--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: Anarchism means all sort of things to…" description: "\"Anarchism means all sort of things to different people but the traditional anarchists' movements assumed that there'd be a highly organized society, ju..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/9e5/noam-chomsky-42_anarchism_anarchism-means-all-sort-of-things-to-di_467978.jpg" --- # Anarchism means all sort of things to different people but… ![“Anarchism means all sort of things to different people but the traditional anarchists' movements assumed that there'd be a highly organized society, just one organized from below with direct participation and so on. Actually, one piece of the media confusion has a basis because there really are…” quote by Noam Chomsky](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/9e5/noam-chomsky-42_anarchism_anarchism-means-all-sort-of-things-to-di_467978.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/9e5/noam-chomsky-42_anarchism_anarchism-means-all-sort-of-things-to-di_467978.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/9e5/noam-chomsky-42_anarchism_anarchism-means-all-sort-of-things-to-di_467978.jpg) > “Anarchism means all sort of things to different people but the traditional anarchists' movements assumed that there'd be a highly organized society, just one organized from below with direct participation and so on. Actually, one piece of the media confusion has a basis because there really are two different strands in the occupy movement, both important, but different.” [Noam Chomsky](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/noam-chomsky/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Anarchism is viewed variously, but traditional anarchists envision a highly organized, bottom‑up society with direct participation, while modern movements contain multiple strands. **In simple terms:** Anarchism can mean different things; traditional view expects organized bottom‑up society. Key Takeaway Recognize diverse strands and seek inclusive organization. Themes politics social theory organization activism Mood critical thoughtful analytical Type philosophical political educational When to use this quote - community organizing - policy advocacy - grassroots projects - education campaigns Key Concepts anarchism direct democracy movement fragmentation Questions to Reflect On - How can different anarchist strands collaborate? - What structures support effective bottom‑up organization? A Different Perspective Multiple strands can cause confusion and dilute goals. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Anarchism](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/anarchism/) [Anarchist](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/anarchist/) [Anarchists](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/anarchists/) [Confusion](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/confusion/) [Media](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/media/) [Movement](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/movement/) [Occupy movement](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/occupy-movement/) [Participation](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/participation/) [People](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/people/) ## Related quotes > [Anarchism means all sort of things to different people, but the traditional anarchists' movements assumed that there'd be a highly organized society, just one…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/noam-chomsky/anarchism-means-all-sort-of-things-to-different-people-but-the/) [Noam Chomsky](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/noam-chomsky/) > [The Occupy movement is - it was a big surprise.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/noam-chomsky/the-occupy-movement-is-it-was-a-big-surprise/) [Noam Chomsky](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/noam-chomsky/) > [Occupy was not a movement, it was a tactic. You can't sit forever in a park near Wall Street. You can't do it for…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/noam-chomsky/occupy-was-not-a-movement-it-was-a-tactic-you-can-t-sit-forever-in-a/) [Noam Chomsky](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/noam-chomsky/) > [Regulate the banks, get money out of elections; raise the minimum wage, environmental issues. They're all very important and the Occupy movement made a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/noam-chomsky/regulate-the-banks-get-money-out-of-elections-raise-the-minimum-wage/) [Noam Chomsky](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/noam-chomsky/) > [The polls show that concern over inequality among the general public rose pretty sharply after the Occupy movement started, very probably as a consequence.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/noam-chomsky/the-polls-show-that-concern-over-inequality-among-the-general-public/) [Noam Chomsky](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/noam-chomsky/) > [The Occupy movement did create spontaneously communities that taught people something: you can be in a supportive community of mutual aid and cooperation and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/noam-chomsky/the-occupy-movement-did-create-spontaneously-communities-that-taught/) [Noam Chomsky](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/noam-chomsky/) > [In short, Anarchism means a condition or society where all men and women are free, and where all enjoy equally the benefits of an…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alexander-berkman/in-short-anarchism-means-a-condition-or-society-where-all-men-and/) [Alexander Berkman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alexander-berkman/) > [Anarchism, to me, means not only the denial of authority, not only a new economy, but a revision of the principles of morality. It…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/voltairine-de-cleyre/anarchism-to-me-means-not-only-the-denial-of-authority-not-only-a-new/) [Voltairine de Cleyre](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/voltairine-de-cleyre/) > [Anarchism does not mean bloodshed; it does not mean robbery, arson, etc. These monstrosities are, on the contrary, the characteristic features of capitalism. Anarchism…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/august-spies/anarchism-does-not-mean-bloodshed-it-does-not-mean-robbery-arson-etc/) [August Spies](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/august-spies/) > [Our principle is: to prevent all command over man by his fellowmen, to, make state, government, laws, or whatsoever form of compulsion existing, a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/johann-most/our-principle-is-to-prevent-all-command-over-man-by-his-fellowmen-to/) [Johann Most](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/johann-most/) > [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/) > [As soon as one identifies, challenges and overcomes illegitimate power, he or she is an anarchist. Most people are anarchists. What they call themselves…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/noam-chomsky/as-soon-as-one-identifies-challenges-and-overcomes-illegitimate-power/) [Noam Chomsky](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/noam-chomsky/) > [Anarchists try to identify power structures. They urge those exercising power to justify themselves. This justification does not succeed most of the time.