Example of anarchy in practice: Supermarket

The word “anarchy”, in its simplest definition, means government absence. Its simplicity is similar to the simplicity of the definition of atheism, which means a lack of belief in a god. There are many more things in common between these two concepts, but this would be a topic for another post. What I want to address here is how anarchy, seen in its simplest definition, is present in various interactions and voluntary organizations.

Contrary to what common sense says, anarchy would not generate chaos and destruction. Believe in that is to believe that the only reason the humans have to stay alive and to auto-preserve is because there is a government that forces them to do so. Instead, real life shows abundant examples of how anarchy generates organization in society. Yes, anarchy generates organization. An example of this fact can be seen in a supermarket. A supermarket works with people organizing with themselves voluntarily, according to their selfish interests. There are no laws, nor any guarantee imposed by the state that there will be people willing to produce and selling food, clothing, electronics, appliances, cleaning supplies and other multitude of products that are sold there. There is no guarantee that people will plant vegetables on farms, raising cattle, transport these to distribution centers, from these centers to supermarkets, arrange the products on shelves, and other endless activities that would allow these products to be available in one place for people to acquire them. Absolutely all the steps that allow someone to get a product in a supermarket is the result of voluntary interaction between individuals. The state does not force these interactions, they occur spontaneously. So it can be said that all this occurs in an anarchic way, i.e., without the presence of the state. Ironically, in countries where the state interferes with this arrangement significantly (as Venezuela, North Korea - countries that close and nationalize supermarkets) there is a lack of food. In African countries, which suffer with wars between proto-states, voluntary interactions that generate the availability of food is also prevented, which also creates hunger and chaos. It is ironic to imagine that, contrary to what the statists think, is the anarchy that generates welfare and organization, while the state is a chaos generator.

A supermarket in Venezuela

The same demonstration of anarchy seen in the supermarket can be seen on the internet and in various technologies that have emerged in it: peer-to-peer services (Uber, Grabr, Airbnb), cryptocurrencies (Bitcoin, Monero), social networks (Facebook, Steemit) and messaging applications (Whatsapp and Telegram) are examples. As in the case of the supermarket, the government did not force or guarantee the emergence of these technologies. On the contrary, governments often try to prevent these technologies to exist and to develop, through bizarre laws.

To consider that the welfare that these technologies created were provided by government is as ridiculous as saying “thank god” when doctors heal a patient. There is much in common between statist and religious people. In fact, we can say that statism, i.e., the belief that the state is required to organize humanity, is itself a religion. People who call themselves atheists and believe in this myth are not really atheists. I intend to make a more specific post on this subject. For now, for those who want to know more about this idea, I recommend the amazing book "The Most Dangerous Superstition" by Larken Rose.