In Defense of the Despised Faith

(Anarchism)

Donald Trump dismisses Black Lives Matter protesters as a bunch of “anarchists.” Meanwhile, many of those protesters proudly wear that label as a statement. I suspect neither understands what anarchism really is. To Trump and his supporters, anarchism is like the Devil — something they don’t understand; they are not even sure exists at all; but they know it is bad, and therefore something to blame things on: “This is the work of the Devil/Anarchists.” To many young people, anarchism is worn as a fashion statement, without understanding what it means; or perhaps as an excuse to do what they want, without responsibility.

Coming from a family of genuine anarchist revolutionaries, I’d like to offer an explanation and defense of this despised faith, as Rabbi Yehuda HaLevi did for another “despised faith” nearly a millennia ago in The Kuzari.[1]

The word anarchism comes from the Greek, an, meaning: without, and arkhos, meaning: leader or ruler. At some times, the term Libertarian has also been used. But in modern times, that term is associated with those who want to eliminate or reduce government, but preserve and expand capitalism, as in the American Libertarian Party. Anarchism, as understood by my grandparents and those we will discuss here, calls for eliminating both government and property.