Anarchists did not try to carry out genocide against the…
““Anarchists did not try to carry out genocide against the Armenians in Turkey; they did not deliberately starve millions of Ukrainians; they did not create a system of death camps to kill Jews, gypsies, and Slavs in Europe; they did not fire-bomb scores of large German and Japanese cities and drop nuclear bombs on two of them; they did not carry out a ‘Great Leap Forward’ that killed scores of millions of Chinese; they did not attempt to kill everybody with any appreciable education in Cambodia; they did not launch one aggressive war after another; they did not implement trade sanctions that killed perhaps 500,000 Iraqi children. In debates between anarchists and statists, the burden of proof clearly should rest on those who place their trust in the state. Anarchy’s mayhem is wholly conjectural; the state’s mayhem is undeniably, factually horrendous.””
About This Quote
This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation.
Anarchists have not committed mass atrocities historically; the state’s actions have caused massive suffering, so responsibility for violence lies with the state.
In simple terms: Anarchists lack a record of mass killings; states have caused huge harm.
Key Takeaway
Question state power and its consequences.
Themes
politics
violence
state power
anarchism
responsibility
Mood
critical
analytical
Type
political
historical
When to use this quote
- policy debate
- human rights advocacy
- education
- media analysis
Key Concepts
historical accountability
ethical critique
power dynamics
Questions to Reflect On
- What evidence supports the claim of state culpability?
- How can we assess harm across different systems?
A Different Perspective
Anarchist movements can also cause harm; not all state actions are uniformly negative.