What is anarchism? Though many of its ideas survive today in the growing libertarian movement (and in the right-wing militias), few of us are familiar with the development of the political philosophy of anarchism. The central concept arises out of contempt for government, which is considered to be a coercive and evil power. Since government is evil, it should be overthrown, and anarchists for the most part have suspected that this must be done violently. After all, those who control the reigns of state power are not likely to be inclined to release them voluntarily.
This actually happened in the French Revolution. In that conflict, the idea was that the small portion of the population that owned and controlled most all of the property had no right to do so and that it was justifiable to kill them when they stood in the way of their property and power being distributed more evenly. In practice, however, things did not go so smoothly. The French Revolution turned out to be a bloodbath. Many died needlessly, and then someone stepped in to take power -- Napoleon -- who ended up being the biggest tyrant the world had ever seen.
Anarchists believe that people are essentially good, and will be better off without government control. Left to themselves, people will cooperate voluntarily. But really, are people intrinsically good, or do they need governments to constrain them? Wouldn't people run wild through the streets doing whatever they pleased without fear of reprisal? Wouldn't total chaos ensue?