1. This site uses cookies. By continuing to use this site, you are agreeing to our use of cookies. Learn More.

What is your opinion of anarchy?

Discussion in 'Chit Chat' started by Kodo, Dec 24, 2015.

  1. Kodo

    Full Member

    Joined:
    May 27, 2015
    Messages:
    1,830
    Likes Received:
    849
    Location:
    California
    Gender:
    Male (trans*)
    Gender Pronoun:
    He
    Sexual Orientation:
    Gay
    Out Status:
    Out to everyone
    Basically, what is your opinion of anarchy?

    Take this question as you will, and with as much or as little depth as you prefer.
     
  2. ForNarnia

    Full Member

    Joined:
    Oct 25, 2014
    Messages:
    242
    Likes Received:
    0
    Location:
    Unknown
    Gender:
    Other
    Gender Pronoun:
    Other
    Sexual Orientation:
    Other
    Out Status:
    Not out at all
    Great in theory, terrible in practice.
     
  3. Thefowl

    Regular Member

    Joined:
    Nov 30, 2015
    Messages:
    0
    Likes Received:
    0
    Location:
    Colorado
    Gender:
    Male
    Sexual Orientation:
    Gay
    Well I'm glad you asked, Im going to rant now lol get ready. So anarchy is the lack of governing, Law and freedom without force. In theory it still falls apart because these laws aren't like the laws of nature, some one has to make them and withhold them. If these laws aren't upheld then there not really laws are they. Or there would be no laws and the whole community would turn into road warrior. Now freedom is what laws protect or what they leave out, so freedom is the direct result of laws. So if we all were to technically be completely free anarchy is the only was of achieving that goal, but at what cost. Now I wouldn't want to live in a place with complete freedom because some one could kill me burn down my house and this act of murder and arson is this mans way of expressing his freedom. What if people got tired of murder and arson so they decided to make a vigilante squad, if they do there trying to force law on each other so anarchy is lost. Personally I believe anarchy Is stupid and punks need to stop preaching about it lol.
     
  4. erioed

    Regular Member

    Joined:
    May 20, 2015
    Messages:
    25
    Likes Received:
    0
    Location:
    Barcelona
    Gender:
    Female
    Gender Pronoun:
    She
    Sexual Orientation:
    Other
    Out Status:
    Some people
    This reminded me of a communist/anarchist ska kid that payed a McDonalds burger with a debit card. The card had a b/w checked design so we'll forgive him, right?

    Anyway. Anarchism is so impossible to achieve that I don't know why people even try to. Appart from that. Let's suppose X country becomes an anarchy. How does this country relate with the other ones? Now this might be based on my ignorance but I kind of thing that anarchy should be a worldwide phenomenon. In the case that humans (or any sociable animal) could possibly exist without an order or law or leader, (remember that most animal groups have a leader) then yes, why not; but then if it was possible and the best alternative we would already be an anarchy.
     
  5. Invidia

    Invidia Guest

    Joined:
    Mar 23, 2015
    Messages:
    2,802
    Likes Received:
    3
    Location:
    Far above the clouds, gazing deep below the Earth
    Gender:
    Female (trans*)
    I think people have lots of misconception of anarchy/anarchism.

    1) There are no laws or leaders in anarchi(st communites). Wrong. There can be laws, but in such a case they are decided by councils or so. Whether or not that's really anarchy, though, is questionable, of course.
    And there can certainly be leaders. In fact, anarchists often preach that there should be leaders, but from the bottom up rather than the top down, so that one can lead one's group for a cause or something that needs doing.
    2) It never works in reality. Also wrong. There have been anarchist communities that have worked well, notably in Revolutionary Catalonia. It failed in the end not because of internal contradictions or strife, but because the Franco fascist scum came and bombed them.

    Those are some things.

    I'm pretty much an anarchist myself. I believe that hierarchy (including the capitalist machine) when it comes to our economy and our politics is inherently corruptive and should be replaced. I don't come across as very radical always. Within the system we have now I most often propose a center-left welfare politics. But ultimately, I think anarchism or something along those lines is the way to go.
     
  6. erioed

    Regular Member

    Joined:
    May 20, 2015
    Messages:
    25
    Likes Received:
    0
    Location:
    Barcelona
    Gender:
    Female
    Gender Pronoun:
    She
    Sexual Orientation:
    Other
    Out Status:
    Some people
    Thanks for explaining, it's good to have opinions on both sides. However, the anarchism there was in Catalonia was too short in my opinion to judge whether it worked or not. And it was in the context of a war, we'd have to see how it would have worked during peace. Also, people from the bottom and from the top are not different species. And sort of, by making someone a leader you're making him be "more" than the others. There's no guarantee that it won't have some effects. Humans naturally strive for power, and I don't believe an anarchy would change such nature.

    It's not only about the leaders, it's about the people who would want to be leaders. I know it's not exactly comparable but think about Stalin. Even if the leader does his job, somebody else would always want to be in his position. I'm not saying anarchism is a bad system. It's actually the best system there could ever be, but I really don't trust us enough to believe it's possible.
     
