I could hear the tires squealing as my dad attempted to hit the brakes. What is that car doing? Does he not see our car? As quickly as sunlight finding a shadow, before we knew it, BOOM the cars collided. Thankfully, no one was hurt. Both drivers, my dad and the student, quickly got out of their cars, but the damage was done. The bumper of my dad’s car was ripped away like a butterfly’s wing from a thunder storm. The student was at fault for not signaling as he changed lanes. Luckily, it was just a minor dent on both cars. The student begged my dad not to involve the insurance company and police because he was undocumented. The student feared the idea of him being deported back to his home country. My dad whispered with his tongue, clucking his cheeks, then looked at me with mystery, and wondered how the situation would turn out if I was undocumented. He decided it would be unnecessary to make this situation larger than it really was. As a result, my dad thought it was best to brush it off, which showed compassion, solidarity, and mutual aid towards the student. The situation was dealt between him and the student without involving rulers, police or the state; a kind of higher justice was reached as a result of my father’s and the student’s decision to use mutual aid to settle each other’s fate. This example merely explains how an anarchist acts. If you ask a conservative what they would do in this situation, she would report the accident because she believes in following the laws—and lumps trump morality. She would report the undocumented individual because the student is not supposed to be “here” in the first place. The situation would then be about the undocumented student breaking the rules of the “state,” which in the eyes of a conservative, mean that a much bigger law of concern was broken beyond the student not using signal indicators. Rather than a situation where the right to exist apart from financial suffering or deportation is valued more, the conservative instead sides with the often arbitrary notion of state-based laws. As seen above, conservatives support traditional values, ways, and attitudes. They question the existence of immigrated folks without paperwork. If you ask a Liberal, they are more open to new traditions, ways, and attitudes. In this case, a Liberal would consider an alternative way in dealing with this situation and stand for the protection of political and civil liberties. With a compromise, the student would pay for the damages in monthly installments, privately and personally; however, the Liberal would take pictures of the damages and write down the license plate number for her own intake. If you ask a Libertarian, she would demand that the student immediately pay for the damages in cash without involving third parties because they believe in individual liberty. They are for free markets with no regulations. Out of the four civic stances, anarchism creates the most freedom. How does my dad embody anarchy even though he does not know what the term means? According to David Braeber, people think and act like Anarchists without consciously knowing it. Anarchism is a form of social organization without hierarchy. In the case of my father, he knew that the student was far poorer than him and that the undocumented student faced a two-front tragedy: he had no money and no citizenship, while my father had both. And as such, an anarchist society is one without government, rulers, or any association with a higher form of authority other than an authority created with the consent of others. The “Golden Rule” of an anarchist is: One should treat others as one would like others to treat oneself. An example of this would be Martin Luther King Jr. leading a non-violent struggle in the 1950’s for racial equality in the United States. He believed everyone was equal and should fight for their rights that they did not have. I believe that Anarchism gives people the most freedom because it allows them to formulate mutual aid, distrust in authority, and decentralization.
Throughout history, teamwork has played an essential yet successful part in Anarchism because teamwork provides a mutualistic relationship between each individual. It is a fact that teamwork is more efficient than individual work. People do not realize it, but everyday individuals count on one another to fulfill their duties. For example, my boyfriend and I have dinner dates where we cook dinner at home. He likes to cook new recipes and try new things. We both benefit because we both get to eat good food, he gets to practice in perfecting his recipes, and in return I wash the dishes. In David Graeber’s article, “Are you an Anarchist? The Answer Might Surprise You!” he mentions that people act/think like anarchists through simple everyday examples, cooking can be one of them. It is innate amongst human beings to work together; therefore, an anarchist society can work. Working together benefits society to the point where individuals would not need a person of “higher” authority to assist them; mutual aid alone gives citizens more freedom because the citizens would have the common goal of equal contribution towards every individual’s equality and success. It is like an assembly line. Henry Ford created the assembly line in which workers in different stations are working together to contribute their fair share to the innovation. The workers had one goal which was to produce the final assembly. Through this example, you can see how teamwork is essential for the final production. All in all, anarchism provides protection of freedom through mutual aid as everyone is treated the same, everyone gets paid the same, and everyone is looked upon the same unlike other societies where authority matters. As a result, the poor would not be exploited anymore. Mutual aid plays a major role as one of the characteristics of anarchism, which ultimately leads to a successful, functional society. While mutual aid and solidarity creates a peaceful yet handy relationship amongst individuals, it also generates distrust towards authority. The question is, what can government do for us that we cannot do for ourselves? The answer is, we do not