Anarchism is not a romantic fable, but the hard headed realisation based on 5,000 years of experience, that we can no longer entrust the management of our lives to priests, kings, presidents and other such con-men Ed Abbey
Search
Listening
- Binaural Beats - Sleep Deeply
- Erik Eriksson - White Noise 3 Hour Long
- Erik Eriksson - White Noise 3 Hour Long
- Erik Eriksson - White Noise 3 Hour Long
- Bob Dylan - Buckets of Rain
Listened
Atomspheric CO2 (PPM)
Archives
- February 2017
- December 2016
- October 2016
- May 2016
- April 2016
- November 2015
- March 2015
- October 2014
- August 2014
- June 2014
- September 2013
- August 2013
- June 2013
- May 2013
- March 2013
- January 2013
- December 2012
- November 2012
- October 2012
- August 2012
- July 2012
- June 2012
- May 2012
- April 2012
- March 2012
- February 2012
- January 2012
- December 2011
- November 2011
- October 2011
- September 2011
- August 2011
- July 2011
- June 2011
- May 2011
- April 2011
- March 2011
- February 2011
- January 2011
- December 2010
- November 2010
- October 2010
- September 2010
- August 2010
- July 2010
- June 2010
- May 2010
- April 2010
- March 2010
- February 2010
- January 2010
- December 2009
- November 2009
- October 2009
- September 2009
- August 2009
- July 2009
- June 2009
- May 2009
- April 2009
- March 2009
- February 2009
- January 2009
- December 2008
- November 2008
- October 2008
- September 2008
- August 2008
- July 2008
- June 2008
- May 2008
- April 2008
- March 2008
- February 2008
- January 2008
- December 2007
- November 2007
- October 2007
- September 2007
- August 2007
- July 2007
- June 2007
- May 2007
- April 2007
- March 2007
- February 2007
- January 2007
- December 2006
- November 2006
- October 2006
- September 2006
- August 2006
- July 2006
- June 2006
- May 2006
- April 2006
- March 2006
- February 2006
- January 2006
- December 2005
- November 2005
- October 2005
- September 2005
- August 2005
- July 2005
- June 2005
- May 2005
- April 2005
- March 2005
- February 2005
- January 2005
- December 2004
- November 2004
- October 2004
- September 2004
- August 2004
- July 2004
- June 2004
- May 2004
- April 2004
- March 2004
- February 2004
- January 2004
- December 2003
- October 2003
- June 2003
- March 2003
- December 2001
- November 2001
- October 2001
- December 2000
Is it the hard headed realisation that we can trust the management of our lives to ourselves?
Tom / 10:42am / 5 May 2010
I certainly hope not. I presume this fellow is suggesting that we need to trust the management of our lives to God and reflective prayer.
Ryan / 10:44am / 5 May 2010
How did he get the figure of 5000 years? … 5000 years would take us back to Ancient Egypt and Babylon, civilisations which had their own con-men, and then prior to that — well, it’s still con-men, but on a smaller scale: Prehistoric mafia. There’s no escaping con-men. Unless you’re a little Nepalese or Outer-Hebridean goat-herd or something. Which is perhaps what he’s advocating.
andrew / 11:42am / 5 May 2010
Probably 5000 years was where he thought hierarchical civilisations really got started. I’d guess most of the world was pretty anarchist up until then.
Ryan / 11:44am / 5 May 2010
I’m reasonably sure you’re mocking me. But does Ed Abbey think that once we stop having people rule over us we’ll slove our problems? Doesn’t history show us that it’s the individuals that enable and support the con-men? It’s talking like there’s a secret society of con-men waiting to rule over us, but we ask to be ruled by leaders who come from among us and then complain about the tyrants. I’m pretty sure that we are the con-men and there’s no escaping ourselves.
But then again, I don’t really know much about anarchism.
Tom / 4:30pm / 5 May 2010
I wasn’t actually trying to mock you.
I think you are right that we are the con-men. When the folks in the bible ask God for a king and he only gives them one reluctantly.
But anarchism isn’t about overthrowing people who force their rule on us, because people can’t force their rule on people who don’t want it. I think that anarchism is more about persuading individuals that things would be OK even if they didn’t appoint leaders.
Although there do seem to be plenty of people/con-men around very willing to take leadership when they are asked to. They aren’t completely blameless.
Ryan / 5:57pm / 5 May 2010
Some tangential thoughts
— For whatever reason I’ve usually thought of anarchism as being more closely aligned with socialism or social democracy than with capitalism. But then the second para of your last comment seems to indicate that an anarchist might rather prefer small (or non-existent) government, and a free market (if a market is to exist at all.) … I hadn’t thought of it this way before.
— On your last comment: If someone is “willing to take leadership when they are asked to”, usually we see that as a good thing, rather than a negative. I think I understand the sense in which it might be a negative – possibly there’s an assumption inherent in anarchism that power inevitably corrupts. But I’m not sure that anarchy (in the original non-negative literal Greek sense of the word) really works in any but the smallest of communities. And even then — possibly not at all … it turns into an episode of the Young Ones.
andrew / 6:38pm / 5 May 2010