A common objection to arguments for anarchy is that a stateless society can never be achieved.  People say that there’s no way that society will ever be able to organize itself without a government.  Some people claim this is out of necessity while others argue that there will always be a power vacuum that will be filled by someone.

So do I think that we’ll ever achieve anarchy?

I don’t know.

And it doesn’t matter.

It doesn’t matter in the sense that whether it is an achievable goal or not won’t change what I advocate for.  Until it’s proven to me that a system featuring voluntary interactions is not only the most ethical but also the most productive way to organize society, why should I ever change my mind?  Why should I support a system of institutionalized coercion that asymmetrically benefits the few that enjoy the ability to exploit the rights of everyone else?

Abdication of the support for a stateless society means supporting some form of state that is not argued to maximize human civilization.  If we should give up on pushing towards anarchy because it’s an impossible ideal, what other impossible ideals should we also give up?  Does anyone truly believe that we’ll be able to completely eliminate crime?  Does anyone think that we’ll one day live in a world free of fraud, theft, rape, or murder?  The best we can do is approach zero crime, but since humans are flawed, there will always be people who choose an option to act evilly. 

It would be insane to say, “Well, since we’ll never totally get rid of murder, it makes sense to be in favor of some.  We don’t want to look silly hoping for the impossible, do we?!”  These admittedly lofty goals aren’t like, for example, trying to lose 5 pounds in a month.  You succeed or fail and try again if you choose.  Instead, these are goals that span generations upon generations where individuals hope to move the needle just ever so slightly in the hopes that people yet to be born can live in a better world. 

Anarchy isn’t even the real end goal.  Bad things will still happen to people in a world without government.  As previously mentioned, humans have flaws, so a wholly perfect human society is not theoretically possible even if we ignore the constant struggle against nature.  But that should not stop us from striving for an asymptotic path to perfection.  You can make arguments against anarchy, but don’t let any of them be because anarchy is too good for us.

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