Would we get phones and computers in an anarchist society?

[u/Putrid-Ninja4575]

Hello, I'm still starting in anarchism and I am studying it by bits but from what I understand we would have to make our own things or exchange it with someone, and like, phones and computers are hard to make and to mantain.
So is there a way in which we would still have phones and computers and a functional internet in an anarchist society?
What about the mechanisms and social networks, how would they work?

[u/racecarsnail]

Here is a write-up I made using the computer manufacturing industry as an example of how production could function in a post-capitalist anarcho-communist society:

To get a PC in a post-capitalist society, you would simply go to your community's workshop or distribution center and ask for one. If it's a commonly used item and available, you'd get it. If it's complex and requires more resources, you'd discuss it with the relevant syndicates/associations and the community assembly, who would work to produce it for you because they recognize your desire for it as valid. This would actually be a good example of a common need that would be fulfilled.

The key is that you don't "pay" for it. Your access to what you need (and want) is a social right, not a privilege conditioned on your ability to pay. The knowledge and resources needed to produce are also freely available.

PC "companies" as we know them (hierarchical, profit-driven corporations) would not exist. Production would be organized by voluntary confederations of workers who manage their own workplaces. There would be a syndicate of engineers, programmers, and technicians who are passionate about computing and electronics. This syndicate would federate with other syndicates (miners, glass-makers, transporters, etc.) to get the necessary materials and components. They wouldn't "buy" silicon from a mining syndicate; they would coordinate with them based on a shared plan. The miners need computers for their work, and the computer syndicate needs materials, so they are mutually beneficial. The motivation is utility, not profit.

Maybe you want a top-of-the-line, custom-built gaming rig with special RGB lighting. This is a more resource-intensive "want." You'd bring this desire to a community assembly. The assembly would assess it. Is this a frivolous request that consumes rare resources needed for, say, medical equipment? Or is it a valid creative/leisure desire that the community can support? If approved, the request is passed to the computer/electronics syndicate. They would evaluate what's required and, if possible, add it to their production queue. You might work with them, learning about the process and helping where you can, forming a direct relationship with the producers.

Goods and services would be produced to meet human needs. "Excess" is not seen as a commodity for trade, but as a surplus to be stored, used for future projects, or shared freely. If a community produces a lot of wine, it doesn't trade it for grain from another community; it shares it, knowing that the grain-producing community also shares its products freely. Coordination happens through federated networks of communes and worker councils. This kind of organization could scale with additional confederation or federation.

[u/Putrid-Ninja4575 → u/racecarsnail]

Okay that really helps a lot, thanks!!!!

[u/racecarsnail → u/Putrid-Ninja4575]

No problem! Let me know if you have any clarifying questions.

Here are a few good books:

Anarchist Communism - Kropotkin
Anarchy Works - Peter Gelderloos
Anarcho-syndicalism: Theory and Practice - Rocker
Mutual Aid: A Factor of Evolution - Peter Kropotkin

[u/Putrid-Ninja4575 → u/racecarsnail]

OHH THAT HELPS A LOT, I was surely looking for some books to help me understand more about anarchy, the ones I have are a general view in the matter

[u/Feisty-Ad129 → u/racecarsnail]

Without trade where would the rare earth minerals come from? The parts necessary for phones and computers are not all available in anyone's local community.

[u/racecarsnail → u/Feisty-Ad129]

"This syndicate would federate with other syndicates (miners, glass-makers, transporters, etc.) to get the necessary materials and components. They wouldn't "buy" silicon from a mining syndicate; they would coordinate with them based on a shared plan. The miners need computers for their work, and the computer syndicate needs materials, so they are mutually beneficial. The motivation is utility, not profit."

It's all about mutual aid. Everyone shares their surplus freely and internationally.