The impact of Orwell's "Homage to Catalonia" on Noam Chomsky's path to anarchism

Scope of Anarchism and Its Definitions

• Commenters note there is no single agreed definition; “anarchism” is used so variably it borders on meaningless.
• Common threads offered: rejection of unjustified hierarchy; mutual aid; horizontal, voluntary cooperation; skepticism of both state and corporate power.
• Disputes arise over whether focusing on voluntary transactions leads to anarcho‑capitalism, how to treat private property, and whether anarchist communities could choose capitalist arrangements.

Practicality, Scale, and Historical Examples

• Critics argue anarchist structures work only in small groups, otherwise devolving into warlords, tribalism, or feudal city‑state dynamics.
• Supporters cite episodes in Spain, Indigenous/Zapatista zones, worker co‑ops, some online communities, and 12‑step groups as partial counterexamples.
• One side says Spain “worked” until crushed by major powers; the other replies that being easily crushed is itself evidence of unworkability in a hostile world.
• External predation and propaganda by centralized states are seen as key obstacles to any lasting large‑scale anarchism.

Authority, Democracy, and Worker Control

• A recurring principle: authority bears the burden of justification; unjustified authority should be dismantled.
• Many apply this primarily to corporations, described as unaccountable private dictatorships; they advocate worker‑run enterprises and stronger direct democracy (sometimes via digital “instant recall”).
• Others object that dismantling corporate power would itself require coercion and could breed new authoritarianism.
• There is a sharp debate over whether “choosing” to work under a boss is meaningful freedom or analogous to choosing slavery.

Terminology, Public Reception, and Strategy

• “Anarchism” is seen as rhetorically toxic; alternatives like “libertarian socialism,” “syndicalism,” or “social anarchism” are proposed but considered only partially helpful.
• Some argue that any movement whose goal is to reduce its own power is structurally disadvantaged against openly power‑seeking ideologies.

The Thinker, COVID, and Foreign Policy

• Several commenters admire the linguist’s work on media bias and US foreign policy.
• Others question his anarchist credentials, citing remarks on isolating the unvaccinated and perceived double standards toward communist vs Western crimes (Cambodia, Ukraine).
• Defenders reply that he consistently prioritizes criticizing his own state’s abuses and has explicitly condemned atrocities by non‑Western regimes.

Spanish Civil War, the Memoir, and Antifascism

• The book is valued as an eyewitness account of factional complexity and small‑scale humanity more than as pure theory.
• Disagreement over whether revolutionary left groups in Spain heroically pursued egalitarianism or disastrously undermined the anti‑fascist war effort.
• Extended side‑debate compares the historical harms of fascism vs communism, with no consensus.