--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: An anarchist is someone who doesn't need…" description: "\"An anarchist is someone who doesn't need a cop to make him behave. Anarchism is voluntary cooperation with the right of secession. The individual or th..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/f19/ammon-hennacy-33177_anarchism_an-anarchist-is-someone-who-doesn-t-need_2973484.png" --- # An anarchist is someone who doesn't need a cop to make him… ![“An anarchist is someone who doesn't need a cop to make him behave. Anarchism is voluntary cooperation with the right of secession. The individual or the family or the small group as a unit instead of the State.” quote by Ammon Hennacy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/f19/ammon-hennacy-33177_anarchism_an-anarchist-is-someone-who-doesn-t-need_2973484.png) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/f19/ammon-hennacy-33177_anarchism_an-anarchist-is-someone-who-doesn-t-need_2973484.png) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/f19/ammon-hennacy-33177_anarchism_an-anarchist-is-someone-who-doesn-t-need_2973484.png) > “An anarchist is someone who doesn't need a cop to make him behave. Anarchism is voluntary cooperation with the right of secession. The individual or the family or the small group as a unit instead of the State.” [Ammon Hennacy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ammon-hennacy/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Anarchism emphasizes voluntary cooperation and self‑governance, rejecting imposed authority in favor of personal and small‑group autonomy. **In simple terms:** Freedom through self‑rule, not police control. Key Takeaway Choose cooperation over coercion. Themes freedom self‑governance voluntary cooperation individualism Mood defiant optimistic Type political philosophical When to use this quote - community projects - family decision‑making - small business management - mutual aid networks Key Concepts anarchism secession autonomy Questions to Reflect On - How can voluntary groups handle disputes without external enforcement? - What safeguards prevent abuse in a stateless system? A Different Perspective May overlook need for collective safety nets and conflict resolution. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Anarchism](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/anarchism/) [Anarchist](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/anarchist/) [Cooperation](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/cooperation/) [Cop](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/cop/) [Individual](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/individual/) [Secession](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/secession/) [Small Group](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/small-group/) [Small groups](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/small-groups/) ## Related quotes > [An anarchist is someone who doesn't need a cop to make him behave.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ammon-hennacy/an-anarchist-is-someone-who-doesn-t-need-a-cop-to-make-him-behave/) [Ammon Hennacy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ammon-hennacy/) > [Despite the popular idea of anarchists as violent men, Anarchism is the one non-violent social philosophy.… The function of the Anarchist is two-fold. By…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ammon-hennacy/despite-the-popular-idea-of-anarchists-as-violent-men-anarchism-is/) [Ammon Hennacy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ammon-hennacy/) > [The dictionary definition of a Christian is one who follows Christ; kind, kindly, Christ-like. Anarchism is voluntary cooperation for good, with the right of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ammon-hennacy/the-dictionary-definition-of-a-christian-is-one-who-follows-christ/) [Ammon Hennacy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ammon-hennacy/) > [Some non-communist parties and CPPCC members have, at CPPCC meetings or in their proposals, called for the enactment of a law against secession at…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jia-qinglin/some-non-communist-parties-and-cppcc-members-have-at-cppcc-meetings/) Jia Qinglin > [The virtue of small government is that the mistakes are small as well...If you want to leave a nation you think is corrupt, inefficient,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kirkpatrick-sale/the-virtue-of-small-government-is-that-the-mistakes-are-small-as-well/) [Kirkpatrick Sale](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kirkpatrick-sale/) > [The idea that 'if you don't like how things are going, you can just leave' is so ingrained in Texas, the secession movement is…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gail-collins/the-idea-that-if-you-don-t-like-how-things-are-going-you-can-just/) [Gail Collins](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gail-collins/) > [What happened in Pakistan was that people were told: You're all Muslim, so now you're a country. As we saw in 1971 with the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/salman-rushdie/what-happened-in-pakistan-was-that-people-were-told-you-re-all-muslim/) [Salman Rushdie](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/salman-rushdie/) > [In giving freedom to the slave, we assure freedom to the free.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/abraham-lincoln/in-giving-freedom-to-the-slave-we-assure-freedom-to-the-free/) [Abraham Lincoln](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/abraham-lincoln/) > [No state, upon its own mere motion, can lawfully get out of the Union. Plainly, the central idea of secession, is the essence of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/abraham-lincoln/no-state-upon-its-own-mere-motion-can-lawfully-get-out-of-the-union/) [Abraham Lincoln](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/abraham-lincoln/) > [If I could save the Union without freeing any slave, I would do it.