Somalia is the anarchy experiment. It has been in a loose state of Civil War since 1993. There is no government, there is no regulation. There are more guns per person in Somalia than in the US. If one aims for anarchy or believes we would be safer with more guns, look to Somalia.
The first thing I notice, because I always notice these things, is that religion is big in Somalia. I’m not talking about people ringing your doorbell at 10am on a Saturday to share their love of Jesus Christ, either. Religious extremism thrives in Somalia.
Something anarchists forget, especially anarcho-atheists, is that religion is almost indistinguishable from government. Religion is borderless nationhood. It is a tie that binds, it is a support during peril. Anarchy is a perilous time, and religion takes great pains to exploit this.
Islamic groups have gun give-aways and publicity executions. They even hand out anti-tank mines. If you support governmental anarchy, you are helping the cause of religious extremism.
The Libertarian system did indeed create a population that didn’t need domestic aid -- which is good, because they can’t afford any. Half of the population (3 million) relies on foreign aid hand outs, so those people don’t have to rely upon religious fanatics. There is no great increase in self-sufficiency under this system. Those who have anything must waste time fighting to keep it, and those with nothing stand more to gain by getting a gun and taking what they want.
There are thousands of organized Somali pirates. These aren’t your wise-cracking Disney pirates, nor are they teenage computer users downloading poor-quality mp3's. These are the hostage taking kind, the ones who make the news when no one famous does anything to distract us.
One thing Somalia is lacking? A free market. Sure, you can find gun bazaars all over the place, but what they really need are... let’s say “venture capitalists.”
So what are you waiting for? No taxes, no regulations, and everyone has a gun, so it must be the safest place on Earth!
(Don’t bother packing for more than three days, you probably won’t last that long.)
This is exceptionally thought provoking. My first thought was 'yeah, right' on the whole venture capitalist thing but realistically, it may be just a matter of time?
ReplyDeleteEither that or it's late and I've had a long day...
Statelessness is not necessarily the same thing as anarchism, nor does it equate with lawlessness (there is still law in Somalia, of the customary sort, it's just not handed down from Statist tyrants calling themselves a legislature).
ReplyDeleteNevertheless, Somalia appears to be doing better overall now than when it had a centralized government.
Outside efforts to impose a central government once again on Somalis is the trigger for civil war and "warlords", as Somalia is not a homogeneous society and no one group there wants a centralized authority imposing another group's or faction's dictates on it, thus, the desire to be in a position to take control of any government that might be established.
The truth is, it is Statism and its ideology and apologists that is responsible for any real chaos that exists (in Somalia and elsewhere), not "anarchists" or anarchy.
“Anarchy is order; government is civil war.”-Anselme Bellegarrigue
I'd like to see things from that perspective, but I don't think there's enough room up your ass for my head to fit, also.
ReplyDelete