�Standardised, widely accepted mental picture or type�
Stereotypes play an important role in times of manufactured or real crisis. Listen to any conversation; you�ll be surprised the pivotal role stereotypes play in that conversation. Stereotypes are used by government, radicals, individuals, the community, conservatives and the corporate sector. They are used to isolate, denigrate and question the credibility of specific groups in the community. They reinforce attitudes, cultural practices and a community�s perception of themselves.
Radicals are just as guilty as everyone else in their use of stereotypes. The �other� is dehumanised, shunned, ostracised and dismissed. It�s dangerous not to confront our personal prejudices. We dismiss groups of people at our peril. Within what looks like a homogenous block, lurks a cornucopia of diversity. Dismissing everyone within a particular group because of what they do, how they dress, their skin colour, their gender or sexual orientation, plays into the hands of those people who want to divide and rule us.
Stereotypes limit our ability to treat each other as individuals. If we shun people because of a particular characteristic, we allow those sections of the community who believe that they should control the political, social and cultural agenda in this country to continue to oppose us. The treatment that is meted out to minorities, the lack of interest in their plight and the continued injustices that are carried out by government and the community �in our name� are justified through the use of stereotypes. Our coming, our propensity to both believe and use stereotypes in our day to day lives is one very effective way we can challenge the power of those who set the political, cultural and social agenda in this country and around the world. More importantly, recognising the worth of the individual as an individual helps us to recognise our common humanity.
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Q. WHAT ROLE DOES CLASS PLAY IN THE STRUGGLE TO CREATE AN ANARCHIST SOCIETY?
�Class division or order of society�
A. Class plays a central role in the anarchist struggle. Not all anarchists agree on a definition of class; some anarchists define themselves as class struggle anarchists to differentiate themselves from anarchists they believe don�t take class seriously. Many Marxists dismiss anarchists and anarchism because they believe that anarchists ignore class in the struggle to create a new society. Many radical activists seem to be confused about the �class� question. Most radicals accept the definition that class delineates divisions in society. The problem arises when people try to define those divisions.
Class has been defined both in terms of income and attitude. Definitions of class that define class as solely a matter of income don�t stand up to scrutiny. Definitions of class based on attitude also don�t stand up to scrutiny. Social divisions occur in society because some people are able to exercise power over others. Income, access to resources, position in an organisation, work or a family, all play a part in the definition of class. Each of us is both an order giver and an order taker. The more power you are able to exercise, the more people are forced to obey your commands.
Although most people are both order givers and order takers, most take more orders than they give. There are essentially 2 classes in society, a ruling class and a working class. Most people, whether they realise it or not, are members of the working class because they take more orders than they give. A self employed contractor who employs no labour may earn 2 or 3 times more income than somebody who finds themselves in a position of authority in the private or public sector. Although they earn much more income, they are able to exercise much less power than somebody who, because of their position in the public service or a private corporation, can exercise more power than somebody who earns more than them.
Class is essentially a question of power, whether you�re a member of the ruling class or the working class depends on whether you�re primarily an order giver or an order taker. An anarchist society is a society without rulers. The power that is currently exercised by rulers will be exercised by everyone, not just the current ruling class. Anarchists want to abolish both the State and the corporate sector because they know that you can�t create a society without rulers if both power and wealth continues to lie in the hands of the ruling elite.
Q. DOES ANARCHISM HOLD THE ANSWERS TO THE WORLD�S PROBLEMS?
A. I�m afraid not, anarchism doesn�t hold the answer to your personal problems, let alone the world�s problem. Anarchism isn�t a religion, a philosophy or a way of life, anarchism gives the individual the power to tackle both personal and non personal problems collectively. Sounds fine in theory, but what does this gobblegook mean practically.
In an anarchist society - a society without rulers, everybody has the right to become involved in the discussion and decisions about how problems are tackled. Instead of relying on one person or a select few to make major decisions, the collective wisdom of those people participating in a particular decision is used to arrive at that decision. The individual in an anarchist society is supported by that community not because of who they are or what they do, but because they are a member of that community. Many problems people face in both communist and capitalist societies are related to their inability to satisfy their most basic human needs. Most of us spend most of our working lives wondering what will happen to us and will the bills continue to be paid if something happens to us.
In an anarchist society, as long as that society continues to prosper, the individual is protected from the anxiety of wondering where their next meal will be coming from. Although an anarchist society won�t directly solve your personal problems or eliminate the world�s problems, it gives the maximum number of people the opportunity to be involved in a search for a solution to the problems that we face as individuals and as members of a community. Anarchism provides the necessary infrastructure that gives both the individual and the community as a whole, the best opportunity to tackle the problems they face.
Although anarchism provides no ready answer, it allows people to use the personal freedom they enjoy and the collective wisdom they can tap into, to tackle problems that they would find difficult to address, let alone tackle if they lived in a capitalist or communist world.
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