What is Compassionate Anarchy?

By (I)An-ok Ta Chai
Compassionate anarchy is a newly emerging revolutionary tendency, and a
mode of relating that goes back to the dawn of humanity. Compassionate
anarchy is a practice that can be incredibly hard to learn and keep, while at
the same time, some of the most enjoyable moments of our lives have been
when we have practiced it.
Compassion is what keeps anarchy from degenerating into violent chaos and
individual autonomy from resulting in disrespect and disregard for others.
Anarchy is what keeps our compassion from becoming a hollow shell of the
real thing - its what keeps our love for others from becoming a commodity
that is sold back to us or a ploy to make us acquiescent to the dictates of
authority. Compassionate anarchy is about finding and appreciating the
genuine soul in human beings and keeping it free from all authority,
submission, moralism, and static roles.
This approach holds that there exist real-life processes and actions that can
be taken to create more compassion and anarchy in our lives in the here-andnow. Compassion and anarchy are not just vague feel-good poetic
phrases or proscriptions/descriptions of a future society they are interactive
relationships that human beings everywhere can and do take part in.
This approach eschews lifestylism and strives for far-reaching anarchist
social revolution. However, unlike many anarchist approaches to revolution,
compassionate anarchy seeks to avoid dehumanization, polarization, and
projecting enemy images onto others. The anarchist social revolution is seen
as the immense application and proliferation of anarchist ways of relating.
This approach is akin to Gustav Landauers sentiment when he said: The
State is a condition, a certain relationship between human beings, a mode of
human behavior; we destroy it by contracting other relationships, by
behaving differently.

Compassionate anarchy draws a lot of inspiration from the famous anarchist

theorist Peter Kropotkin and his concept of mutual aid the notion that
people supporting each other and helping one another out is a natural part of
being human. To this end, direct action relationships of sharing and
cooperation, in both the material and non-material realms, are greatly
encouraged.
Mutual aid is in turn seen as best taking place when it is done so out of what
the author Marshall Rosenberg calls natural giving, which is action done
not out of any sense of fear, anger, duty, obligation or hope of reward, but
instead out of a genuine desire to contribute to the well-being of others. To
best facilitate action done out of natural giving, compassionate anarchy
draws from the understandings and practices that generally go under the
label of Nonviolent Communication, or NVC for short. Nonviolent
Communication is not viewed as a rule-book or dogma to follow, but is
instead used for the tools that it offers to help us more honestly and directly
connect with the humanity in both ourselves and others.
Some of the defining characteristics of compassionate anarchy are not
proscriptions for behavior or pictures of utopic future societies, but instead
the series of questions that it encourages us to ask. Some of these questions
are: What exactly am I wanting to see done?, What motivation do I want
to see this done out of?, What fundamental needs/values are behind this
action?, How can I best contribute to life in a way that is enjoyable?
Asking deep and honest questions is far more likely to foster true
understanding and connection than proclamations over what we should be
doing.
Although much can be written about compassionate anarchy, it is
fundamentally a human EXPERIENCE and not another theory to be argued
over. Compassion, peaceful cooperation and deep respect do happen, they
are experiences that we have in our lives already this approach seeks to
encourage and foster these experiences. While a lot of important information
can be conveyed through writing and lectures, compassionate anarchy can
not really be personally understood unless one draws from ones own
experience.

Empathy is a key component of compassionate anarchy. Empathy is seen as

a glue that helps society stay together and not degenerate into a war of allagainst-all; and empathy is seen as being revolutionary tool that aids in
revolutionary organizing. Beyond notions of working class solidarity,
community organizing and solidarity of the oppressed lies empathy
the practice of people deeply listening to and understanding one another in a
very real and fundamental way. Without empathy, the connections between
people that need to be made in order to effectively challenge the alienation
and atomization inherent in capitalism and institutional authority will not
happen.
Compassionate anarchy is not about nonviolence or violence, green
anarchy or class struggle anarchy. It draws from these what it can, but
ultimately tries to learn from what is BEHIND all of these. For example,
with nonviolence compassionate anarchy asks what dynamics and
processes comprise and make up violence, and what effect it has on us.
With approaches supportive of violence, compassionate anarchy strives to
find the most full, effective and sustainable forms of protection and safety
possible. With green anarchy compassionate anarchy strives to find how to
rid ourselves of our own domestication, with class struggle anarchy the
question is on what is behind class unity and solidarity. Behind every belief
and approach to life is a genuine desire to meet needs and live values, and
with this being the case, compassionate anarchy seeks to dialogue with and
learn from others rather than be trapped in debate and dehumanization of
others because of differences in opinion or approach.
This was a broad and brief introduction to compassionate anarchy it is
hoped that the other texts here can result in more of a full understanding of
the whole thing. And beyond that, it is hoped that this can serve as
inspiration to be more aware of ones own behaviors and motivations and to
try to practice compassionate anarchy within ones own life!

