After speaking with several of you here it is clear that less government is best... but no government? How would the world look?
I offer a couple views below from people on each side of the issue:
Pros: It would be utopia. Worldwide anarchy is something to strive for. It would not be utter chaos, and to think so just shows how little real thought was put into this. To describe anarchy as chaos means you had your first thought, "There would be no laws or authorities," and came to your first conclusion, "Everyone would run amok," and then just stopped thinking. There are still consequences to your actions in anarchy, but most people would still live peaceably. Everyone would be their own police. If someone decides there are no police, so they're going looting, raping, and killing, they would quickly learn how much more effective free people are at being their own police. If there's one thing the government can do, it's mess everything up. Jobs would still be there, but you wouldn't have to work for less wages than you want, and you would not be obligated to "give" the authorities their "piece." If they were truly, inherently your authorities, then they wouldn't NEED anything from you to maintain their position. Thinking this way, you realize that all authority is illusory in as much as it is voluntary.
Consider all the things that CANNOT exist in anarchy:
Any kind of discrimination cannot exist. That's right sexism, racism, homophobia, religious persecution, class warfare, and any kind of situation where one group belittles another is not possible unless that group asserts some AUTHORITY over another group. Yes, individuals can still harbor ill-will to any group of people they want in anarchy, but without any irresistible force to impress their will upon others, there are no teeth in the -isms.
Corruption. That's right, it is not possible for governments to sell out their constituents, accept bribes, write themselves in pay raises, murder their people, spy on their people, etc if they don't exist.
Full scale war. Some disputes may arise, but millions of people going to war with tanks and bombs and nerve gas? Most improbable. Do you know how many people it takes to run one aircraft carrier? Now consider that every one of the people with the competency to operate it would have to get together as a team and they must ALL BELIEVE IN THE CAUSE.
Cons: It would be hell. Not everybody can help themselves. A thought above is that everyone can be their own police, but what about the people that obviously cant? Handicapped people, or the elderly for example. What are they supposed to do, band together and try to defend themselves? Wheel chair armies? I don't think so... Someone may not like every thing the government does but they still need it. The same way someone doesn't like every thing their parents do or tell them to do they still need them.
The anthropological and archaeological record says no we cannot thrive without a government. Humans are as a species, genetically programmed to be gregarious. They are programmed to form groups which turn into organized hierarchies of power and influence. Primatologists know this, and the archaeological record shows clearly that man has, since the beginning, been a species dependent on one another for a variety of reasons, whether it is to gain benefits by exploiting common resources, or by mating within the species. It's only as we move into higher organizational forms that politics come into play and disagreements about resources emerge. But the reality is, we have had organized structure since we began either by elders or by brute competition. We would not survive without it.
Conclusion: There are plenty of great places to start if you want to read up on different perspectives on anarchy. In the spirit of anarchy (and true freedom), I will make no recommendations here. Go and get a taste of freedom and believe whatever you want. Read things supporting anarchy. Read things against it. Read nothing. As long as you are not mired in the lives of celebrities, the outcomes of reality TV or the "contest" type shows, or a slave to internet porn, then you are advancing yourself and contributing to the intellectual growth of our species.
Good for you.
Sources: http://www.debate.org/opinions/is-life-without-government-possible