Buddha
Vital Football Hero
Exactly, jokerman!
markinkent - what on earth makes you think I'm advocating a world without rules? You're right, it would be bollox!
It might seem that because the word anarchy is so often used to mean chaos and disorder it follows that anarchists want to live in a world where there are no rules and no laws; a place where because people can do as they please - and as such it's plainly obvious that violence would ensue and only the toughest would survive!
But this is so far from our ideas it's tragically absurd. Anarchists have been seriously misrepresented (and I have thoughts on why that is so too, but I'll save them for now!). Anarchists' aim is to create a society where individuals freely co-operate with each other as equals. Anarchists don't think that there shouldn't be rules, they believe that hierarchical forms of power or control are harmful, unnecessary and should be destroyed.
You say yourself that:
"We instinctively know right from wrong and don't need to be told but there are many rules that we do follow becuase they make sense."
I completely agree. And so it follows that we can be trusted to behave decently, to work together, co-operate, and offer mutual aid and mutual support. It's not about there being no rules,it's about people being free. Free from hierarchical control. Free to organise and co-operate for our own benefit rather than others'. We don't need to be controlled; whether it be by a government, or a boss, or a landlord, or a policeman or a banker.
The vast majority of people are good, decent people. So often there are perfect examples of people putting anarchy into action without even knowing it or considering it as such. Think about how when there is some kind of a disaster people start helping each other and self-organising. Those people are just acting instinctively but this instinctive behaviour is what anarchism is all about.
I believe that most of us are, at least a bit, instinctively anarchist. Some people don't even realise they are. Others have properly thought about it and have, quite reasonably enough, rejected anarchism as a political philosophy. We don't like being told what to do and we, quite rightly, believe we can think for ourselves. I think the stupid quiz might show this a bit - yes, I know it's pretty shoite and the questions are loaded, etc. etc, but nobody has so far scored 0% anarchist....
markinkent - what on earth makes you think I'm advocating a world without rules? You're right, it would be bollox!
It might seem that because the word anarchy is so often used to mean chaos and disorder it follows that anarchists want to live in a world where there are no rules and no laws; a place where because people can do as they please - and as such it's plainly obvious that violence would ensue and only the toughest would survive!
But this is so far from our ideas it's tragically absurd. Anarchists have been seriously misrepresented (and I have thoughts on why that is so too, but I'll save them for now!). Anarchists' aim is to create a society where individuals freely co-operate with each other as equals. Anarchists don't think that there shouldn't be rules, they believe that hierarchical forms of power or control are harmful, unnecessary and should be destroyed.
You say yourself that:
"We instinctively know right from wrong and don't need to be told but there are many rules that we do follow becuase they make sense."
I completely agree. And so it follows that we can be trusted to behave decently, to work together, co-operate, and offer mutual aid and mutual support. It's not about there being no rules,it's about people being free. Free from hierarchical control. Free to organise and co-operate for our own benefit rather than others'. We don't need to be controlled; whether it be by a government, or a boss, or a landlord, or a policeman or a banker.
The vast majority of people are good, decent people. So often there are perfect examples of people putting anarchy into action without even knowing it or considering it as such. Think about how when there is some kind of a disaster people start helping each other and self-organising. Those people are just acting instinctively but this instinctive behaviour is what anarchism is all about.
I believe that most of us are, at least a bit, instinctively anarchist. Some people don't even realise they are. Others have properly thought about it and have, quite reasonably enough, rejected anarchism as a political philosophy. We don't like being told what to do and we, quite rightly, believe we can think for ourselves. I think the stupid quiz might show this a bit - yes, I know it's pretty shoite and the questions are loaded, etc. etc, but nobody has so far scored 0% anarchist....
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