Anarchy Is Chaos

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Evey: All this riot and uproar, V... is this Anarchy? Is this the Land of Do-As-You-Please? V: No. This is only the land of take-what-you-want. Anarchy means 'without leaders', not 'without order'. With anarchy comes an age of ordnung, of true order, which is to say voluntary order... this age of ordnung will begin when the mad and incoherent cycle of verwirrung that these bulletins reveal has run its course... This is not anarchy, Evey. This is chaos. —V for Vendetta

A virtually ubiquitous trope, both in fiction and Real Life, is the misconception that anarchists have no beliefs, that anarchy is chaos. While anarchy and chaos are not mutually exclusive (chaos is anarchic, although it often devolves into warlordism, but anarchy is not necessarily chaotic) such an un-mindset is properly called nihilism, the belief in nothing. However, the actual definition of Anarchism is the belief that rulership should not exist (as indicated in its Greek roots, an- [no] -arkhos [ruler]). There is much division on the extent and nature of rulership, and what it means. Regardless of this division, in fiction, Anarchists (of any stripe) are often accused of favoring a Hobbesian-style war of all against all.

This trope, admittedly, has been bolstered by the idea that society's existence is contingent on that of top-down leadership, but also because of the “propaganda by the deed” violence some anarchists about a century ago perpetrated against the robber barons of the gilded age and various heads of state—and innocent bystanders and other random individuals (one notorious bombing was of a French cafe on the grounds the people there were bourgeois). While not diminishing the terrorism that occurred, anarchists reject the notion of their belief meaning or necessarily resulting in violence. Anarchists advocate opposition to oppressors and their instruments, but in nearly all cases seek to peacefully produce a democratic and voluntary bottom-up order in their stead. There are in fact whole branches of anarchism, such as Christian anarchism and anarcho-pacifism, to whom violence is utterly unacceptable, sometimes to extreme lengths. Leo Tolstoy, the famed writer and a Christian anarchist in his later days, said one should not use violence even for self-defense.

Of course, there have been Anarchists throughout history who appear to have played this trope chillingly straight. Max Stirner stood for Egoist Anarchism – the belief that everyone should be allowed to do whatever they want, period. However, like most Egoists, Stirner believed voluntary cooperation and avoiding chaos was in the self-interest of every human being, and thus a (sane) egoist would not want chaos. A French variation was Illegalism; that committing crimes was the only true expression of anarchy. And don't get started on the Russian Nihilists and Anarchists of the 19th century, many of whom were pacifists but more than a few of whom were willing to commit terrorism and murder in the name of combating repressive institutions, such as to bring down the absolute monarchy of Russia and other things seen as parts of the Bourgeois control. These ideologies reached their climax in the 1881 assassination of the Tsar, which got most of the perpetrators hanged and helped to undermine the Russian anarchist movement generally. Use of political violence to make change reached an ugly, bloody conclusion in the 1917 October Revolution of the Bolsheviks, the repression of all opposition (including the anarchists) during the subsequent civil war, and Stalin's purges in the 30s and 40s.

In the USA, “Anarchist” tends to call up images of Nietzsche wannabes, leftist radicals (though Anarchism and Marxist Communism have been miles away from each other since Marx and Bakunin were rivals in the First International) and Bomb-Throwing Anarchists, while “Libertarian” tends to call up images of redneck Crazy Survivalists, Right Wing Militia Fanatics and Social Darwinist Corrupt Corporate Executives (and hippies who want marijuana legalized). Worldwide, “Libertarian” and similar terms gravitate to the same meanings as “Anarchist” does stateside, though of the socialist variety.

Predictably, anarchists have been historical targets of brutal persecution from both capitalist and socialist authoritarians, due to belief that both are wrong in their domineering ways. Note, however, that there are both capitalists and socialists who use the term “anarchist” for themselves, who disagree with each other just as much as any other factions of such do.

This trope is rare/more likely to be averted in Spanish works since a substantial minority of the population formed a highly regarded anarchist system during the Spanish Civil War. Some of them are still living and anarchist organizations are slightly more mainstream than in most countries. They are still a political minority, though.

For a more analytical look at Anarchy, see the Useful Notes page.

