Voluntaryists Are Moral Agents Not Soothsayers
"Anarchy would not work on a large scale because how would you tear down the big corporations and organize society on a large scale?"
As a Voluntaryist, I do not claim to know how society will work without the state. I am not a central planner, fortuneteller, oracle, or soothsayer. The anarchist stance is only proclaiming that nobody has the moral right to rule and that my life is not owned by any politician or state. I live my life of my own accord and accept the consequences of my actions.
It is not the duty of Voluntaryists or Anarchists to explain away the intricacies of every societal problem. How much do people know of how the current society functions? How many people know what such concepts as quantitative easing, the Mandrake mechanism, deflation, inflation, hyperinflation, fractional reserve banking, and currency vs money are? How many people know how the monetary system and the Federal Reserve system works? How many people know the role that economics, the price mechanism, competition, supply/demand, and free trade play in the market economy? How many people intimately know how their smart phone, TV, laptop, car, lawnmower, or snowblower work? The level of ignorance that most people accept as self-evident regarding everyday items is astounding. Surprisingly this is not a source of distress for them.
However when moral agents express the deep passionate desire to consistently apply economics, philosophy and morality to all aspects of life, they are labeled as the extremists and radicals. If saying "There are no exemptions to the universal laws of morality" is radical than I am guilty as charged. If saying "The laws of morality are not altered by politician scribbles" is extremist then I am guilty as charged. If saying "The laws of morality do not depend on how many people vote on it" is subversive then I must be a revolutionary. Far better to be labeled insane in an insane world than to conform and in so doing execute one's own conscience. Embracing moral integrity is not for the faint of heart.
"It is no measure of health to be well adjusted to a profoundly sick society." Jiddu Krishnamurti
Voluntaryists Are Moral Agents Not Soothsayers – Peaceful Anarchism
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This is a very interesting topic, it is a lot on my mind also.
Thank you for commenting and for your support my friend. :-)
It's an interesting conundrum, one I have been contemplating for years....The state and corporate interests have become so intertwined that it is difficult to tell where one ends and the other begins. It all hinges on human nature. Are people naturally altruistic, or irrationally self-interested (motivated by myopic selfishness)? If the former were true, there would be no problem. However, I believe it is the latter, hence the need for institutions such as religions. The problems inherent in institutions makes institutional remedies an impossibility. I wrote a blog a while ago called The Failure of Institutional Remedies: The Philosophy of Jesus Christ that addresses that. Peaceful Anarchy is indeed the answer, the problem is how to get from here to there. Good article, upvoted!
To me Agorism is the way we get from here to there.
I'll have to look that up.
Thank you for an intriguing comment. On the one hand I believe it does not matter whether people are fundamentally altruistic or irrationally self-interested. As long as we do not hallucinate an institution of coercive power AKA the State, there is very little harm an individual psychopath or sociopath can do without anyone believing he/she is a legitimate ruler.
On the other hand I sincerely believe that people are fundamentally altruistic and respectful of each others self ownership and property rights. Without this being the case I do not think the magnificent inventions and advances in technology necessary to create massive civilizations would have been possible. A complex thriving economy requires the cooperation of vast swaths of peaceful people engaging in voluntary trade. Most people simply want to earn their livelihood honestly, put food on the table, provide shelter for their families, and raise their kids to be decent, moral, compassionate human beings. Cheers! :-)
There was a very interesting article yesterday called Kakistocracy (rule by the worst) For some reason, institutions, no matter how noble their original intentions, are usurped by their worst element. I tend to agree with you about most people being altruistic, however, people who seek power aren't...therein lies the problem.
:)