Did you know that Buddhism is not a religion but a philosophy? I’ve read some books and had a few conversations with Buddhist monks. It seems as though Buddha himself would wonder if he’d accidentally begun a cult, being himself a human being and therefore no more or less divine that those who studied under him and later would worship him.

So too is anarchism simply a philosophy and not necessarily a politic. Just as with Buddhism, we can easily slip from one to the other. What is anarchism a philosophy of, anyway?

It is not political philosophy. Sorry, everyone who thinks they know things from memes. Anarchism is a social philosophy that bleeds directly into politics, the way every social philosophy does.

Do anarchists want to end the State, erase borders and replace capitalism with cooperation? You betcha. But there are other works to be done first, at home.
Political philosophy is discussed with an assumption of the State at work. Anarchism is not necessarily this. Many of us have our discussion on the ground with everybody else.

In oversimplified terms, Buddhists would like to reach nirvana: the deep and true understanding of the world as one energy, as the self as divine but not ego-driven, an embodiment of compassion. Before this can be achieved, there is much work to be done at home, with oneself. Start by meditating, the monks will say, just a little at a time.

Similarly oversimplified, anarchism asks the same of us: that we do good works at home in order to combat social corruption and material greed. Start by supporting your immediate community: perhaps get to know your neighbors. Anarchists would like to see a day of utmost equality in much the same way Buddhists do; indeed, our adherence to the philosophy is also shown in our daily works.

A philosophy becomes a religion when one forgets that life is of the utmost importance. Before any god, life. Anarchism asks that we value the lives of our fellow humans as much as we would value our own. (Some anarchists would take this philosophy also into the animal world, bringing us ever closer to Buddhism.) Freedom and equality instead of borders and capitalism. Anarchists aren’t really in danger of religion, but we don’t mind a little fanaticism.

Dear reader, I ask that your view of anarchism–especially in these combative times–be unhindered by assumptions of unnecessary violence or chaos in general. Certainly we can find many anarchists whose sole goal is the burning of the State. If we look we will also find many worshipers, rather than followers, of Buddha. I cheer these people on, all. I allow for variety in my philosophic endeavors: I am not those people. I would like to be of help to them–and I plan to be, when called–but I also dream of a quiet life with a small community of equals who tend to one another. I dream of the world proven to have been created invariably by all human ancestors: a community of sharers, free as the day they were born, working collectively to keep strong the whole. My anarchism starts with me.