...the state has long since past their
'best by date'.
there's no government, like no government!
workers of the world, UNITE! etc, etc, etc.
Whenever I contemplate the viability of a “stateless society,” which I assume is a genteel euphemism for “anarchy,” I consider a community of angels. (Please bear with me here.) Not “real” angels of course, but rather otherwise regular human beings endowed with only the most altruistic and selfless motives. No one within this community ever has a bad thought or commits a violent action; everyone gladly shares whatever they have with everyone else. One would think that in such a society, government would be completely unnecessary.
Let’s further suppose that despite all this goodly living, some natural disaster strikes a distant corner of this idyllic community. Those in unaffected areas may be eager to rush in and help, but they need to be informed about what has happened, the quicker the better. Further, however well-intentioned these individuals may be, they may not possess the skills necessary to coordinate and administer relief efforts in the most effective manner. Thus, even among the angelic, there would be a requirement for at least two core, centralized community functions: (1) Disseminate essential information among the populace, and (2) Perform tasks that average citizens are not qualified to do. Both are absolutely critical; indeed a society based on altruistic tendencies would be remiss
not to have both functions at the ready. Otherwise they are not as prepared as they could be to administer to those in need.
Now let’s turn things completely around and imagine a community of devils, composed of members driven solely by avarice and greed, with nary a thought for anyone but themselves. One might suppose that within this Hobbesian
bellum omnium contra omnes nightmare, government would not be possible.
Not so fast. For example, however selfish you may be, you still might be smart enough to recognize that by cooperating with your fellow devils you may be able to accumulate personal wealth that would be otherwise impossible on your own. Thus a devil farmer may trade her surplus produce with a devil carpenter, or a group of devil miners may dig up gold inaccessible to any one individual. (Right about now some of you may be thinking that what I just described sounds suspiciously like capitalism, and exclaim, in either derision or alarm, “You’re saying free enterprise is the devil’s work!” Please don’t, because doing so misses my main point.) Further, a group of devils may realize they can fend off predation from stronger devils by banding together into a defensive force. Thus even among the pure evil, it’s easy to image two strong reasons for communal cooperation: (1) The enrichment of individual members, and (2) Security.
Unless your views tend towards either of the extreme ends of the optimist/pessimist continuum, you’ll probably agree that human nature consists of various combinations of angelic and devilish tendencies. Thus within virtually any society, the four centralized community needs cited above -- dissemination of information, performance of critical communal tasks, enrichment, and security -- would seem to be absolute requirements. Indeed, all four provide aspects of the same core function: the survival of the community and its members. Viewed this way, government isn’t just some acquired, artificial social construct; it serves our most basic evolutionary goal, the continuation of our species. And this, I think, is true for any non-isolated human community whose membership exceeds double digits, at least given the current state of human capabilities, limitations, and behaviors.
So no, I don’t have high hopes for “stateless societies” anytime soon. No matter which shoulder-perching little version of myself I listen to -- horned or haloed -- I’m told it’s a lousy idea.
