T2F invites in anarchy

In his talk ‘No state, no master’ Fahad Desmukh spoke about anarchy as an ideology that would exist in ideal world.

KARACHI: When one thinks of anarchy, one imagines chaos which has resulted from lawlessness but in his talk ‘No state, no master’, Fahad Desmukh spoke about anarchy as an ideology that would exist in the ideal world.

Desmukh was of the opinion that “anarchism has an ideological history, but the word has been abused in contemporary times.” Anarchy stems from the words ‘an’ which means ‘without’ and ‘archy’ which means ‘authority’, meaning that anarchy signifies the absence of order.

Desmukh said that anarchy can exist in a utopian model where “there are no rulers and freedom is a virtue that is considered sacred.” He said that, “Anarchists talk of organised society which comprise of a  democratic workplace and feel that state borders need to be removed, (they speak) of a society that needs to be run by a community organisation not by a politician or a bureaucrat, as when these people are given authority, they have their own class interest (to promote).”

The speaker shared the thoughts of Russian Anarchist, Mikhail Bakunin, who brought the ideology of anarchism to the forefront and thought that ‘Socialism without freedom is slavery and brutality’. This goes in opposition to Marxists who argue that social justice can be imposed but the question remains; “How is one meant to have social justice and freedom at the same time?” said Desmukh.

At the end of his talk, Desmukh stressed that pure anarchy is an idealistic concept and these values come from spiritual changes and can only take place when value is given to freedom, democracy and social justice. However, “With the state taking everything into its hands, an anarchists’ main concern remains,  demanding (basic) rights.”

The audience defines anarchy

“Anarchism in its initial form is a softer version of Marxism”

“It is a word that is often distorted and abused”

“It’s all about a critical mass of people who want to take care of themselves”

“In the Pakistani context the tribal areas have minimal state intervention that has led to systems of power having to rely on themselves. The concept of the idealised Jirga system should be studied in reference to anarchy”

Published in The Express Tribune, January 8^th, 2011.