Does Anarchy Work?
- Thread starter saint6
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Only in small groups.
Anarchists believe forcing anyone to do something against their will is inherantly evil - they see taxes as stealing.
And in some cases, they are right. Many governments are corrupt.
But I still don't think anarchism is practical. Take a look at a country like Somalia and see how well anarchy is working out for them
Anarchists believe forcing anyone to do something against their will is inherantly evil - they see taxes as stealing.
And in some cases, they are right. Many governments are corrupt.
But I still don't think anarchism is practical. Take a look at a country like Somalia and see how well anarchy is working out for them
Anarchy is a fairy tale. Let me explain.
Tommorow morning the US government is dissolved. Nobody is in charge. Everyone is left to fend for themselves. As soon as people realize this, a group of friends all agree to look out for each other in the fray.
A government has been formed. Those friends are collaborating with each other to survive as a whole. They are now no different from a country. They all have houses, and they all agree that those houses are theirs, and they keep others off it, or they open the borders and let people walk through their dominion.
Elsewhere, a guy with a gun starts making orders to people that don't have guns.
A government has been formed. They all defer to the guy with the gun now. An autocracy.
By the end of day one governments have been formed. Sooner or later these groups of friends, or slaves, will make rules. Laws. Anarchy can't exist because the human brain demands government. We NEED social hierarchies and leaders.
Anarchy is a fairy tale.
Tommorow morning the US government is dissolved. Nobody is in charge. Everyone is left to fend for themselves. As soon as people realize this, a group of friends all agree to look out for each other in the fray.
A government has been formed. Those friends are collaborating with each other to survive as a whole. They are now no different from a country. They all have houses, and they all agree that those houses are theirs, and they keep others off it, or they open the borders and let people walk through their dominion.
Elsewhere, a guy with a gun starts making orders to people that don't have guns.
A government has been formed. They all defer to the guy with the gun now. An autocracy.
By the end of day one governments have been formed. Sooner or later these groups of friends, or slaves, will make rules. Laws. Anarchy can't exist because the human brain demands government. We NEED social hierarchies and leaders.
Anarchy is a fairy tale.
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you're right of coures. and the original question was a hypothetical one..
I think. perhaps if there weren't so damn many people, it could work.
still, your point is taken. the first 5 people who agree "we don't like that bunch of riffraff bastards over THERE. if they mess with us, we kick their
asses, right?"
as you said, at least TWO governments have been formed by that time.
an anarchist on his or her own may last awhile, but not long.
I think. perhaps if there weren't so damn many people, it could work.
still, your point is taken. the first 5 people who agree "we don't like that bunch of riffraff bastards over THERE. if they mess with us, we kick their
asses, right?"
as you said, at least TWO governments have been formed by that time.
an anarchist on his or her own may last awhile, but not long.
The human brain demands it?
Are you saying we are incapable of change? Incapable of evolution?
I think that we do not need social hierarchies and leaders, that it was only one step in our evolution as a species, and anarchy can/will work in the future. Just because things have been done a certain way in the past does not mean they have to continue that way.
Are you saying we are incapable of change? Incapable of evolution?
I think that we do not need social hierarchies and leaders, that it was only one step in our evolution as a species, and anarchy can/will work in the future. Just because things have been done a certain way in the past does not mean they have to continue that way.
The R complex. It is an integral part of our brain, and it isn't going anywhere for a LONG time. It is the source of territoriality, pain, aggression and domination. You can see traits shared by all animals that have evolved from early reptiles ( The R complex = Reptile complex ). They all have hierarchies and leaders. There's a leader of the pack, and many animals will have the alpha-male chief fight with other animals to decide which one is the chief. We have the same needs for structure and leaders. ALL human civilizations have government. Some had monarchies, some a chief system, some would fight for leadership, some were born to it; but there has always been a leader.
If there isn't a leader, it's because the species is a solitary one, living alone and only meeting to mate. Humans, however, are a social species. IT's been shown time and time again that humans NEED social interactions with others. People without it often go batty.
Our brains make us need to be around others, and as soon as there is a group of people interacting, there is government. As soon as two or more people decide even the most basic of rules, like a mutual agreement to not have at each other, government is formed. It is a small one with near nil bureaucracy, but it is not anarchy.
If there isn't a leader, it's because the species is a solitary one, living alone and only meeting to mate. Humans, however, are a social species. IT's been shown time and time again that humans NEED social interactions with others. People without it often go batty.
Our brains make us need to be around others, and as soon as there is a group of people interacting, there is government. As soon as two or more people decide even the most basic of rules, like a mutual agreement to not have at each other, government is formed. It is a small one with near nil bureaucracy, but it is not anarchy.
i believe true anarchy does work, none of this glueing locks etc but true anarchy as in people working together for the community sake with no form of government, there are many examples in the past of it working well.
The first president of the united states once said 'the best government is the least government'
hear hear:biggrin:
The first president of the united states once said 'the best government is the least government'
hear hear:biggrin:
Fail at what? That implies that we are working towards some goal. I for one, am not a part of this goal, therefore I can't fail.
I think anarchy will work whether or not we can currently fathom how. At our core I we are compassionate, loving beings. I think we have evolved and are more than animals. Other people think we are nothing but animals. Guess that depends on if you could see anarchy working or not as well.
