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Why couldn't Anarchy work?

Fleshofthegods said:
That's what Anarchy is "self" government. Let's say that the government were to go away tomorrow, but everyone didn't know about it and they still went to their jobs (including police). Why wouldn't society be able to function?
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Self-government is libertarianism. Or something along those lines.

Anarchy is the LACK of any government.

You might have near-anarchic government, but if you have ANY form of government, which people working together WOULD be, then it is no longer anarchy.
 
mac said:
It wouldn't take people very long to realize there were no police around...
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It would if it were the beginning of the month...we only see cops towards the end of the month. In CT, anyway.
 
Fleshofthegods said:
Most people would say that Anarchy is a bad idea, but they don't truely understand it at all. They just think it's a bad idea without actually knowing anything about it.
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I am not misunderstanding it. I have studied Anarchism extensively. I once found it very intriguing, until I came to realize it was strictly opium-pipe-dream BS.


Look, if 100 people tell you something is bunk, and you claim it is because YOU (one person) understand it and they (100) don't.... you just MIGHT want to reexamine that belief a bit.
 
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Fleshofthegods said:
You actually think that would happen? Seriously? If those people are out on the streets right now, obviously there is no difference between Anarchy and right now. If everything is legal, then there is no underground market for these people to profit from.
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I imagine you're too young to know about the Rodney king riots...that's what happens when government loses control briefly...if it went away entirely, that sort of lawlessness would go unchecked.
 
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Fleshofthegods said:
You don't need a leglislative branch to have a system of laws in place. If the police are for hire, then they are not a branch of government. The Courts would not be able to govern a state on it's own if it has no force.
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If the police are for hire, you will soon be governed by the highest bidder... or else the police will decide to run things for themselves. He who has the most power to coerce tends to rule, in the absence of an established government. Ie warlordism.
 
Fleshofthegods said:
Exactly my point...If we all agreed for society to continue on without government then it would and could.
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You're not getting my point. It is the existence of it within our minds, that keeps us in line. If someone told me that there were going to be NO COPS out tomorrow, well, then, my friend, me and the "black bitch" (my 76 vette) are going out for a cruise, and I'll likely only get the speedo down to, say....120...on the exit ramps.
 
mac said:
I imagine you're too young to know about the Rodney king riots...that's what happens when government loses control briefly...if it when away entirely, that sort of lawlessness would go unchecked.
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Exactly. The Occupy Wall Street protesters would be mugging traders and bankers and rich people in the streets, and raiding their homes and stealing their cars, out of a misplaced sense of outrage that all that stuff was "rightfully theirs".

Anarchism could work if all men were rational. IF....
 
The Mark said:
Self-government is libertarianism. Or something along those lines.

Anarchy is the LACK of any government.

You might have near-anarchic government, but if you have ANY form of government, which people working together WOULD be, then it is no longer anarchy.
Click to expand...

Anarchism can be a form of Libertarianism.
 
Fleshofthegods said:
You don't need a leglislative branch to have a system of laws in place. If the police are for hire, then they are not a branch of government. The Courts would not be able to govern a state on it's own if it has no force.
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IF a court system was the sole governing body, it would OBVIOUSLY not be formed in the same way that our current court system is.

As you have pointed out, it would need forces and abilities it does not currently have.

Which is what I have been saying.
 
mac said:
I imagine you're too young to know about the Rodney king riots...that's what happens when government loses control briefly...if it went away entirely, that sort of lawlessness would go unchecked.
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err.....untrue.

during 9-11, when the authorities were just a bit occupied downtown, crime actually went down in NYC.

the criminal element in our city not only didn't take advantage of the lack of police, they actually decreased their nefarious activities.
 
Goshin said:
I am not misunderstanding it. I have studied Anarchism extensively. I once found it very intriguing, until I came to realize it was strictly opium-pipe-dream BS.


Look, if 100 people tell you something is bunk, and you claim it is because YOU (one person) understand it and they (100) don't.... you just MIGHT want to reexamine that belief a bit.
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I'm not even an Anarchist, I'm just trying to entertain the idea that it is possible for it to work.
 
Goshin said:
Exactly. The Occupy Wall Street protesters would be mugging traders and bankers and rich people in the streets, and raiding their homes and stealing their cars, out of a misplaced sense of outrage that all that stuff was "rightfully theirs".

Anarchism could work if all men were rational. IF....
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People like those Wall Street criminals wouldn't exist if there was anarchy.
 
The Mark said:
IF a court system was the sole governing body, it would OBVIOUSLY not be formed in the same way that our current court system is.

As you have pointed out, it would need forces and abilities it does not currently have.

Which is what I have been saying.
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Okay so if there are courts in an Anarchist state, then it's not a governing body.
 
Thunder said:
err.....untrue.

during 9-11, when the authorities were just a bit occupied downtown, crime actually went down in NYC.

the criminal element in our city not only didn't take advantage of the lack of police, they actually decreased their nefarious activities.
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The people were united by the horror of what was going on. This is not the same thing as an uprising of the citizenry.
 
Goshin said:
Exactly. The Occupy Wall Street protesters would be mugging traders and bankers and rich people in the streets, and raiding their homes and stealing their cars, out of a misplaced sense of outrage that all that stuff was "rightfully theirs".

Anarchism could work if all men were rational. IF....
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You underestimate those who are armed, plus those people arent anarchists.
 
Thunder said:
err.....untrue.

during 9-11, when the authorities were just a bit occupied downtown, crime actually went down in NYC.

the criminal element in our city not only didn't take advantage of the lack of police, they actually decreased their nefarious activities.
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Um....yyyeaaaahhh...key difference between the two here, being, one followed the largest and most successful terrorist attack on US soil in history...and the other was just a black guy enduring police brutality.
 
Fleshofthegods said:
I'm not even an Anarchist, I'm just trying to entertain the idea that it is possible for it to work.
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It is possible.

For a few minutes just after a global disaster that wipes out 75% of the human population, including all governing bodies.

Then the shock wears off.

And people start organizing.
 
KevinKohler said:
You're not getting my point. It is the existence of it within our minds, that keeps us in line. If someone told me that there were going to be NO COPS out tomorrow, well, then, my friend, me and the "black bitch" (my 76 vette) are going out for a cruise, and I'll likely only get the speedo down to, say....120...on the exit ramps.
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That's not the point, if we all agreed to move on we would move on.
 
Fleshofthegods said:
Okay so if there are courts in an Anarchist state, then it's not a governing body.
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No.

If there are courts in an Anarchist state, then it's not an anarchist state.
 
Fleshofthegods said:
That's not the point, if we all agreed to move on we would move on.
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First, we wouldn't. Most of us can't even get out significant others to agree on anything, let alone an entire population.


Second, it is the nature of man, and most mammals on this planet, to have leaders to follow.
 
Goshin said:
If the police are for hire, you will soon be governed by the highest bidder... or else the police will decide to run things for themselves. He who has the most power to coerce tends to rule, in the absence of an established government. Ie warlordism.
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So you're saying that the Police the people that are there to serve and protect us would create a militant fascist state if they had the chance?
 
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