Anarchy and force

My fellow anarchists are, for the most part, a delusional lot. They try their damnedest to ignore the reality staring them in the face.

The philosophy of anarchy is very simple; no human being has the right to initiate the use of force against another human being. It is the philosophy of individual liberty, unhindered by imaginary concepts such as "the greater good" or "society". It recognizes that all forms of government are nothing more than one group of people using violence or the threat of violence to control other human beings.

But where most anarchists go wrong is in believing this means anarchy is a society without force or violence. This is simply not the case. Anarchy is just the elimination of one group's monopoly control over the use of violence.

The catch, what many may not want to admit, is that the reason governments exist at all is because some people crave power and will do anything they can to gain it. And these people will still exist if governments are banished from the earth. The only way to ensure these people do not gain control is for everybody to resist them. The only way to resist force is with force.

Now many anarchists will use various machinations to convince themselves this isn't really the case. They will claim that contracts can be used govern interactions between people. But contracts are only paper. Contracts are broken every day, there's no reason to think this would change in an anarchic society. If somebody breaks a contract, you take them to court. If they refuse to go to court, you send "police" to get them. It comes right down to using force to make sure you get what you want.

Other anarchists, more properly called primitivists, insist that anarchy means an end to mass production, to our industrial world. They are convinced that this will rid the world of all coercive force. But violence and coercion predates even our most primitive technology. Removing industry will do nothing to improve our interpersonal relations. If you plant an acre of corn for your family there is nothing to stop others from taking it from you. The corn is not some magical plant that can only be consumed by the one who sows it. If you wish to keep the corn you plant, you must prevent others from taking it. That means using force.

No matter how you look at it, human society is controlled by force. This shouldn't be surprising. Nothing in the universe happens without force. The entire animal kingdom is ordered by force. Force is the lowest common denominator. It is the only thing which guarantees a certain path will be followed. In short, the only way to keep what is yours or get what you've been promised is to have a bigger gun than the guy opposing you.