3 ms·

This perspective is completely alien to me. What misery and violence is the state uniquely causing that wouldn't be recreated by other forces in a non-state soc

This perspective is completely alien to me. What misery and violence is the state uniquely causing that wouldn't be recreated by other forces in a non-state society? That's putting aside all the generations, centuries and millenia of lessons learned that are enshrined in how a government-run state runs. It's hard to guess what alternative you're even imagining, but do you think some anarcho-crypto-decentralized-eco-intentional-autarkic commune where all internal "violence" has been eradicated can live in a bubble detached from the rest of the world? What is your workable alternative to the state?

jMyles 5y ago
I'm not much for utopian visions, though I respect some people who are. I do notice that, at this moment in history (but I grant, not at all moments) the political processes (tactics like voting, lawsuits, etc) seem to produce changes that concentrate privilege. And I also notice that change agency outside the political processes seems to be much more humane. Crypto is just one example of this; mutual aid in the broader sense remains an example. I've gone back-and-forth on this in my lifetime (including the 5-year period of formal study for my polysci degree), but from where I stand now, I don't think that the marginal safety conferred by sticking to the political processes alone is worth the sacrifice to our suffering friends and neighbors. It's 2021, and we still have two million people in prison, six million in various phases of the carceral system, wars for profit around the globe, and a currency controlled exclusively by the already-wealthy for their own purposes (which, by the way, I don't think are actually served in this configuration either). So yeah, I think let's start to build things to allow the state to be relieved so that we can take care of each other.

3 ms·

This perspective is completely alien to me. What misery and violence is the state uniquely causing that wouldn't be recreated by other forces in a non-state soc

by elefanten 5y ago

jMyles 5y ago
I'm not much for utopian visions, though I respect some people who are. I do notice that, at this moment in history (but I grant, not at all moments) the political processes (tactics like voting, lawsuits, etc) seem to produce changes that concentrate privilege. And I also notice that change agency outside the political processes seems to be much more humane. Crypto is just one example of this; mutual aid in the broader sense remains an example. I've gone back-and-forth on this in my lifetime (including the 5-year period of formal study for my polysci degree), but from where I stand now, I don't think that the marginal safety conferred by sticking to the political processes alone is worth the sacrifice to our suffering friends and neighbors. It's 2021, and we still have two million people in prison, six million in various phases of the carceral system, wars for profit around the globe, and a currency controlled exclusively by the already-wealthy for their own purposes (which, by the way, I don't think are actually served in this configuration either). So yeah, I think let's start to build things to allow the state to be relieved so that we can take care of each other.