anarchism
- 01 C1 Advanced
the belief that society should be organized without a government or any form of forced authority.
a political theory holding all forms of governmental authority to be unnecessary and undesirable, advocating for a society based on voluntary cooperation.
Simple“The professor explained how anarchism differs from simple chaos or lawlessness.”
In context“Nineteenth-century anarchism emerged as a significant critique of both the centralized state and the burgeoning industrial capitalist system.”
UsageUncountable in its philosophical sense.
Teacher's tipLearners often confuse anarchism with 'anarchy'; clarify that anarchism is the structured belief system, while anarchy often refers to the resulting state of affairs or general disorder.
SynonymsstatelessnesslibertarianismAntonymsstatismauthoritarianism - 02 C2 Proficiency
a situation where there are no leaders or government in control.
the state of a society being without authorities or an authoritative governing body.
Simple“The country fell into a period of anarchism after the central government collapsed.”
In context“The transition from a monarchy to a state of functional anarchism was marked by the rise of local autonomous collectives.”
UsageOften used interchangeably with 'anarchy' in non-technical contexts.
Teacher's tipIn modern usage, 'anarchy' is much more common for describing a state of disorder; 'anarchism' is usually reserved for the political theory.
Antonyms
From anarchy + -ism.
Etymology adapted from Wiktionary, available under CC BY-SA 4.0.