--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: The Anarchists' uncompromising rejection…" description: "\"The Anarchists' uncompromising rejection of the State, the subject of Marxian sneers for its \"absolutist\" and \"Utopian\" character, makes much better se..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/be2/dwight-macdonald-41117_anarchist_the-anarchists-uncompromising-rejection_414692.jpg" --- # The Anarchists' uncompromising rejection of the State, the… ![“The Anarchists' uncompromising rejection of the State, the subject of Marxian sneers for its "absolutist" and "Utopian" character, makes much better sense in the present era than the Marxist relativist and historical approach. The pacifists also seem to be more realistic than the Marxist both in…” quote by Dwight Macdonald](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/be2/dwight-macdonald-41117_anarchist_the-anarchists-uncompromising-rejection_414692.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/be2/dwight-macdonald-41117_anarchist_the-anarchists-uncompromising-rejection_414692.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/be2/dwight-macdonald-41117_anarchist_the-anarchists-uncompromising-rejection_414692.jpg) > “The Anarchists' uncompromising rejection of the State, the subject of Marxian sneers for its "absolutist" and "Utopian" character, makes much better sense in the present era than the Marxist relativist and historical approach. The pacifists also seem to be more realistic than the Marxist both in their understanding of modern war and also in their attempts to do something about it.” [Dwight Macdonald](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dwight-macdonald/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Anarchism’s clear rejection of state power appears more relevant today, while pacifism offers realistic war critiques. **In simple terms:** Anarchism vs. pacifism relevance today. Key Takeaway Consider anarchist ideas and pacifist realism. Themes politics war ideology Mood critical analytical Type political philosophical When to use this quote - Activism - policy debate - peace movements - academic study Key Concepts Anarchism pacifism marxism Questions to Reflect On - Can pacifism achieve lasting peace? - What are the limits of anarchist theory? A Different Perspective Anarchism may overlook practical governance challenges. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Anarchist](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/anarchist/) [Approach](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/approach/) [Character](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/character/) [Eras](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/eras/) [Historical](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/historical/) [Marxist](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/marxist/) [Modern war](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/modern-war/) [Pacifist](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/pacifist/) [Rejection](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/rejection/) [Understanding](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/understanding/) [Utopian](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/utopian/) [War](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/war/) ## Related quotes > [But in modern war you will die like a dog for no good reason.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ernest-hemingway/but-in-modern-war-you-will-die-like-a-dog-for-no-good-reason/) [Ernest Hemingway](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ernest-hemingway/) > [It's hard to believe that these self-centered people have nuclear weapons that they can fire at any moment. Even modern wars are fought like…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jay-roach/it-s-hard-to-believe-that-these-self-centered-people-have-nuclear/) [Jay Roach](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jay-roach/) > [Even modern wars are fought like revenge tales from some petty grievance.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jay-roach/even-modern-wars-are-fought-like-revenge-tales-from-some-petty/) [Jay Roach](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jay-roach/) > [The modern wars are also omnipresent in our electronic media - to be cynical about it, we now have 24 hours of non-stop bloodshed…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dave-abrams/the-modern-wars-are-also-omnipresent-in-our-electronic-media-to-be/) [Dave Abrams](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dave-abrams/) > [Only the man who disciplines himself strictly can stand for long the terrific pace of modern war.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-lyon-mackenzie-king/only-the-man-who-disciplines-himself-strictly-can-stand-for-long-the/) [William Lyon Mackenzie King](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-lyon-mackenzie-king/) > [“How would you describe the difference between modern war and modern industry—between, say, bombing and strip mining, or between chemical warfare and chemical manufacturing?…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wendell-berry/how-would-you-describe-the-difference-between-modern-war-and-modern-2/) [Wendell Berry](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/wendell-berry/) > [“The effect of modern war is to eliminate retrogressive types, while sparing the technocracy and increasing its hold upon public affairs.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/c-s-lewis-2/the-effect-of-modern-war-is-to-eliminate-retrogressive-types-while/) [C.S. Lewis](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/c-s-lewis-2/) > [Their notion of training was to march the men up and down in parades and reviews: these were nice to look at and gave…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/orlando-figes/their-notion-of-training-was-to-march-the-men-up-and-down-in-parades/) [Orlando Figes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/orlando-figes/) > [If you want to go anywhere in modern war, in the air, on the sea, on the land, you must have command of the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-halsey/if-you-want-to-go-anywhere-in-modern-war-in-the-air-on-the-sea-on-the/) [William Halsey](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-halsey/) > [How would you describe the difference between modern war and modern industry-between say, bombing and strip mining, or between chemical warfare and chemical manufacturing?…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wendell-berry/how-would-you-describe-the-difference-between-modern-war-and-modern/) [Wendell Berry](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/wendell-berry/) > [A nation's ability to fight a modern war is as good as its technological ability.