I am pretty new to the journey around Anarchy myself. I've only been aware that it is not what I was indoctrinated to think it was for a few years now.
We are typically taught that it is a synonym for Chaos or Disorder. We are taught that Anarchy is what you see when you watch the movie Road Warrior, or Mad Max.
So what is it?
It is:
- living without a state or government (the two words here being the same meaning)
- based around the concept of Natural Law
- The Golden Rule - "Live and Let Live"
- Non-Aggression Principle (aka NAP)
- Self Defense Principle (just because we do not initiate aggression does not mean we will not defend ourselves)
That seems pretty simple what is the catch?
It is really simple. We are simply used to things being complicated.
Why do I see some anarchists arguing with others?
First, arguing is not necessarily a bad thing. I prefer the term debating or discussing. As long as you keep things civil you will always learn far more debating people you disagree with than discussing with people who already agree with you.
As with every ideology there are parts of it that people disagree with.
In general it is not the term Anarchy we argue about. We tend to argue about how to deal with the concept of property.
You see I come from the camp known as
Anarcho-Capitalist
We believe in all the things defined in anarchy above with some additional things...
- Free Market Capitalism (aka Laissez-faire)
- Your body is your property
- Your time is your property
- The things you produce are your property
- You may claim property (this is where some debate comes up often)
- You alter any considerations of these things through contracts (aka agreements). (will explain)
Anarcho-Communists
I am currently debating with some people who claim to be such. It seems like a very contradictory thing to me as I do not see how public needs, and such could be accomplished with a group deciding what those needs are and I do not see how that is different from a State deciding needs. Thus, it does not seem to be anarchistic at all. I am debating this in another post.
It is a new concept for me so depending upon how that debate goes I expect to learn quite a bit.
Minarchist
This is basically people who believe in anarchy but think there would still be some need for some minimal form of government. Perhaps the Anarcho-Communists above would fall into this category, but I really don't think so since most Minarchists believe in basic need to enforce property rights, mediate conflicts, etc. Anarcho-Communists believe all property is public.
So how did you discover this?
People find this through many different ways. I discovered Libertarianism due to my interest in Ron Paul. I thought he was a nut the first time I heard him and his ideas were ludicrous. That was a knee jerk reaction and expected with the conditioning and conformity with which the education system had indoctrinated me. Yet it inspired enough curiosity I actually took a moment to research the topics I thought were crazy. Pretty quickly I realized they were not and it was an attempt to protect the status quo I'd been taught was right that made me think they were crazy.
I really started following him and listening to what he said. He introduced me to a lot of historical figures I was unaware of, and some great websites. I will share much of this at the end of this post. I decide for the first time in my life to FIGHT for liberty and freedom. I became a delegate for him in the 2008 presidential elections, and only went a little way. He dropped out and I bought into many things Obama promised such as ending the Patriot Act and I voted for him. That is my shame and the last time I take a politician at their words. They tell us what we want to hear. In 2012 I was a delegate again and I attended meetings several times a week and went all the way up through the state convention. I did not go to nationals. I saw first hand a lot of corruption in the system. Follow their own rules when convenient, ignore them with convenient. Anything to stay in power. I watched the media censor him by omitting him. He could take 2nd and they would report 1st, 3rd, 4th and 5th. This happened many times.
So where does Anarcho-Capitalism come into play for you?
I would dive into the trenches on reddit.com and debate with people from time to time. I'd frequent r/libertarian and I'd occasionally dive into one of the circle jerk channels like r/politics, r/news, etc. One day someone sent me a message and said "You should come over to r/anarcho-capitalism I think you'll like it". I remember thinking "anarcho-what?" yet I do try to honor people's request when they try to show me something. It turns out the ideology of Anarcho-Capitalism is the one that most represents and resonates with me.
I still will debate some concepts of property from time to time but mostly I've come to the conclusion that.
Most issues are about what MIGHT happen and fear of confronting these things. I am now of the opinion that we shouldn't always be hung up on what MIGHT happen and instead take risks, and react to what DOES happen.
Other people have been brought to these topics other ways and some of them are quite interesting. I would encourage anyone that wants to share to post their own blog about it and feel free to reply to this blog and post a link to your blog entry. I'd love to hear more, and I know people that are here and starting to hear about Anarchy would like to know more.
One thing you should know is that many people that say they are Libertarians actually identify with Anarcho-Capitalism the only difference being that the ANCAPs tend to want to take the concept of LIBERTY and FREEDOM to the extreme. If my actions do not harm another person or their property I should be able to do whatever I want, and I must be responsible for any consequences of my own CHOICES.
Anarchy can in many ways be synonymous with the term Voluntarism with the exception that when we think of Voluntarism it means us making a choice, and there was no government or state forcing us to do it.
Some reading and videos... This is the tip of not an iceberg but a MOUNTAIN
These are some posts I've made on the topic and some posts to others I am aware of:
Amazing Amazing Speech by Larken Rose - well worth listening to... hang in there even if it shocks you
(any video by Larken Rose you can find on Youtube is worth checking out)
My post about Lysander Spooner - very very smart guy in U.S. History you likely never heard about
mises.org - this website is your home for knowledge - articles and education galore
Some posts from Anarchists joining steemit:
Brandon Cutlip
Mistowed - one does not simply make an introduction (from Denmark = socialist country)
Sterlinuxian -why steemit will revolutionize the push for anarchist global freedom
simranverma - an introduction to anarchism (this one may be a good intro to anarcho-communism?)
benjiberigan - Anarchist Architecture - Off The Grid Housing Movement is Changing the game
rimann - I am an anarchist my name is Riley (this guy has some deep thoughts)
rimann - Objective morality an anarchist perspective (very good, and very deep - worth reading - and voting on!!)
kafkanarchy94 = Abolish slavery? Don't be crazy! How to short circuit a common statist defense of government
There are many more. I believe I've heard that 
If you have questions please ask them, or make your own blog post asking and surely someone here will see it.