this is post is based on a conversation i had with someone about whether we positively connect our anarchism to democracy or not, because on one hand the democratic ideal, of everyone being in power and making decisions together is pretty neat and anarchist, and that's also what many people think of when they hear democracy, but then democracies (as in democratic organisations and states) since the greek inception of the word also have almost exclusively been the ruling of a privileged few over the rest, with just enought power (or illusion of power) handed back to us that we wouldnt rebel. as one argument goes: if "democracy" literally means "rulership of the people" then who are the people?

sadly we did not kiss after the conversation :<
but i think we agreed that honestly either is fine ฅ^>⩊<^ฅ

and now: me rambling about anarchy :3if you are wondering now "anarchy? isnt that when everyone just does whatever they want and fucks everyone else over?? isnt that just destructive chaos?"

then well, that is one definition of anarchy but it is not the anarchy that anarchists desire ;3

anarchy as anarchists understand it is a society organizing itself by anarchist principles. this expesses itself through things such as mutual aide, free association, absence or minimalization of hierarchies and direct action.

basically people getting together in all areas of their lives, to together fulfill their needs, help each other, make decisions among those affected and resolve conflicts together. it's ofc not always glamourus, no society is, but we believe that it is a better way of living and organizing and we can start building it here and now by just doing those things

important values of anarchy are equality, freedom, solidarity, consent, and uniqueness. those are also shared (or claimed to be shared) by other political movements and organizations, but i would argue that most put other things first such as upholding the current system, maintaining and extending the rulers power and such.

ofc not all anarchists think alike so at the end of the day this is just one perspective out of many

if u are intrigued now and wanna hear more about anarchism, you could check out the anarchist faq or ask in the comments but pws don't be mean

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[–] 2 points 14 hours ago (3 children)

I wouldn't consider anarchy a "society which allows violence as a means to resolve disputes". But, I can see how you might make that assumption.

I agree that the "most natural" form of governance is actually warlord-ism, the best people at violence raid from the worst people at violence, and often amass some level of power just a little beyond what a isolated community can wield. At least recent history seems to have this happen a lot when existing governments fall.

The the descriptions of anarchy I have seen, violence is only permissive in defense of the rights of self or others, in particular but not limited to bodily autonomy and is not used to resolve disputes.

Still, I'm uneasy about the leveling mechanisms I've seen proposed to counter the hoarding behaviors that seems to be not uncommon among humans, particularly those steeped in Capitalism like myself. I also probably have trust issues.

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  • [–] 2 points 13 hours ago (2 children)

    The hoarding behaviours likely can be greatly alleviated by providing every human with basic societal safety nets. If you know that you'll have food, water, shelter and other basic amenities even if you lose your job (or get sick, or get old, or take a maternal/paternal leave etc), how likely are you to want to hoard money or other items just for the sake of it?

    Of course, the small percentage of people would still do that, which is how we have the billionaires.

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  • [–] 2 points 11 hours ago (1 child)

    I know I would hoard less if I trusted the system for my basic needs. And, if I just get a few more years of good job, I might be ready to stop hoarding (and continue working, just with a lot more mutual aid and independent creator support going out).

    But, I just don't think that's true of my father (RIP), or some of the people I met during my time in Northwest Arkansas; none of them even "millionaires" but all having a real drive to squeeze another penny out of every nickel. And, as you say, we have billionaires: any of them that aren't just handing out money every waking hour are not behaving ethically.

    I just don't know that one the scale of 8b people, or even 300m people, that there aren't enough natural "hoarders" to ruin everything. But, I'm also sampling from as experience where everyone I meet is steeped in the "water" of Capitalism from the cradle, so maybe there'd be fewer natural "hoarders" in if Captialism hadn't soaked into us before puberty.

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  • [–] 2 points 10 hours ago

    If we improve the material conditions, I believe with every generation the hoarding would diminish. Obviously, some people would need therapy or other sort of help, but I believe a very small percentage of humanity is actually irredeemable.

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