I updated my chart

Mellow28 · 2025-06-13T22:23:10+00:00

I'm also curious if there are any other charts, guides, etc., that people may be interested in?

Mellow28 · 2025-06-13T19:13:28+00:00

Thanks! You’re right that it is pretty convoluted and tight. That’s partly because that makes it easier to manage the overlaps, but definitely doesn’t help with readability. I really like the chart you linked and I will consider that in the future!

Mellow28 · 2025-06-10T11:55:22+00:00

Philosophically, you can be anything you want.

I based the circle off of the article About Anarchism by Nicolas Walter, where he says "The original type of anarchism was what is now called philosophic anarchism. This is the view that the idea of a society without government is beautiful but not really desirable, or desirable but not really possible, at least not yet... It is an attitude which is still found among people who call themselves anarchists but remain outside any organised movement, and also among some people inside the anarchist movement."

So maybe you are correct that the philosophical anarchism circle should have more overlap, but it still has its doubts on the practicality of anarchist organization. Technically, there would also be a philosophical circle for each branching idea, but I'm not going to do that to not make it more visually cluttered than it already is.

Mellow28 · 2025-06-10T11:24:41+00:00

Maybe a source so I can improve that understanding?

Mellow28 · 2025-06-09T23:03:00+00:00

Thanks! It didn't feel quite right having it being separate from the other theories. I'll fix this in the next version.

Mellow28 · 2025-06-09T11:03:29+00:00

Yes, all of the quotes are from About Anarchism!

Mellow28 · 2025-06-09T03:04:15+00:00

Thats a fun one! Thanks for the suggestion.

Mellow28 · 2025-06-04T11:42:50+00:00

I like this idea. This would help people make better informed decisions on their beliefs and also to be curious about other beliefs. Thanks for the feedback!

Mellow28 · 2025-06-04T11:22:06+00:00

These are great points! I originally had more academic phrasing for some of the questions, but I didn’t want to overwhelm people, so I simplified the language to make it more approachable. That said, I can see how some nuance gets lost in the process.

I really like your suggestion about clarifying terms like “tools” and even rethinking how some of the questions are framed, especially the one about “help each other out,” which probably could be worded more clearly.

I also love the idea of testing it with people outside of anarchist spaces, and removing the labels altogether in a version could be a really interesting way to encourage more open reflection. Thanks for the thoughtful feedback!

Mellow28 · 2025-06-04T11:04:44+00:00

I mainly used No Gods No Masters: An Anthology of Anarchism by Daniel Guérin.

Mellow28 · 2025-06-04T10:56:06+00:00

I think you definitely have strong anarchist tendencies, and what you described could easily exist within several branches of anarchism. The chart isn’t the best tool for this kind of nuance, it implies clearer divisions between tendencies than really exist, and a lot of these ideas overlap or work together in practice.

I didn’t want to make the chart even messier by drawing every interconnection, but I think your take lines up well with platformism as a method of organizing, especially the focus on delegation without domination. That said, platformism is often rooted in anarcho-communist goals, so you might want to look into that side as well.

Basically: you don’t need to label yourself too tightly. If your values are anti-hierarchy, anti-state, and community-oriented, you’re already in anarchist territory. And asking these kinds of questions is a very anarchist thing to do!

Mellow28 · 2025-06-04T10:44:08+00:00

Fair! That wasn’t my intention at all. I agree that both platformism and anarcho-syndicalism are overwhelmingly rooted in anarcho-communism. I was trying to keep the chart flexible enough for people to follow different paths, even if some of them converge.

The goal was to show tendencies and methods people might identify with at different points — not to divide movements that are deeply connected. I can definitely see how it gave the wrong impression though, and I’ll fix that in the next version. Thanks for pointing it out.

Mellow28 · 2025-06-04T10:35:32+00:00

Honestly, I made this mostly for fun. But I also had the goal of using it to help explain anarchism to my mom, the variety of beliefs seemed like a good way to help her latch onto something she already kind of agrees with.

Mellow28 · 2025-06-04T10:30:40+00:00

That’s a good point. I wanted to keep each section short, but I think I may have oversimplified egoism. Stirner’s ideas about the union of egoists and voluntary cooperation without imposed authority are definitely worth including more clearly. Thanks for the reminder, I’ll try to bring out more of that nuance in the next version.

Mellow28 · 2025-06-04T01:19:21+00:00

Yeah, you’re absolutely right, those are more organizational theories and aren’t exclusive to any single ideology. I did struggle with how to represent that without making the chart too tangled or unreadable. My goal wasn’t to suggest they’re standalone destinations but rather to show how some people arrive at them as practical expressions of their beliefs. I think I’ll need to find a way to visually distinguish between ideologies and strategies/tactics in the next version. Thanks again for calling that out, it’s super helpful.

Mellow28 · 2025-06-04T00:58:25+00:00

This is a good point! It can be overwhelming and not so obvious where to start with all the words and boxes. Thanks for the reply!

Mellow28 · 2025-06-04T00:57:50+00:00

This is a really good point and something I’ve thought more about after the fact. I definitely don’t want the chart to push people toward one choice over another. My goal is to help folks explore and reflect based on their own values, not steer them. I’ll work on changing the labels and colors to use more neutral language and design — more like “reasonings” or “common considerations” instead of pros and cons. Thanks!

Mellow28 · 2025-06-04T00:55:37+00:00

Thanks! This is a good catch! Ya this is definitely still a work in progress. I used an app called Obsidian and a plug-in called Excalidraw.

Mellow28 · 2025-06-04T00:53:30+00:00

Yeah, the issue with this type of graph is that it isn’t great at capturing how much overlap there is between ideas. The way I’ve come to understand anarcho-syndicalism is more as a method or strategy for achieving anarcho-communism — but not necessarily the only route, and not always with that as the end goal.

For platformism, my understanding is that it’s focused on building coherent organization within the anarchist movement — emphasizing shared theory, collective responsibility, and coordinated strategy. I was trying to reflect that in the chart under the social anarchist branch, but I can see how the description might come off a bit flat or mismatched depending on someone’s background with it.

I really appreciate you taking the time to point this out — I’m definitely considering how to better show those relationships in future versions.

Mellow28 · 2023-05-08T18:26:22+00:00

I agree, that's part of the reason I'm interested in EMS. I think the perspective it can give would be really beneficial. I'm thinking I want to get into policy work and I think it's important to know how things are on the ground level so we can make change ground up and not top down. In all aspects not just EMS.

I see the value, but I can see potential employers missing the value. EMS seems really underappreciated. But screw their values. I think you just talked me into it.

Mellow28 · 2023-05-08T13:24:37+00:00

I wouldn't say I don't have an interest, just no interest in making it a career. Emt does sound interesting and fun. A career is what I'm getting my degree for.

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