I dropped an article last night my time with my thoughts on a quote from the great H.L Mencken. A Steemian by the handle of @diginaut responded to my article thusly:-
"While I am aware of the fallibility of pretty much every political model, I find anarchy to be a very optimistic dream. The thing is, the world is full of arseholes. Many models could possibly work, if not for this. How does anarchy ensure that we cater for and protect the vulnerable? The disabled, the elderly, etc... In my experience, people are mostly selfish (big generalisation I know, but it's already been a challenging day, so please just let me have that one). And there will always be those who strive to be a tyrant, and will use any means, which many many people will fall for because they would rather forgo freedom than take personal responsibility and be a grown up. All the personal vices people have now would still exist within anarchism or any political structure. That is why I'm not a devotee of any model, but would like to see the best from all, which another optimistic dream. There would still have to be safeguards. It is human nature that creates this necessity. What would you do to address my concerns, if tomorrow, you could achieve your ideal of global anarchy?"
I first saw this response at 5.05am Sydney time and started responding in my head, but given that I was headed for work and couldn't give the counterresponse I wanted to, I decided to hold off and answer her questions properly. Furthermore, I decided after typing a bit of this response down that it really warranted an article of its own - and here we are.
Firstly, let me define the term anarchy as I will address it, and that is from the Greek 'an-archos' which simply means no rulers, which by extension I take to mean zero government.
While I am happy to call myself an anarchist, I do not mean the image that often pops into people's heads of the balaclava-wearing dickhead destroying private property with Molotov cocktails and the like - I mean that I am someone who believes that by taking responsibility for my own actions, by entering into all associations voluntarily and without coercion, and by honouring the sanctity of private property, that we can all survive quite well without governments. To answer some specifics raised:-
Who would look after the vulnerable? The implication I think (correct me if I am wrong) is "Who would provide welfare/health programs for the mentally ill, infirm, and elderly?" Pretty much the same people who do now I would imagine. Family, friends, colleagues, churches. In an anarchist utopia I like to think that without the government stealing up to x% of our paychecks that we would have a good deal leftover for charity. Can you imagine how much healthcare might cost in a completely deregulated market free of government subsidies and interference? A university/college degree? There will always be the selfish and just plain nasty but I think the majority of people will do the right thing.
Tyrants - there will also always be those particular humans who seek power and who seek to misuse and abuse that power to their own ends. I pretty much see it playing out as you do on The Walking Dead - people form voluntary associations, some have pure intentions, some less so. If we had a couple of hundred years we might see the majority of people employing the non-aggression principle, but if anarchy happened tomorrow then the people with the most bullets and toilet paper would rule over us all. :)
Safeguards - others have more useful points to make on this but in a nutshell I foresee a system of courts working on the principles of common law or natural justice. In a society full of people who legitimately accepted responsibility for their own lives and for their actions then I think that serious infractions would be few, but humans being humans we'd probably find a way to mess it up.
In short I think anarchy is something to work towards but I don't imagine we will ever actually get there. For my part I will do what I can to squeeze the state out of my life by practicing the NAP, exercising agorism where possible and by respecting persons and property, and I will encourage everyone I can to do the same. I hope to be an example to others in this respect. I hope that helps answer your questions @diginaut. I think I could have written this better with more time, but this is what you get. :)
Hardfork 19
Prior to about two days ago I thought a hardfork was what you got from the kitchen when you were at a BBQ and your plastic fork shit itself and snapped on you while cutting through your T-bone. I'm not entirely sure how all this is going to play out, but as someone who was upvoting at 1-2 cents previously you can imagine my surprise and delight when my first upvote post-HF19 was worth 32-freakin-cents. Holy shit man, I was grinning like an idiot clicking on just about anything before I realised how quickly my vote power was going down now. Eeeeep. I saw, and continue to see, a few people spamming the feed with subpar content. I imagine this content will be weeded out eventually but even though your vote (especially your self-vote) is worth more now it does not mean you should abuse it. The content you produce should still be quality, not some hastily cobbled-together rubbish aimed at penny votes. I have not produced a great deal of content on Steemit as yet, but my average submission represents somewhere in the order of 2 hours research, searching for artwork, coding/marking up and actual writing. The fact that I can receive more than 12 cent payouts now excites me, but my quality will not suffer in some attempt to cash-in on an increased vote.
Image credits
1. http://www.anarchism.net/symbol_ca.htm
2. https://pixabay.com/en/cake-fork-metal-cutlery-small-fork-554066/
3. http://fanfest.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/05/negan-2.jpg
Anarchy to me is maximum freedom. Good post!
