The other day, someone asserted to me that the definition of anarchism must rest on Plato’s conception of anarchy with no rules or government whatsoever, where everyone is only out for themselves. And that anarchism must necessarily also be an umbrella term which covers not only the aforementioned, but also “shitty takes” like anarcho-capitalism (US libertarianism) as well as the “modern” anarchism we discuss in spaces like this.
I didn’t really have the wherewithal to address this other than voice my vehement disagreement. It just felt… prescriptive in a very weird way, at best, and at worst, a bad-faith justification to tie the concept of anarchism as we understand it to its most unfortunate “iterations”.
I’m curious to hear others’ thoughts on this. Is there merit to such an argument? Was I just getting trolled?
The person you were arguing with was definitely an experienced farmer, judging from their expertise at building strawmen.
Yep. If you are against calcified hierarchies of power unless it’s a capitalist oligarch. You are just a capitalist
Yeah, that was my understanding too… there’s an inherent mismatch. Thanks for chipping in
Ha, thanks for the input. Some people just say whatever they want… I am trying to get better at knowing when to walk away.
Like fucking Plato has any authority over me.
B-but they even linked to the Wikipedia page where Plato said the thing… that’s the most authoritative source 🤔
Wikipedia is definitely where facts are made
Edited before even posting. Actually, can someone just point me in the direction of articles/Wikipedia entries that answer the questions below?
Genuinely curious, and if this is not the right place for these questions the mods can remove it…
I got to thinking about regulations and laws that keep greedy people from hurting others. Within anarchism, what is the acceptable limit of centralized authority when it comes to regulatory agencies and enforcing rule of law? Is each community beholden to itself alone? What about civic infrastructure, how is it maintained, and who maintains it? Regulations are written in blood, and humans are really good at generational forgetfulness (vaccines, anyone?). Since some humans will also do anything to advance their own power and influence, how are bad actors restricted? What happens when tribalism causes conflict between communities? How are community standards established and maintained? Who enforces those standards?
Your questions are many so its kinda hard to write definitive answers.
Thats why I am pointing you to the general section What would an anarchist society look like? of the anarchist FAQ. Just to be clear, this is just the opinions of one collective, but since its done in this qiestion/answer style, its a great source even if not every anarchist agrees with their takes. I think your questions mostly relate to part I5 of my linked page.
Hey yeah, your link is basically what I realized I needed halfway through writing my comment. Thank you, gonna look this over when my meds kick in and I’ve got a couple hours to spend reading