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/frank-whittle/a-nation-s-ability-to-fight-a-modern-war-is-as-good-as-its/) Frank Whittle > [I have every confidence in the ultimate success of our joint cause; but success in modern war requires something more than courage and a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/douglas-macarthur/i-have-every-confidence-in-the-ultimate-success-of-our-joint-cause/) [Douglas MacArthur](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/douglas-macarthur/) > [“Modern war is distinguished by the fact that all the participants are ostensibly unwilling. We are swept towards one another like colonies of heavily…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/modern-war-is-distinguished-by-the-fact-that-all-the-participants-are/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [You must all be aware that modern war is not a mere matter of military operations. It involves the whole strength and all the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/chiang-kai-shek/you-must-all-be-aware-that-modern-war-is-not-a-mere-matter-of/) [Chiang Kai-shek](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/chiang-kai-shek/) > [So much destruction in modern war takes place miles and miles away from the source of the destruction, the human being who has caused…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/james-dickey/so-much-destruction-in-modern-war-takes-place-miles-and-miles-away/) [James Dickey](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/james-dickey/) ## More by Dwight Macdonald > [A foundation is a large amount of money completely surrounded by people who want some.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dwight-macdonald/a-foundation-is-a-large-amount-of-money-completely-surrounded-by/) [Dwight Macdonald](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dwight-macdonald/) > [Paul Newman is simple not an actor and possibly not even alive.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dwight-macdonald/paul-newman-is-simple-not-an-actor-and-possibly-not-even-alive/) [Dwight Macdonald](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dwight-macdonald/) > [Conversation means being able to disagree and still continue the discussion](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dwight-macdonald/conversation-means-being-able-to-disagree-and-still-continue-the/) [Dwight Macdonald](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dwight-macdonald/) > [By 'socialism' I mean a classless society in which the State has disappeared, production is cooperative, and no man has political or economic power…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dwight-macdonald/by-socialism-i-mean-a-classless-society-in-which-the-state-has/) [Dwight Macdonald](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dwight-macdonald/) > [I now see Norman Thomas as indeed a liberal, but as a real, old-fashioned, unreconstructed liberal who believes in freedom and justice for everybody.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dwight-macdonald/i-now-see-norman-thomas-as-indeed-a-liberal-but-as-a-real-old/) [Dwight Macdonald](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dwight-macdonald/) > [One cannot demand that anybody be a hero, though one can hope for it.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dwight-macdonald/one-cannot-demand-that-anybody-be-a-hero-though-one-can-hope-for-it/) [Dwight Macdonald](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dwight-macdonald/) > [Paul Newman is simply not an actor and possibly not even alive; seems to be carved from wood, his movements stiff and jerky as…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dwight-macdonald/paul-newman-is-simply-not-an-actor-and-possibly-not-even-alive-seems/) [Dwight Macdonald](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dwight-macdonald/) > [Pacifism, to me, is primarily a way of actively struggling against injustice and inhumanity; My kind of pacifism may be called "non-violent resistance".](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dwight-macdonald/pacifism-to-me-is-primarily-a-way-of-actively-struggling-against/) [Dwight Macdonald](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dwight-macdonald/) [Explore all 9 Dwight Macdonald quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dwight-macdonald/) ## More Anarchist quotes > [The minimum that most minimalists want leaves in place just the institutions who protect their interests. That's libertarians for you - anarchists who want…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kim-stanley-robinson/the-minimum-that-most-minimalists-want-leaves-in-place-just-the/) [Kim Stanley Robinson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kim-stanley-robinson/) > [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/) > [The hope of Internet anarchists was that repressive governments would have only two options: accept the Internet with its limitless possibilities of spreading information,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/peter-singer/the-hope-of-internet-anarchists-was-that-repressive-governments-would/) [Peter Singer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/peter-singer/) > [“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/) > [“Bruno was a musician with the temperament of an anarchist and the breath of a bartender's dishrag. He gave the lie to bookselling as…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sheridan-hay/bruno-was-a-musician-with-the-temperament-of-an-anarchist-and-the/) [Sheridan Hay](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sheridan-hay/) > [In the sixties, during the Vietnam war, when anarchists and pacifists and socialists, Democrats and Republicans, decent-hearted Americans, all recoiled with horror at the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/pete-seeger/in-the-sixties-during-the-vietnam-war-when-anarchists-and-pacifists/) [Pete Seeger](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/pete-seeger/) > [Creativity comes by breaking the rules, by saying that you're in love with the anarchist.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anita-roddick/creativity-comes-by-breaking-the-rules-by-saying-that-you-re-in-love/) [Anita Roddick](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anita-roddick/) > [The modern day anarchists known as the Tea Party, they believe in no government.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/harry-reid/the-modern-day-anarchists-known-as-the-tea-party-they-believe-in-no/) [Harry Reid](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/harry-reid/) > [ \[On an anarchist acquaintance:\] Everything in appearance the most alarmist aunt could wish. ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sylvia-townsend-warner/on-an-anarchist-acquaintance-everything-in-appearance-the-most/) [Sylvia Townsend Warner](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sylvia-townsend-warner/) > [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/) > [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/) > [I am in total opposition to any institutional power. I favor a world of neighborhoods in which all social organization is voluntary and the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/karl-hess/i-am-in-total-opposition-to-any-institutional-power-i-favor-a-world/) [Karl Hess](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/karl-hess/) > [I'm an anarchist. I'm implacably opposed to heirarchical systems of power and control. I also mistrust crowds, as they often operate according to their…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/will-self/i-m-an-anarchist-i-m-implacably-opposed-to-heirarchical-systems-of/) [Will Self](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/will-self/) > [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 408 Anarchist quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/anarchist/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "The Anarchists' uncompromising rejection of the State, the subject of Marxian sneers for its \"absolutist\" and \"Utopian\" character, makes much better sense in the present era than the Marxist relativist and historical approach. 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