Hello hivers. For this post I want to talk a little bit about my past experience with Libertarianism and the concept of Anarchy as a system. I'm not a limited government scholar by any means. What I've written here is only based on my perceptions of the people I've met over the years who are part of this movement.
In the 1990's my high school civics teacher invited a libertarian speaker to talk to our class. My best friend and I who were already disillusioned with the two party system we're impressed by the teacher and joined the libertarian party when we turned 18.
My friend got way deeper into the movement than I ever did. He absorbed Ayn Rand, and started keeping up with the libertarian party in California. He knew all of the libertarian candidates for every election, and still does.
One thing he started doing that annoyed me was he started talking down to me when he thought my ideas strayed from the party line. I thought this was ironic, since libertarianism is about freedom, which includes freedom of thought, and freedom of speech.
I eventually stopped talking to him about politics. I'm still a registered libertarian, but I am not an idealist. I am a realist, which doesn't make me fun to talk to about any ideology.
There's only one thing I believe in, and that's people will always screw up your best plans. That's why utopias end up failing, including libertarian ones.
My friend is an idealist which blinds him to the motives of people.
All idealists suffer from this blindness because you can't fit reality into an ideology. When you're devoted to an ideology, no matter how great and holy, you must spend energy contorting reality so it matches the ideologies prescribed labels. My ideology says this is good, that's bad, that works, that doesn't and on and on. The end result is idealists don't see the world the way it is, and they don't really see the people around them.
Over the years I've encountered many self described anarchists and libertarians. They have pretty consistently fit one of these five types.
- The Idealist
This my friend. The Idealist is smart, but rigid. The other anarchists respect his dedication and how much he cares about freedom. However, he's an escapist. Idealists don't like reality, and they cope with it by tryjng to bend it to fit the neat frame work of ideas they keep in their head. This makes them difficult to negotiate with because they don't see life the way it is. They spend a lot of energy compartmentalizing memories, rationalizing negative behaviors, and explaining away their failures.
- The Hedonist
The hedonist is drawn to the Idealist. They appreciate the Idealists religious dedication because they are not spiritual people themselves. There are a lot of smart Hedonists in tech. They can be found spending hours, even days working on a project. The only thing they spend more time on is chasing their next fix. This is because they're unsettled and motivated by adrenaline. The Idealist and Hedonist respect each other, but they will eventually have a falling out. The Idealist will get annoyed with how unreliable the Hedonist is, and in turn the Hedonist will reject the Idealists inflexible lifestyle.
- The Fugitive
The Fugitive comes across as likeable. But, if you're an observer of people like I am you'll notice their hiding something. If they open up about they're past, the story they tell will always paint themselves as the victim. They don't care about anybody, and may be looking to con an unsuspecting Idealist or Seeker. The Hedonist and Fugitive might be drawn to each other because of similar lifestyles.
- The Antisocial
The antisocial is paranoid. They don't like, or respect anyone, and are fixated on the 2nd Amendment. They are survivalists, drawn to anarchism for their own reasons, and will not follow the Idealists tune. They are violent and may end up killing one of the others.
- The Seeker
The doe eyed Seeker doesn't know what the hell is going on. They might have traits of the other types, but they're innocent. They'll go to an Anarchist event to listen to the New Age healers. They're the followers of the latest conspiracy. They are new to the movement and may end up becoming an idealist. But like the hippies of yesteryear, many are just Hedonists, attracted to the lawless lifestyle.
This post isn't a knock on the ideals of small government, decentralization and anarchy. It only reflects my belief that no matter what you believe in you have to contend with people. People are flawed and an ideology doesn't make up for those flaws. It has served me better to focus on people rather than ideologies.