Anarchy

[Doktor Howl]

I thought the core concept of rational anarchy was that government is a necessary evil?  

Government is something humans do.

Any anarchist system would instantly devolve into a cult of personality despotism.

Anarchy IS Personality despotism! YOUR Personality, rulin' it large, over YOUR own shit!

Yeah, a few of my mates and I discussed this, and have decided to form a partnership.

Gimme your sammich.

Come and get it, if you think you're up  to it.

How much is a bit of my sarny worth, when divided between you and your mates?  Is it worth trying to stomp me for?  

1.  No problem.  We had decided to smack you over the head with a bit of steel pipe while you weren't looking.

2.  We plan to do this wholesale, and make up the shortages in volume.

[Requia ☣]

I thought the core concept of rational anarchy was that government is a necessary evil?  

Government is one of the consequences of people NOT wanting the responsibility of running their own lives responsibly.

Yes, because its my personal responsibility to make sure that the Chinese fishing companies don't kill every fish in American waters.

[Doktor Howl]

I thought the core concept of rational anarchy was that government is a necessary evil?  

Government is one of the consequences of people NOT wanting the responsibility of running their own lives responsibly.

Yes, because its my personal responsibility to make sure that the Chinese fishing companies don't kill every fish in American waters.

It is also my personal responsibility to test for lead in paint and melamine in food.

[Don Coyote]

I thought the core concept of rational anarchy was that government is a necessary evil?  

Government is one of the consequences of people NOT wanting the responsibility of running their own lives responsibly.

Yes, because its my personal responsibility to make sure that the Chinese fishing companies don't kill every fish in American waters.

It is also my personal responsibility to test for lead in paint and melamine in food.

It is also my personal responsibility to maintain the roads.

[Doktor Howl]

I thought the core concept of rational anarchy was that government is a necessary evil?  

Government is one of the consequences of people NOT wanting the responsibility of running their own lives responsibly.

Yes, because its my personal responsibility to make sure that the Chinese fishing companies don't kill every fish in American waters.

It is also my personal responsibility to test for lead in paint and melamine in food.

It is also my personal responsibility to maintain the roads.

No, we can give the roads to corporations, and then everyone will have the joys of driving on Chicago's tollway system, no matter where they are!

Dok,
Might suggest you invest in a halftrack.

[Requia ☣]

I thought the core concept of rational anarchy was that government is a necessary evil?  

Government is one of the consequences of people NOT wanting the responsibility of running their own lives responsibly.

Yes, because its my personal responsibility to make sure that the Chinese fishing companies don't kill every fish in American waters.

It is also my personal responsibility to test for lead in paint and melamine in food.

It is also my personal responsibility to maintain the roads.

And to make sure there are no drunks going 97 miles an hour in the wrong lane.

[BabylonHoruv]

Foucault believed the only way you could escape power relations would be to escape society entirely (and even then that wasn't a given, since a human personality was a result of societal power relations, and so may continue to have a subconscious impact), so pretty much the only reasonable option left which didn't involve meekly acquiesing was picking tactical battles, with an overall strategic aim of correcting currently existing, concrete wrongs.

As far as I understand him.  It's been a while, and I haven't read all his lectures with the necessary care and attention needed to have a full grasp of his political theory.

Hmm, perhaps I should start to call myself a Foucaltian Anarchist (even if that is a contradiction in terms)

[BabylonHoruv]

Anarchism is libertarianism for teenagers.

I don't think most self titled anarchists are even close to libertarianism.... that would require at least some kind of cohesive thought process.

Generally the complete lack of cohesion is a sign of those labelled by others as Anarchists.  Of course as a self labelled Anarchist I may be seeing cohesion where others see only confusion and self contradiction.

I'm also not at all the same sort of Anarchist as Bad Beast.  I am very much about opposing oppression wherever possible.  It's not so much about overthrowing bad governments as minimizing their effects, and, as an Anarchist, I think they are all bad, just to different degrees.

Like Dok Howl however I am very much in favor of beaurocracy and also oppositional party politics, both tend to keep government from actually getting things done, which is a good thing.

Don't get me wrong, I'm very much about opposing oppression. It's just that we are so disempowered that the ''Wherever possible'' tends to just apply to one's own personal shit, and of those around you. That's one of the principle tenets of Anarchy. I will NOT just roll over and comply when faced with someone or something that demands I go along with their rules or thier bullshit. If the fight is worth fighting, I will fight every time. On my own, or someone elses behalf. I don't even know where you got that impression from.

From you OP where you said that it was not about fighting specific oppression.

[BabylonHoruv]

I'm with you about responsibility.
Without splitting hairs on what percent responsible we are for anything --

                       -- which opens up that mucky discussion about causality and free will

I do like the premise - that none of us should ever hide behind "I was just following orders." We are relatively autonomous individuals. We shouldn't choose our actions based purely on whether something is lawful or not, rather we should weigh each action on its individual merits.

Just because the consequences are driven by multiple factors doesn't absolve anyone of the factors they introduced.

And a bad law is no law, at least no law that you should obey.  The problem is, people conflate "bad laws" (segregation, for example), with "laws they don't like" (copyright law, etc).

Copyright law is a bad law.  That's a whole different discussion, but locking down creative ideas for the length of time copyright locks them down does not have a good effect.

It's certainly not as bad an effect as segregation, but it's still not a good effect.  Also, unlike segregation, it is not wholy evil, just several steps too far.

[Doktor Howl]

Copyright law is a bad law. 

Yes, because the worker is not worth his wages, and personal property is for statists.

[BabylonHoruv]

I thought the core concept of rational anarchy was that government is a necessary evil?  

Government is one of the consequences of people NOT wanting the responsibility of running their own lives responsibly.

Yes, because its my personal responsibility to make sure that the Chinese fishing companies don't kill every fish in American waters.

Somali Pirates FTW

[Don Coyote]

Copyright law is a bad law. 

Yes, because the worker is not worth his wages, and personal property is for statists.

And now this thread will spiral out of control much like any thread that mentions pot.

[Doktor Howl]

I thought the core concept of rational anarchy was that government is a necessary evil?  

Government is one of the consequences of people NOT wanting the responsibility of running their own lives responsibly.

Yes, because its my personal responsibility to make sure that the Chinese fishing companies don't kill every fish in American waters.

Somali Pirates FTW

Wait.  Are you suggesting that the Somali pirates are actually brave freedom fighters, opposing Chinese fishing fleets?

I guess the ones that attacked that French yacht just got carried away.

[Doktor Howl]

Copyright law is a bad law. 

Yes, because the worker is not worth his wages, and personal property is for statists.

And now this thread will spiral out of control much like any thread that mentions pot.

That's a chance I'm willing to take, for the lulz I get when "libertarians" explain that "personal property" is an invalid concept.

[BabylonHoruv]

Copyright law is a bad law. 

Yes, because the worker is not worth his wages, and personal property is for statists.

I'm not opposed to copyright for 15 years,  Even for the life of the original creator, when that original creator is a mere mortal human.  Copyright for an indefinite and apparently eternal period however is not a good idea. (I know there is still an official limit, but every time Mickey Mouse is in danger of expiring they extend it)