Anarchy in the US

ANARCHY IN THE US?

It seems there has been some discussion on this page of late regarding the opposing views of voting for change and anarchism. I have been quick to label anarchism a “road to nowhere,” and I wanted to take a minute to explain why.

First, let me state that I have no ill will towards the anarchist. I understand, though don’t totally agree, with his/her objections to the organizational hierarchy of government. More often than not, the anarchist and myself see the same problems afflicting the world, and specifically this country. However, I dismiss the effectiveness of anarchy. This is why:

The concept of “boycotting” the election, as was recently put forth in a well-written piece on this page, does not make very much sense to me. How do you boycott something if your involvement in it is inevitable? The anarchist rejects the modern concept of governmental authority. Show me one anarchist, however, who, due to such rejection, was exempt from the laws of said governmental authority. None has ever existed.

To make a point, take the concept of boycotting. To boycott goods or services, or a specific event which does not inevitably and inherently include your participation, makes sense. Boycotting a local grocery store because of their labor practices (such as the Teamsters Local 439 is attempting to do with Safeway) is an example. If you choose to boycott their products, you are removing your money from the offending business (and thus, in capitalism, removing their entire reason for existing). If enough people take this up, the store can presumably be forced to change its policies, or go out of business. Maybe the effectiveness of such a movement is questionable, but its plausibility is not.

With the concept of politics, however, things are slightly different. If you choose to boycott an election, you are in fact removing nothing from government’s ability to exist (unlike the store dependent on consumers’ funds). The government, and any specific position within it, will continue to exist, whether there is 100% voter participation or 1%. Your actions translate to nothing in terms of approaching your final goal. Nothing. All that you have done is leave a decision in the hands of those who choose to take part in it, and voluntarily negated any say you may have had in the matter. Make no mistake, also: you, and everyone else, will be held to the laws and policies formulated by those elected. Keep in mind this “boycott” works well for those who have a vested interest in maintaining the status quo. Low voter turnout and mass apathy are the “establishment’s” dreams. And as far as effectiveness is concerned, anarchism and apathy are the same thing. What you have done is refuse to make any input into how you are governed. How this translates into the restructuring, or dissolving, or our governmental system is a logical impossibility.

The facts are simple: 1) we have a Constitution and system of laws, 2) elected officials are the only ones who may change them, ultimately, 3) the established network of officials and systems of laws hold all military and judiciary power, 4) said military and judiciary power will be used by said officials when necessary to hold our allegiance to the Constitution and system of laws, and 5) we will ALL, anarchist or not, be held accountable under said laws. Given this circle of interlocked facts, how is “boycotting” the election have ANY effect on the structure of governmental power?

Walk away from consumerism, and you remove yourself from the consumerist system. Try to walk away from politics, and you remove your views from a system in which your accountability to that system is nevertheless guaranteed. Or better put, try to walk away from politics, and watch it bite you in the ass.