Ask an Anarchist.

#61

Well, I must admit you’re right. I have misunderstood kin selection. It appears altruistic behavior can be passed on.

I still believe that humans are selfish in nature. This has been shown by many many years of slavery, dictators, crime and corruption. Maybe not all people are selfish, and many are less selfish than others, but any system of anarchy is bound to collapse to self-interest. For example, in some communist countries, the brightest will flee the country and go somewhere capitalist where they can become rich.

#62

If human beings could live without government, it would be nice. But it’s impossible at this point. It’s human nature to want to be at the top. Even if not all humans would want to rule, it only takes one to take power from the people.

#63

Oscillating Obelisk, I’m really happy for you that you have some unique ideas and that you love life and everything around you and that you want to share it with everyone in a big happy community. But you’re one of the few. Like others have said in this thread. Humans are selfish, humans are territorial, humans are materialistic. It’s in our nature, it was in our ancestor’s nature, it’s in the nature of primates, apes, monkeys. People don’t stick to ideals, you can’t make a living off your ideals. You live by making sure that you, and those close around you, have enough to live, and have a stock to use up in times of need.

No matter how much your vision of an ideal anarchist utopia does seem tempting, it won’t work. It’ll collapse sooner or later and fall back to the system that works best for our nature. Capitalism, materialism and egotism.

And yes, our planet is beautiful, I love nature and I won’t willingly pollute it. But I have faith in the planet overcoming everything thrown at it. I do not have faith in humanity. The moment earth decides she had enough, is the moment mankind will vanish, and no amount of anarchy, capitalism, communism or whatever will prevent that.

#64

I disagree, I just think that the selfish ones have more influence. You can have a million Ghandis and all it takes is just one Hitler to fuck it up for everyone.

And here’s a little evidence to back up my point of view:
Altruism, the experiment suggested, was not a superior moral faculty that suppresses basic selfish urges but rather was basic to the brain, hard-wired…

#65

As a non anarchist, I ask you for your IQ and social standing

#66

I can agree with that. to a certain extent.

I think there are two basic motives in all people; conscience and self interest. the two are constantly fighting, if the latter gets to stronger the former makes you feel bad, and if the former becomes too strong the latter tempts you. This would work out fine, but unfortunately, people are able to trick their conscience. This is where rationalizations come in. People may want something really bad and want to be selfish, but they can’t because their conscience would make them feel bad, so they make up a rationalization for their selfishness to escape conscience. For example, Hitler rationalized genocide by convincing himself that the people he killed were inferior, slave masters rationalized themselves in the same way. It’s not that they don’t have consciences, they just trick their consciences and themselves into thinking they aren’t being terrible or selfish.

Kind of related, there was an interesting short story by Mark Twain in which consciences materialized themselves as people and the main character was able to kill his conscience.

#67

Damn anarchists…

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#68

Damn video game characters

In a world where men have been taught to think, anarchy is possible. The process of getting to a point where education and kindness have increased enough to make anarchy possible will probably take time, but ultimately there is a chance that we will grow up enough one day to be free. And until then, I’ll do my little part in carrying the fire in my heart, until I find a little place where I can let it out and dwell in paradise.

You should all go read Ishmael by Daniel Quinn. You might understand that we’re not innately evil or broken, just misguided.

#69

We’re humans. Stop ignoring that.

#70

Humans aren’t the problem. It’s that we break the law of things that is. Fix that and we’ll be okay. Our problem isn’t an innate defect, but a cultural one.

Read Ishmael. Seriously. It will change your life man. I don’t give that kind of endorsement to anything else.

#71

You seem to forget where our ancestry lays. We’re direct descendants of primates. We’re, in essence, animals. And not only that, we’re social animals at that as well. We live in prides/flocks/societies, just like any other social animal. We have the instinct to survive, instinct to be territorial. All this is dormant in our genes, and centuries of cultural evolution helped us suppress that instinct as much as it could. But the instinct, will at some point awaken again, given the chance.

Take away our rules, our law (anarchy), and you stop suppressing the instinct, and it will awaken over time. And then it starts all over again, someone’s instinct tells him he wants more, his evolved brain will tell him how to achieve more, and by that point, anarchy stopped existing and we’re back to societies led by certain people that dictate the rules.

#72

I’ve never gotten an answer to the “electrified ladder” scenario espoused earlier. Can you assist? Here it is again, to refresh your memory: https://techrepublic.com.com/5208-11183-0.html?forumID=9&threadID=185202&messageID=1897429

What is stopping a monkey from murdering (or just otherwise subduing) its fellow monkeys in their sleep in order to stop being blocked from the bananas?

#73

“Let us not slide back into decay, just as we have begun to see the light.”

#74

Anarchy is really so silly. How could you still be arguing it, as much as I hate bolteh’s pro-mac arguments, he has a very good point here.

If one person gains power over others, anarchy seizes to exist. Seeing as it would be impossible to make everybody equal in power, anarchy never will exist.

#75

Nail… head… you hit it.

#76
#77

This is kind of a flaw in all democratic governing systems.

#78

Did I spell seizes wrong or something? Oh, lol. Ceases. I don’t think a small grammatical error should need an entire post dedicated to it.

#79

It’s not a grammatical error, technically. Its a wrong word in the wrong place. The word is written perfectly okay - it just doesn’t belong in that sentence.

#80

Protip: spelling =/= grammar

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