Anarchy/self-government

Hey guys!, well lately ive been thinking of some pretty crazy ideas(so says my english teacher) so i had to write an essay about something i belive stongly in...so i decided on my way people should be governed...adn iI'm wondering 1. what everyone things 2. if it makes scence and 3. does anyone know of any referances that i could read more about others with my views...so here it goes.....i belive that people should be able to make their own decisions...there should be no laws, no rules, just the one guideline "with liberty and justice for all" meaning everyone should be able to do what ever they want w/o hurting anyone else, or infringing on anothers right to liberty and justice. I belive truly that people are good, and it is the laws that are currupting us, making all of us go agenst eachother to assert the point that we are our own leaders, our own bosses, and do not deserve to be demoted into being treated like a sub-human, or ruled over....so i dont have much time before i have to cathc the bus, i just wanted to know people's ideas on what i have to say...i thought it was anarchy, but i was told it wasent....hope you all dont mind me jabbering....so i hope to hear back from someone!!!!!!! Thanks

 

Trust me, they have the "do what you feel like" thing going on in Somalia, it isn't working that well.

 

Anarchy can only work in a small tribal society, or with the whole world in an enlightened state. Otherwise it will turn violent very very quickly.

 

Don't listen to them. There are all sorts of anti authoritarian socialist schools of thought, and there have been quite successful experiences with them in a few instances. First there was the Paris Commune, then there was the Kronstadt Rebellion and the anarchists in the Russian Civil War, and most importantly was the CNT-FAI anarchists and POUM Trotskyites in the Spanish Civil War. The central idea in anarchism is that the workers sieze and run the means of production, and not some elected body or dictatorship of the proletariat that supposedly represents the workers. Read the Homage to Catalonia by George Orwell, who, much as Reaganites and neo cons like to claim him for capitalism, was a fervent socialist his whole life. Follow this link http://orwell.ru/library/novels/Homage_to_Catalonia/english/e_htc

 

no governmet is actuly the only thing that can work becasue all other forms government end over time if everyone could just be smart enough or at lest get some common sence it would work

 

as an anarchist i believe that my beliefs will only work in small communes....never on a large scale since human nature is to fucked up to allow that...actually anarchy works best when your flying solo

 

yeah dude thats anarchy

 

i kind of figured it couldent work today...itrs just kind of my ideal...i do truly belive that people can live together with out hurting others. If all countrys could knock down their bounrys, alliances, and enimys and become citizins of a human race...oh the beauty and advancement we could do...in every subect....imagin the best scientist in the best labritorys with one cause, to better the human race...i mean call me a romantic but i think its possible...i know i sound like a 3 year old saying lets just be nice to everyone, but im serious...i belive that all humans can be good if they tried...and if they had no laws we could really be better...i know i really contradict myself alot but im still evolving my ideas..i was just hoping for some feed back, and thats what i got...thanks guys! its alwasy nice to have a civil discussion of belifs

 

Exactly. When you get past a certain number (i believe around 500) you don't know each other well enough. This means that disputes are not kept cool through being friends, relatives, neighbors...when you're strangers, it's much easier to lose your cool and commit a crime with a stranger. The only way to keep that from happening (through fear of punishment, as well as through having a neutral arbitrator for conflict resolution) is some sort of governmental body. The larger the society, the larger the government will be.

Of course, in smaller tribes, you at least knew your governing people. They were the elders. Now, government is a seperate entity, it's so big. I've never met the president, my state reps, or my governor...and even if I did, I'd never be able to get to know them on any level beyond a handshake. This means we need a government for the government these days. Very confusing waters we're swimming in now, lol...

 

Many crimes commited today are between people who know each other, rape, murder...they all have to have a motive.

 

True, but consider how complex and chaotic our world is...a far cry from a simple tribal life, no? Not saying they were perfect, but it's much harder for things to escalate to the point of murder or other severe crimes in such a society. Especially when you really depend on that person to live. Nowadays, if a man kills his neighbor, he doesn't worry that his death will hurt his ability to get food tomorrow...he gets his food at the supermarket. But a tribesman needs his community for the basics of life. The taboos against such crimes were stronger than in our modern world, simply because for a tribal, to kill another is to kill yourself, in a very literal sense.

