John is very close, but Suresh is way off. Anarchy means no coercion. In a
condition of anarchy, people would be voluntarily doing whatever they do; no
one would be forced to do anything they did not want to by any one else. The
economic model in an anarchy could be socialistic, capitalistic, communistic,
or whatever, but what makes it an anarchy is the fact that everyone
participates voluntarily; no one is forced to participate.
An anarchist is one who does not believe in, advocate or engage in forcing
others to do anything against their will.
There are different degrees of anarchists, from hard-core pacifists to
totalitarian dictators and psychopathic annihilatists. There are the
pacifists, who won't use coercion even in self-defense. There are the types
of anarchists who will defend themselves with force, but not anyone else. Then
there are libertarians, who let people do whatever they want to do as long as
they aren't hurting anyone else. Then there are people, who are fairly
typical, who pretty much let people do what they want, as long as they pay
taxes and obey the right laws and so forth. Then there are totalitarians, who
let people do whatever they want as long as it's exactly what the totalitarian
dictator wants them to do. ("You can do whatever you want, as long as it's
what I want you to do") Then there are the people who don't think we should
exist at all, and thus have no choice about anything.
I'm the kind of anarchist who will defend myself from attack, with deadly
force, if necessary. I am also inclined to defend people I love, if it
doesn't endanger me too much and to defend strangers from attack, if it
doesn't endanger or inconvenience me too much.
I am dedicated to increasing extropy in myself and in the world. I have a
strong belief that people will be the most productive and achieve the swiftest
progress when they think and act for themselves, of their own free will. I
seek to teach others how to think for themselves and to create for themselves
the lives they want to live. I believe that nearly all people will benefit
greatly from allowing others a high degree of freedom, and I am working to
spread that belief.
I believe that coercion is entropic and that it slows down progress. That is
why I am against it. My main commitment is to progress, and I view anything
which interferes with progress as something to be overcome. (I define progress
as an increase in extropy)
- David Musick
- question tradition -