Thank you for taking the time. I am surprised you responded so quickly. Working towards anarchy over a course of 200 years makes sense. Re- education would be needed. The family unit has been undermined in modern western society and I see it being even more so in the future. I have seen the full extent of this since I started living in western Asian countries, and seeing the closeness, dependence, and simple respect within the family unit, that is waning... in Australia, anyway. This along with teaching children their rights, with little emphasis on the personal and social responsibility that goes with them, in the school system, has shown me a growing dependence on the state, rather than dependence on family and immediate community. I'm sure I am preaching to the converted on this matter.
So, as you have addressed the issues I raised, ( I don't agree 100% but it's close enough to see we share some common vision) I ask "What now?" What do we do to move towards anarchy? What small changes can we make effectively, right now? I have been a political activist for years and a public speaker. I chose to speak from a Constitutional point of view, as that is the closest thing we have to a Bill Of Rights, but it is so open to interpretation, it is way too ineffective. I had to speak to people from varied political leanings, I was attempting to simply get people to empower themselves, see themselves as responsible for their own destiny and stand up to the growing nanny state, which is heading towards a very corrupt totalitarianism, where corporate entities run the show and the pursuit of money excuses a multitude of vices and "sins". Use, at least, the power we have under federal law , because we have relatively enormous amount of political power under the Australian Constitution.
I have seen anarchists who do not take responsibility seriously. Even to the extent of not picking up their own litter, but enjoying the dramatics of marching in a bandanna covered face, and trouble making. I know that is not anarchy. The anarchist movement is by no means alone in attracting pseudo activists, weekend /keyboard warriors Lol. It's just on topic. You should see where some of these greenies go for lunch after a rally. whispers "McDonalds".
I have seen so many people unable to grasp the concept of self ownership. It has frustrated me, it has almost disillusioned me. The last time I returned from overseas I noticed the public apathy had grown. Even in some people that were die hard activists before. The establishment is winning. I have seen the people get up and act and sit back down again, and stay there. People power is hard to achieve in peaceful, affluent country.
I could go on and on, but it's a comment, I'd better stop.
So what now dear? What's the next step?
Keep in mind my husband is in danger and is waiting for a visa and I cannot endanger his life by rocking the boat like I used to.
Love your response, thank you. I know people like the activists you speak of - they protest for a better world then can't even put their fucking sign in the bin afterwards. Perhaps dropping it on the ground is keeping someone in a job in some weird Keynesian way.
The next step for me is to just keep doing what I'm doing and encourage others to do the same. Arguing about borders on Facebook is not on my to-do list. Have you followed that little fiasco? What a laugh. Have a great day @diginaut and Steemians everywhere.
Depends which borders. I have seen much on Facebook. It used to be a really good hub with the optimism of Arab Springs everywhere. Now it's stale. I still have some contacts on there in Australian activists circles, but now it's more the humanitarian circles I move in. I run a page for the Abandoned Afghan and Iraqi interpreters. My husband is one. This is why I spend so much time overseas. I think I am the only real advocate in Australia. I run the page for 2 reasons. The original page, run by an Afghani interpreter, missed a very important media offer. It was too late by the time he came back online. I am online far more. And secondly, it's much safer for me to do so than any of them. We have someone qualified to identify suspicious people and he has done so, so they are reported to relevant authorities. I don't want any more uneducated, ignorant, racist, violent, extremist morons in Australia. On that note only, I say "No thanks we're full." But when someone has done something for you, as the interpreters did and they are simply abandoned as if they are not even human, then I won't have it.
This has led me to be privvy to the actual truth surrounding Manus and Nauru, it's a related issue. George Brandis doesn't like me much, so I'm keeping a lowish profile before Peter Dutton gets wind of me. Although showing pics of dead interpreters to his staff at a rally may have upped me on the radar. Who knows. The feds are all good with me. So, depending on which borders, I may have seen it. I have seen fiasco after fiasco. And I'm tired of the rot. I'm tired of the lies, the disgusting lows people will sink to. I am starting to see stuff creeping onto my feed here. I am still finding my way as to how, and if, I react, and act.
I don't have the luxury of blissful ignorance. Ignorance can get the man I love killed tomorrow. Of course anything can kill anyone tomorrow, the risks are much higher for him, and unnecessary.
I, just like you, will keep to what I do, and encourage others to be aware, empowerment by education, and keep dipping into my, what seems to be a biologically caused, optimism in that, everything constantly changes, you can't see around a corner, and tomorrow is always just around the corner.
I'm so pleased to have made contact with you. I'm looking forward to more of your posts on anarchy. I like your style.