Journal of Political Ideologies (June 2009), 14(2), 189–210.

Author’s Abstract

Anarchism is a philosophy opposed to hierarchy and authority, and
is used as a critical lens to analyze the whole of human society. As with members of
all social groupings, anarchists differ from each other in many ways, one of which
is their political ideology. At least two visibly distinct ideological variants of
anarchism are distinguishable in the US—a red anarchism that emphasizes
economic concerns and a green anarchism that focuses upon the environment.
American anarchists have long assumed, based upon anecdotal evidence, that
there are differences in ideological variant identification between those on the two
US coasts. Using survey data, two distinct measures of ideology were formed and
respondents were classified into four separate US regions. Although the majority
of anarchists do not specify a particular orientation, Northeasterners were
associated with red anarchism, while Westerners were associated with green
anarchism. These differences may be created and/or reinforced by structural or
organizational factors.