> Coming from an anarchist, this is an interesting choice of words.
> That the justices on the Supreme Court can mock the institution
> implies (to me at least) that the institution could conceivably be run
> in a proper way. But wouldn't it be your position that any
> institution resembling the Supreme Court would be illegitimate by
> definition? Could there be such a thing as an anarchist court system?
I'm not saying that the institution could be run better. The current justices are just making a mockery out of the institution which should be more evident to those who still believe that SCOTUS is necessary.
Job Stewart had a fun time last night mocking SCOTUS on his show.
As an anarchist, the U.S. Supreme Court is an absurdity. Why should these 9 people have any control over my life or the lives of 300 million other Americans? This seems self-evident to me, but we all know how much American cling to official myths about the necessity, authority and credibility of these institutions.
I really don't think that there would be such a thing as an anarchist court system. Anarchists will point out that the methods of justice should be left up to community decision. Anarchists have written and talked about some alternatives to the current system of injustice, such as "restorative justice."
I think that a community should have some kind of justice system, but a standing court system makes me nervous. The current system is based on the rule of laws, which are an abstract system that is applied to all cases, irregardless of circumstances. I'd like to see a system which prioritizes the specifics and circumstances of each "case".
I also firmly believe that an anarchist society would have less "crime" to deal with, in part because you'd no longer have a government around to define "lawbreakers." Lawmakers create lawbreakers, as I like to say.
Chuck