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What's to stop a mafia appearing who takes taxes under threat of violence, if there is no state to stop them? Anarchism always seems like utopic nonsense to me.
by ubercow13 6y ago
What's to stop a mafia appearing who takes taxes under threat of violence, if there is no state to stop them? Anarchism always seems like utopic nonsense to me. Something like, 'I don't like being told what to do, so we should get rid of the state and as long as everyone promises not to tell each other what to do, it will be great'. If there is no state, there is a power vacuum. There is a reason why power vacuums are quickly filled.
- petre 6y agoTrue. Iraq, Libya, Syria are noteworthy examples. Chechnya is another example. https://m.dw.com/en/opinion-russia-still-lives-in-the-shadow-of-the-chechen-war/a-50609732 https://m.dw.com/en/opinion-russia-still-lives-in-the-shadow...
- tsimionescu 6y agoCapitalist anarchy, which is what is described here, is indeed nonsense. The much more common notion of anarchy, socialist anarchy, actually advocates for smaller societies and more localized leadership (e.g. at the city level). Some role for a kind of state (e.g. an alliance of local micro-states) is often preserved, especially for military and diplomatic purposes.