tag:google.com,2010:buzz:z131h1ehtvi1vvypi04ccnti2wb4ejnxysk0k
Julian Bond Julian Bond 106416716945076707395
26 Jul 2010 26 Jul 2010 Mobile Public
RA Wilson on Anarchism: My early work is politically anarchist fiction, in that I was an anarchis...
RA Wilson on Anarchism: My early work is politically anarchist fiction, in that I was an anarchist for a long period of time. I'm not an anarchist any longer, because I've concluded that anarchism is an impractical ideal. Nowadays, I regard myself as a libertarian. I suppose an anarchist would say, paraphrasing what Marx said about agnostics being "frightened atheists," that libertarians are simply frightened anarchists. Having just stated the case for the opposition, I will go along and agree with them: yes, I am frightened. I'm a libertarian because I don't trust the people as much as anarchists do. I want to see government limited as much as possible; I would like to see it reduced back to where it was in Jefferson's time, or even smaller. But I would not like to see it abolished. I think the average American, if left totally free, would act exactly like Idi Amin. I don't trust the people any more than I trust the government. http://web.ukonline.co.uk/benjaminbeck/anarchysf/w.htm I see anarchism as the theoretical ideal to which we are all gradually evolving to a point where everybody can tell the truth to everybody else and nobody can get punished for it. That can only happen without hierarchy and without people having the authority to punish other people. [. . . ] I tend to shy away from the word anarchist, because most people think it means bomb throwing. And a lot of people who consider themselves anarchists seem to think that too. But I can’t use libertarian, because the people who got their grip on that word are even less rational by my standards. I guess "decentralist" is the word I’d have to pick out for myself. Decentralist grassroots Jeffersonian something or other. -- Doesn't that just have the ring of truthiness.
RA Wilson on Anarchism: My early work is politically anarchist fiction, in that I was an anarchist for a long period of time. I'm not an anarchist any longer, because I've concluded that anarchism is an impractical ideal. Nowadays, I regard myself as a libertarian. I suppose an anarchist would say, paraphrasing what Marx said about agnostics being "frightened atheists," that libertarians are simply frightened anarchists. Having just stated the case for the opposition, I will go along and agree with them: yes, I am frightened. I'm a libertarian because I don't trust the people as much as anarchists do. I want to see government limited as much as possible; I would like to see it reduced back to where it was in Jefferson's time, or even smaller. But I would not like to see it abolished. I think the average American, if left totally free, would act exactly like Idi Amin. I don't trust the people any more than I trust the government.
http://web.ukonline.co.uk/benjaminbeck/anarchysf/w.htm

I see anarchism as the theoretical ideal to which we are all gradually evolving to a point where everybody can tell the truth to everybody else and nobody can get punished for it. That can only happen without hierarchy and without people having the authority to punish other people.

[. . . ] I tend to shy away from the word anarchist, because most people think it means bomb throwing. And a lot of people who consider themselves anarchists seem to think that too. But I can’t use libertarian, because the people who got their grip on that word are even less rational by my standards. I guess "decentralist" is the word I’d have to pick out for myself. Decentralist grassroots Jeffersonian something or other.

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Doesn't that just have the ring of truthiness.
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tag:google.com,2010:buzz-comment:z131h1ehtvi1vvypi04ccnti2wb4ejnxysk0k:1280153100962000
David Emmett David Emmett 112423096590036286952
I can dig that. 26 Jul 2010 26 Jul 2010
tag:google.com,2010:buzz-comment:z131h1ehtvi1vvypi04ccnti2wb4ejnxysk0k:1280165108886000
Tyler Strause Tyler Strause 108325715348546285908
Jeffersonian, I like that. 26 Jul 2010 26 Jul 2010
tag:google.com,2010:buzz-comment:z131h1ehtvi1vvypi04ccnti2wb4ejnxysk0k:1280227087266000
Julian Bond Julian Bond 106416716945076707395
@QWINTOFERPONT ROHONADOMONTE I guess I'm missing something here. How does standing next to a motorcycle make me more or less of an anarchist/libertarian/frightened? 27 Jul 2010 27 Jul 2010