I think anarchy will work whether or not we can currently fathom how. At our core I we are compassionate, loving beings. I think we have evolved and are more than animals. Other people think we are nothing but animals. Guess that depends on if you could see anarchy working or not as well.
We're animals that have heightened conscoiusness. Our basic needs and structure, though, are unchanged, and are extremely unlikely to ever change naturally. Our genes are structured in a very modular way, and it takes millions of years - minimum - to override and replace a module with something else. We are bound to either look to rule or look for a ruler as our personalities see fit. Anarchy requires a lack of communication. Single-celled organisms don't know what the others are doing, and thusly go about there own things. Humans look around and notice what others are doing, and this breeds collaboration. We see others doing what we want to, and join forces with them. This collaboration - forced or willfully - is the basis of government.
I remember reading an example from an online columnist. He moved to Japan to live with his wife and one day saw a load of his neighbours cleaning out the gutters. He pointed it out to his wife and she encouraged him to go out there and help. Afterwards they all thanked each other and he was invited to the community meetings. Doesnt sound like much but that kind of maintenance work is usually left to the governement and paid through taxes. Also, because he played a part in helping that tiny, local community, he has a few people in the area who will watch out for him and his family if there is any trouble.
you seem to think anarchy has no communication, in one sense you could say with true anarchy the people themselves are the government, there is communication, we do not NEED a government, i think (of the top of my head though) during the time the guys in the U.S were kicking us english out at one point there was no government, just americans living peacefully together by consideration and joining forces together to kill as many english as they could :biggrin:
government is not needed, we cannot say we are evolved for a heirarchical system as genetic drift in humans has over-ruled what nature tries to achieve.
just look at nature for the answers, it does have a government, even a predator falls to nature in time, nothing is 'on top'
main problem is people tend to think anarchy is a state of pure disorder, violence etc, this isnt the case!
government is not needed, we cannot say we are evolved for a heirarchical system as genetic drift in humans has over-ruled what nature tries to achieve.
just look at nature for the answers, it does have a government, even a predator falls to nature in time, nothing is 'on top'
main problem is people tend to think anarchy is a state of pure disorder, violence etc, this isnt the case!
We need a ruling class. Outside of the desires for such a hierarchy in our nature, we need a ruling class to build roads, to regulate the laws of the road and such, to build and maintain hospitals, etc. We need the government to standardize certain things so we don't need to relearn all the rules from town to town or such. We especially need a government to foster diplomacy.
why do things need to be done large scale?
why is everything globalised?
what happened a few hundred year ago?
few thousand year ago?
we were definately not the arrogant, ignorant species we are nowadays!
ive read a wonderful book written by a poacher in 1890 and he explains the life, the life of a moucher too, great life!
why is everything globalised?
what happened a few hundred year ago?
few thousand year ago?
we were definately not the arrogant, ignorant species we are nowadays!
ive read a wonderful book written by a poacher in 1890 and he explains the life, the life of a moucher too, great life!
A few hundred years ago people didn't move almost at all. Everyone was pretty much always within a few miles from home. Today people are moving all over the place. The need for road maintained and all that is a new thing. Hundreds of years ago traveling city to city was on a dirt trail or through the bush. Maintenance was not needed for these roads. Roads today are very different, especially because people expect correct maps of these roads nowadays.
The Incans, however, did have their government do some road stuff. Their roads were quite good for the time in which they were around. a few hundred, and even thousand years ago, there were road needs that usually small, but still dealt with by the government. It's just far more organized today.
It doesn't all have to be global, but it needs to be on a larger scale due to modern life. There was a time when every town kept its own clock, but the railroads had a hell of a time with their scheduling because every town was different by a few minutes. That's why timezones were made. They are a standardization that was needed and made. The government is what did the whole timezone thing.
We weren't the arrogant ignorant species we are today? Please. We've always been this stupid. Now we seem more stupid because the news allows us to hear how everyone else is being stupid too.
Things like standardization of schools and hospitals don't need to be done, but they really should. A good economy is an efficient economy. If what you learn in school is standardized so that one course credit means the same thing anywhere, it allows everyone to get a good general idea of what you know in a few minutes as opposed to a full two hour examination. If you were an employer, you'd be VERY happy about standardized schooling.
The Incans, however, did have their government do some road stuff. Their roads were quite good for the time in which they were around. a few hundred, and even thousand years ago, there were road needs that usually small, but still dealt with by the government. It's just far more organized today.
It doesn't all have to be global, but it needs to be on a larger scale due to modern life. There was a time when every town kept its own clock, but the railroads had a hell of a time with their scheduling because every town was different by a few minutes. That's why timezones were made. They are a standardization that was needed and made. The government is what did the whole timezone thing.
We weren't the arrogant ignorant species we are today? Please. We've always been this stupid. Now we seem more stupid because the news allows us to hear how everyone else is being stupid too.
Things like standardization of schools and hospitals don't need to be done, but they really should. A good economy is an efficient economy. If what you learn in school is standardized so that one course credit means the same thing anywhere, it allows everyone to get a good general idea of what you know in a few minutes as opposed to a full two hour examination. If you were an employer, you'd be VERY happy about standardized schooling.
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