Socialism Chris Wilson Traditionally, those who have called themselves anarchists have been leftists who consider socialism to be the economic system that would arise in a non- authoritarian and stateless society.
Anarchism is an opposition to all forms of coercive authority.
An anarchic society is one that recognizes the value of individual autonomy above all else. It must respect the liberty of each person to live according to their own terms in pursuit of their own desires and interests, as opposed to being a servant to the purposes of others. Neither capitalism nor socialism is based upon a respect for self-determination. Both economic arrangements are coercive, in the sense that they conscript people into a life of servitude to the goals of organizations and privileged classes of people, preventing them from devoting their time and energy to the satisfaction of the needs and desires of themselves and those whom they care about. Due to their hierarchical organizational structure and expansionist nature, both capitalism and socialism forcibly subject people to varying states of domination and alienation for most of their lives, and hence are incompatible with anarchy.