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/abraham-lincoln/if-i-could-save-the-union-without-freeing-any-slave-i-would-do-it/) [Abraham Lincoln](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/abraham-lincoln/) > [If the Union was formed by accession of States then the Union may be dissolved by the secession of States.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/daniel-webster/if-the-union-was-formed-by-accession-of-states-then-the-union-may-be/) [Daniel Webster](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/daniel-webster/) > [My paramount object in this struggle is to save the Union, and is not either to save or to destroy slavery. If I could…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/abraham-lincoln/my-paramount-object-in-this-struggle-is-to-save-the-union-and-is-not/) [Abraham Lincoln](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/abraham-lincoln/) > [Up until the late unpleasantness of the Civil war, then, the right of secession was more or less taken for granted in many quarters,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-jefferson/up-until-the-late-unpleasantness-of-the-civil-war-then-the-right-of/) [Thomas Jefferson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-jefferson/) > [“I HAVE said somewhere that the three Presidentiads preceding 1861 show’d how the weakness and wickedness of rulers are just as eligible here in…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/walt-whitman/i-have-said-somewhere-that-the-three-presidentiads-preceding-1861/) [Walt Whitman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/walt-whitman/) > [“We may be rats in a maze as far as the Obama administration is concerned, but in Texas, we are rats with a firm…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tom-king/we-may-be-rats-in-a-maze-as-far-as-the-obama-administration-is/) [Tom King](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tom-king/) ## More by Ammon Hennacy > [Too many of us dissipate our energy by being 'for all good causes,' attending meetings and passing resolutions, organizing and presenting petitions — all…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ammon-hennacy/too-many-of-us-dissipate-our-energy-by-being-for-all-good-causes/) [Ammon Hennacy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ammon-hennacy/) > [Being a pacifist to save your own life is normal, being a pacifist for the lives of others is true pacifism.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ammon-hennacy/being-a-pacifist-to-save-your-own-life-is-normal-being-a-pacifist-for/) [Ammon Hennacy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ammon-hennacy/) > [“I wasn't disturbing the peace, I was disturbing the war”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ammon-hennacy/i-wasn-t-disturbing-the-peace-i-was-disturbing-the-war/) [Ammon Hennacy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ammon-hennacy/) > [Force is the weapon of the weak.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ammon-hennacy/force-is-the-weapon-of-the-weak/) [Ammon Hennacy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ammon-hennacy/) > [Love without courage and wisdom is sentimentality, as with the ordinary church member. Courage without love and wisdom is foolhardiness, as with the ordinary…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ammon-hennacy/love-without-courage-and-wisdom-is-sentimentality-as-with-the/) [Ammon Hennacy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ammon-hennacy/) > [The dictionary definition of a Christian is one who follows Christ; kind, kindly, Christ-like. Anarchism is voluntary cooperation for good, with the right of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ammon-hennacy/the-dictionary-definition-of-a-christian-is-one-who-follows-christ/) [Ammon Hennacy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ammon-hennacy/) > [Despite the popular idea of anarchists as violent men, Anarchism is the one non-violent social philosophy.… The function of the Anarchist is two-fold. By…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ammon-hennacy/despite-the-popular-idea-of-anarchists-as-violent-men-anarchism-is/) [Ammon Hennacy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ammon-hennacy/) > [A Christian Anarchist does not depend on bullets or ballots to achieve his ideal; he achieves that ideal daily by the One Man Revolution…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ammon-hennacy/a-christian-anarchist-does-not-depend-on-bullets-or-ballots-to/) [Ammon Hennacy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ammon-hennacy/) > [A pacifist between wars is like a vegetarian between meals.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ammon-hennacy/a-pacifist-between-wars-is-like-a-vegetarian-between-meals/) [Ammon Hennacy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ammon-hennacy/) > [We really can’t change the world. We really can’t change other people! The best we can do is to start a few thinking here…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ammon-hennacy/we-really-can-t-change-the-world-we-really-can-t-change-other-people/) [Ammon Hennacy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ammon-hennacy/) > [An anarchist is someone who doesn't need a cop to make him behave.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ammon-hennacy/an-anarchist-is-someone-who-doesn-t-need-a-cop-to-make-him-behave/) [Ammon Hennacy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ammon-hennacy/) > [I'm not trying to change the world. I'm trying to stop the world from changing me.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ammon-hennacy/i-m-not-trying-to-change-the-world-i-m-trying-to-stop-the-world-from/) [Ammon Hennacy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ammon-hennacy/) > [ A Christian anarchist has no business belonging to such a reactionary organization \[the Catholic Church\]. I do not believe in original sin, indulgences, the… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ammon-hennacy/a-christian-anarchist-has-no-business-belonging-to-such-a-reactionary/) [Ammon Hennacy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ammon-hennacy/) > [“Oh judge! Your damn laws! The good people don't need them, and the bad people don't obey them.