The Anthropology of Anarchy

Bibliographic Data

ID5849641
AuthorsCharles Macdonald (Senior Fellow (Directeur de Recherche) in the Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique and a researcher at the Centre for Social and Bioanthropological Studies (Adaptabilité Biologique et Culturelle -UMR 6578) of the University of Aix-Marseille II, corresponding author)
Year2012
Volume6
Issue1
Pages49-66
Publication date2012-01-01
Peer ReviewedYes
Open AccessYes
TypeARTICLE
VenueIndian Journal of Human Development (JOURNAL)
Journal identifiersISSN: 0973-7030 • E-ISSN: 2456-480X
PublisherSAGE Publishing (PUBLISHER • US)
DOI10.1177/0973703020120103
OpenAlexW2104419933
LanguageEN
Citations received6
References cited21

Anarchy as a concept and anarchism as a theory are examined in relation to their bearing on anthropological theory. After reviewing the historical aspects of th relationship between anarchism and anthropology, and after looking at some anthropological literature with an anarchist orientation, the paper analyses actual instances of anarchic communities and outlines their epistemological consequences. Important questions like how do people produce equality and how do they manage to cohere in an anarchic communitty are raised and addressed in the the next section. Three main topics are discussed regarding these questions ; values (such as compassion), personal relations (marked by immediacy and intense familiarity, and sharing as opposed to reciprocity).Lasltly, a crucial factor is examined : the importance of weak ties and their possible evolutionary role

Compassion · Immediacy · Reciprocity · Anarchism and Radical Politics · Italian Fascism and Post-war Society · Japanese History and Culture

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