Examples of Anarchy Is Chaos include:

Comic Books

• In Persepolis, Marjane believes that the anarchist commune that her boyfriend brings her to in Vienna will engage in this. She remembers her uncle Anoosh talking about being a revolutionary that wanted to make Iran his home again. Instead, the group roasts marshmallows, plays hide-and-seek, and smokes hash. She's disappointed, but later visits the commune regularly after Enrique breaks up with her.
• Both the comic book and film version of V for Vendetta discuss this. When V kidnaps Evey and starts grooming her as his successor, she asks if his end-goal is anarchy when riots start. He corrects her that this is a chaos stage, and anarchy will come after. After he dies, Evey watches the riots continue and kidnaps someone else to be her successor. The people are more civilized in the film, where they march with V masks and watch Evey blow up Parliament.

Film

• This is the premise of the Mad Max films. With water and food in short supply, society has broken down into factions that attack either for their resources, or because of grudges.
• The Dark Knight's take on the Joker has him believe in this. He causes chaos in Gotham City just because he finds it funny, and admits after grappling with Batman that it's more fun to keep him alive. Joker tells a hospitalized Harvey Dent that when you introduce a little bit of anarchy or chaos, you get total disruption. While Joker succeeds in corrupting Harvey Dent, he's proven wrong with the two boats, where neither will blow up the other. As Batman points out, not everyone thinks like the Joker.

Literature

• A Song of Ice and Fire discusses this, with how the different noble houses try to control Westeros following the end of A Game of Thrones. No one believes that the lower-class can rule themselves, with Joffrey getting Mycah the Butcher Boy killed because Arya asked a commoner boy for fencing lessons. Some have more benevolent intentions than other, with Robb's Rebellion starting because the noble houses loved his father Ned and wish to avenge him by dethroning Joffrey, his executioner. Regardless, the war affects everyone involved, including the townsfolk, villagers and farmers who have minded their own business for decades. They only need one excuse of Joffrey's behavior to riot. As Tyrion points out with frustration after the fact, the commoners just want to have enough food to survive and not worry that the next ruler will swipe in and murder their babies. It's the rich who are causing the real chaos because everyone wants power, or will abide by outdated honor codes that get them killed.
• Lord of the Flies posits that if a bunch of boys are stranded on an island with no adults, chaos will set in despite attempts to signal for help and establish order. By the time actual adults come and rescue them, one child is dead and the rest are hunting down the protagonist.

Western Animation

• The Legend of Korra: Zaheer believes in this trope, and thinks it's a good thing. He says that people rely on outdated political systems that oppress them, putting idiot leaders like the Earth Queen or President Raiko in charge. He believes that if the Avatar is wiped out for good, without reincarnation, then the world will truly come into its natural order. Book Four has reality, and Korra herself, pointing out that he was wrong: rather than anarchy coming to Ba Sing Se, he created a power vacuum for Kuvira to come in and become an even worse dictator. And if he had succeeded in killing Korra while she was in the Avatar State? There would be no one to stop Kuvira. As karma goes, an imprisoned Zaheer realizes that to dethrone Kuvira, he has to help Korra overcome the trauma he gave her, restoring her connection to Raava.
• Recess: Any episode that shows Finster distracted or otherwise incapacitated will lead to this trope. We find out that Ms. Finster doesn't want to be a mean teacher punishing the kids; she has to be the bad guy or they will run roughshod over her. Even the kindergartners, who don't listen to their own teacher, have a healthy respect for her.
  • "Finster in Love" has the gang scheme to pair up Hank with Finster after realizing they have sparks, and Ms. Finster is nicer in Hank's presence. It ends up Gone Horribly Right; Finster is so in love that the kindergartners, fifth graders and everyone else run rampant. Even King Bob gets dethroned. The gang is forced to show Ms. Finster what is happening; Hank also admits he's been neglecting his janitorial duties. They part amicably, so they can focus on their jobs.
  • "The Fuss Over Finster" features Ms. Finster injuring her ankle after the candy that she confiscates spills out of her bag and cause her to slip. While T.J. comes up with a plan to steal the candy back, Gus reveals they didn't need it: Finster can't enforce order while walking on crutches and shouting at the kids, who are much faster than her. Randall is no help, and chaos returns to the playground. Seeing how overwhelmed she is, T.J. feels guilty and organizes a playground-wide truce, including the kindergartners, until Ms. Finster's ankle recovers. He tells Finster that it will be back to business when she heals up.