In Support of Anarchy

Most people, when confronted with the idea of anarchy, casually assume it could never work. "Wouldn't we all just go around killing each other?" is the standard reaction.

But what if there were no law against murder. Would everyone just start killing each other? I don't think so.

We live in a world that is organized in a hierarchical structure. Authority and power are wielded by a handful of men at the top of the pyramid, who make decisions which affect the lives of everyone below them. They will never be able to elicit lasting happiness for their subjects, simply because they cannot know each and every desire of each and every individual below them.

This top-down organizational paradigm is an anomaly in nature. Look at ant colonies, for example. There is no king or queen ant directing the rest of the ants. (The queen ant just lays eggs.) Each ant behaves autonomously; it knows what to do. There is spontaneous communication going on, through feelers and chemical messengers. But the whole colony is one super-organism, self-organizing itself. This concept is also known as swarm intelligence. Other examples of decentralized systems include the Internet, and more specifically, peer-to-peer networks like Gnutella.

So why not human society? Anarchy, the absence of government, is the natural order of man. To be governed is tragic; to govern is pathetic. I believe we would all be happier in the absence of government. Sure, there would be problems, but the U.S. government seems to create more problems than it solves. The drug war, a monopolized monetary system, endless laws, taxes going to pay for bloated bureaucracies that do nothing, stupid wars. The list goes on and on.

Chaos creates order. Order creates chaos. The state imposes artificial order onto this land, creating chaos in the forms of crime, poverty, and depression. If we dismantled the government and let anarchy ensue, a new order would arise out of the chaos. An order that reflected the needs and desires of each and every individual. An order whereby each local community could direct its own fate. An order based on mutual respect and understanding. An order where people would come together to solve problems instead of relying upon unresponsive elected officials.

Is it possible to live in a world where everyone's desires are fulfilled? A world free of boring work? A world where every day is another day in heaven? Or should we just settle for this so-so world? The change starts inside of you. As you change, people around you begin to change. And slowly (or quickly) our world/consensus reality starts to reflect our most imperative dreams. I will end with the following quote from Nelson Mandela.

Our deepest fear is not that we are inadequate. Our deepest fear is that we are powerful beyond measure. It is our light, not our darkness that most frightens us. We ask ourselves, Who am I to be brilliant, gorgeous, talented, fabulous? Actually, who are you not to be? You are a child of God. Your playing small does not serve the world. There is nothing enlightened about shrinking so that other people won't feel insecure around you. We are all meant to shine, as children do. We were born to make manifest the glory of God that is within us. It's not just in some of us; it's in everyone. And as we let our own light shine, we unconsciously give other people permission to do the same. As we are liberated from our own fear, our presence automatically liberates others.

Finally, ABC recently aired a great segment by John Stossel questioning the necessity of government. He uses an ice skating rink as an analogy for anarchy. Really gives you something to think about... (Skip ahead to 5:10)