From: "benabc-AT-" <benabc2-AT-hotmail.com> Subject: Re: The next best thing... Date: Sun, 04 Jul 1999 21:46:16 MDT >Of course Anarchy won't solve the problems we're faced with now but it >_will_ empower us to do so. Without the feters of hierachical society and >capitalism we would be enabled to find creative and practicle solutions to >our problems _and_ be able to implement them. >Anarchy itself solves nothing but it removes the obstructions faced by >those of us trying to solve them- no other ideology does that. >cheers >Ben. Perhaps of more relevance here, is that we will likely never have anarchy. Theory often fails to translate into reality, because any theory is based on a simplified model of a complex and unpredictable world. We talk of capitalism, communism, state socialism, libertarianism (left, right, pink yellow and blue), etc. but none of those system have ever existed. Throughout time the current mess has been attributed to one ideology or another, but it's never been an accurate reflection of that theory of government/politics. The world's a little too complex for that. Chomsky talks of anarchy as a process of challenging institutions in our daily lives to prove their validity. I like that. i like the anarchist philosophy. We are but one of many forces that act upon society though, and we are but a small and marginalised force. At any one time the society we live in is moving in one direction or another, as a resultant of the many forces that act upon it. i think anarchism is pushing it in a positive direction, and that despite all the inertia we have to overcome, we can alter "the big picture". People talk of things being hopeless. Well perhaps they are, but that's a perception that varies from one person to another. Whether its an accurate perception is something we each have to decide for ourselves. Just be aware, that the perception that something is hopeless, is often an excuse for apathy. Uncle Noam says something similar, but I'm sure Unka Bart could put it better. Either way, you decide that change is possible, that's an empowering decision, that should motivate you to action. And if you're doing something, at least you're not feeling hopeless, and at least you stand a better chance of changing things. I said some of what follows once while on more acid than someone on quite a lot of acid, but I believe anarchy starts with each of us, and the way we choose to interact with one another. Maybe that's a little vague and wishy-washy for some people here, i don't know. But what we focus on is power, and the foolish exercise of power by some people over others. We can first try and eliminate that in our lives, before we try preaching too much to other people to do the same. Each day, every one of us, no matter what situation we're in, can make a decision that makes the world a better place. Might be something as simple as talking to the guy that lives next door, or giving some homeless guy some food (instead of cash - but that's another pissing point of mine). And some people are sitting back and saying what does this pissy do-gooder philosophy have to do with anything, well if helping people around us, even in stupid little pissy ways isn't important, that how does such an abstract idea as anarchy gain its merit? To close poetically. Anarchism is a fire, that spreads from one person to the next. it is not an order of society from the top down, nor even from the bottom up. It is a massive amorphous network, perhaps not unlike this wonderful internet thing. It's reflected in the choices we makes each day, the attitudes we take, and the philosophy we choose to follow. Faced with the cold, calculating, mechanical buearacracy of late 20th century capitalism we have the choice to act like human beings instead of robots. let's use that. Ben (from canada). _______________________________________________________________ Get Free Email and Do More On The Web. Visit http://www.msn.com
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