I don't know how many anarchists are here, but I've been looking into anarchism, and though I'm pretty sceptical I find some of their points valid. It is easy for me to understand why someone would want to be an anarchist and I am not swayed by the basic, superficial, "On Authority" style "arguments" against it. I both understand and sympathise with their libertarian tendencies and scepticism toward the state.
However, I have some concerns nonetheless.
>1. No prisons, no death penalty, so what instead?The concept of "crime" is, of course, foreign to anarchy, for there are no laws to violate. But of course anarchists, I hope, would agree something must be done to prevent and address acts like murder, assault, rape, and robbery. Rehabilitation programs have been proposed, which is fine (I would support that, in fact), but how is that substantially different from prison? In many countries (Norway, for instance), prison is basically that already, but no one denies it is prison. Such people would likely not willingly enter reabilitation, so for this to be effective, they'd have to be enrolled without their consent, much like how prisons or asylums work. How is this not, then, simply prison with a red-and-black coat of paint, regardless of how much better the conditions are? I wouldn't oppose such a system, but I'm not sure I would call it anarchist? Failing that, what would you do? And if you do want something like that, how would you enforce and sustain it under anarchy? Who would take away the committers of such acts to be rehabilitated? The anarcho-police? Neighborhood watch?
>2. How? Is this actually possible?That's my biggest question. In no universe, to me, does it seem that your goal, however noble, is at all attainable. With standard socialism, we've at least gotten pretty close, but with anarchism, no large-scale experiments have survived. Ukraine's experiment was crushed by the USSR, the anarchists in Spain were utterly defeated, and I wouldn't exactly call Rojava anarchist, they just have a more libertarian form of government. My question here especially extends to Western anarchists. Suppose, for example, the USA falls, be that by itself or by some popular uprising. It is not taken over, but abolished entirely, the ideal conditions for anarchists! You and your anarchist org (assuming you're fortunate enough to have one) start organising, let's
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