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ammon-hennacy/oh-judge-your-damn-laws-the-good-people-don-t-need-them-and-the-bad/) [Ammon Hennacy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ammon-hennacy/) [Explore all 15 Ammon Hennacy quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ammon-hennacy/) ## More Anarchism quotes > [I know one thing: that you can do a lot of things but if you don't educate people into conscious anarchism it gets frittered…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/murray-bookchin/i-know-one-thing-that-you-can-do-a-lot-of-things-but-if-you-don-t/) [Murray Bookchin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/murray-bookchin/) > [In morals as in politics anarchy is not for the weak.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mary-mccarthy/in-morals-as-in-politics-anarchy-is-not-for-the-weak/) [Mary McCarthy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mary-mccarthy/) > [Anarchism is a definite intellectual current in the life of our times, whose adherents advocate the abolition of economic monopolies and of all political…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rudolf-rocker/anarchism-is-a-definite-intellectual-current-in-the-life-of-our-times/) [Rudolf Rocker](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rudolf-rocker/) > [“Do not all theists insist that there can be no morality, no justice, honesty or fidelity without the belief in a Divine Power? Based…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/emma-goldman/do-not-all-theists-insist-that-there-can-be-no-morality-no-justice/) [Emma Goldman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/emma-goldman/) > [“Does it follow that I reject all authority? Perish the thought. In the matter of boots, I defer to the authority of the bootmaker;…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mikhail-bakunin/does-it-follow-that-i-reject-all-authority-perish-the-thought-in-the/) [Mikhail Bakunin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mikhail-bakunin/) > [“An anarchist government somehow creates an impression in the hearts of citizens that no one cares.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/amit-kalantri/an-anarchist-government-somehow-creates-an-impression-in-the-hearts/) [Amit Kalantri](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/amit-kalantri/) > [Anarchism as a political philosophy seeks to dissolve all forms of authority and power, and if possible, wishes their complete abolition.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/peter-marshall/anarchism-as-a-political-philosophy-seeks-to-dissolve-all-forms-of/) [Peter Marshall](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/peter-marshall/) > [And now, what has Anarchism to say to all this, this bankruptcy of republicanism, this modern empire that has grown up on the ruins…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/voltairine-de-cleyre/and-now-what-has-anarchism-to-say-to-all-this-this-bankruptcy-of/) [Voltairine de Cleyre](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/voltairine-de-cleyre/) > [I see anarchism as the theoretical ideal to which we are all gradually evolving to a point where everybody can tell the truth to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-anton-wilson/i-see-anarchism-as-the-theoretical-ideal-to-which-we-are-all/) [Robert Anton Wilson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-anton-wilson/) > [Anarchists are opposed to violence; everyone knows that. The main plank of anarchism is the removal of violence from human relations. It is life…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/errico-malatesta/anarchists-are-opposed-to-violence-everyone-knows-that-the-main-plank/) [Errico Malatesta](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/errico-malatesta/) > [“They knew that their anarchism was the product of a very high civilization, of a complex diversified culture, of a stable economy and a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ursula-k-le-guin/they-knew-that-their-anarchism-was-the-product-of-a-very-high/) [Ursula K. Le Guin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ursula-k-le-guin/) > [Anarchism means voluntary co-operation instead of forced participation. It means harmony and order in place of interference and disorder.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alexander-berkman/anarchism-means-voluntary-co-operation-instead-of-forced/) [Alexander Berkman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alexander-berkman/) > [The Anarchists are simply unterrified Jeffersonian Democrats. They believe that 'the best government is that which governs least,' and that which governs least is…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/benjamin-tucker/the-anarchists-are-simply-unterrified-jeffersonian-democrats-they/) [Benjamin Tucker](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/benjamin-tucker/) > [We must therefore turn to history for enlightenment; here we find that none of the proclaimed anarchist groups correspond to the libertarian position, that…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/murray-rothbard/we-must-therefore-turn-to-history-for-enlightenment-here-we-find-that/) [Murray Rothbard](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/murray-rothbard/) > [“I became an anarchist very early on. Anarchism, in my mind, meant taking democracy seriously and organizing prefiguratively- that is, in a way that…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/andrej-gruba-i/i-became-an-anarchist-very-early-on-anarchism-in-my-mind-meant-taking/) [Andrej Grubačić](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/andrej-gruba-i/) [Browse all 388 Anarchism quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/anarchism/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "An anarchist is someone who doesn't need a cop to make him behave. Anarchism is voluntary cooperation with the right of secession. 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