There are many disagreeing takes on everything from folks who identify as anarchist, but “no government” doesn’t mean “nothing the government does should be done at all.”

Instead the idea is to foster organization of society such that relationships of domination are minimized. Some frame this as the development of a much more active and empowered “civil society” of negotiation, production, and problem solving that, in its approach, is fundamentally at odds with and hampered by the authority-oriented organizational model of government.

And the notion of direct action emphasizes the difference between petitioning representatives to change the world on one hand, with taking up responsibility for action and organization yourself on the other.

how exactly do you think thats “hands on”?

It’s really simple… the whole idea behind anarchism (and all libertarian socialist thought, for that matter) is to put the power of decision and action back into the hands of communities and not a bunch of far-removed and unaccountable political racketeers (which is essentially how anarchists view “formal” political establishments - and they are entirely correct in this view)

Or is this one of those things where people have invented new definitions

No. Nothing new about it… the meaning behind the term “socialism” (for instance) has always referred to a condition where the workers own the means of production. The big split in the left happened because Marxists believed the state could represent the workers - the Bakuninist anarchists believed the state would simply form a new “political elite” and simply become the new elite repressing the working class. This happened long before the Russian revolution… and subsequent events proved the anarchist side correct beyond a shadow of a doubt.

I think what they mean by hands on is most likely direct action. That would include going to protests and participating in projects of mutual aid.

Chomsky is considered an anarchist but does talk about justified/unjustified hierarchies.

From my very limited understanding, anarchism can mean many things depending on your ideology and the context of conversation. When I mentioned it being more pragmatic and hands on, I meant in the sense of things like mutual aid or direct action. Instead of waiting for institutions to take the reins on social issues, you and a few buddies just do it instead. People are hungry? Then feed them. Homeless? Build shelters. That sort of thing.

There’s also the idea of anarchism being less an ideology, and more a mode of activism. Challenging hierarchies to justify their existence and when they can’t, working to dismantle them. I came across this talk by Noam Chomsky about anarchism that kind of made it click for me. That’s about all I’m willing to say because I could be wrong or misinformed about these things; but that’s where I was coming from.

Please See rule number 4 of this community and if this was really a naive question than please educate yourself about the very basics of Anarchism before posting in this community.

Oh and despite all its failings the USSR never claimed to be communist.

How the fuck is it NOT hands on if there’s no government in the way? Whose hands do you think we’re talking about?