This is completely true.. and not specific to the term "anarchy". Almost
anyone who believes anything believes it because of the way they think it
will make them appear. This is easy to demonstrate, simply uncover the
"principles" that supposedly govern an individuals belief about something,
then point out other beliefs which these principles should entail, but which
this individual most likely does not believe. If the individual is a
liberal, ask them why they believe in, say, civil rights - they will defend
it with notions of liberty - point out how these principles should support
economic liberty as well, if applied objectively - the person will be able
to say nothing more then "but it's a completely different issue", without
actually outlining these extenuating circumstances. If the individual is
conservative, ask them about school prayer - you will get a rant about
religious freedom. Then ask about whether they believe Rastafarians should
be able to practice their religion.
I was talking with an animal rights activist a while ago, she was telling me
about how it's wrong to kill any living thing and blah blah blah.. I asked
how she felt about abortion, and she froze, then blew up at me.
-----Original Message-----
From: Rob Harris <rob@hbinternet.co.uk>
To: extropians <extropians@extropy.com>
Date: Monday, December 06, 1999 2:33 AM
Subject: anarchy
"Anarchy" is a cool sounding word. Like most human "principles", it is not
the issue itself that is important, but the social benefits associated with
having the badge on your sweater.
This reminds me of one funny thing recently. I was walking one evening with
the ol' ball & chain under a subway with walls covered in small square
tiles. Written on one of the tiles in neat handwriting with a magic marker
was the word "Anarchy". I laughed my ass off.