Dear Hive account@food-for-thought, I was just browsing the category of anarchism and noticed your post and that nobody has responded to your questions yet. Let me just say that it is not easy to get noticed among the daily avalanche of content being posted here.

You ask some highly relevant questions that deserve answers. Anarchism is all about being against the state as an institution, which is seen as an unnecessary evil. Beyond this core belief, different anarchists hold different views on a lot of things. Being against the state does not mean being against rules, laws or (voluntary) hierarchies. I am against the state because it is based on force and not on voluntary association, as well as because it is inefficient. Furthermore, I believe that security and protection, as well as conflict resolution, can be provided privately.

Let me recommend a couple of books from which you can learn more about this:

1. Michael Huemer: The Problem of Political Authority (https://www.amazon.com/Problem-Political-Authority-Examination-Coerce/dp/1137281650)

2. Edward Stringham (ed.) Anarchy and the Law (http://www.independent.org/store/book.asp?id=67)

The first one is a monograph written by a philosopher that provides a good introduction. The second is an anthology containing articles and book excerpts about the theory, debate, and history of (private property) anarchism, as well as historical case studies.

I hope this will be a good starting point for further investigations into the topic. Good luck!