Annarchism
Philosophy by Fred Woodward
ANARCHISM IS NOT A FORM OF STATISM. Anarchists don't want to
impose their value-system on anyne else. It's not terrorism. The agent of
the government-the cop who wears a gun to scare you into obeying him-is
the terrorist. Governments threaten to punish any man or woman who defies
state power, and therefore the state really amounts to an institution of
terror. Anarchism never relies on fear to accomplish anything because a
person who is afraid is not free.
Here's what Anarchists believe:
Government is an unnecessary evil. Human beings, when accustomed to taking
responsibility for their own behavior, can cooperate on a basis of mutual
trust and helpfulness. No true reform is possible that leaves government
intact. Appeals to a government for a redress of grievances, even when acted
upon, only increase the supposed legitimacy of the government's acts and
add therefore to its amassed power.
Government will be abolished when its subjects cease to grant it legitimacy.
Government cannot exist without the tacit consent of the populace. This
consent is maintained by keeping people in ignorance of their real power.
Voting is not an expression of power, but an admission of powerlessness,
since it cannot do otherwise than reaffirm the government's supposed legitimacy.
Every person must have the right to make all decisions about his or her
own life. All moralistic meddling in the private affairs of freely-acting
persons is unjustified. Behavior which does not affect uninvolved persons
is nobody's business but the participants'. We are not bound by constitutions
or agreements made by our ancestors. Any constitution, contract, or agreement
that purports to bind unborn generations-or in fact anyone other than the
actual parties to it-is a despicable falsehood and a presumptuous fraud.
We are freee agents liable only for such as we ourselves undertake.
All governments survive on theft and extortion, called taxation. All governments
force their decrees on the people, and command obedience under threat of
punishment. The principle outrages of history have been committed by governments,
while every advancement of thought, every betternment in the human condition,
has come about through the practices of voluntary cooperation and individual
initiative. The principle of government, which is force, is opposed to the
free exercise of our ability to think and cooperate.
Whenever government is established, it causes more harm than it forestalls.
Under the guise of protecting populaces from crime and violence , governments
not only do not eradicate random, individual crime, but they institutionalize
such varieties as censorship and war. All governments enlarge upon and extend
their powers; under government, the rights of individuals constantly diminish.
Analrchism is in favor of a free society organized along lines of cooperation
and mutual aid. If you would like to know more about this forward-looking
philosophy, read some of the books written by Anarchists, or contact one
of the Anarchist organizations or periodicals.