  7. Hexagon

    Full Member

    Joined:
    May 1, 2011
    Messages:
    8,558
    Likes Received:
    1
    Location:
    Earth
    Yeah, I'm not going to get into theory right now. Just gonna say I've been part of anarchist societies before, and they've worked. They've also been the most open, free and fair places I've ever been, not to mention the queer acceptance. So yeah, I'm an anarchist.
     
  8. DreamerBoy17

    Full Member

    Joined:
    Aug 10, 2014
    Messages:
    240
    Likes Received:
    1
    Location:
    United States
    Gender:
    Male (trans*)
    Gender Pronoun:
    He
    Sexual Orientation:
    Bisexual
    Out Status:
    Out to everyone
    ^^^
     
  9. Reciprocal

    Full Member

    Joined:
    Apr 8, 2015
    Messages:
    1,001
    Likes Received:
    2
    Location:
    East Anglia
    Gender:
    Female
    Gender Pronoun:
    She
    Sexual Orientation:
    Lesbian
    Out Status:
    Out to everyone
    Small government yes, no government sounds good but would be rather dangerous in practice.
     
  10. Invidia

    Invidia Guest

    Joined:
    Mar 23, 2015
    Messages:
    2,802
    Likes Received:
    3
    Location:
    Far above the clouds, gazing deep below the Earth
    Gender:
    Female (trans*)
    It wasn't long-lived, true.

    True, people at the bottom and the top are not different species. However, they can be vastly different people. For example, if you consider monarchies where the throne is inherited, those leaders have not proved themselves in any way to justify their position as an able performer of the duties they have responsibility for. They were just born into it. Similarly, the leaders in our liberal democracies today are mostly privileged or at least "normal" in standing, who at some point had a desire for power, and maybe also a desire to help people. But this system we have right now isn't working for us. Climate change is a ticking time bomb we're sitting on, just to name one problem...

    To be a leader can just mean things like, in a group of 10 people who's going to do something, one person is the best at the task they're going to do. Thus, that person steps up and takes responsibility. If anyone in the group has a complaint or so to make about how things are done, they can merely discuss with the rest of the group.
    A leader doesn't have to be anything more grand than that. Just the most able stepping up and taking responsibility.
    And it would not be structurally feasible for one person to be the leader of more than a group - certainly not millions or billions of people.

    May I ask you why you don't think it's possible, or feasible, for humanity to live under anarchy?
     
  11. BryanM

    Full Member

    Joined:
    Apr 19, 2013
    Messages:
    2,894
    Likes Received:
    1
    Location:
    Columbia, Missouri
    Gender:
    Genderqueer
    Gender Pronoun:
    They
    Sexual Orientation:
    Gay
    Out Status:
    Out to everyone
    There a many different subgroups within anarchist thought that it's impossible to lump all of them into a single definition.

    For example, you have Anarcho-Syndicalists, AnCaps, Green Anarchy, Feminist and Queer Anarchy, Anarcho-Pacifist, Agorists, Mutualists, Anarcho-Transhumanists, and so on. While some of them may have more features about them that make them desirable, I personally think in short that some of them are better in theory than others, and some of them are completely misguided.
     
  12. Plattyrex

    Regular Member

    Joined:
    Oct 7, 2015
    Messages:
    707
    Likes Received:
    0
    Location:
    Flint
    Gender:
    Male
    It's unworkable for the same reason as communism. You cannot get everyone to work together and make something like that possible.
     
  13. Invidia

    Invidia Guest

    Joined:
    Mar 23, 2015
    Messages:
    2,802
    Likes Received:
    3
    Location:
    Far above the clouds, gazing deep below the Earth
    Gender:
    Female (trans*)
    Why?
     
  14. Simple Thoughts

    Full Member

    Joined:
    Dec 21, 2013
    Messages:
    3,426
    Likes Received:
    0
    Location:
    Columbus, Ohio
    Depends really.

    The classic concept of Anarachy, which basically amounts to total chaos doesn't sound all too appealing to me. I think that as humans we're flawed and we do need some level of strutcture to keep a society moving forward. The trick is really just finding the right balance between freedom and government. It's not an easy task, but a lot of western societies seem to be about on the right track.

    Then you have what my political science professor from back in the day called Anarchism which he boiled down to a 'Get what you Give' system. I liked that idea, though I'm sure it has it's flaws and I'm not sure how it'd work in practice.
     
  15. Invidia

    Invidia Guest

    Joined:
    Mar 23, 2015
    Messages:
    2,802
    Likes Received:
    3
    Location:
    Far above the clouds, gazing deep below the Earth
    Gender:
    Female (trans*)
    It works through direct democratic planning of the economy. Workers in a workplace decide, by vote, how to produce, where and when to produce, what to do with the surplus, etc.

    ---------- Post added 24th Dec 2015 at 08:27 PM ----------

    Don't forget anarcho-monarchism! *snigger*
     
  16. Nikky DoUrden

    Full Member

    Joined:
    Aug 25, 2013
    Messages:
    1,305
    Likes Received:
    0
    Location:
    Mediterranean Sea
    I was just about to write the same thing :grin: