r/Anarchy101 • u/HopeInteresting9619 • 1d ago
Any examples of successful anarchist groups in modern day?
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u/akaCammy 1d ago
While I wouldn’t so much call it anarchist as socialist libertarian, Cherán, Mexico is very interesting place from what I’ve researched.
In 2011, they had a people’s uprising where they did away with political parties, city hall, police, cartels, and so on after years of being riddled with violence.
Now, they have their own collectively owned sawmill, greenhouse and concrete factory.
It’s worth researching for, if nothing more, just knowing it exist.
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u/ShroedingersCatgirl Pluralist Anarchist 1d ago
I've wanted to read more about them for a while. I know the general story but I've been unable to find any real specifics about how the movement started, how it got organized, how it was able to set up their own little society, disarm and eject the police, etc.
Do you know of any good resources on Cheràn?
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u/akaCammy 1d ago
Best I have is Wikipedia, so take it with a grain of salt. They do have citations, though.
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u/barpoppp 1d ago
Christiana in københavn is really functional and livable. They have about as close to a commune structure as one can have while sandwiched on all sides by a modern capital city.
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u/DeathBringer4311 Student of Anarchism 21h ago
I mean, it really depends on what you mean by "successful" but Exarcheia(Greek: Εξάρχεια) is an anarchist run neighborhood right near the heart of Athens, Greece. It has been run by anarchists for several decades now and has a rich history of revolt and protest. It has a self-organized health structure and it acts like an art hub, especially for music and graffiti.
https://youtube.com/watch?v=ezILbSijnXQ&pp=ygUIZXhhcmNoaWE%3D
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u/echosrevenge 19h ago
It depends on how narrowly you define "anarchist", but the region of Syrian Kurdistan known as Rojava is making a pretty solid go of "democracy without the state" and it's very interesting to watch.
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u/theres_no_username 1d ago
That guy Asked me to give him a succesful anarchist societ so here I will answer:
Makhno and his people, Catalonia in Hispanic civil war
If you're gonna say that they lost then Makhno lost to USSR where your beloved USA also lost to it many times, for reference they also said that being born in USA is the most lucky thing that can happen to you lol
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u/mcchicken_deathgrip 1d ago
Plenty of successful groups and organizations doing work within their communities and within territories controlled by the state.
But as for like an autonomous anarchist society, there are none. Anarchism doesn't really have any kind of end point where we could declare "we have achieved anarchism", it's an unceasing struggle to end all hierarchy and authority. Much like the flaws in MLs declaring single countries AES, no territory can really be called anarchist without an international revolution that upends existing power structures and social relations and replaces them with horizontal ones. None are free until all are free as they say.
There are, however, many groups that are seeking to eliminate hierarchy from their political power structures, and many groups that operate on principles of horizontally and mutual aid, even if a fully realized "anarchist system" has not been achieved.