I was thinking about how I became an anarchist. I mean, once upon a time, I was a statist moron who could imagine nothing better than working for the "guvment" and never having to worry about my pay. I have served in the Army (Honorable Discharge, E-1, 31 Delta) and my mother was both on welfare (age 3 through 13) and worked for the IRS. If anything, I should be trying to destroy anyone who stands against this country. So, why am I trying to destroy this system? I will tell you why. I am now an anarchist because of Socialist theory.
Yes, I was a die-hard Socialist. And why not? After all, I could see how a socialist economy could help, in my neighborhood. So many people starving, homeless, broke and desparate could be helped by giving free food, shelter and work. Or so I thought. I did more study and realized that, to a certain extent, my community had been operating in a "socialist" economy for almost 60 years. Since the Depression, the "guvment" has been feeding, sheltering and giving work to my community.
What a damn shame. We had been "Socialized" for years and things were getting worse, not better. Surely there must be something wrong with Socialism if we still were in the dirt. So, I took a second (or should I say FIRST real look) at Capitalism. I liked what I saw. In Laissez-Faire Capitalism, a person, just like me, could take a little capital and become rich beyond my wildest dreams. Unfettered competition would allow the little man to have the same chance at wealth as the big man. Now this is what my community needs. Stop bitching about the "White man" and start doing some shit for yourselves, you lazy, shiftless bastards! This was my mantra for a while. Then again, reality interfered. I saw many people sacrifice their entire life savings, to a business that no one supported. I saw how through "guvment" interference, big business would only get bigger and Laissez-Faire was lost to "I want to touch you all over" economics.
Another damn shame. I mean, what I saw was no freedom in pure "socialism" nor in pure "capitalism". So, after some time, I said...FUCK THEM BOTH! There are times in an Anarchist world where both of them will be called for. For example, why should anyone own land? I mean, land is the rawest of raw materials. In its ground state (no pun intended), all it is good for is standing on. However, given some ingenuity and some hard work, land and its resources can be made into property. I believe that land can be held in common, until improvements are made to it, then it becomes property. This would limit individuals taking up huge plots of land that they cannot use, as it would take a large group of people to control a large area of land. Each individual could only improve so much land, by themselves and would have to unite with others to improve larger portions of land.
Also, why should we still have to pay for food? Granted, if I make an effort to grow/raise food, I should be compensated for that effort. However, there is nothing that stops everyone from helping in the food growing effort and thus reducing the value of food to the lowest levels. Put into a Ancap/Randian perspective, it is actually in my rational best interest to practice and encourage the giving away of food, as it would improve my chances of eating, if everyone participated.
I agree with the Ancaps that a free market system should prevail. After all, I ain't going to work all day making something only to give it away (other than food, which doesn't take all day). However, here is the kicker. What is the best way to organize a business? Today, Capitalists organize businesses around the "stockholder" principle. Tomorrow, my hat will go off to the Syndicalists. The new paradigm of the 21st century business should be OWNERSHIP. It is a known fact that people work harder and better for themselves than any other person or group. So, lets take ownership of business. I can just see it now...
It's 8 am and I finally decide to get up. I have to go to work in a couple of hours, so I wash up and go grab some breakfast at the local restaurant. I am a member of the Green Thumb restaurant growers' club and thus, breakfast is on the house. After my breakfast, I go to work at Kansas City Widgets. As I walk into the factory, I say hello to all of my fellow owners and prepare to go the the morning shift meeting. There we learn that the German government (who had placed huge tariffs on our widgets because of the German Widget industry) collapsed peacefully, yesterday, thus opening up a new market for our widgets. There was also talk of a merger with St. Louis Gadgets, a competing firm. We learn that, with the merger, each ownership share is poised to pay a great bonus at the end of the year, on top of all of us getting a raise in salary next year. Buoyed by the news, I report to Widget press station #1, my favorite post. For the next two hours, I watch a machine press widgets, as all production is automated and I am merely a watchman for the machine. At 1 pm, my work day is over. Leaving out of the factory, I grab an info-kit for owners interested in working on the merger with SLG.
I jump in my carpool van and head back to the neighborhood. After a glance at my email and a kiss to my wife, I head to the neighborhood center. There I teach a 10 week class on building with earth, as there is a booming interest in sustainable building in my city. Each student pays me 10 dollars a course, plenty enough for me to stay above water. Combined with my 90 dollars a week from my 10 hours work and my classes, I live a very comfortable life. And, thanks to the Ancap Gold Miners, Inc., we have a very stable, commodity based currency. So, 10 dollars will be worth 10 dollars years from now. Plus, with my investments in other Ownerships (the money comes from my dividends that I am paid at the end of the year, at KCW), I don't really have to work anymore. I just do it so I can have something to do.
This is the type of society, that I would love to see. Everybody doing their own thing, with the choice to opt out or in and prosperity for everybody. By automating labor, it would free up the need for us to work huge amounts of hours just to survive. Also, by freely associating with different enterprises, we could raise our standard of living so high that we literally couldn't spend all of the wealth that we would have. Ancaps would be happy because people would still be paying their way. Ansocs would be happy because there would be certain enterprises where to participate would mean freedom from wanting that particular need. I don't know about you but I could work 10 hours a week in a factory and give 10 hours a week to a urban farm commune, if I could gain the freedom to express my whole self and not just the survivor side. The only way that we will ever have that is to appreciate the best of the Ancaps and the Ansocs. Otherwise, we may end up with a capitalist economic tyranny on one hand and a drone-like, drab socialist nothing on the other. Think about it...
