Anarchism and its Classical Liberalism roots
Oct 30 2009 15:57
I've been reading this interview with Noam Chomsky, where he was asked the following--
1. What are the intellectual roots of anarchist thought, and what movements have developed and animated it throughout history?
and his response:
Chomsky: The currents of anarchist thought that interest me (there are many) have their roots, I think, in the Enlightenment and classical liberalism, and even trace back in interesting ways to the scientific revolution of the 17th century, including aspects that are often considered reactionary, like Cartesian rationalism.
Do you think anarchism (or some currents of it) has its roots in classical liberalism?
If so, can you please demonstrate and elaborate how?
papaspace
From the limited knowledge I know about classical Liberalism, the thinkers of that age were really nothing like the Liberals (or "Libertarians" in the US) of modern times. They had really radical views that were not at all compatible with the aristocracy of the time *or* the plutocracy of today. Adam Smith's views were pretty much the opposite of how his name is used currently while Ricardo could possibly be called the grandfather of socialism based on the LTV.
So in a sense Anarchism does have its (very initial) roots there in regards to how much the original liberals were radicals against their ruling elite.