Anarchy in The Real World

If you're like most people, you will probably have a negative reaction to the word "anarchy" and "anarchist". The reason for this is quite simple - you have been brainwashed.

The word "anarchist" usually conjures up images of mayhem, disorder, riots, leftist bomb-throwers, and dirty protesters screaming obscenities against global capitalism.

Anarchism has a bad name for sure.

So what is the dictionary definition of anarchism?

1) Absence of government

2) Political theory opposed to government

That begs the question - what is "government"?

Government is "that which governs" - or, according to definition - "that which exercises sovereign authority".

So, let me come clean from the start. I oppose government. I believe in the absence of government. I believe I am sovereign over my own life. Therefore, I am an anarchist.

There, I've got that off my chest.

But I didn't start out that way - no sir!

I started a bit left-leaning. Then got the religion bug. Then got political - and started to lean "rightwards" (whatever that means) - then had a radical lobotomy (when I read "Atlas Shrugged") and became a libertarian - or someone who believes in as little government as possible. (In libertarian circles, that means government should be about law, order and defence only.)

I perhaps spent 20 years in a political mode - and was quite active. All to no avail, I might add.

Then five years ago - I underwent another transformation - sort of the opposite to Paul, on the road to Damascus. I didn't discover God, rather I discovered the "god" of government was a fiction, a false god, a projection of those who wish to control others. My "awakening" was perhaps more like the little boy in the famous tale "The Emperor's New Clothes" - where I cried out, "But the Emperor has NO clothes!"

No one was really listening - but never mind.

In polite conversation - saying you are an anarchist is likely to cause coughing and choking - and at the very least, dry up whatever conversation you were having. So, normally, I don't utter such words - preferring to maintain my facade of normalcy.

Some things are better left unsaid. Except here.

Of course, the usual response to one's admission to anarchist thoughts (after you've explained it), is that "It won't work!", or, "It's Utopian".

"If we have no government, who will collect the trash, who will make the roads, who will educate our children, who will look after the poor, who will protect us from terrorists?

Talk about failure of vision and imagination! But that's government education for you.

I'm always puzzled by those who assert that health and education are so important - the government must do it. And yet, the same people are quite happy for the market to produce the food - which is even more important, and more fundamental to life itself.

The fact is, the market can provide anything the government can - only much more efficiently, and more to the consumer's liking. And when it comes down to it - the government is not a "creative" force at all - but a destructive one.

Just think of all the good things around you - that make life more interesting, enjoyable, healthy, and productive. I bet every one of those things was created by the market - not the government. And if there is something you cherish - which was set up by government - then you can bet your bottom dollar it would be even better if provided by the market.

But, enough of that. Reason is hardly enough for most people to abandon faith!

So, let's get back to the "it won't work" argument.

Well, it so happens we have a fully functioning anarchist society right in our midst - one which YOU are already fully familiar with, and participate in - and one which works!

The INTERNET.

Yes, the internet is fully anarchist. There is no internet government. There is no internet King. There are no internet elections. There is no internet democracy. There is no central control. There is no dictator. There are no internet police. There is no equivalent of George Bush or Saddam Hussein!

On the internet you are a free agent. You can read what you like. You can say what you like. You can do what you like. You can buy and sell what you like. You can meet who you like. You can organise whatever you like. You are left alone - and you are free - in the "internet" world.

Of course, government-lovers complain about the internet all the time. "It's terrible - all that porn, all that immorality, all that gambling, all that antigovernment stuff. All that freedom!"

But the miracle that is the internet is that so much has been achieved in so few years - with no one planning it!

Sure, there are problems with freedom. You get spam. You get scams. You get naughty pictures being sent into your email box that you didn't ask for.

The government's answer is, for example, to try an pass an "anti-spam" law. But that's just horse manure! Every internet geek knows THAT won't work. The internet will work out its own answers - and already is.

The internet is a huge virtual "society" - where all barriers are torn down. The internet is a living example of a self- organising entity - fully capable of adjusting itself to the myriad of needs of its millions of "netizens". Yes, even the word "citizen" has been transformed - for indeed, the internet represents a NEW form of social organisation.

The internet does something else - it encourages an attitude of self responsibility. When you are on the internet, there is no one to hold your hand. No one to go running to. You have to assume more responsibility for your life. So, it's not just a free society - it's a learning experience.

The internet is a glaring example, right under our noses, of how any society can and should function. Government is just a leftover from the past. A "hanger-on", a looter, a destroyer of everything. And the only reason it is still here is because government controls education - and the minds of the world's young. But that's another issue - and another article!!

Coming to terms with my anarchist inclinations was hard. I rejected it for years - kept on telling myself we needed government - even if it was just for law, order and defence.

But they cannot even get that right. Far from ensuring our security, government has simply monopolised those things, so that no market alternatives have been allowed to develop.

Yes, rejecting a lifetime of government propaganda is very hard. But not impossible. Just as life without a government "security blanket" is a challenge for sure, but worth it in the end.

Freedom is your reward.

Being an anarchist is a lonely space to be in. There's really no where else to go. It's the end of the ideological journey. What started out as a belief in a god, gave way to a belief in government - and finally no belief at all, except in the ability of humans to be creative (in god's image?), to be able to solve problems, and to learn from mistakes.

Ask yourself one question: Who should have sovereignty over your life? And remember the definition of "government" - that which exercises sovereign authority.

It's either you or them. You can't have two masters.

If you believe in self-ownership - then you believe in self- government. And if you believe in self-government - well, you're already an anarchist!

Yours in freedom

David MacGregor