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ECOLOGY OF EVERYDAY LIFE
love and goes on independently of the material advantages that
association provides, so much so that in order to satisfy it one often
faces all kinds of suffering and even death.5
Unlike classical liberal theory that portrays competition for material advantage
as a primary human motivation, social anarchism identifies competition as but
one human proclivity nurtured by hierarchical structures themselves. Further,
social anarchism embraces a dialectical understanding of the complementary
relationship between individuals and society.
For social anarchists, it is not human nature’ in general, but hierarchy in
particular, that inhibits the potential for true social maturity. It is social hierarchy
hat facilitates he emergence and perpetuation of anti-social behaviors such as
greed, competition, alienation, and violence. In this way, social anarchism is
not only a philosophy of human ‘nature’; it is also a philosophy of social
structure. Ironically, social anarchists, parodied as lovers of chaos’, have often
been extremely attentive to structure, for hey realize that particular forms of
structure eiher inhibit or nurture positive human potential for cooperation and
sociality. For Goldman, he challenge for social anarchists is to create structures
hat are free of ‘rule over’, authority or hierarchy; to create structures that will
restore to humanity he possibility for mature and liberatory association:
...government, wih its unjust, arbitrary, repressive measures, must be
done away wih. Anarchism proposes to rescue he self-respect and
independence of he individual from all restraint and invasion by
authority. Only in freedom can [human beings] grow to their full
stature. Only in freedom will [we] learn to think and move, and give
he very best of ourselves. Only in freedom will we realize he true
force of he social bonds which knit us togeher, and which are he
true foundation of a normal social life.5
Indeed, social anarchists do not embrace a naively optimistic view of human
nature. In fact, hey often maintain a keen and sober understanding of he
potential for individuals to abuse power when placed in positions of authority.
If social anarchists are optimistic about anything, it is about he potential to
create modes of social organization hat bring out he very best in humanity.
For social anarchism, it is not hat people are always good or altruistic. Rather,
social anarchism appreciates he fact that centralized and hierarchical structures
allow hose who are anti-social to make everyone else’s lives miserable.
Desire and structure, hen, work togeher dialectically so hat he creation
of socially desirable structures allows for he constructive expression of desire.
It is out of social empahy and rationality, impulses that cultivate a movement
toward he joy and freedom of he collective, that social anarchists create
structures hat allow he most freedom and expression to he widest number of