“ I believe in anarchy” . That is what my anarchist friend told me . Like all the other non - anarchist people that statement would sound stupid, and I admit that I found it stupid when I first heard it. But then decided to do my own little research and maybe ask him what he meant when he said that he believes in anarchy. And what I fount out surprised me and shook me off my little ignorant world .
Anarchy does not imply chaos and destruction. Because no need to deny it, but that is what it comes to our minds when we hear the word anarchy. What it really means is the absence of leaders. But someone can ask, hey how can a society function without leaders, how can we function without someone deciding for us? Well how about we decide on our own! By decentralizing the political scheme in a point where there is a peoples’ council in every neighborhood, then the idea of deciding on our own is not science fiction, but rather something that we can achieve.
Another “point” that people opposing anarchism make is that human nature is bad. Well yes it is bad if the surroundings are bad. If you take a puppy and you maltreat it, it will certainly become aggressive. The same with the people. If you take a kid and teach it that it must become successful and rich , that he must be the first because the first one is first and the second is nothing, then it will use all means in order to be what it is expected to be. But if the kid grows up in a society where mutual aid and human compassion is dominant, the kid will not have the same nature as the kid that grew up in a capitalist world of competition , quest for power and a price for everything is dominant. In a society where there is no property ( that reminds me of the joke :” why do anarchists drink herbal tea? Because proper tea is theft” , proper tea sounds like property for those who don’t get it) there would be no theft. In a society where there are no leaders there would be no oppression . In an anarchist society human nature is a lot different that the human nature in a capitalist society.
“Hey man , I like your ideas but anarchy can never work, and it never worked “ , you will most probably say. And I will tell you that you are wrong . Anarchy has worked in Catalonia and Ukraine , and guess what, there is an anarchist society even now ! Yes, there is a society living the anarchist way, while you are reading this article. It is called Chiapas and it is located in southern Mexico. Formed after the anarchist revolution by the Zapatistas this anarchist society functions just fine and it is completely independent from Mexico. It is a society where everything is owned in common, there are no leaders and the standard of living is far greater than the one of the average Mexican.
I will also remind the reader that anarchists are not just some homeless , drug addicts, punks and “losers”. While I find nothing wrong with the people I just mentioned, they are the smallest proportion of the present day anarchists. Guess what , anarchists live a “normal life” like you, they are educated and some are successful in this capitalist world, but that doesn’t stop them from seeking for something better ; anarchism. Even one of the biggest intellectuals in this world is an anarchist. I am talking of the well known for his achievements , Noam Chomsky.
My intention was not to make you an anarchist, but just to expose you in some ideas that you have never heard of. Well if you started believing in anarchy that’s good. Then you can proudly shout with me “I believe in anarchy”.