Libertarian socialism (sometimes called social anarchism,[1][2] and sometimes left libertarianism[3])[4] is a group of political philosophies which aspire to create a society that is non-hierarchical, without private ownership of the means of production or an authoritarian state.
Adherents of libertarian socialism assert that a desirable synthesis of social equality and freedom could be achieved, at least in part, through abolishing authoritarian institutions which control certain means of production.[5] Libertarian socialism also constitutes a tendency of thought that informs the identification, criticism and practical dismantling of illegitimate authority in all aspects of social life.
Accordingly, libertarian socialists believe that "the exercise of power in any institutionalized form? whether economic, political, religious, or sexual? brutalizes both the wielder of power and the one over whom it is exercised."[6] Some anarchists have chosen the term "libertarian socialism" as a more explicit term to describe their philosophy.[7] Libertarian socialists generally place their hopes in decentralized means of direct democracy such as municipalities, citizens' assemblies, trade unions and workers' councils.[8]
Political philosophies commonly described as libertarian socialist include most varieties of anarchism (especially anarchist communism, anarchist collectivism, anarcho-syndicalism,[9] mutualism[10] and social ecology[11]) as well as autonomism and council communism.[12] Some writers use libertarian socialism synonymously with anarchism[13] and in particular social anarchism.[1][2]
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