Why do you religious people call anarchists anti-american?

Question

If we had a anarchy, we would have a perfect government.
Democracy sucks as it only benefits the rich.
We don't need rules as rules only suppress our freedom.
We need to overthrow our Christian government and replace it with a anarchy!!!
Thank you in advance atheists for supporting my beliefs.

Answer 1

not all athiests support your ideas. in fact, most athiests are moderate to liberal in their support of democracy.

anarchy is the absence of government, therefore in what way would an anarchical system be a perfect government?

it is a stereotype that athiests are anti-government.

even in a country with laws people commit criminal acts, therefore a country without standard laws or enforcement would have even more crime.

you would change your mind once you were fighting for your belongings or your life in a society where people can do and take whatever they want.

you should take a political science class. i think perhaps you would associate yourself as libertarian if you had any knowledge of alternate democratic ideologies.

Answer 2

There's a lot of disagreement about the ends and means of anarchism, so I can't say whether or not I support your beliefs, but I will support your right to believe what you want to. However, I don't see the basic principles of classical, direct democracy as being incompatible with collectivist anarchism. If you truly intend to dismantle all social institutions, I'd say that was more nihilistic than anarchistic -- at least as I understand the term "anarchy." Obviously, I'm not going by the dictionary definition.

The fact that the term "anti-American" exists in a so-called Democracy is ironic. In a truly free country, there would be no means of classifying certain values as being "pro" or "anti" American. So to call anarchists (or nihilists, or even neo-conservatives) "anti-American" is to profoundly misunderstand freedom of thought. I would not accuse you of being anti-American.

Answer 3

Anarchy wouldn't work because people would have no larger authority to settle disputes for them.

What you would have in a realistic anarchy with no government intervention would be large groups of violent men fighting for dominance against others. Humans are selfish by nature and will battle for control of resources. Anarchy is like communism -- it doesn't work. Brute force and individual interests will take over. While in capitalism, individuals can assert themselves and grab resources without harming others (for instance, by running a profitable restaurant that helps others and also brings in a paycheck), anarchy offers nothing but the opportunity to control others. You'll have mobs, marauders, and vigilante justice instead.

As an atheist, I oppose your views. I prefer a democratic republic and individual liberties preserved through a document such as the Bill of Rights. So in a way, anarchy is anti-American. But you are free to hold any right you choose.

Also note, for all of the problems with Democracy, can you show me something better? Government is about the lesser evil, not the perfect system. As Thomas More said, Utopia is "no place."

Anarchy may work for you and a few choice pals, but it never functions on a larger scale. Doesn't every society and time period in the world show you this?

Answer 4

There is a great deal of misunderstanding of the nature
of anarchism.

Anarchists (also known as libertarians or libertarian
socialists, in the original sense of socialism as worker-
ownership-and-control of the means of production)
oppose illegitimate authority and hierarchy, and therefore
oppose capitalism and the state; anarchists do not oppose
all organization: anarchists favor voluntary, non-
hierarchical, self-organization. Anarchists do not oppose
all rules and laws; anarchists oppose rules and laws
imposed involuntarily by illegitimate authorities, such
as the state, and favor voluntarily-agreed upon rules and
laws.

"Anarchy 101", an excellent introduction to anarchism,
can be found here:
http://tinyurl.com/2fq4d2

"An Anarchist FAQ", giving an in-depth treatment of
anarchism, can be found here:
http://www.anarchistfaq.org/

News & Views for Anarchists & Activists:
http://groups.yahoo.com/group/smygo/

Answer 5

I'm not sure you will find a lot of anarchism in atheism, but you will deffinitely find a lot atheism in anarchism. I think it has to do with the whole thing about being an individual and not being forced or told do something. I don't believe that there is a man in the sky telling me what is good or bad and threatening me, so why should I let government do the same. Unfortunately anarchism is really misunderstood, as shown in the responses above, so its up to us to help people understand it better and to give anarchism a better image...

Answer 6

Anarchy results in either lawlessness or else the law of 'might makes right,' in which only the bullies get what they want, and everyone else lives in fear of them.

If you would have anarchy (no government), then every small community in this country would have to agree to assume individual -responsibility for its local citizenry, for waste pick-up and disposal, for providing utilities, health care, a fire department, and police protection. A central government provides uniform standards for these kinds of services.

In general, anarchy is just a bad idea.

Answer 7

I don't and i sometimes wonder if other people think i am an anarchist. I am definitely a Roman Catholic labor activist and i have been a steward in the United Brotherhood of Carpenters. I am also a patriot and a veteran of the USN.

Answer 8

There is no such thing as true anarchy. True anarchy is purposeless. All human action is with purpose. Human nature is to establish order. As an anarchist you abhor control thus falling into the order of things. Two opposed forces by definition can not exist in chaos.

Answer 9

If you haven't checked the definition for what you call your philosophical ideals, anarchy means NO government. How can the absence of something make it perfect?

Answer 10

All rational people (regardless of religion) who have read a history book, know that anarchy results in rule by bullies (France after the Revolution, Central America between revolutions, etc). Christians have a vested interest in people not being murdered before their souls are saved.