Why I am Basically an Anarchist

[Ltrain]

^^^ +1

It is important to note that lack of government does not equal lack of authority or order. If you remove government (i.e. Haiti, Afganistan) there will still be order, but it will be by organized crime, warlords and drug dealers. Also, the economy is not two mom and pop stores on a corner with the local folk being able to compare two similar services side by side and make their best economic decision. It is on a mega scale with imperfect information. For example, I want to make sure the beef I buy won't kill me and I can't be at the meat processing plant to make sure the meat company is not cutting corners in a way that endangers my life. So I pay taxes to the government to regulate the business and watch what is happening to make sure the products are save. Since it is a human institution, there are obviously flaws, kickbacks, etc., but it is better than the alternative, which is the lack of the institution.

[IowaSkinsFan]

^^^ +1

It is important to note that lack of government does not equal lack of authority or order. If you remove government (i.e. Haiti, Afganistan) there will still be order, but it will be by organized crime, warlords and drug dealers. Also, the economy is not two mom and pop stores on a corner with the local folk being able to compare two similar services side by side and make their best economic decision. It is on a mega scale with imperfect information. For example, So I pay taxes to the government to regulate the business and watch what is happening to make sure the products are save. Since it is a human institution, there are obviously flaws, kickbacks, etc., but it is better than the alternative, which is the lack of the institution.

I don't believe in absolutely no government. I understand that this thread is called "Why I am basically an Anarchist" but I really don't believe in no government at all. I am very much a pacifist. But I find a hard time arguing against having police and laws against certain crimes that are excessively terrible.

" I want to make sure the beef I buy won't kill me and I can't be at the meat processing plant to make sure the meat company is not cutting corners in a way that endangers my life."

Remember when TWA had a crash in the late 90's? What happened to the airline? It went out of business. You shouldn't buy meat from a factory that is poisoning you. Why does the government have to make sure the products are safe? Why can't this be done by a private institution of people value it so much to pay for it?

[CoccoBill]

I don't believe in absolutely no government. I understand that this thread is called "Why I am basically an Anarchist" but I really don't believe in no government at all. I am very much a pacifist. But I find a hard time arguing against having police and laws against certain crimes that are excessively terrible.

Which ones are excessively terrible? What country's moralities are we using to decide these? After we've decided on them (for the sake of the argument, let's say we can), doesn't that signal that everything else is fair game? I don't know what the process was from the first oral or written laws to the ones we have today, but looking at magna carta it seems quite a bit more lightweight than current legislation. I bet that happened because they had to be amended and amended since people figured out new ways to circumvent them and commit new kinds of crimes. The times before laws and regulations were called the dark ages. Maybe I'm wrong but I think our modern society enjoys some benefits over those times.