As opposed to the capitalist theories of “free” markets and companies honourably competing with better products for market share?
Theory and practice not aligning doesn’t necessarily mean the theory isn’t sound.
Humans are weird creatures with varying ideologies and motives. Anarchism or communism could work in practice but they require education and good faith, which obviously capitalists oppose and try to prevent. But capitalist practice most certainly doesn’t match the theory either, so I think it’s a bit weird to call out leftist theory when no political theory perfectly matches its practice.
Anarchism or communism could work in practice but they require education and good faith, which obviously capitalists oppose and try to prevent.
You explained why they can’t work in practice. There are always bad actors in society. There needs to be a strong state to keep bad actors (capitalists) under control.
Not at all, society just needs to learn how to hold people to account themselves. It’s a new way of thinking from what the majority are used to, but it’s possible.
I’ve been in anarchist syndicates before and one of the major hurdles was preventing the bystander effect. Getting people to act of their own volition instead of waiting for the “adults” to step in. It’s difficult, because it’s new and foreign to most people, but it’s certainly doable.
Many eyes and ears, all with the authority to call out bad actors, is far better than one central authority that you must go running to and hope that they believe you, and aren’t themselves bad actors.
Want proof? Look at any large western country. All of them have vast swathes of people suffering due to bad actors, and all of them have a strong central state authority. How are the bad actors under control?
Not at all, society just needs to learn how to hold people to account themselves.
You’ve reinvented the state. You can’t fix injustice when a local society thinks they are correct. The state used the national army to force desegregation.
You should really look into the Zapatistas. They used civil justice, and were relatively stateless. Also, just because someone talks about anarchism doesn’t mean they’re talking about being without a process of community involved problem solving/justice. You just need to know what anarchosyndicalism is, or communitarianism, or maoism. The previous user did say “anarchism and communism” after all.
Throughout most of human history “standing armies” and “permanent police forces” didn’t exist, they were formed from the community when necessary (and often merely to beat up bad bosses or known criminals).
So the whole idea that society pops out of existence without central command over violent forces - doesn’t match up against most of human history.
Throughout most of human history “standing armies”
Countries didn’t need standing armies until they came up against countries with standing armies. Rome is the best example I can think of. If your society is instantly subjugated by another country it doesn’t work in practice.
Police
US Wild West was like that. I was called the wild west because many successfully raped and killed their way across the country without ever being caught because of uncoordinated community response. There was also slavery supported by local communities so no one local was going to change it.
Expecting people to be generally good in the absence of enforced regulation through the state’s monopoly on violence is the same claim libertarians make.
Yeah and there definitely hasn’t been any advances in communication, education, coordination, or political understanding since the days of the wild west…
Expecting the state to be generally good through its monopoly of violence is what we’re witnessing right now and have witnessed many, many times previously. And it has shown itself to not be.