Anarchy?

"Government, even in its best state, is but a necessary evil; in its worst state, an intolerable one." - Thomas Paine

Ever since mankind achieved the threshold known as “civilization”, among its distinguishing traits are a hierarchical society and stable governance. Traditionally, governments have been regarded as essential for a society to develop. Apparently, the need to appoint an authority over their heads proved to be that which “civilized” human beings which brought organization and structure to society as a whole. Hence, we find the various forms of governments in every history textbooks, from the god-kings pharaohs, monarchies and theocracies to democracies.

As I have been reading lately on the shortfalls of governments worldwide, this has led me to toying with an idea, why is a government necessary? Could we do without an authority dictating our lives? Before I proceed any further, it is important that I disclaim that I am not advocating anarchism, but I find it quite a novel concept to ponder on. Far from being the chaos and bedlam that anarchy conjures up in one’s mind, anarchism actually has its proponents globally since antiquity. No, these folks are not deranged or rebels and they wear their labels as “anarchists” proudly.

The word anarchy is derived from Greek, translated literally to be “no-rulers”. Anarchism is simply a society which does not have a formal governing institution. Ok, on the surface it may not seem so feasible, but let’s start from analyzing other forms of governments. In the modern perspective, monarchism is an antiquated concept that remains as a relic of the Middle Ages. Very few absolute monarchies remain, and of those which remain are under pressure to democratize. Additionally, the traditional notion of an “empire” is now regarded as oppressive and inhuman, and so vast empires which existed in history are now fragmented into many nation-states, such as in Europe and the former Soviet Union. Meanwhile, authoritarianism is viewed as a centralization of wealth and power within the hands of an upper echelon. This high concentration of power ultimately allows them to impoverish the common peasant and conscript them to wage their personal wars for glory, all in the name of patriotism. Hence, modern society seeks to distance itself from such ideology, with the prevailing philosophy of human rights and equality.

The rise of democracy and fall of authoritarianism and empires all point at one trend, the devolution of central authority. Contemporary philosophy of governance revolves around self-determination, that is letting the common folk decide on their own fate, which society believes is best found in democracy. The doctrine of self-determination is enshrined within the UN Charter, and it is on this principle that the UN supports nations breaking of the shackles of imperialism since the mid 20^th century till the present, as in the case of East Timor. So do you see the trend now? Decentralization and dilution of authority leads to ordinary citizens having a greater say over their own lives. Now, what if we were to stretch this concept to its extreme by giving each person absolute freedom by placing his own destiny on his palm? If less authority is regarded as better, then surely no authority must be the best.

One school of thought, known as anarcho-capitalism, views capitalism as a form of anarchism. Firstly, the essence of capitalism can be described as such: if every individual strives to guard and expand his own interests, then society will function optimally. This is expressed as individuals competing in the market to satisfy his needs. Once again, the opposing end of this economic spectrum is represented by communism, or a state-controlled economy. As history has shown, communism has proved to be a dismal failure with not even a token of success. The Communist bloc of the Cold War is virtually non-existent, and its remnants such as Cuba and North Korea currently suffer from extremely low standards of living. Capitalism has once more proved to be the most effective economic system in providing for society. Our current civilization, which prides itself to be the most technologically advanced and wealthiest in known history, was made only possible through capitalism.

If the free market were to operate without any government interference, all public goods would be privatized. This essentially means that education, security and other amenities will have to be purchased at market rates. Think of it as impossible? Look at Somalia. In the absence of a government over the past 16 years, it has thrived in comparison to other African States, many of which are either democratic or autocratic. Here are some statistics. Somalia is a perfect case study of how anarchy doesn’t necessarily boot a society back into the stone ages. As a matter of fact, it is interesting to note that Somalia has one of the best communications network in Africa due to intensive competition in the deregulated telecommunications market.

In short, Anarchism works on the principle that if every person fends for himself, then society will function optimally. This is because a human being will work hardest if it is to sustain and increase his own standing, and if everyone in society were to do that, the collective result will be maximized.

I am still of the opinion that anarchism is a little overly utopian, but nevertheless, it is a fascinating scenario to delve into. Anarchism is just another passing convoluted thought. I welcome comments and do point out if you note any inconsistencies or flaws in my arguments.