anarchism that highlights these analytical commonalities and differences. Next, the chapter examines the ideological structures and cultural mechanisms through which capitalism is naturalised and defended. Finally, this chapter will outline some anarchist objections to visionary thinking in political economy and the tendency for some in the milieu to think in pluralist terms when it comes to visionary proposals.

1. 1.

   M. Bookchin,The Ecology of Freedom: The Emergence and Dissolution of Hierarchy (Oakland: AK Press, 2005), 57.

2. 2.

   See afaq, ‘150 Years of Libertarian’,Anarchist Writers, December 11, 2008. Retrieved fromhttp://anarchism.pageabode.com/afaq/150-years-of-libertarian.

3. 3.

   J. A. Caporaso and D. P. Levine,Theories of Political Economy (New York: Cambridge University Press, 1992), 1.

4. 4.

   Rudolf Rocker,Anarcho-Syndicalism: Theory and Practice (Oakland: AK Press, 2004, Orig. 1938), 11.

5. 5.

   Mikhail Bakunin, ‘The Capitalist System’,Anarchy Archives, N.D. Retrieved fromhttp://dwardmac.pitzer.edu/anarchist_archives/bakunin/capstate.html.

6. 6.

   Uri Gordon, ‘Anarchism and Political Theory: Contemporary Problems’,The Anarchist Library, 2007. Retrieved fromhttp://theanarchistlibrary.org/HTML/Uri_Gordon__Anarchism_and_Political_Theory__Contemporary_Problems.html.

7. 7.

   See D. Shannon, A. Nocella, and J. Asimakopoulos, ‘Anarchist Economics: A Holistic View’, in D. Shannon, A. Nocella, and J. Asimakopoulos (Eds),The Accumulation of Freedom: Writings on Anarchist Economics (Oakland: AK Press, 2012), 11–39 and D. Shannon, ‘Economy’, in N. Jun, L. Williams, and B. Franks (Eds),Anarchism: A Conceptual Approach (New York: Routledge, Forthcoming).

8. 8.

   See Harry Kreisler’s interview with Chomsky here, ‘Noam Chomsky on the Original Meaning of the Word ‘Libertarian”,Archive, June 2002. Retrieved fromhttps://archive.org/details/NoamChomskyOnTheOriginalMeaningOflibertarian.

9. 9.

   For some interesting contemporary comments on Proudhon’s theory of exploitation, see e.g. Shawn P. Wilbur, ‘Property and Theft: Proudhon’s Theory of Exploitation’,Mutualism, August 18, 2015. Retrieved fromhttp://www.mutualism.info/2015/08/18/property-and-theft-proudhons-theory-of-exploitation/.

10. 10.

    P. Kropotkin,The Conquest of Bread (Oakland: AK Press, 2008), 55.

11. 11.

    A. Berkman,What is Communist Anarchism? (New York: Dover Books, 1972), 10.

12. 12.

    See, for example,http://mutualist.org or some modern examples of mutualist theory.

13. 13.

    Ibid.

14. 14.

    Iain McKay,An Anarchist FAQ: Volume 1 (Oakland: AK Press, 2008), 185.

15. 15.

    For example, differences in income; cultural tastes in music, art, food, and so on; in some cases access to empowering work or forms of managerial power.

16. 16.

    Errico Malatesta, ‘Anarchy’, in Daniel Guérin (Ed),No Gods No Masters: An Anthology of Anarchism (Oakland: AK Press, 2005), 356.

17. 17.

    E. Goldman, ‘What I Believe’,The Anarchist Library, July 19, 1908. Retrieved fromhttps://theanarchistlibrary.org/library/emma-goldman-what-i-believe.

18. 18.

    Emma Goldman, ‘Anarchism: What it Really Stands For’,Dwardmac.Pitzer, N.D. Retrieved fromhttp://dwardmac.pitzer.edu/Anarchist_archives/goldman/aando/anarchism.html.

19. 19.

    For an interesting anthropological look at this question, see Marshall Sahlins, ‘The Original Affluent Society’,Eco-action, N.D. Retrieved fromhttp://www.eco-action.org/dt/affluent.html.

20. 20.

