Contemporary Anarchism as an Alternative to the Dominant Narrative about the Western World

Authors

DOI:

https://doi.org/10.12797/Politeja.19.2022.78.11

Keywords:

anarchism, political thought, social movements, narrative, consumerism, liberal democracy, European integration, militarism

Abstract

The subject of this article is anarchism interpreted as a form of opposition and an alternative to the dominant narrative about the contemporary Western world. The aim of the article is to indicate the areas that shape the dominant narrative about the world and the methods and arguments used by anarchists in attempts to disrupt this narrative by creating their own narrative. The author formulated a hypothesis according to which European anarchism defined the idea of freedom in opposition to the concept of freedom inherent in liberal democracy and consumerism, redefined democracy, criticized the tendencies inherent in modern politics, such as European integration and militarism, as well as the spread of economic patterns inherent in neoliberalism and materialistic and consumerist attitudes of modern societies. The method used to verify this hypothesis is an aspectual analysis carried out in the context of the above mentioned problems on the basis of program documents, propaganda texts and journalism of the contemporary anarchist movement in Europe.

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Author Biography

Paweł Malendowicz, Kazimierz Wielki University in Bydgoszcz

Was born in 1975. Professor at the Kazimierz Wielki University (Bydgoszcz, Poland). Head of the Department of Political Thought and Social Movements at the Faculty of Political Science and Administration. He is the author of 7 monographs (about the anarchist movement and thought in Europe, the ultra-left movement in Poland, the nationalist parties and thought in Europe, Polish political parties and Polish Americans in US, security policy of Poland), 4 compilations of the source materials, co-editor of 3 books and the author about 100 articles and chapters in books. The main areas of his research interests: anarchism in Europe, the hard left and the far right in Poland and in the world, the concepts of the vision of future in the policy of political groups, Polish Americans in the United States.

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Published

2022-11-24

How to Cite

Malendowicz, Paweł. 2022. “Contemporary Anarchism As an Alternative to the Dominant Narrative about the Western World”. Politeja 19 (3(78):197-210. https://doi.org/10.12797/Politeja.19.2022.78.11.

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Section

International Affairs