Ammon HennancyDriving a friend back from a doctor’s appointment today we started talking about Social Darwinism which, as it turns out, does not have much to do with Charles Darwin. Rather Social Darwinism is a pejorative term used for various late nineteenth century ideologies which, while often contradictory, exploited ideas of survival of the fittest. Some would say the most prominent form of such a view today stressing competition between individuals is free market capitalism.
I was glad to find out that Social Darwinism does not have much to do with Charles Darwin since he is one of the early persons to research the wonder of worms, remarkable creatures that are not the fittest but have survived since the time of the Dinosaurs. For me the worm is a good symbol of the adaptability of nature.
This understanding comes at the same time when another person sends me a quote about anarchism, which is another term often used in a pejorative way. This quote about anarchism comes from a Catholic Worker friend and is by another well known Catholic Worker Ammon Hennacy. Actually his understanding of Anarchism is appealing to me and strikes me more like the way nature works. Charles Darwin and Ammon Hennacy seem like soul mates. Here is the quote from Ammon. Check it out and maybe you will agree that Nature is an Anarchist.
Anarchism has been called non-state Socialism. Despite the popular idea of anarchists as violent men, Anarchism is the one non-violent social philosophy. It is the very antithesis of Communism and Fascism, which place the State as supreme. Anarchists will do away with the State entirely. The function of the Anarchist is two-fold. By daily courage in non-cooperation with the tyrannical forces of the State and the Church, he helps to tear down present society; the Anarchist, by daily cooperation with his fellows in over-coming evil with good-will and solidarity builds toward the anarchistic commonwealth which is formed by voluntary action with the right of secession.
The basis of Anarchism is liberty with individual responsibility; its methods are decentralization of activity and federation of local communes for national and international functions.
Simplicity is emphases. Courage and freedom are its watch-words. Anarchism, having faith in the innate goodness within everyone, seeks to establish the Golden Rule, by working from within the consciousness of the individual while all other systems of society, working from without, depend upon man-made laws and violence of the State to compel men to act justly. Anarchists seek to slowly change the forms of society, but do not rely upon that change alone to make people better.
— Ammon Hennacy in MAN, Los Angeles, CA, 1940
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