Tearing Down The Walls Between Us

By (I)An-ok Ta Chai
One of the greatest ironies out there is that while anarchists claim to value
cooperation, mutual aid, sharing, individual responsibility and respecting
autonomy, all too often one finds incredible in-fighting, contention,
controversy, ideological sectarianism, splits, name-calling, poor group
dynamics, denial of responsibility and distrust within the anarchist scene.
Anarchists claim to want a sweeping global social revolution based in local
grass-roots organizing, yet it is well-known that anarchism as a coherent
body of thought largely stays within a narrow sub-culture of 20-something
white activists, theorists and punks. I believe that there is a way out of these
problems, and I believe that Compassionate Communication(also known as
"Nonviolent Communication," or "NVC" for short, I use all three terms
interchangeably) can serve a vital role in us getting out of this mess. NVC is
not a new way of policing how we speak, nor does it require two or more
people practicing it in order for it to work. I've seen people use NVC to help
themselves get really honest and vulnerable with other people, to help
facilitate great compassion, caring and understanding among people, and I
would really like to see anarchists and anti-authoritarians engage in this way
of relating as well.
I can imagine that your possible reaction upon reading this could be "what is
this pacifist hippie bullshit?!" or "we don't need any touchy-feely New Age
nonsense when we have serious organizing work to be doing!" Behind this I
imagine that you could be feeling anxious, confused, annoyed or even angry,
that you're wanting to see how something with a name like "Compassionate
Communication" could have anything to do with anarchism or activism. I
hope to show you how NVC is not only relevant to anarchism and social
change, but how if we are to break out of the countless ruts, in-fighting, and
sub-cultural ghettos, we will need NVC.

I would like to tell you a story about myself. Ive been an anarchist for about
seven and a half years, and during this time Ive gone through about a year

of being very bitter, disillusioned, angry, pessimistic and cynical about

anarchism and radical social change. I had experienced first-hand a lot of the
ideological pissing contests, controversies, splits, projects falling apart,
people not following through on things that they said they would do, endless
boring meetings, people talking(or, yelling is more like it) past one
another, and just the general anger that was in great abundance within the
anarchist scene. After experiencing a great deal of this, I finally reached my
limit and let disillusionment and cynicism wash over me. This resulted in me
retreating from the general anarchist scene and pretty much just sticking
with my small group of friends as we sarcastically judged and derided other
anarchists and activists for the various flaws that we saw in their beliefs or
actions. After a while though, I saw that this approach to life really wasnt
helping me that much, that I wanted more happiness and hope than what this
strategy was giving me. It was around this time that I discovered
Compassionate Communication.
When I first started seriously looking into Compassionate Communication, it
took me a while to really get it and apply it to myself. For me, it was just
such a different paradigm than what I was used to, I was so used to labeling,
judging and evaluating myself and other people. I was very stuck in my own
head, part of which was because of the anarchist arguing culture that I came
from. But after a while, I started understanding it more and more, and then
eventually one night I came to the startling realization that a lot of the
conflicts, problems and unhappiness within the anarchist scene that I had
experienced, I had actively contributed to myself. I realized that some of the
projects I was in that had collapsed and some of my friendships that I had
lost, maybe did not have to happen if I knew and practiced NVC back then. I
was in tears at that discovery, and I made a promise to myself then that I did
not want to repeat the same mistakes that I had made in the past, that I want
to consciously try to interact with people in different ways, ways that are
more honest, empathic and that get to the core of whatever is going on.

So you may be wondering now, what is Compassionate Communication?

