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Dear david f,

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You wrote :

« 2. the organization of society on the basis of voluntary cooperation, without political institutions or hierarchical government; anarchism.

I hope for the day when we will be able to achieve [this] second version of anarchy in all places. We already have achieved it in some places at some times. We can have order and peace with anarchy. »
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You raise an interesting point there, David.

Anarchy in this sense is not havoc, chaos, confusion, disorganisation, and lack of respect for rules and authority. It is direct democracy, people collectively ruling themselves.

As anthropologists like to point out, humans organised themselves in stateless societies with great success for much of ancient history, and some continue to do so in various ways, without using the label “anarchy” or “democracy”. In fact, “state-organised” societies have existed for only a fraction of the roughly 300,000 years of modern humanity (whose origins date back some 5 to 7 million years) — emerging an estimated 5,000 years ago — and should still be regarded as an experiment, with mixed results.

As political philosophers have long noted, it is much more complicated and difficult today for people to rule themselves than to be ruled (or represented). Reaching a consensus on anything is a tremendous uphill battle and very time-consuming.

Direct democracy (or anarchy in the noble sense) is a seductive concept, but it is highly impracticable. Realistically, all the daily run-of-the-mill matters should be dealt with by our democratically elected representatives and only the more significant and controversial issues dealt with by direct democracy.

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Dear Yuyutsu,

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Foxy wrote :

« "The whole problem with the world is that fools and fanatics are always so certain of themselves and wise people so full of doubts."
( Bertrand Russell) »

To which you replied :

« Regarding Bertrand Russell … does he blame the Creator for doing a bad job? »
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No, Yuyutsu, Bertrand Russell would never have blamed “the Creator for doing a bad job” because he did not believe in the god hypothesis :

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=So-yHV3KoUI&ab_channel=RighteousLiving40
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Here is another thought worth meditating :

Doubt isn't the opposite of faith; it is an element of faith.”
(Paul Tillich)

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Dear Banjo,

Eloquently and beautifully put.

Dear Banjo Paterson,

Anarchy in sense 2 is NOT direct democracy. Direct democracy means governmental decisions are all determined by democratic means. Anarchy in sense 2 eliminates ALL governmental decisions. People join together in groups to accomplish what needs to be accomplished. There are no governmental decisions as there is no government. Anarchy is not a form of government.

Anarchy can only exist in its negative form, human nature will see to that..

The ARM proposal lacks all creditability, it is simply a ‘job for the boys’ effort and as others have said would create a position without power or meaning and the job could be done by the PM as it mostly is done at the present time, especially when it involves an overseas trip.
The creation of an Australian Republic is fraught with legal issues and will divide the. Nation if it does nothing else.