"There is only one kind of anarchist. Not two. Just one. An anarchist, the only kind, as defined by the long tradition and literature of the position itself, is a person in opposition to authority imposed through the hierarchical power of the state. The only expansion of this that seems to me to be reasonable is to say that an anarchist stands in opposition to any imposed authority. An anarchist is a voluntarist." - Karl Hess, "Anarchism Without Hyphens" (1980)
One of the go-to arguments Statists parrot when they’ve realize they have lost the debate/discussion with Anarchist/Voluntaryist is that “Anarchy is utopian!”, or some variation of the statement. ….and they’re right.
Hold on. Before we go any further though let me define “utopian”. According to Oxford:
adjective; 1. modeled on or aiming for a state in which everything is perfect; idealistic synonyms: idealistic, visionary, romantic, starry-eyed, fanciful….
noun; 1. an idealistic reformer
So….yes. Anarchism, and any variation thereof, IS utopian. Before my fellow Anarchists/Voluntaryists go all “you’re not a real anarchist!” on me, let me explain…
Voluntaryism is not perfect. People are reactionary and emotional. Some people are greedy. Some people are hateful. Some people are creepers, sexist, bigoted, discriminatory, etc. Some steal, some hurt others, some do far worse. Not everyone thinks the same way or believes the same things. …but that’s what makes us all individuals. That’s what makes us all unique.
Because we’re all individuals and we don’t think the same or believe the same things, that makes all political ideologies, or non-political ones, utopian. All of them! Every single one is utopian! Every single one fails to be perfect! Democracy? …utopian. Republic? …utopian. Oligarchy? …utopian. Feudalism? …utopian. Totalitarian? …utopian. Green Party? …utopian. Anarcho-Communism? …utopian. Libertarianism? …utopian. The Constitution? …utopian. The Bill of Rights? …utopian. Socialism? …utopian. Limited government? …utopian. Orwell’s “1984”? …utopian. “Harrison Bergeron”? …utopian. “Fahrenheit 451”? …utopian.
The difference between the existence of any government ideology and Voluntaryism is that Voluntaryism, as the name implies, is voluntary and government is not. Government, any and every form of government, cannot exist without theft and oppression. It cannot exist without immoral acts. Voluntaryism, because it is entirely voluntary, is moral. If one chooses freely to join a commune, go join a commune. Wanna go live a hunter-gatherer existence, go live a hunter-gatherer existence. Wanna go live in a city and pay taxes for roads, cops, and parks, the do it. That’s Voluntaryism! That’s anarchy! That is freedom of choice and the absence of force, oppression, immorality.
So yes, Voluntaryism is utopian, but no more so than any variation of government. But at least you’d be free.
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Author
I'm a slacktivist, Agorist, and Anarchist. I give zero fucks what you do as long as you're not harming anyone else. I can be found at on Facebook at A Wolf in a Sheeple's World and Positive Anarchism, or on my personal page here