--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: The best way to think about anarchism is…" description: "\"The best way to think about anarchism is as a combination of three levels. On the one hand, the sort of instinctual revulsion against forms of inequali..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/f4c/david-graeber-4667_anarchism_the-best-way-to-think-about-anarchism-is_2294322.png" --- # The best way to think about anarchism is as a combination… ![“The best way to think about anarchism is as a combination of three levels. On the one hand, the sort of instinctual revulsion against forms of inequality in power; on the other hand, a reappraisal of what one is already doing in egalitarian relations; and then the projection of these principles on…” quote by David Graeber](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/f4c/david-graeber-4667_anarchism_the-best-way-to-think-about-anarchism-is_2294322.png) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/f4c/david-graeber-4667_anarchism_the-best-way-to-think-about-anarchism-is_2294322.png) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/f4c/david-graeber-4667_anarchism_the-best-way-to-think-about-anarchism-is_2294322.png) > “The best way to think about anarchism is as a combination of three levels. On the one hand, the sort of instinctual revulsion against forms of inequality in power; on the other hand, a reappraisal of what one is already doing in egalitarian relations; and then the projection of these principles on all sorts of relations.” [David Graeber](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-graeber/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Anarchism blends instinctive opposition to power inequality, reflection on personal egalitarian actions, and extending those values to all relationships. **In simple terms:** Anarchism mixes dislike of inequality, personal fairness, and applying it everywhere. Key Takeaway Recognize and expand egalitarian instincts across all interactions. Themes equality power personal ethics social theory Mood thoughtful critical Type philosophical analytical When to use this quote - activism - community building - relationship dynamics - policy design Key Concepts anarchism human nature ethical extension Questions to Reflect On - How can you apply egalitarian principles in your daily life? - What challenges arise when extending personal fairness to larger systems? A Different Perspective May overlook practical constraints of existing hierarchies. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Anarchism](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/anarchism/) [Anarchism Combination](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/anarchism-combination-5403337/) [Best way](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/best-way/) [Combination](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/combination/) [Doing Egalitarian](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/doing-egalitarian-5403339/) [Egalitarian](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/egalitarian/) [Egalitarian Relations](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/egalitarian-relations-5403338/) [Form](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/form/) [Hands](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/hands/) [Inequality](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/inequality/) [Levels](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/levels/) [Principles](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/principles/) [Projection](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/projection/) [Relation](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/relation/) [Revulsion](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/revulsion/) [Think Anarchism](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/think-anarchism-1297681/) [Thinking](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/thinking/) [Three](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/three/) [Way](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/way/) ## Related quotes > [“No society can last in conditions of anarchy. This is self-evident and I am in full agreement. But my aim is not the establishment…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jacques-ellul/no-society-can-last-in-conditions-of-anarchy-this-is-self-evident-and/) [Jacques Ellul](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jacques-ellul/) > [“But the question is, historically, part of the group that you're a part of - whether it's racial, gender, religious, whatever - how has…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jacob-applebaum/but-the-question-is-historically-part-of-the-group-that-you-re-a-part/) [Jacob Applebaum](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jacob-applebaum/) > [I don't think anarchism consists of sitting down and saying let's form a collective. I don't think it consists of saying we're all anarchists:…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/murray-bookchin/i-don-t-think-anarchism-consists-of-sitting-down-and-saying-let-s/) [Murray Bookchin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/murray-bookchin/) > [“The graduated tax is a confiscatory tax. Its effect, and to a large extent its aim, is to bring down all men to a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/barry-m-goldwater/the-graduated-tax-is-a-confiscatory-tax-its-effect-and-to-a-large/) [Barry M. Goldwater](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/barry-m-goldwater/) > [The egalitarian doctrine is manifestly contrary to all the facts established by biology and by history. Only fanatical partisans of this theory can contend…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ludwig-von-mises/the-egalitarian-doctrine-is-manifestly-contrary-to-all-the-facts/) [Ludwig von Mises](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ludwig-von-mises/) > [“The egalitarian passion is a perversion of the critical sense: atrophy of the faculty of discrimination.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nicolas-gomez-davila/the-egalitarian-passion-is-a-perversion-of-the-critical-sense-atrophy/) [Nicolás Gómez Dávila](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nicolas-gomez-davila/) > [Scratch an egalitarian, and you will inevitably find a statist.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/scratch-an-egalitarian-and-you-will-inevitably-find-a-statist/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [“Egalitarian societies strangle the imagination without even satisfying envy.