Anarchy: It Just Might Work, Now

One of the most strange arguments against anarchy that I get hit with time and again is that "it has never succeeded anywhere before, so it will never work". I know that even that is a dubious claim, but pretend for a moment that it is true. Suppose it has never worked before; in all the history of humans on earth (since it absolutely does work for many other species, we will ignore that for our statist friends).

Is the playing field still the same as it was back in 1750 or 1950? If not, what has changed that might make anarchy feasible now, even if it wouldn't have worked in 1950s America? Technology has increased exponentially since then, that's what has changed.

The Rulers and enforcers are at this moment using technology as fast as they can to enslave us, but that is not the only way it can be used.

I think that many of the government "solutions" can be replaced by an internet based, decentralized system. Other problems would have already been solved by technology had government not had a vested interest in restricting liberty. Here are just a few ideas of how technology would enable an anarchist society. You probably have many more.

• Justice could easily be served by the capacity of the internet to provide good information on dishonest characters. In order to clear their record so that people would associate or do business with them again, they would need to pay their restitution.
• An online "invasion watch" set up similar to the SETI @ Home project could keep America safe from an increasingly unlikely sneak attack.
• Schools should obviously be internet based. It is just the natural progression.
• I think vehicle development could make roads as we know them obsolete, and with them, the government road-building-monopoly.
• Air-traffic control should not be overseen by humans anyway. Not since the days of a few hundred planes in the air has that been a safe system. It should be decentralized with components in each aircraft, along with internal collision-avoidance systems. Can you imagine how dangerous the roads would be if ground traffic were "controlled" like air traffic is?
• You could check on the certification or reputation of any doctor online, to see if you would want to trust your health to him. Businesses would be subject to the same feedback.
• Trials could be conducted online with jurors getting better information. I am not of the opinion that ignorance makes for a fair juror.

So, next time you are feeling down because some statist has told you "it can't work", just remember that it can, and it will.