 

as long as you take anarchy seriously and dont "believe" in it because it's "punk" to ,than its fine with me

 

www.infoshop.org
www.anarchistcommunitarian.net (somebody needs to jumpstart their asses)
www.ic.org
www.anarchistblackcross.net (I think) run a google seach on 'anarchist black cross'

 

What I find amusing is when people consider socialism/communism and anarchy to be the same thing, or even similar. In reality, it would be difficult to find two ideologies more opposite than those.

I guess I am an anarchist of sorts. I believe in the world as a violent chaotic place. I believe in natural selection. I do not believe in protecting weak strangers from themselves. I believee that every human is capable and has not only a right, but an obligation to take care of themselves. I believe that criminal behavior (enhancing your own life at the expense of innocents) and antisocial behavior (harming innocents for pleasure) is a weakness, and should be punished by death. I believe that all other weaknesses should be punished by their natural outcomes. I believe that trial by fire will save the human race from inevitable destruction by eliminating the weak and returning us to a natural and sustainable lifestyle and population.

I believe that weakness and strength are 99% in the mind and with the exeption of those with physical or mental disabilities every man and woman is capable of shaping his or her own destiny.

I believe that none of this will happen without a massive global disaster, so I'm not counting on it. On the other hand, I live this lifestyle to the best of my ability as long as I can avoid having weakness imposed on me by the criminal justice system for victimless "crimes." I do not harass, attack or take advantage of the weak, they are perfectly capable of destroying themselves, and under the current system, eliminating the criminally weak would result in the utter destruction of my life.

And I believe in the basic concept of capitalism as a way for strong individuals to fairly share skills and resources. Unfortunately, only criminal behaviors which are explicitly outlawed are considered to be criminal behaviors, and many weak businessmen engage in legal criminal behavior because they are not strong enough to make it on their own. These "strong weaklings" drain and destroy the truly strong as well as the weak masses.

I also believe that the current modus operandi, way of life, and common values of our society promote and reward weakness and servitude, and punish strength and independance, and that the most powerful men in the world are in fact weak individuals who would not survive a month in a true anarchy. Any man who would order another to do something he would not be willing to do himself is unforgivably weak and criminal.

And I absolutely hate socialism and communism as they seek to shelter the weak from their own weakness at the expense of the strong, and they take away the ability of individuals to forge their own destinies.

It may not be very "nice", and not many people agree with me, so I will just mind my own business for the time being until I am forced into action by disaster or oppression. Don't mind me, I'm just thinking out loud.

 

This is actually the central idea of anarcho-syndicalism which is a form of anarchism of which there are many. Check this out for more info: wiki. I think that your essay/ideas are good. Be realistic and demand the impossible. What part of Ohio are you in? There are probably like minded folks in your are who you could connect

 

Read 'the Dispossessed' by Ursula le Guin. I am in the middle of it and find that she could well have been my long lost mother the way we seem to share opinions (I have a real mother but secretly hope she adopted me). It's about an archist world who gave their moon to a group of anarchists to stop them taking over the world.

I totally agree with your opinions. I don't see the point even of cities let alone countries and think we would be better off with only small communities. That way we, like you say, would need no laws. I also think we need to do without money cos it corrupts us even worse than laws and makes us life-long slaves to the rich, or just to money itself depending on how you look at it.

Perhaps the biggest perversion of the world we live in is the fact that farms are subsidised to produce no food thereby keeping the price of food high and keeping the poor poor. For the same cost to the taxpayer we could make food free for everyone so why don't we? I don't know but 30 000 people a day are dying because of it. Doesn't that make 9/11 look a bit like a gnat bite?

 

I'm, in the cleveland area...i know my idea's arent to organized yet, but I'm working on it...how can i find people in my area who share my ideas? is there a group out there or sumthing?

 

Cleveland radical and anarchist groups:

Burning River Collective
Food Not Bombs
Anarchist Black Cross
Indymedia

 

indeed, that site had some wicked potential. then nobody ever updated it...lameo..

you forgot to mention crimethinc, a little easier to digest then some of those other sites www.crimethinc.com www.crimethinc.info

 

I would recommend Murray N. Rothbard's "Ethics of Liberty", "Egalitarianism as a Revolt Against Nature and Other Essays", "For a New Liberty" and "Man, Economy & State"

Also highly recommended:

"Democracy: the God that Failed" by Hans-Hermann Hoppe

These few books alone will give you a primary understanding of an Anarchist Natural Order. You can get them all from Amazon.com

However, there are a great deal of solid Philosophical and Economic essays, working papers, journals, and treatises here:

http://www.mises.org/

If you find this topic interesting or are up for a good debate, please contact me.