need an authority figure or figurines to tell us what we can and cannot do. We as individuals prefer equality over authority. In anarchism, people believe power leads to one’s destruction because of how people posses it and the effects it has towards one another (Graeber2). For example, police brutality has been a popular topic until this day. Citizens believe police officers abuse the power they have towards individuals in open opportunities like during an arrest. Having a sense of power gives individuals a reason to proclaim their stance in society. According to Graeber, he believed that people act when they are free to do as they choose, and when they deal with others who are equally free—and therefore aware of the responsibility to others (Graeber3). In high school I was in a service club where everyone was equal. Every student were the same, they were able to speak and do as they choose, but in a reasonable way. They all listened and gave each other a chance. We worked together to better our club. There were no positions-- president, vice president, secretary, and historian. In times where we had services in the morning; no one was forced to go, but we were willing to go unlike other clubs where the top positions manages which student goes to what services. In that case, members were forced to go by individuals who had higher authority as a member in the club. This distrust of authority gives people a reason to be free and take matters into their own hands. Not only are mutual aid and distrust of authority key components to understanding anarchy and creating freedom, but decentralization is also a notable aspect of this political philosophy. Decentralization is just as important because it distributes functions equally away from central authority. Anarchism is a political theory that stands without government, but instead it stands with co-operations. Without the government, no laws are enacted and reinforced. Individuals do not have boundaries that restrict them from their actions. Each individual is equal. They believe in fairness and reason as they work together. They see situations “with an eye to fairness” (Graeber 4). The Alvarado Street Bakery in San Jose is an example of a co-op. It is an organization controlled by its members who are working together thriving towards the same interest; everybody that is a part of this organization is equally treated. They all get paid the same wage, they have equal voting rights, there is no discrimination, and there are benefits for all workers. Every employee at this company is economically and socially the same as they make an average of $65,000-70,000 a year. They work more efficiently without a higher power dictating their every move. Co-ops like the Alvarado Bakery are not very common nowadays because companies and franchises today all seek for power and wealth through success in their businesses; however, they were once common in the past. Individuals in a co-op society embody the most freedom as they are able to do and say as they please under no control. It gives them the freedom to work because they want to, not because it is mandatory. According to Graeber, he believes that Anarchism really aims to create a society within which individuals freely co-operate together as equals and opposes of all authority (Graeber4). Ultimately, anarchism gives you maximum amount of freedom compared to other civic stances. While an anarchist believes in decentralization, a conservative disagrees because she believes in having central power rather than dispersing it amongst each individual. In her eyes, anarchism is not ideal because it is important for society to have limited government pertaining to the people and laws. Without laws, society would be chaotic. Co-ops would not be ideal because it is hard to treat people equally when the co-operations are at large. The co-op itself will then price out of the market. Eventually, prices will rise, demand will increase, supply will increase, and it would become disorganized in a way where authority is needed. In addition, it is hard to communicate and maintain a balance between each worker. Because everyone is supposedly equal, no matter what mistake is made, everyone would be punished for it. There needs to be some type of government, limited or unlimited. Government can truly play a huge role in the regulatory of society. Society itself cannot function with nonfunctional people. Although it may seem like central power is needed, individuals who work at co-operations follow anarchist principles and are conscious of their actions. They have morals that guide them. Without a higher authority, individuals are able to communicate with one another to succeed and meet ends. An anarchist society can work as they see fairness and reason in society. They would not harm each other in any way, but rather help one another. It is all about peace, freedom, and equality. People tend to misconceive anarchism because they associate it with the term anarchy. Everyone is capable in behaving socially acceptable on their own. A higher authority is not needed to remind individuals of their stance in society because they already believe in balance and sustainability. People just instinctively know. Having power will only distract the individual from what he/she is actually thinking. It is one of the reasons why Anarchists are known for questioning every type of power. Power takes over the mind. People do not realize it, but Anarchism creates the most freedom in society. People are so used to hearing about other civic stances such as conservatism, liberalism, libertarianism, and etc that they do not consider anarchism to be ideal for society. When you think of anarchism, you think about a stateless community. People underestimated the idea of anarchism, but in actuality it can work for society because it gives us the power of indefinite freedom and an opportunity to be all equals. Is that freedom I hear? Anarchism is the way to go!
Works Cited
"Alvarado Street Bakery." Wikipedia. Wikimedia Foundation, n.d. Web. 04 May 2016.
Graeber, David. ""Are You an Anarchist? The Answer Might Surprise You!"" (n.d.): n. pag. Web. 18 Apr. 2016.