Anarchy not power struggle cure

     Throughout this country, there has always been some level of anti-government sentiment. The Oklahoma City Bombing in 1995 showed America in a very clear way that there are people in our country that do not like our government's actions. Yet, fanatics like Timothy McVeigh are exceedingly rare. Many of those who oppose our government form a quieter activist community.
     Most people who are opposed to our government, unlike McVeigh, feel that way for more noble reasons. They feel that our government oppresses people, even its own citizens. To a degree, they are right. Homosexuals are not given the same rights and privileges as heterosexuals. African-Americans and other ethnic minorities still do not receive equal education or the economic status of the White majority. Both men and women receive unique privileges and oppressions purely on the basis of their reproductive organs. Our government has a part in all of this.
     Many proposals have been offered as a solution to these problems, but none is more reckless than the idea of anarchy. There are those activists who believe that the only answer to our problems is to eliminate government altogether. They believe government and power are the sources of the world's problems, and by eliminating government, we will eliminate oppression.
     It sounds like a good idea in theory, but anarchy is simply not the answer. To begin with, an anarchist civilization is an oxymoron. Some form of government is a key part of defining a civilization. Second, any time two people interact, there are positions of power and dominance. Finally, the idea of anarchism, like communism, is based on the flawed premise that all people are inherently good.
     In order to survive, any civilization must have some form of governance. Government by itself is not a bad thing. Without it, we would not have roads, hospitals, technology or food. Without a government, we would remain hunter-gatherers, having to each provide food, safety and shelter for ourselves. We would have no rules to live by. All society works on the basis of the social contract. Without a government, a social contract cannot exist because there is no higher power to enforce it.
     Anarchists believe that power is the cause of oppression. Oppression occurs when one person exerts power over another. But where anarchists are wrong is in believing that eliminating government will eliminate power. Any time two people interact, there is a power play. While this exchange of power is not necessarily malevolent, it always occurs. One person exerts dominance over another. Without a government and the rules it creates, the only limit to a person's power is their physical and mental prowess. By eliminating the rules that prevent such an exhibition of power, anarchy would create more oppression than it prevents.
     Anarchy is very closely related to communism, in that communism would be the economic system of an anarchist state. Because they are so closely tied, they share the same fatal flaw -- they rely on the good nature of humanity. Unfortunately, there is just as much evil in the world as there is good. For every Mother Theresa, there is an Adolph Hitler waiting in the background to strike. With no government to protect us, we would have no defense against the Hitlers, the Dahmers and the Bin Ladens of the world.
     There are a great many problems in our world. Oppression runs rampant across the globe, but government is not the source of this oppression; it is merely its vehicle. Eliminate the vehicle, and it will find another. Or perhaps worse -- create one.

Copyright 2002 The Daily Kent Stater
Reprinted with Permission by the Daily Kent Stater