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/noam-chomsky/anarchists-try-to-identify-power-structures-they-urge-those/) [Noam Chomsky](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/noam-chomsky/) > [Actually, my first article, it wasn't about the anarchists; it was about the fall of Barcelona and the spread of fascism over Europe, which…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/noam-chomsky/actually-my-first-article-it-wasn-t-about-the-anarchists-it-was-about/) [Noam Chomsky](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/noam-chomsky/) > [ There's an interesting question, whether the anarchists had alternatives \[in Spain\]. If they did tend to support the government that had been destroyed, what… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/noam-chomsky/there-s-an-interesting-question-whether-the-anarchists-had/) [Noam Chomsky](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/noam-chomsky/) ## More by Noam Chomsky > [The costs of the Bush-Obama wars in Iraq and Afghanistan are now estimated to run as high as $4.4 trillion - a major victory…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/noam-chomsky/the-costs-of-the-bush-obama-wars-in-iraq-and-afghanistan-are-now/) [Noam Chomsky](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/noam-chomsky/) > [If you believe in democracy, why shouldn't you know what the government is doing?](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/noam-chomsky/if-you-believe-in-democracy-why-shouldn-t-you-know-what-the/) [Noam Chomsky](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/noam-chomsky/) > [It’s a shameful moment for U.S. media when it insists on being subservient to the grotesque propaganda agencies of a violent, aggressive state.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/noam-chomsky/it-s-a-shameful-moment-for-u-s-media-when-it-insists-on-being/) [Noam Chomsky](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/noam-chomsky/) > [There are questions as to whether it should even exist. Who should corporations be responsive to, the management of a corporation? Theoretically they are…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/noam-chomsky/there-are-questions-as-to-whether-it-should-even-exist-who-should/) [Noam Chomsky](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/noam-chomsky/) > [Governments regard their own citizens as their main enemy, and they have to be - protect themselves. That's why you have state secret laws.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/noam-chomsky/governments-regard-their-own-citizens-as-their-main-enemy-and-they/) [Noam Chomsky](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/noam-chomsky/) > [I don't join the New Atheists. So, for example, I wouldn't have the arrogance to lecture some mother who hopes to see her dying…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/noam-chomsky/i-don-t-join-the-new-atheists-so-for-example-i-wouldn-t-have-the/) [Noam Chomsky](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/noam-chomsky/) > [The first thing you ought to do is verify what I present. Just because I say it doesn't make it true. So check it…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/noam-chomsky/the-first-thing-you-ought-to-do-is-verify-what-i-present-just-because/) [Noam Chomsky](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/noam-chomsky/) > [ I wrote an article about the marine landing \[in Haiti\] right away, but barely mentioned the oil, because my article would come out two… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/noam-chomsky/i-wrote-an-article-about-the-marine-landing-in-haiti-right-away-but/) [Noam Chomsky](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/noam-chomsky/) > [American society is now remarkably atomized. Political organizations have collapsed. In fact, it seems like even bowling leagues are collapsing. The left has a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/noam-chomsky/american-society-is-now-remarkably-atomized-political-organizations/) [Noam Chomsky](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/noam-chomsky/) > [Discovery is the ability to be puzzled by simple things. Noam Chomsky](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/noam-chomsky/discovery-is-the-ability-to-be-puzzled-by-simple-things-noam-chomsky/) [Noam Chomsky](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/noam-chomsky/) > [There's an interesting book about that called The Third Reich and the Ivory Tower, written by Stephen H. Norwood. It has a long discussion…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/noam-chomsky/there-s-an-interesting-book-about-that-called-the-third-reich-and-the/) [Noam Chomsky](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/noam-chomsky/) > [This is class war on an international scale, and power is in the hands of those who control the international economic system.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/noam-chomsky/this-is-class-war-on-an-international-scale-and-power-is-in-the-hands/) [Noam Chomsky](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/noam-chomsky/) > [There are big, extremely irrational parts of the society, and they have now been mobilized politically by the Republican establishment, hoping that these people…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/noam-chomsky/there-are-big-extremely-irrational-parts-of-the-society-and-they-have/) [Noam Chomsky](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/noam-chomsky/) > [There's plenty to criticize about the mass media, but they are the source of regular information about a wide range of topics. You can't…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/noam-chomsky/there-s-plenty-to-criticize-about-the-mass-media-but-they-are-the/) [Noam Chomsky](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/noam-chomsky/) > [The 50,000 Korean mercenaries we had in Vietnam were professional killers and just massacred people outright. And the American army did plenty of that…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/noam-chomsky/the-50-000-korean-mercenaries-we-had-in-vietnam-were-professional/) [Noam Chomsky](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/noam-chomsky/) [Explore all 2,129 Noam Chomsky quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/noam-chomsky/) ## 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": "Anarchism means all sort of things to different people but the traditional anarchists' movements assumed that there'd be a highly organized society, just one organized from below with direct participation and so on. 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