So going into the video, when I hear the word ‘anarchism,’ my mind immediately goes to “The Purge” movies. I would expect chaos and violence, total disorganization and a lot of fear. There would be no justice system to hold other people accountable, and no way to implement any morals within a society other than the ones a person was raised with. So while I know my knowledge here is limited, I am open to hearing from Dr. Bylund, however I must admit I’m still skeptical of this idea.
Dr. Bylund goes on to say that anarchy is without a leader, not without order, and that there are plenty of things without a leader that have order. Honestly, as of right now I still disagree. A leader doesn’t have to threaten someone with physical harm to be a leader, it can come somewhat naturally. I think it provides people comfort to be able to look and rely on something for a role. For example, in group projects at school, there usually is a leader, even if it’s unspoken it remains implied. In the instance of Dr. Bylund speaking, and the position of him standing and everyone sitting around him to listen, a hierarchy is still implied in this very instance. People went to hear him speak, and due to this want of wanting to listen, he is somewhat of a commander of the room in this instance. Also, I’m sure OSU would have someone removed if they started behaving inappropriately in Dr. Bylund’s lecture. This still means there’s someone higher up on the totem pole.
However, I will concede that Dr. Bylund made a good point about when you see a police officer behind you when driving. My initial reaction is to definitely go under the speed limit, check my mirrors consistently and no matter how slow the officer is going I won’t be passing them for fear of being pulled over. But on the flip side, if there is a crazy driver and I see a police officer, I’d be the first one to cheer the officer on as they get the reckless person off the road, so that the person doesn’t cause an accident and hurt themself/others.
In regards to three felonies by eight, I can admit that some laws can be extreme, and I don’t agree with all of them, but we are a democracy and we can make adjustments. Also, if so many kids have committed felonies, why don’t we see them in jail? I think it’s because we are able to rationalize things. The law is very literal with some things, and others there can be understanding involved. I also think as we learn more about mental health as well, there will be less punishment and more help provided.
With the vending machine example, Dr. Bylund and I were completely on the same page. If the vending machine is free, who is going to fill the vending machine? Who would be working for society as a whole just because? I plan on working to live, not living to work, and I admit that money is the incentive that is driving me to get a job. So far from what I gathered, it seems that anarchy could only be possible in a utopian (or dystopian) society. Realistically, I just don’t see how it would work.
In terms of how we would move from a hierarchical society to a horizontal society, I’m not super concerned about it because for us in the United States, I truly don’t see this happening anytime in the near future. There are hierarchies all around us, parents are above their kids, we have workplace hierarchies with our bosses, teachers and their students etc. It wouldn’t just be government reform but society reform as a whole and I think that the vast majority don’t have much of a desire for that. The only debate I truly hear when it comes to politics is democrat vs republican, not talk of a revolution and becoming anarchists.
I know politics is always a hot topic, as is the way of the government, or in this case the lack of government, but there’s just too many flaws in the system for my initial thoughts on anarchy to truly be changed. It still seems like the work of a dystopian movie, and I think it revolves around a much too optimistic view of people for it to work. The talk about there being no money either? It just sounds unrealistic to me. Then there’s the whole other side if we can’t earn money how would foreign trade, imports and exports even work? I think the main debate in America should stick to the current politics we have.
