enlightenment
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I mean, really know..?
Here's a start...
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Anarchism
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MIW65cdsbiI&mode=related&search=
This argument seems to present governments of any kind, and the religious institutions that seem to shadow them doggedly, as pathologies. This is built on the assumption that the normal social state of humanity is one of benevolent cooperation and benefit, which I find entirely plausible, though many people are inclined to pooh-pooh this ideal as communist utopian hippy dippy unrealistic BS. Well, those control freaks are entitled to their opinions, too.![]()
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Currently I am reading a very thought-provoking book on a fictional anarchy, The Dispossessed by Ursula K. Le Guin. Peace,
Pathless
Interesting links, thanks!
If I were an idealogue, which I'm not, I would be inclined toward anarchism. While I don't believe that anarchism is a practical, or at least pragmaticially viable political ideology, I do think that the real measure of personal and creative freedom in an enlightened democracy is directly proportional to the amount of anarchy which can be allowed and safely managed by the state. I mean that in a wholly libertarian sense.
But beyond that I think that a person, however grudgingly, comes to accept the status quo political order. I pragmatically accept the two party system here in the States. I'm a Democrat only because I like the alternative less, not because I believe in the party. I'm not going to vote third party no matter how ideologicalyy appealing it may be. So I'm practical, but I still need to be able to think outside the political box so that I'm using the process more than it's using me. Thinking in anarchic terms leads one inexorably toward the most discomforting ethical and moral truths. It forces one to own their complicity with a power structure that harms many to benefit some.
Read Noam Chomsky sometime. He's a linguist, but he's also an intellectual anarchist.
Hmmmm... well... I agree with what you say... kind of... in a wishy-washy, non-commital, begrudging sort of way.![]()
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The rebel in me shouts:
PRACTICAL, SCHMACTICAL!!! Democons and Republicats!! Blaaaaaahhhh!! PUke!! They're all schemers and wankers!! (feeling a little British this morning, I am).
"There is a time when the operation of the machine becomes so odious, makes you so sick at heart, that you can't take part, you can't even tacitly take part. And you've got to put your bodies upon the gears, upon the wheels, upon the levers, upon all the apparatus and you've got to indicate to the people who run it, to the people who own it, that unless you're free the machine will be prevented from working at all."On a related note, Chomsky is a good man, a smart guy.
--Mario Savio
...you've got to put your bodies upon the gears, upon the wheels, upon the levers, upon all the apparatus and you've got to indicate to the people who run it, to the people who own it, that unless you're free the machine will be prevented from working at all.
Nothing in nature is ever "perfect." Nothing ever completely fits within a given set of expectations. There is enough chaos in nature that if you try to neatly put everything into a black basket or a white basket, you yourself will be propagating this natural chaos by imposing a false paradigm. (I guess that is another way of expressing our complicity with the slightly chaotic structure.)I've thought for a while that there really is, if only theoretically, an intellectual zone of moral certitude where everything actually is black and white ethically and morally. The House of Truth, or whatever. And the only way into that zone would be through absolute intellectual anarchy. What I mean by that is that no pragmatic or practically based excuses, like "we have to kill them or they'll kill us," have any currency.
I don't think anyone can stand to live in the light of moral certainty. We can opt in or out in degrees, though. I think it's good to own the dark little things we do for practicality's sake. Anything we do with good intention should come from a base of honesty to really be effective. That's why I ventured that we should own our complicity with the power structure.
I guess that is another way of expressing our complicity with the slightly chaotic structure.
Yes, we must embrace the wobble. Have you hugged your wobble today?
It reminds me about the Tao Te Ching Chapter 1, where "the mystery is the Gate to all that is subtle and wonderful."
Actually, Taoism resembles Anarchy in many ways.![]()
You have to look deeply in order to see the subtle order. Not everyone has the patience to look deeply, and you have to take off your blinders to see clearly.I wanted to savor and think about that.
Yeah. Anarchy is really just a realm where nothing is typed. Everything is "subtle." But I was thinking about, wondering about the balance of order against the background of subtle chaos. Hmmm...
I'm sorry, I should have kept the order and used a Taoist quote regarding the optimal balance of order and chaos:I wanted to savor and think about that.
Yeah. Anarchy is really just a realm where nothing is typed. Everything is "subtle." But I was thinking about, wondering about the balance of order against the background of subtle chaos. Hmmm...
Therefore it is said, 'In representing the Dao of Heaven one uses the terms Yin and Yang, and in representing the Dao of Earth one uses the terms Soft and Hard, while in representing the Dao of Man, one uses the terms Love and Righteousness'.
--Zhou Dunyi
The first thing necessary is for each individual to learn to control themselves. When you turn the focus from controlling others to controlling ones self, you are 90% there.The anarchist's dream is one of absolute freedom and solidarity. No coercion is necessary when humans work together for mutual benefits. Luxury is not an option, yet the loss of luxury is no loss, because when humanity works together in spirit, every movement becomes sacred and every created object becomes a work of art which exceeds luxury.
One can then see the role of government as being a necessary evil for those who cannot control themselves.With no controlling state, nation, or corporate entity, individuals are free to express their unique purpose. Nature or the Cosmos works through each one of us and is alive in us. We are the sensory organs, intellectual faculties, and creative genius of the universe made manifest in human flesh. Trusting the divine guidance that shines in each heart, governments not only become obsolete, they are seen as profane.
One must be able to discern the difference between outside "impositions" and outside "interactions."Beauty is a profound compass. When a woman or a man taps into purpose, she becomes beauty personified. To walk one's own unique path is to walk in beauty. Each of us embodies a process of becoming. Impositions from outside only stifle.
The difference between learning and schooling.The true education is to be found by following every curiousity, by taking a multitude of divergent paths and allowing them to wind us in the spirals of our golden means.
Tao Te Ching 38Anarchy is a natural, non-violent process of becoming, not only for the individiual, but for the social organism. Wholly organic, this process occurs simultaneously, in fractals. As one individual opens and begins to walk in beauty, so the social organism makes another step in its progressive awakening. When enough individual cells of this social organism begin communicating, new levels of consciousness and self-reflection are achieved by the organism as an organic whole.
Anarchy, then, is in no way selfish, even as it champions individual initiative and personal growth. Anarchy is in no way ambitious. The natural inclination of the individual is encouraged and cultivated as people recognize that the natural inclination of each individual is part of the natural inclination of the social organism. Realizing that she is the social organism, being part of it, the anarchist naturally synchronizes her individual initiatives with those of her greater Self.