Comparison of Anarchism and Fundamentalism
What motivates the
anarchist and the
Christian fundamentalist is so different that it is often not realized how similar these two ideologies are. If the average Seattle Anarchist and
Bible Belt Fundamentalist were to actually manifest their ideology, the result would be staggeringly similar, for both envision society as composed of natural communities whose members dwell in spirituality by virtue of “natural” truth. Differentiating
fundamentalism from
anarchism, though, is the spirituality prescribed, as fundamentalists are absolutists and anarchist are selective relativists.
Christianity considers God the creator of all that is seen and unseen, and thus nature as well. If God did not existed, neither nature nor humanity would. Anarchism considers the ultimate reality to be without abstraction, but not necessarily completely empirical, for spirituality is essential. Both ontologies consider God, though described with a different essence, a part of reality.
Fundamentalists believe that humans by nature are morally depraved, since Adam and Eve ate the fruit of knowledge, releasing humanity from God’s will, and thus nature. However, by acting unselfishly, living for God, and generally being cooperative humans can redeem themselves. Anarchists propose the same idea, only with different terminology and justification. For an anarchist, human depravity comes from self-interest and human contrivances, such as government, but cooperating and living naturally will bring about Utopia. Both believe living naturally, the fundamentalist views this as following God’s will, will eventually bring about
Utopia or
Zion.
Because humans have developed institutions like government, which force humans into abstraction, anarchists believe the truth has been hidden. Once these no longer affect humanity and humans live naturally, the truth will be obvious. Fundamentalist as well feel the truth will be obvious once we live naturally, or in the light of God, and misunderstood knowledge and deception have caused us to flee from it. Though anarchists feel the church is a dogmatic institution, the fundamentalist feels it provides natural truth, as God is the ultimate nature. Justification provides the differentiation. Both
epistemologies feel humans know truth the nature.
Today, many fundamentalists condemn
gay rights, and this because they feel society should be arranged in natural communities, and that nothing is more natural than family. Individuals are emphasized as part of families and by virtue of the fact salvation is personal. Similar to that, anarchists feel communities should be arranged naturally and personal relationships determine that. Moral autonomy, an anarchist belief, states that the individual alone is responsible for
ethics; in the same manner salvation is personal. Nature dictates what is right and wrong in anarchism, and God, for the fundamentalist, is the final authority. Both ideologies place morality on the individual and consider society to be a natural development.
When analyzed, fundamentalism says nearly the same thing, but final judgment is the motivation for the fundamentalist, while anarchists simply search for Utopia via nature. If fundamentalists took over, society would be localized and natural with spirituality at the forefront, and the same could be said for anarchists. Looming over the religious however is eternal responsibility, while anarchism is concerned merely with Earthly life.