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nicolas-gomez-davila/egalitarian-societies-strangle-the-imagination-without-even/) [Nicolás Gómez Dávila](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nicolas-gomez-davila/) > [Egalitarian policies are the best way to unite and empower people, and are also a necessary counterweight to the sometimes detrimental influence of market…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/johanna-siguroardottir/egalitarian-policies-are-the-best-way-to-unite-and-empower-people-and/) [Johanna Siguroardottir](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/johanna-siguroardottir/) > [For capitalism flourishes best in a mobile and egalitarian society](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/francis-fukuyama/for-capitalism-flourishes-best-in-a-mobile-and-egalitarian-society/) [Francis Fukuyama](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/francis-fukuyama/) > [“I do believe that the emphasis on egalitarian and respectful sex—purged of any expressions of power, aggression, and transgression—is antithetical to erotic desire for…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/esther-perel/i-do-believe-that-the-emphasis-on-egalitarian-and-respectful-sex/) [Esther Perel](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/esther-perel/) > [“the egalitarian lifestyles of hunter-gatherers exist because the individuals care a lot about status. Individuals in these societies end up roughly equal because everyone…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/paul-bloom/the-egalitarian-lifestyles-of-hunter-gatherers-exist-because-the/) [Paul Bloom](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/paul-bloom/) > [Money is the most egalitarian force in society. It confers power on whoever holds it.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/roger-starr/money-is-the-most-egalitarian-force-in-society-it-confers-power-on/) [Roger Starr](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/roger-starr/) > [Like many works of literature, Hollywood chooses for its villains people who strive for social dominance through the pursuit of wealth, prestige, and power.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alex-tabarrok/like-many-works-of-literature-hollywood-chooses-for-its-villains/) [Alex Tabarrok](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alex-tabarrok/) > [We are a democratic, egalitarian people who spend our days desperately trying to climb over each other.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/we-are-a-democratic-egalitarian-people-who-spend-our-days-desperately/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) ## More by David Graeber > [People don't have an ongoing relation unless it's a form of debt because everything is an exchange, so ongoing relationships are incomplete exchanges, and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-graeber/people-don-t-have-an-ongoing-relation-unless-it-s-a-form-of-debt/) [David Graeber](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-graeber/) > [I would like, then, to end by putting in a good word for the non-industrious poor. At least they aren’t hurting anyone. Insofar as…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-graeber/i-would-like-then-to-end-by-putting-in-a-good-word-for-the-non/) [David Graeber](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-graeber/) > [“But if Smith was right, and gold and silver became money through the natural workings of the market completely independently of governments, then wouldn't…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-graeber/but-if-smith-was-right-and-gold-and-silver-became-money-through-the/) [David Graeber](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-graeber/) > [“A revolution on a world scale will take a very long time. But it is also possible to recognize that it is already starting…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-graeber/a-revolution-on-a-world-scale-will-take-a-very-long-time-but-it-is/) [David Graeber](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-graeber/) > [“money has no essence. It's not "really" anything; therefore, its nature has always been and presumably always will be a matter of political conten­tion.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-graeber/money-has-no-essence-it-s-not-really-anything-therefore-its-nature/) [David Graeber](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-graeber/) > [We don't live in a capitalist totality. Capitalism couldn't survive as a totality anyway. We live in this complex system and we already live…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-graeber/we-don-t-live-in-a-capitalist-totality-capitalism-couldn-t-survive-as/) [David Graeber](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-graeber/) > [“About the only thing we can imagine is catastrophe.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-graeber/about-the-only-thing-we-can-imagine-is-catastrophe/) [David Graeber](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-graeber/) > [The working poor are the people suffering out subprime mortgages and fatal loans and more and more of our money - you know, capitalism…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-graeber/the-working-poor-are-the-people-suffering-out-subprime-mortgages-and/) [David Graeber](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-graeber/) > [“Solitary pleasures will always exist, but for most human beings, the most pleasurable activities almost always involve sharing something: music, food, liquor, drugs, gossip,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-graeber/solitary-pleasures-will-always-exist-but-for-most-human-beings-the/) [David Graeber](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-graeber/) > [“IMF is really designed to protect creditors not debtors.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-graeber/imf-is-really-designed-to-protect-creditors-not-debtors/) [David Graeber](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-graeber/) > [“The criminalization of debt, then, was the criminalization of the very basis of human society. It cannot be overemphasized that in a small community,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-graeber/the-criminalization-of-debt-then-was-the-criminalization-of-the-very/) [David Graeber](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-graeber/) > [If you imagine that everything is an exchange, then we're supposed to just transact and walk away. If we haven't walked away and we…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-graeber/if-you-imagine-that-everything-is-an-exchange-then-we-re-supposed-to/) [David Graeber](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-graeber/) > [“As Pierre Bourdieu was later to point out in describing a similar economy of trust in contemporary Algeria: it’s quite possible to turn honor…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-graeber/as-pierre-bourdieu-was-later-to-point-out-in-describing-a-similar/) [David Graeber](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-graeber/) > [ \[A\] great embarrassing fact… haunts all attempts to represent the market as the highest form of human freedom: that historically, impersonal, commercial markets originate… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-graeber/a-great-embarrassing-fact-haunts-all-attempts-to-represent-the-market/) [David Graeber](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-graeber/) > [“As the events of 2011 reveal, the age of revolutions is by no means over. The human imagination stubbornly refuses to die. And the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-graeber/as-the-events-of-2011-reveal-the-age-of-revolutions-is-by-no-means/) [David Graeber](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-graeber/) [Explore all 106 David Graeber quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-graeber/) ## 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": "The best way to think about anarchism is as a combination of three levels. 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