what is your view on anarchy?

Question

what do you think about anarchists and anarchy?

Answer 1

Anarchism, in a nutshell, supports free association, opposes the state, and opposes hierarchy.

(At the very least, anarchists oppose involuntary hierarchy; anarchists often try to create egalitarian alternatives to the semi-voluntary hierarchies too).

There are several different traditions which respect these values, and usually recognize each other as forms of anarchism. These traditions borrow ideas from classical liberalism, from early socialism, from each other, and sometimes from other sources.

People depend on each other. People tend to create their own voluntary social order, including free association, reciprocity, mutual aid, and, if necessary, mutual defense. Once people create this order, a state, or any other criminal gang, is in trouble. So the state, to preserve itself, must preempt voluntary social order.

Highleyman, "An introduction to anarchism:"

http://www.spunk.org/texts/intro/sp001550.html

"An anarchist FAQ:"

http://www.infoshop.org/faq/index.html

A messier source ...

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Anarchism

Many other anarchist works are also available at:

http://dwardmac.pitzer.edu/Anarchist_Archives/

Proudhon's writing is a bit much and I'd recommend starting with, in whichever order you prefer, Bakunin, Kropotkin, and Tucker, among the other early anarchists. For lighter reading, you could seek out the Wobbly "Little Red Songbook," since many of the writers were anarchists (some are anarchists, in the recent editions).

For detailed questions, you could visit the Infoshop Fora, among others:

http://forums.infoshop.org/

Anarchism is libertarian socialism, and is built on free association. At times one school uses classical-liberal means for socialist ends (Proudhon argued that markets undermine capitalism and create equality) and at times another school uses socialist means for classical-liberal ends (Kropotkin argued that communism, in the sense of free and equal access to the means of production, allowed more personal freedom than markets could). Either proposal would startle many non-anarchists. Most anarchists recognize that there aren't any perfect answers, and expect people to experiment with different models. Some people will prefer to trade goods in markets, and some people will prefer to share goods in common.

Answer 2

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 3

I think ones view on anarchy is based on how one views life in the state of nature. Recently, the trend has been to see that life as richer and more rewarding, which ironically has been used as a basis for more governmental authority and services by political philosophers.
Personally, I think the majority of humans are generally "good", but that there are a sufficient number of people who would exploit the rest of us, which necessitates the rule of law.

Answer 4

I think an actual attempt at anarchy would spell disaster for civilization as we recognize it today because human nature, as well as most complex animal behavior, allows for an hierarchical structure of some sort no matter how leadership roles are established. For that reason, I find so-called anarchists idealistic at best.

Answer 5

There are many movies which have examined this subject. Better examples are found in Stephen Kings writings, specifically his book, "The Stand".
Always a leader emerges, it seems to be human nature to find the strongest and follow. It's easier to not have to make any decisions.
Unfortunately, the people who seem to have it together, and who emerge as leaders, are as often as not sociopaths, who are incapable of anything but self serving behavior, but they are charismatic.

Answer 6

Anarchy does not exist. Someone will always be in charge.