There are many possible answers to this, but I would say that it is a series of
tools, understandings and a framework that helps us focus our attention on

whatever is really important and fundamental to others or ourselves in a

given moment. One of the things that initially drew me to NVC was the
many obvious similarities between it and anarchism. For example, NVC
literature and materials repeatedly speak of eliminating relationships of
domination, hierarchy and power over people, NVC emphasizes the
importance of autonomy, cooperation, individual responsibility and
interdependence, and many NVC proponents express a desire for a global
social change to where a critical mass of people are living their lives based
on voluntary cooperation, mutual aid, real democracy, and respecting one
anothers autonomy. NVC also appealed to me because I saw the cross-overs
between it and my appreciation of the writings of the 19th century anarchist
philosopher Max Stirner, what with NVCs exhortations to do things not out
of guilt, shame, fear, duty or obligation but because you clearly see how it
can meet your own needs or because you see how you can enjoy
contributing to the well-being of others. These cross-overs with anarchism
initially piqued my interest, but then I discovered that there is a lot more to
NVC as well.
I see NVC as in many ways picking up where anarchism leaves off. I see
anarchism as providing a broad social framework, envisioning a world
without capitalism, patriarchy, the State or other forms of hierarchy and
domination while also providing a coherent set of positive principles through
which to live and organize by. I see NVC, in turn, as both providing a useful
guide in how to apply anarchist principles to our lives and organizing as well
as how to reach out to and genuinely connect with other people who are not
anarchists or radicals. This can help us to both live our values, as well as to
grow and spread our movement to hopefully expand to social revolutionary
proportions.
NVC itself can be described in two ways, the NVC model and the NVC
consciousness. The NVC model is but a mere guide, a useful framework,
that will hopefully aid in one achieving the NVC consciousness. The NVC
model is broken down into four parts: observations, feelings, needs and
requests.

Observations are clear, observable, factual things that we experience in some

way. It could be something that we see, hear, touch, etc., or it could even be
a specific thought or memory that goes through your head. NVC makes sure

to not mix observation with any form of evaluation, judgment, or

interpretation, it just seeks to keep the observation as pure and factual as
possible. The observation is just something that happened, not what we or
others think about something that happened.
Feelings are a clear physical or emotional thing that one experiences. NVC
makes sure to not mix feelings with evaluation or judgment and only keep it
in the realm of what one is directly experiencing. For example, some
feelings would be excited, overwhelmed, confident, or irritated as
opposed to cheated, patronized, unwanted or ridiculed which are
feelings mixed with evaluations or judgments.
Needs are the fundamental motivating reasons for why we do the things that
we do. Needs are universal, everyone has the same needs, and they exist
independently of a certain person doing a certain thing. Needs are not just
physical, they can be mental, psychological, or social as well. What NVC
considers to be needs are things that are needed for a human being to have a
really meaningful, enjoyable and fulfilling life, as opposed to just physically
surviving. NVC makes a clear distinction between needs and strategies to
meet needs. For example, money and status are considered to be just
strategies to meet needs, whereas food, safety, autonomy, and appreciation
are considered to be fundamental needs. Needs being met or not met are the
cause of ones feelings, whereas the observation that one experiences is the
stimulus for the feelings.
Requests are clear and doable things that we can do to meet our needs.
Requests are distinctly different from demands, things that one is asked to do
and will be punished for if one does not carry them out. NVC strives to have
people ask requests and carry them out not out of a hope for a reward, nor
out of fear of punishment. NVC hopes to have people fulfill the requests of
others purely out of a desire to contribute to the well-being of others or ones
self.

So, to put these steps into the NVC model with the intention of expressing
ones own state of being, one would say something like: When I see
**observation** I feel **feelings** because I am needing **needs**, would
you be willing to **request**? Likewise, if one is to use the NVC model to

guess at what someone else might be experiencing, one would say

something like: When you see **observation** do you feel **feelings**
because you are needing **needs**, and would you like me to
**request**?
A lot of people see the NVC model as being the entirety of NVC, and as a
result come to a conclusion that NVC is just some kind of stilted formula for
how to speak with people. It is for this reason why I consider it to be very
important to be mindful of the NVC consciousness, which is the end goal
that the NVC model is supposed to aid in one achieving.
The NVC consciousness is a certain mindset, a certain way that one views
and approaches both ones self and others. This includes staying aware of the
four components of the NVC model in ones dealings with others and with
the thought processes that pass through ones own mind as well. However,
unlike the NVC model, the consciousness of NVC is by no means sequential
or formulaic, it is an awareness, a focus that one keeps in mind. The NVC
consciousness also keeps in mind other things as well, like that one is not the
cause of another persons emotions - peoples needs are the cause, that
people are responsible for their own actions and choices that they make, that
it makes more sense to connect with the needs behind what people do rather
than punishing or rewarding them, that we are all human beings rather than
labels, roles or enemy images, that in the long run it meets our needs in a
more authentic and sustainable way by finding solutions that meets the
needs of all involved rather than just meeting our needs at the expense of
others.

