> The primary thing, at this point
> > in history, is to get rid of or at least weaken the gross,
> > violent, obvious forms of coercion, like the class war, the
> > race war, the sex war, the imperial war, and the war war,
Dddddd0814 at aol.com writes:
> Sounds more like pacifism to me. Should we love our enemies, too?
Someone asserted, Chuck I think, that this thread has perhaps reached a decadent phase where it may be best simply to agree that we disagree. Maybe we do agree on some things, though. I would agree, for example, that it's a good rule of thumb that when Hitler's (or Pol Pot's) name comes up with any frequency, a discussion has probably outlived its usefulness (if it isn't about the history of Germany or Cambodia). I would only observe at this point that in my view weakening, let alone getting rid of the grossest, most obvious forms of coercion, means participating in a lot of messy, compromising politics. Just saying "No," even in thunder, won't do it.
There's also a long history in the US of people trying to found alternative institutions, withdrawing to one degree or another from the surrounding society and its horrors. The 19th century was full of them, and there was another wave of it in the 1960s-early 70s. A lot of people tried the back-to-the-land commune thing then, and while a few of them are still around, most failed--same thing in the 19th century. Someone who's more clued in to the sociological literature than I am may be able to fill us in, but I have the impression that the 60s communes that lasted had strong religious motivations, or--strong leaders.
Dave also notices a religious or quasi-religious overtone that recurs from time to time. One noticed it as well in the article on primitivism, with its discussion of "spirituality." Being at heart a die-hard Enlightenment "Ecrasez l'infame" rationalist, this sort of thing always makes me suspicious. Perhaps some of what bugs me about anarchism is that it seems to call for, or require, a wholesale change of heart. Is that what we're waiting for? A Third Great Awakening?
Jacob "Airplane" Conrad