Can you picture it? What exactly would it be like to live in such a society, is it even possible?
It may seem complex, and it would certainly be because the world is quite complex, but it is not an impractical possibility for we are all unique individual competing governments.
What is Government, a monopoly of force over a geographical region.
There are so many levels of Governments, federal, state, provincial, municipal, etc. But I think we lose sight of the most important government which all others extend from, Self-Government. The ability to own your body, the consequences of your actions, and the fruits of your labor.
Sadly no two disagreeing Governments can occupy the same space at the same time. The will of the self-government falls second to the will of the larger government which claims to own you.
The systems of my body and society continually compete for my attention, My stomach growls for cheetos while my heart begs to differ. I arbitrate the decision, and I value having the ability to do so. I think what we tend value most in life are the things we choose ourselves. Our friends, hobbies, careers, education, loved ones.
We want the freedom for all this and more, but before we can have this freedom we must be given acceptance from the larger Government. How would you feel if we wern't allowed by some arbitrary authority to make certain friends, you could only engage in certain hobbies, told who to marry, our what you were allowed to think?
It's difficult enough to understand our own lives, imagine handling countless lives.
We thrive in our spontaneity, we seek growth, and we have a desire to build communities.
You are here right now because you have chosen and valued your time in doing so, and by the desire for us to connect, and we've found a medium to do so.
Think of the worst possible president you could imagine getting into office. Now how terrifying would this person be if instead of controlling an entire country, they would only control a smaller State. You still wouldn't like to live there, but it would be easier to move as you would have 50 or so other local ones to choose. Now imagine if instead of a State, they only had power over a city. How bothered would you be then because now you have 100s of cities to choose from in that one region alone. Finally how bothered would you be if instead of controlling an entire nation, a state, or a even city, that worst case scenario could only afford a plot of land?
When we think of some of the most terrible dictators in history, Mao, Hitler, Stalin, Kim... are we really scared of them, or are we scared of the millions who hallucinate them into being an authority? To me they're all just delusional individuals with silly hairstyles and mustaches.
I don't know how many Governments the world needs or what it might look like, but I do know that every government is a choice and I think we all benefit from having more. I don't mind if people want to try building some communist utopia, in fact I'd love for them to have that choice and I think there would be a much higher chance of success in building that community if they had more freedom to do so... as long as I'm not forced into it. But their freedom to create a homogeneous thinking society hinges on the approval of the Government around them.
There is an comfort to having a ruler in charge, kind of like a family, but at some point we desire to leave the nest. It's can be scary without the ruler, but we'll never learn to fly int he right direction unless we experience it ourselves.
Secession from involuntary authority. A path from one towards countless possibilities.