Miki Kashtan, coordinator of the NVC Social Change Project, elaborates

on this last point: When we use force, blame and self-righteousness instead,
even if we manage to create the outcome we want in the short run, we
distance ourselves from those whose actions we want to change. Success in
the short run does not lead to the transformation we so wish for, neither in

ourselves nor in those we are trying to change. Sooner or later, those with
more power will prevail, and we are left bitter and defeated. This cycle is a
major cause of burn-out among activists.(from the article No Enemies,
No Demands which can be found here:
http://www.cnvc.org/noenemies.htm )
This brings me back to the application of NVC to anarchism and activism. I
see a lot of in-fighting, controversies, splits, and general contention within
the anarchist/activist scene, and I think that a lot of this stems from how we
view and relate to one another and ourselves. For example, when we call
people selfish, reactionary, authoritarian, sexist, lazy, closed
minded, or bourgeois, we are not referring to a clear observation that we
are reacting to, nor are we referring to what we are personally feeling,
needing or what actions we would like to see. Labels such as these serve to
project enemy images on those we are referring to, it is the automatic
drawing up of sides with the implication being that the side that is labeled
such is the bad side that deserves to be punished somehow.
What I would like to see instead of this, is an empathic interplay. When
someone says or does something that you are triggered by, first you can
check in with yourself, see what you are reacting to, see what you are feeling
and needing, and what specific action you would like to see the other person
do. Then you can express this to the other person, and if they respond by
saying something that triggers you, you can repeat this process with this new
stimulus. Another option is to empathize with the other person who is doing
something that you do not enjoy. What is this other person feeling and what
are their underlying needs behind what they are doing? You can guess at this
and ask the other person for clarification on whether this is true. This can in
turn be another kind of dialogue that you can have to help resolve this
situation.

I tend to find it the most useful to engage in a mix of these two processes
both checking in with myself to see what is going on within myself as well
as empathizing with the other person to try to discover what is going on
within them and why they are doing what they are doing. It does not help to
jump into a situation with an immediate goal in mind that one wants to see
come about, I find it far more useful to make sure that a clear mutual

understanding is established about what feelings and needs are active for
everyone involved, and only once I am certain that we are all very much
aware of that, then going about a process of creatively strategizing to find
ways to meet the needs of all those involved.
I also see great potential for NVC to be used in community outreach and
organizing as well. Often-times anarchists and radical activists come from a
very unique and marginal sub-culture, which makes it hard for us to truly
understand those we regard as mainstream or non-political. NVC can be
used to help us dissect what exactly is going on with those whom we do not
understand, with those that we are alienated from for various cultural
reasons. Mainstream and non-political people all have feelings and
needs within them as well, and it is through the use of NVC that we can
bridge the gaps between us and help us bring about clear mutual
understanding.
Going back to my earlier story you may be wondering what was it about
NVC that led to me escaping my cynicism and pessimism about the
anarchist/activist scene? Ill tell you NVC helped me connect with my own
humanity and the humanity of those around me. I was able to stop viewing
other anarchists as reactionary, authoritarian, incompetent or any
other negating label, and instead was able to see them as actual human
beings, striving to meet various needs of theirs in the best way they know
how. The same goes with the mainstream and non-political people as
well, I stopped seeing them as clueless, consumerist and short-sighted
and was able to see them as the fragile, scared and fallible human beings that
they are, trying to get by in this world. Sure, all too often I lose the NVC
consciousness and go off on labeling and judging myself or others, but at
least now I know that a deeper understanding and way of authentically
relating to other people without domination and hierarchy is indeed possible
right now.

Empathy Groups
(By (I)An-ok Ta Chai, with pieces adapted from the work of Miki and Inbal Kashtan)

