Does all this entail anarchism? Not quite. The above arguments support that no one has a content-independent right to rule over society. That doesn’t necessarily mean that the state should completely stop operating and disband. They shouldn’t do that unless we have some alternative available that would also provide social order and prevent widespread violence.
I just finished reading a rather detailed book about the famous “Amish” and was surprised to realize that they are complete anarcho-pacifists… to the point that neither private property nor economic inequality pose any problem for them when it comes to self-government without coercive authority (and they never resort to litigation in state courts). Their fundamentalist Christian religious beliefs, moreover, don’t seem very different from those of other churches.
The book, unfortunately, doesn’t delve into the possible psychological conditions that allow them to achieve this feat. But their economic system is certainly based more on mutual altruism than on “common sense.” They don’t mind that some have more money than others, but at the same time, they don’t tolerate poverty or precariousness.
I just finished reading a rather detailed book about the famous “Amish” and was surprised to realize that they are complete anarcho-pacifists… to the point that neither private property nor economic inequality pose any problem for them when it comes to self-government without coercive authority (and they never resort to litigation in state courts). Their fundamentalist Christian religious beliefs, moreover, don’t seem very different from those of other churches.
The book, unfortunately, doesn’t delve into the possible psychological conditions that allow them to achieve this feat. But their economic system is certainly based more on mutual altruism than on “common sense.” They don’t mind that some have more money than others, but at the same time, they don’t tolerate poverty or precariousness.
Thanks for the comment! Would you be happy to share the name of the book?
https://archive.org/details/amish0000kray/page/n3/mode/2up
Thanks for sharing!