- 16 Sep 2003 05:02
#27022
Apparently, it's not the people you debated with whose thoughts are misguided concerning anarchy - it's you. Why is it that when the word "anarchy" is uttered, the words chaos, madness, and destruction seem to spring to everyone's mind?
Anarchy is not the lack of order, nor is it chaos. From a political standpoint, anarchy simply refers to a system in which there is no established government. However, it is a social construction, established by the very powers that be which anarchy intends to abolish, that society cannot exist without government. This is an absurd proposition - to say that government has always been the main precipitating factor in the formation of a society is downright absurd. It would be easily possible for a society to exist without a government.
Also, it seems to me that the Saint seems to feel that the abolition of government would preclude the abolition of capitalism, an idea which makes no sense at all - indeed, many political thinkers state that the most functional form of capitalism would exist in the absence of government controls on it.
To answer your questions as quoted above, all the functions of government as we see them today would be privatized, as there would still be a definitive market for these services. Obviously, you would still be able to buy food from farmers, clothing from textile distributors, etc. etc...
I have no doubt that functions of the government would be privatized, and due to the ingenuity of the market, systems would be developed to provide these services to consumers, probably at a better quality and a lower price. Government has never been as efficient as the market, because the government treats people like citizens who pay for these services involuntarily, regardless of quality or service. The market treats people as consumers, who pay for the service ONLY because they are satisfied with the product they are buying, and the service they are getting.
I used to debate with anarchists back in high school ... they were talking about how great anarchy would be ... but then I asked them how would they live? Would they grow their own food? Would they like life without running water or electricity? What about their clothes? Would they begin making their own?
Apparently, it's not the people you debated with whose thoughts are misguided concerning anarchy - it's you. Why is it that when the word "anarchy" is uttered, the words chaos, madness, and destruction seem to spring to everyone's mind?
Anarchy is not the lack of order, nor is it chaos. From a political standpoint, anarchy simply refers to a system in which there is no established government. However, it is a social construction, established by the very powers that be which anarchy intends to abolish, that society cannot exist without government. This is an absurd proposition - to say that government has always been the main precipitating factor in the formation of a society is downright absurd. It would be easily possible for a society to exist without a government.
Also, it seems to me that the Saint seems to feel that the abolition of government would preclude the abolition of capitalism, an idea which makes no sense at all - indeed, many political thinkers state that the most functional form of capitalism would exist in the absence of government controls on it.
To answer your questions as quoted above, all the functions of government as we see them today would be privatized, as there would still be a definitive market for these services. Obviously, you would still be able to buy food from farmers, clothing from textile distributors, etc. etc...
I have no doubt that functions of the government would be privatized, and due to the ingenuity of the market, systems would be developed to provide these services to consumers, probably at a better quality and a lower price. Government has never been as efficient as the market, because the government treats people like citizens who pay for these services involuntarily, regardless of quality or service. The market treats people as consumers, who pay for the service ONLY because they are satisfied with the product they are buying, and the service they are getting.