In order to get better at empathizing with people, practice is needed. We live

in a society where empathy and deep understanding is discouraged and
moralistic judgements and static labels abound. In order to combat this and
provide a space for this much-needed learning of empathy skills, a strategy
that many have found useful is to create specific empathy practicing groups.
These are groups of people, three or more, who intentionally get together to
give and receive empathy. Miki Kashtan, an NVC trainer, best sums up the
general intention behind forming empathy groups with the quote: practice
supports vision, community supports practice.
These groups usually take the form of one person speaking openly about a
problem, experience, thought or issue in their life, while others in the group
try to guess at the feelings and needs that are underlying what the person is
saying. No expertise is needed to create these groups, all you need is the
drive and a couple other people. Here are some tips on carrying out a
fulfilling empathy group:
- Use the classical Nonviolent Communication model, especially if you are
new to NVC. This is to help keep one reminded of and focused on the
actual feelings and needs at play in the moment. The classic NVC model
is: Are you feeling because you are needing?
- Be sure to avoid mixing in evaluations, interpretations, diagnosis,
judgement, criticism and praise when speaking directly of feelings and
needs. Mixing this in can distract from the understanding, connection and
healing power that empathy can have. Feel free to consult the feelings
and needs lists to get some ideas on what pure feelings and needs look
like.
- Keep in mind that empathy is not the words or phrases used, but the
attention and focus that one maintains. Non-verbal empathy can be just as
useful, for the same quality of presence is still there.
- When someone is receiving empathy during an empathy group,
sometimes the connection is found most easily if that person is receiving
verbal empathy from just one person. Other times deep connection occurs
when the whole group participates in giving verbal empathy. To support
the process, it is encouraged that those not actively speaking at any given
time to continue to actively participate through giving non-verbal
empathy by focusing your attention on connecting with the speakers
feelings and needs.
- Please refrain from giving advice or discussing a persons issue unless
advice or discussion is explicitly requested AND group members have

connected with the needs underlying the request and how this will
contribute to that person. This is because advice and discussion abound in
our society, whereas the genuine search for and appreciation of ones
subjective experience and underlying needs is very few and far between.
The goals of all of this are authentic connection and deep understanding,
not reading from scripts or abiding by a rule-book. Therefore it is always
a personal judgement call in the moment about what to say, when to say
it, and how to go about things exactly. If something(such as the classical
NVC model or verbal empathy guesses) is not helping you to establish
real connection and understanding, feel free to use another tactic for that
situation.
Staying with these simple guidelines is so different from our accustomed
ways of speaking and thinking that it may be very hard or uncomfortable
to do. However, many have experienced that there are many layers of
depth to be discovered through this very simple tool if one sticks with it
longer than one could before. Feel free to take the time to check in with
your OWN feelings and needs if your discomfort is making it hard to be
fully present with the other person.
In thinking about how to divide time in your group, you may want to
consider either dividing time equally each meeting, or giving one person
more time each meeting. If you choose the latter, it is suggested that you
still give each person at least a few minutes to check in with whats going
on for them at the moment, then proceed with focusing on one person for
the remainder of the time.
Take your time! Dont rush things. Pauses and moments of silence can be
very useful in having one reflect on and fully consider ones feelings and
needs. A barrage or rapid succession of empathy guesses can detract from
having one fully appreciate what is going on for them, internally.
Dont be attached to results. While empathy can indeed have a personally
healing or transformative effect on people, being attached to certain
outcomes can distract from being fully present and appreciating where
someone is at in the moment.

== The Empathy Collective ==

http://lists.riseup.net/www/info/empathycollective

The Empathy Collective is a collective and forum of anarchists trying to

learn, practice, and spread Nonviolent Communication, aka "NVC", aka
"Compassionate Communication".
In this group we will:
Give and receive empathy among group members.
Network, and provide support and mutual aid among group members.
Synthesize the ideas, understandings and practices of both anarchism and
Nonviolent Communication, contributing to the development and expression
of new NVC-anarchist theory and practice.
Larger goals include:
Supporting community, solidarity, and connection among group members,
and anarchists everywhere who value and strive to practice Nonviolent
Communication.
Inspiration and support for new projects with an NVC-anarchist orientation
to them, such as:
Local NVC practice groups and empathy circles for anarchists, NVCanarchist publications and websites, producing and distributing essays and
pamphlets with NVC-anarchist ideas, organizing and presenting NVC
introductions and workshops, AND/or offering to assist as mediators for
conflicts among anarchists, activists and radicals.
Bringing the NVC approach to anarchism as a coherent, comprehensive and
grounded new paradigm for anarchist understanding and practice.
Conflict resolution assistance for group members using NVC.

== Who and How ==

These are requests, not rules.

