Anarchism and Warfare

“Weak states produce more complex wars. The DRC government faces more than 70 armed groups. Governments in a fragile position like this must focus less on neutralizing Hydra-headed rebellions and more on co-opting groups to divide rivals. “

This is a consideration for the more anarchist models of society. Without central and overall government that guarantees the rights of people, You are limited to the guarantees of the community. If another community enacts violence yours, and if other communities can’t or won’t come to your communities aid, your communities rights will be denied or destroyed. It’s important that we address bigotry, religious hatred, and picayune conflicts at a root level before removing the checks on self-organizing groups.

The anarchist models of society that I’ve seen would be a great boon to ethnic separatists and supremacists as the freedom to discriminate is inherent and unchecked without greater authority. Being able to grow their strength in peace on the fringes of anarchist meta-society* will enable them to be more effective at waging war on anarchist communities that they don’t like. The resources of those communities are likely to enable the creation of a state that cannot effectively be opposed buy individual communities, and communities focused on the wellness and happiness of their members are going to be less willing and less likely to go to war against a fully militarized opponent.

Alternately, several small, disparate and less powerful self-organized communities that exist in opposition to each other or others can engage in conflicts that not only bring turmoil to a region, but can affect other nearby communities that don’t have anything to do with the conflict. A coalition of communities trying to bring peace to the region are going to have similar problems to the UN in the article above.

I’m not saying that humankind is limited to state hierarchies for the rest of eternity. I am saying that anarchy is the dissolution of unnecessary hierarchy, and maybe a Federation/United government is necessary hierarchy to ensure the life and peace of the meta-society that the self-organizing communities exist in.

*Meta-society: The gestalt of the totality of anarchist communities in the world or region.