英語中的無政府主義「anarchism」一詞源於希臘語「ἀναρχία」（anarkhia），意指「沒有統治者」。該希臘語由前綴「ἀ-」（即沒有）及單詞「αρχία」（即統治者或領導者）所組成。後綴「-ism」表示有利於無政府狀態的思潮[3]。自1642年起，「anarchism」一詞以「anarchisme」的形式出現在英語中；1539年起則以「anarchy」來表示——早期使用者以其代指失序感[4]。 法國大革命期間，參與其中的各個派別皆標籤敵方為「無政府主義者」，但當中有些派別與後繼者存有很多共同理念。部分19世紀的革命活動家（包括戈德温、魏特林）影響了下一代的無政府主義學說，但他們不會把自身的理念稱為「無政府主義」[5]。第一位稱自身為無政府主義者（法語：anarchiste）的政治哲學家為普魯東，這使得無政府主義於19世紀中葉正式誕生。由于欧洲无政府主义者19世纪下半叶活动频繁，清朝报纸时常对其有所报导，但当时并未使用带有“无政府”的词汇，而是音译为“鴨那雞撕德黨”或意译为“无君党”[6]。1901年，受日语常用译法影响，流亡日本的梁启超在《清议报》上报道美国无政府主义者（英语：Anarchism in the United States）里昂·乔戈什刺杀总统威廉·麦金莱时，第一次称呼乔戈什为“无政府党”；由于《清议报》在当时的知识分子间有着巨大的影响力，这一译名很快取代了过去“鴨那雞撕德黨”和“无君党”的译法[7]。1902年，马君武基于英国社会主义者托马斯·柯卡普（克喀伯）《社会主义史》的第9章〈无政府主义〉，译出了《俄罗斯大风潮》[8]，并“极力推崇无政府主义这种‘新主义’”[a]。
在十九世紀末至二十世紀初，無政府主義思潮直捲全球[49]。此一趨勢在國際工團主義運動中尤其明顯[50]。中國的一些學生引入了無政府共產主義思想，並在此之上追隨民主及科學[51]。東京亦吸引了一些具有顛覆國家思想的遠東青年前往學習[52]。在拉丁美洲，阿根廷（英语：Anarchism in Argentina）是无政府主义者的據點，當中又以无政府工团主义為左翼意識形態中的主流[53]。這段時期，少部分无政府主义者利用暴力手段來達至他們的政治目的，這種策略被稱為行動宣傳[54]。無政府個人主義者的政治表達和行為在法國社會主義運動解體及巴黎公社社员（英语：Communards）被處決和放逐後興起[55]。儘管許多无政府主义者不從事任何的恐怖主義行為，但他們仍受到迫害及污名化，甚至被拒移民——美國的《1903年移民法案（英语：Immigration Act of 1903）》訂明該國不接受無政府主義者移民[56]。同一時期，一些無政府主義者接納了非法主義的思想[57][54]。
當今無政府主義者的暴力程度，總体上比古典时代要低。他們大多會在示威時跟警方進行武力對抗、把行動升級至騷亂層面，並投擲燃烧瓶，這在加拿大、墨西哥（英语：Anarchism in Mexico）、希臘（英语：Anarchism in Greece）等地較為常見。激进示威者也會以黑群的形式出現，當中每個人都穿着黑色服裝，然後當中一些會跟警方發生衝突[132]。不過他們不僅會跟權力機關發生衝突，還會參與對抗種族主義者及法西斯主義者的鬥爭。當法西斯主義者舉行仇恨集會時，無政府主義者便會採取反法西斯主義行動，阻止集會進行[133]。
无政府主义者对国家的具體態度不盡相同。沃尔夫（英语：Robert Paul Wolff）認為自主與威權之間的緊張關係，足以證明國家永遠不可能具備正當性。巴枯寧认为国家意味着暴力，「就是借助在可能的情况下伪装起来的、而在万不得已的情况下就撕下伪装、真相毕露的暴力的统治」。倾向于哲学无政府主义的西蒙斯（英语：A. John Simmons）和格林（英语：Leslie Green (philosopher)）則表示，若國家以協商一致的方式治理，那麽其便有正當性。不過他們認為這幾乎沒什麽可能做到[169]。無政府主義者對於怎樣才能廢除國家的看法亦各異[170]。
藝術
無政府主義畫家畢沙羅所繪的《奧尼的栗子树》（Les chataigniers a Osny）体现了无政府主义与艺术的融合[171]。
亦有批評認為无政府主义無視及錯誤了解服從權威的生物傾向性——此一理論由弗格森於1886年的《北美評論（英语：North American Review）》上首次提出[188]。拉茲认为，接受权威等同於認為跟著其指示走會較有可能成功[189]。拉茲相信，不論權威的指示正確與否，此一論點都是正確的[190]。无政府主义者反對這類型的批評，因为挑战或不服从权威，並不等同於失去在承認醫師或律師等權威為可靠時的好處，承認時亦不等同完全放棄獨立判斷[191]。无政府主义者排斥国家、相信社会革命的思維，乃至了解人性的方式，皆被学术界批评為「過於天真和簡化，完全不切實際」[192]。古典无政府主义因过度相信「废除国家将使人类合力共荣」，而受到了批評[147]。
Heywood 2017，第146–147頁; Bakunin 1990: "They [the Marxists] maintain that only a dictatorship—their dictatorship, of course—can create the will of the people, while our answer to this is: No dictatorship can have any other aim but that of self-perpetuation, and it can beget only slavery in the people tolerating it; freedom can be created only by freedom, that is, by a universal rebellion on the part of the people and free organization of the toiling masses from the bottom up".
Marshall 1993，第565頁: "In fact, few anarchists would accept the 'anarcho-capitalists' into the anarchist camp since they do not share a concern for economic equality and social justice, Their self-interested, calculating market men would be incapable of practising voluntary co-operation and mutual aid. Anarcho-capitalists, even if they do reject the State, might therefore best be called right-wing libertarians rather than anarchists".; Honderich 1995，第31頁; Meltzer 2000，第50頁: "The philosophy of "anarcho-capitalism" dreamed up by the "libertarian" New Right, has nothing to do with Anarchism as known by the Anarchist movement proper".; Goodway 2006，第4頁: "'Libertarian' and 'libertarianism' are frequently employed by anarchists as synonyms for 'anarchist' and 'anarchism', largely as an attempt to distance themselves from the negative connotations of 'anarchy' and its derivatives. The situation has been vastly complicated in recent decades with the rise of anarcho-capitalism, 'minimal statism' and an extreme right-wing laissez-faire philosophy advocated by such theorists as Murray Rothbard and Robert Nozick and their adoption of the words 'libertarian' and 'libertarianism'. It has therefore now become necessary to distinguish between their right libertarianism and the left libertarianism of the anarchist tradition".; Newman 2010，第53頁: "It is important to distinguish between anarchism and certain strands of right-wing libertarianism which at times go by the same name (for example, Murray Rothbard's anarcho-capitalism)".
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