This is a collective and forum of people who are fairly committed to both
NVC and anarchism.
We request that before joining this group that you read the rest of this page,
on anarchism and NVC, plus the NVC book("Nonviolent Communication: A
Language of Life" by Marshall Rosenberg), to help you decide if you would
like to participate. We will be using NVC and anarchist practices and
language, and expect new participants to have at least some familiarity with
these.
We also request that you make a sincere effort to follow NVC principles in
your postings here. Two examples:
Include a request about what you want in response to your post (you're more
likely to get it). Do you want empathy? Strategy help? From whom? How?
Instead of from making judgments, diagnoses or evaluations (even
"positive" evaluations such as "you're very compassionate") of other persons
or groups under discussion, state what you're observing that leads you to
your evaluation, and what underlying needs of yours are "on-the-table."
== A Few Final Disclaimers ==
We do not see Nonviolent Communication and empathy *by themselves* as
being enough to bring about a transformative anarchist social revolution.
While we agree with the phrase "man does not live by bread alone", we also
turn it around and say "people do not live by empathy alone" as well. We
seek to have the whole diverse palette of universal human needs(check this
out for some examples of them: http://www.cnvc.org/needs.htm ) met
through direct action and cooperative means. Our focus, as a collective and a
forum, is on Nonviolent Communication and anarchism specifically. While
at the same time we do recognize that many other people and groups out
there are doing some very important work in other areas dealing with more
material and physical human needs.
Following the fundamental anarchist principle of "free association", this
collective and forum is a closed one. This means that not everyone can join
this group, and we can decide who we want to associate with, who we don't
want to associate with, and on what terms. There are no "rules" on how this

is to be determined - it is hoped that through engaged dialogues using NVC

we can determine our own associations in harmonious ways.
One does not need to call one's self an "anarchist" all the time, nor associate
with other self-identified "anarchists", to be a part of this collective and
forum. Nor does one have to have read a lot of anarchist or NVC literature
nor gone to a lot of NVC workshops and practice groups to be a part of this
either. It is not about the labels, what one reads or who one associates with
that are of interest to us, but rather the deeper understandings, analysis and
lived practices that we value. The phrases "anarchism" and "Nonviolent
Communication" generally refer to specific coherent bodies of thought and
practices, and it is *this* that we embrace and seek to live out in our lives.
This group has no official affiliation with and is not controlled by the Center
For Nonviolent Communication or BayNVC and does NOT purport to be
accurately representing or demonstrating the practice of Nonviolent
Communication as taught by the Center For Nonviolent Communication or
BayNVC. Our vision is for NVC to spread around the world through means
that are decentralized, grass-roots and autonomous.

Further Resources and Contacts:

Nonviolent Communication: A Language of Life by Marshall Rosenberg,

a pretty thorough introduction to NVC.
Dont Be Nice, Be Real by Kelly Bryson, an introduction to NVC with
some broader social analysis thrown in as well.
The Heart of Social Change by Marshall Rosenberg, a pamphlet on
applying NVC to social change activism.
Punished By Rewards by Alfie Kohn, an explanation how motivation and
systems based on rewards and punishment does not help us in the long run.
They Thought They Were Free: The Germans, 1933-35 by Milton Sanford
Mayer, an exploration of the humanity behind people who support
totalitarian systems.
Miki and Inbal Kashtan
C/o BayNVC
55 Santa Clara Ave, Ste 203, Oakland, CA 94610
Phone: 510-433-0700 e-mail: nvc@baynvc.org
The Empathy Collective:
http://lists.riseup.net/www/info/empathycollective
(I)An-ok Ta Chai
yanock@riseup.net

The following are words used to express a

combination of emotional states and
physical sensations, without mixing in
evaluation, diagnosis, interpretation or
judgement. This list is neither exhaustive
nor definitive, but is instead meant to be a
starting place to support our
understanding of feelings in their purest
form.

The following are words used to express

some of the fundamental human needs
that we all have, without mixing in
strategies, judgements or evaluations.
This list is neither exhaustive nor
definitive, but is instead meant to be a
starting place to support our
understanding of our own motivations in
their purest form.

Compassionate Anarchy:

Rediscovering the Anarchist Principle of

Human Compassion

Some questions to ask yourself

(a few personal questions to honestly ask yourself and reflect upon)

- Why are you an anarchist?

- What sustains you in your work?
- What do relationships of anarchy look like to you?
- How does some degree of deep understanding and connection with
people relate with relationships of anarchy?
- How often do I experience relationships of anarchy?
- How often do I experience deep understanding and connection with
people?
- How do relationships of anarchy manifest in the lives of ordinary
people?
- What keeps you from increasing the relationships of anarchy in your life?
- What are you trying to accomplish through not trying to increase these
relationships?
- Has being an anarchist improved your own life?
- How has being an anarchist improved your life?
- What are you doing to help an anarchist revolution come about?
- What are you doing that is a barrier to anarchist revolution coming
about?
- Why do you do those things that are a barrier?
- What personal changes are needed in people for an anarchist revolution
to happen?