Many of the personal freedoms we now enjoy were fought for by turn of the century anarchists. Historians have often preferred to view history through the prism of capitalist-communist dualism while ignoring the nuances of political thought in the early 1900's. More about Anarchist history and the Emma Goldman Test 6 Anarchist thought is part of an historical trend toward the decentralization of power. The Internet itself, it has been argued, represents a close to anarchist topology by virtue of its minimal central control. Change in social organization is frightening to many people - especially when they are used to the comfort of hierarchical structures and it is unclear how they will fit in a changed world.
Anarchy provides a new intellectual framework on which to judge the legitimacy of institutions .
Noam Chomsky has commented that it is incumbent upon all authority to justify itself. Most institutions in our society base their legitimacy solely on their historical existence without acknowledging, that in a Democracy, their ultimate legitimacy rests on voluntary acceptance of their authority by those who vote. In the 21st century, the legitimacy of institutions will undoubtedly become a major issue as people find themselves affected more and more by institutions over which they have no voice.