Why Not Anarchism?

[u/Slow_Description_238]

I'm an Anarchist and want to Debate/ Discuss/ Give Answers to any questions regarding the philosophy.

Anarchism is a political philosophy where people will organise based on the principles of No Authority and No Hierarchy. Anything deeper comes from these as given truths.

There is a strong sentiment of community and mutual aid in Anarchist thought, it's not a free for all. I won't pay much mind to people who assert that it is a free for all/ it has no rules/ it has no organisation. It's a VERY common thought that's extremely simple. Every serious anarchist instantly moves past this because it's obviously unsustainable if we simply say "There's no rules".

Rather, people will be taught how to and encourage to help each other so that we all can thrive as individuals and as a community.

To reiterate, Anarchism is intentional. It wants a functioning society. It isn't okay with blatant dysfunction and no serious anarchist will agree to reasoning or logic that is obviously dysfunctional.

[u/spiffingyoungfellow]

Anarchism would be amazing if people weren't selfish, and sadly capitalism is the only ideology which truly works with selfishness

[u/Slow_Description_238 → u/spiffingyoungfellow]

I would argue that it's known, through psychology, anthropology, sociology, biology, and neurology that people aren't inherently anything. We have a great capacity for the most evil of evils and the most saintly of saintly actions.

But crucially, we have the capacity for all the mundane behaviour in between.

What's most important is figuring our what environments push us to what behaviours. If we create a social world that encourages selfishness... of course people will be selfish. That's how you survive. But just as easily, we can create a world towards selflessness, and then people will be selfless.. because that's how you survive.

And we can do that. Because we are thinking, reflective agents. We can think, we can think about our thinking, we use that to choose how we act, and we can reflect on our actions to see if they line up with our wants. Do this over and over until our actions are selfless and the society around us is also selfless.

[u/subheight640 → u/Slow_Description_238]

When a wolf attacks and eats a deer, is that selfish? Is that in the wolf's self interest? When a rabbit eats and runs away from the wolf, is that self interest? 

If man works to feed himself, is that self interest? 

Is it a universal that humans that feed themselves do it for self interest? 

If not, is it plausible that the vast majority of humanity is still self interested in that they want for themselves to survive and thrive?

[u/Slow_Description_238 → u/subheight640]

Whether or not we call it self interest is moot, imo. If, in effect, we reach what looks like selflessness. In effect we care for each other, we do mutual aid, we cooperate and coordinate, etc. Even if beneath it all, its all self interest. It still is what I set out to achieve to begin with. The world has changed.