In simplest terms, anarchism stands against not just government, but all forms of domination and exploitation. This includes government, but also capitalism, landlordism, interest, and profit. In addition, anarchism stands for decentralized direct democracy, free association, the replacement of capitalist private property "rights" with possession/use rights, direct worker ownership and control of the means of production, direct action instead of political action, delegation instead of representation, and total freedom (which is inherently limited by the "other person's nose"). Anarchism is a variant of socialism, because it is for workers' control of the means of production, but is a form of libertarian socialism rather than state socialism. Unlike the various sorts of state socialism, anarchism is for not only workers' control of the means of production, but direct democratic control of all aspects of life (instead of by some self-appointed "party" or legislature which supposedly knows and acts in the interests of the people). Those things which are difficult to control at a small level where immediate direct democracy can be practiced are controlled through delegation, which is different from representation because the delegates are not only chosen by the rank and file, but are also given mandates that they must and must only carry out by the rank and file, and can be recalled at any time for any reason (all of these are done in a directly democratic fashion). Anarchism stands against capitalism, because capitalism is inherently authoritarian. Those who say that capitalism is freedom, forget to say that it is just freedom for only those who are in the ruling class. As for the workers, who make up the vast majority of the population, the only freedom they have under it is to choose who exploits them. They have no real control over the means of production. They do not receive the fruits of their labor; all they get is their paycheck, which they need to survive (which is why most people really don't have the freedom to not be employed by anyone, unlike what supporters of capitalism say). There is no real democracy in capitalism; the workplace is run in a thoroughly authoritarian fashion by a hierarchy of bosses and managers, ending up at the top with the executives and big shareholders. Anarchism also stands against state socialism and "Communism," because those also aren't freedom in any respect. First thing, most forms of "state socialism" and "Communism" are really state capitalism, which is similar to private capitalism except that the government replaces the company as the unit of competition, the ruling class is composed of the Party apparatchiks and or the politicians and bureaucrats which make up the government, and that one doesn't have the choice of what/who they are exploited by. "Communism" is really like the "cradle-to-grave" capitalism, where one not only works in company factories, but also in company houses in company towns, etc. On the other hand, anarchists tend to prefer state socialism over private capitalism, because there at least is some social support structure rather than none at all (this does not mean that they advocate or are willing to settle with state socialism, though). At the same time, anarchists often treat Communists (especially Stalinists) in the same fashion as fascists and such (even to the point of armed conflict). Anarchism is a very often misunderstood political theory (not ideology, because ideology means a fixed set of prescribed ideas that are automatically correct as a block), which forms a real alternative to both capitalism and state socialism, both republican ("democratic") and autocratic/totalitarian. It is for both freedom and social justice, rather than just for social justice or "freedom" (capitalism claims to be for freedom, but really isn't for that at all). It is against impersonal "representation," where a body of elected politicians from an elite make decisions for the rank and file without their input, and replaces that with making decisions directly and democratically, and carrying out in the same exact fashion. It empowers the people directly, rather than empowering some elite to act in their name. Luckily, anarchism today has very significantly replaced state socialism on the far left, and is further expanding, but anarchism still has a very far way to go until there will be any real revolutionary change.