    See, for example, Colin Ward,Anarchy in Action (London: Freedom Press, 2001, Orig. 1973); Peter Gelderloos,Anarchy Works (San Francisco: Ardent Press, 2010).

21. 21.

    See especially Diego Abad de Santillán, ‘After the Revolution’,Libcom. N.D. Retrieved fromhttps://libcom.org/history/after-revolution-economic-reconstruction-spain-diego-abad-de-santill%C3%A1n.

22. 22.

    D. Shannon (Ed),The End of the World As We Know It? Crisis, Resistance, and the Age of Austerity (Oakland: AK Press, 2014).

23. 23.

    See especially Max Stirner, ‘The Ego and His Own’, The Anarchist Library, 1845. Retrieved fromhttp://theanarchistlibrary.org/library/max-stirner-the-ego-and-his-own.

24. 24.

    Emma Goldman, ‘Anarchism: What it Really Stands For’,Dwardmac.Pitzer, N.D. Retrieved fromhttp://dwardmac.pitzer.edu/Anarchist_Archives/goldman/aando/anarchism.html.

25. 25.

    Vernon Richards (Ed),Errico Malatesta: His Life and Ideas (London: Freedom Press, 1984), 28–29.

26. 26.

    W. Price, ‘The Anarchist Method: An Experimental Approach to Post-Capitalist Economies’, in D. Shannon, A. Nocella, and J. Asimakopoulos (Eds),The Accumulation of Freedom: Writings on Anarchist Economics (Oakland: AK Press, 2012), 323.

27. 27.

    For a contrary read of Proudhon’s mutualism, as an ‘anarchist encounter’ rather than a set of political economic ideas, see Shawn P. Wilbur, ‘The Anatomy of the Encounter’,Libertarian Labyrinth, September 7, 2013. Retrieved fromhttp://libertarian-labyrinth.blogspot.com/2013/09/the-anatomy-of-encounter.html.

28. 28.

    Anarcho, ‘The Economics of Anarchy’,Anarchist Writers, September 4, 2009. Retrieved fromhttp://anarchism.pageabode.com/anarcho/the-economics-of-anarchy.

29. 29.

    See, for example,http://mutualist.blogspot.com/,http://libertarian-labyrinth.blogspot.com/,http://c4ss.org/,http://all-left.net/.

30. 30.

    James Guillaume, ‘1876: On Building the New Social Order’, in Sam Dolgoff (Ed),Bakunin on Anarchy (New York: Alfred A. Knopf, Inc., 1971), 361.

31. 31.

    Guillaume, Ibid., 159.

32. 32.

    See, for example, Michael Albert and Robin Hahnel,Looking Forward: Participatory Economics for the Twenty First Century (New York: South End Press, 1991); Chris Spannos (Ed),Real Utopia: Participatory Society for the 21st Century (Oakland: AK Press, 2008).

33. 33.

    Michael Albert, ‘Porous Borders of Anarchist Vision and Strategy’, in D. Shannon, A. Nocella, J. Asimakopoulos (Eds),The Accumulation of Freedom: Writings on Anarchist Economics (Oakland: AK Press), 327–343.

34. 34.

    E. Malatesta, ‘Towards Anarchism’,Marxists, circa 1930s. Retrieved October 7, 2017, fromhttps://www.marxists.org/archive/malatesta/1930s/xx/toanarchy.htm.

35. 35.

    P. Kropotkin,The Conquest of Bread (Oakland: AK Press, 2008), 195.

36. 36.

    Ibid., 194–195.

37. 37.

    Emma Goldman, ‘What I Believe’,Dwardmac.Pitzer, July 19, 1908. Retrieved fromhttp://dwardmac.pitzer.edu/Anarchist_Archives/goldman/whatibelieve.html.

38. 38.

    P. Kropotkin,The Conquest of Bread (Oakland: AK Press, 2008), 195.

Authors and Affiliations

1. Department of Sociology, Oxford College, Emory University, Atlanta, GA, USA

   Deric Shannon

Corresponding author

Correspondence toDeric Shannon.

Editors and Affiliations

1. Department of Politics and International Relations Goldsmiths, University of London, London, UK

   Carl Levy

2. Department of Politics, History and International Relations, Loughborough University, Loughborough, UK

   Matthew S. Adams

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