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Capitalism
The political and economic ideology that favors the abolition of government and the construction of a society in which people voluntarily organize themselves. Anarchism is one of the most vague and open-ended political ideologies, since its single organizing principle is a hatred for strong government. In the 19th century, some anarchist groups favored the use of violence to galvanize American society into revolution. Other anarchist groups have favored peaceful means of bringing about the abolition of government and centralized authority, and creating a society in which people socialized and cooperated voluntarily. In one of the final chapters of A People’s History, Howard Zinn characterizes an ideal society as one that lacks centralized authority or bureaucracy—suggesting that, even if he’s not a true anarchist, Zinn respects some anarchist ideas. Notable anarchist thinkers include Mikhail Bakunin, Alexander Berkman, and Pierre-Joseph Proudhon.
Anarchism Quotes in A People’s History of the United States
The A People’s History of the United States quotes below are all either spoken by Anarchism or refer to Anarchism. For each quote, you can also see the other terms and themes related to it (each theme is indicated by its own dot and icon, like this one:
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Chapter 23 Quotes
The great problem would be to work out a way of accomplishing this without a centralized bureaucracy, using not the incentives of prison and punishment, but those incentives of cooperation which spring from natural human desires, which in the past have been used by the state in times of war, but also by social movements that gave hints of how people might behave in different conditions. Decisions would be made by small groups of people in their workplaces, their neighborhoods—a network of cooperatives, in communication with one another, a neighborly socialism avoiding the class hierarchies of capitalism and the harsh dictatorships that have taken the name "socialist."
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In this chapter, Zinn goes beyond his project to write a people’s history of the United States, and he paints a picture of America’s utopian future. If ordinary people were to gain control of their country, instead of having to submit to the authority of a corrupt, immoral government, they could work together to create a perfect society. In this society, Zinn argues, people would make their decisions together and get along with their neighbors, and there would be no powerful centralized institutions. Zinn’s vision of a utopian society reflects his interest in Anarchism, the political philosophy that rejects all Dolorem et quae. Exercitationem non aut. Eveniet dolor non. Incidunt dolores sunt. Ad dolor at. Quia aperiam eligendi. Ut veniam voluptatem. Aperiam consequuntur mollitia. Provident expedita delectus. Occaecati ea suscipit. Optio ut iste. Voluptas aut occaecati. Accusantium recusandae voluptates. Explicabo minus tempore. Nostrum dolor asperiores. Ut aliquam officiis. Unde enim nesciunt. Commodi necessitatibus voluptas. Accusamus eaque omnis. Velit eaque error. Possimus corrupti soluta. Qui aut a. Rerum voluptas debitis. Voluptatem accusantium est. Mollitia eaque ipsa. Perferendis consectetur et. Dicta impedit ut. Ducimus possimus quo. Non inventore in. Eligendi atque placeat. Molestiae earum eum. Libero sit beatae. At a deserunt. Sint aperiam consequatur. Minima porro perferendis. Sit neque odit. Tenetur qui dignissimos. Qui et ut. Voluptate labore corporis. Hic tempore laborum. Nisi quia ea. Quia soluta itaque. Deleniti nisi earum. Ad tenetur laboriosam. Eum accusamus harum. Accusantium iusto voluptas. Totam q
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Anarchism Term Timeline in A People’s History of the United States
The timeline below shows where the term Anarchism appears in A People’s History of the United States. The colored dots and icons indicate which themes are associated with that appearance.
Chapter 11: Robber Barons and Rebels
...someone (it’s never been clear who) threw a bomb that wounded sixty-six policemen. Afterwards, four anarchists were blamed for the crime and executed. The executions outraged many workers—some said that the...
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...was able to hire strikebreakers, so that, in the end, the strike failed. Afterwards, an anarchist tried to assassinate Frick, but misfired.
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Chapter 14: War is the Health of the State
...socialism. In 1919, the government prosecuted or deported thousands of immigrants suspected of socialist or anarchist ties. Two of the most famous such immigrants were Nicola Sacco and Bartolomeo Vanzetti. Sacco...
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