Hasbinbad |
05-30-2013 01:24 PM |
What is Anarchy?
Tl;dr: Chomsky sticks it to the man, maaaan!
Some people have asked this question in general and I have shied from it. They ask it of me and I give my best answer at the time. It's generally not ever the same. I haven't ever heard someone describe anarchy to me properly, but it is a feeling that I've always had, and one I've always felt righteous about. I've always had sort of "my own idea" about it, and queerly, that seems to be the view of nearly everyone within these circles as well. Life imitating art? And though our individual definitions may differ, we always seem to know that we are righteous or not, simply by virtue of how we discuss things, the very standpoint from which we approach any given issue. I am strongly opposed to the idea of the kind of anarchy proposed by its detractors, the lawless, agreementless, disintegrative, mad-max-esque, might-makes-right cartoon version of anarchy. But I haven't seen the feeling that I and seemingly many others have felt, put to words, until now. I should say I have seen and felt these things, but never so succinctly - usually the definition is most strongly known when you're done reading a book or experiencing "people power." Here for the first time known to me is anarchy defined not as a system but a collection of behaviors and thought patterns. Like, it totally blew my mind. Enjoy.
Quote:
Originally Posted by Noam Chomsky
Anarchism is, in my view, basically a kind of tendency in human thought which shows up in different forms in different circumstances, and has some leading characteristics. Primarily it is a tendency that is suspicious and skeptical of domination, authority, and hierarchy. It seeks structures of hierarchy and domination in human life over the whole range, extending from, say, patriarchal families to, say, imperial systems, and it asks whether those systems are justified. It assumes that the burden of proof for anyone in a position of power and authority lies on them. Their authority is not self-justifying. They have to give a reason for it, a justification. And if they can’t justify that authority and power and control, which is the usual case, then the authority ought to be dismantled and replaced by something more free and just. And, as I understand it, anarchy is just that tendency. It takes different forms at different times.
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This quote is excerpted from an interview first published 4/14/13: http://www.modernsuccess.org/noam-ch...ess-interview/
His critique on modern libertarianism in the same interview is also very useful but outside the scope of the OP. I just wanted to share this here since there is very legitimate debate about what exactly anarchy is, even within anti-statist circles, much less the larger world.
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