Emma Goldman's Anarchism Analysis

In Emma Goldman’s Anarchism: What it Really Stands For she assert that under no circumstances are we morally obligated to obey the laws of the state since they are enforced through violence and that the government should be overthrown. Emma Goldman advocates that “Anarchism: The philosophy of a new social order based on liberty unrestricted by man-made law; the theory that all forms of government rest on violence, and are therefore wrong and harmful, as well as unnecessary.”(p. 3). In other words, Goldman believes that anarchism isn’t impractical and all forms of government are wrong and unnecessary to society. Thomas Hobbes and John Locke offer great response to the anarchist claim through their works which are the Leviathan and the Second …show more content…
Furthermore, according to Hobbes in order to come out of this nightmarish state that is the state of nature the citizens would be willing to live under any form of authority therefore he advocates for the institution of a covenant and sovereign of power. A covenant is basically a voluntary act of consent where you the citizen are passing on to your sovereign your rights and a sovereign of power is fundamentally an absolute monarchy where there is absolute power for a single person and no one else. Hobbes states that the sovereign's power is indivisible, and he is only liable to god, no anyone else and if you revolt against him you will be going back to the nightmarish state that is the state of nature where everyone is fighting for the ultimate goal of self-preservation (115-116). Hobbes is all for an absolute monarchy thinking that one person with absolute power is better than a government or worse living in the state of nature where there are no laws and you have to fight for survival every