Anarchy in New Orleans?? Well not quite......

"Anarchy doesn't force people to abandon their homes and businesses. Nor does it compel them to surrender their weapons before imprisoning them in "untenable" emergency shelters, as Nanny Kate herself characterized them."--"God Help You When the Government Does" by Becky Akers

As the conditions in New Orleans have deteriorated the news media has been bombarding us with article after article with Anarchy in the title usually followed by the word chaos.

I don't think this is a mere slip of the tongue either I think the clear intention here is to scare people into thinking that this is what happens when Government authority is removed from society.

But is it?

Last time I checked no Political official has resigned. On the contrary these camera whores are taking every chance they can to jump in front of the camera and proclaim how much the Government 'cares' and will do everything it can to 'help' the victims.

I have not heard of any Police or other Government assistance groups resigning either so if you ask me Government is in complete control and yet chaos still reins so what gives?

For one thing, no matter how omnipotent Government believes it is there is one thing even the control freaks in Government cannot control and that is mother nature.

For another, the people living this nightmare feel a level of desparation that is leading them to behave in ways that would not occur under normal conditions regardless if a Government entity existed or not.

Also, one of the things that is not being covered much is the fact that Government has prevented people from returning to their homes leaving their property completely unprotected.

Friends of mine have come up to me with almost gleeful self-righteousness and proclaimed,"SEE! SEE! This is why Anarchy can't work!"

Ironically what is going on in New Orleans (specifically the looting of private property) resembles the behavior of Government and not philosophical Anarchism.

Philosophical Anarchism holds private property as sacred and Government has utter contempt for it. The State's total existence depends on the looting of the citizenry.

What we have on full display in New Orleans is what happens when you put full trust in collective solutions for protection of life, liberty, and property.

You get substantial loss of life, liberty, and property.

How would such a tragedy be addressed in an Anarchistic society a friend of mine asked?

Well for one thing an Anarchistic society would not subsidize people who build homes in flood prone areas like New Orleans, like the Government does now.

People would be free to take such a risk mind you, but you and I would not be forced to foot the bill when their home got flooded out.

Since people would be responsible for their own risk taking there would be less inclination to build in these areas which would result in far less loss of life and property.

In the absence of the State, private charities would swing into action (just as they are doing now) to assist people who were affected by the Natural Disaster.

People would be free to return to their property to protect it from theft, which the Government is currently forbidding people to do.

I would like to close this posting with a great quote from an article linked in this posting:

"Katrina's tragic toll in lives and property is still being counted. But we can rejoice that there are some things no hurricane, however powerful, can destroy: resourcefulness, independence, liberty.
It takes Leviathan to devour those."--"God Help You When the Government Does" by Becky Akers

I couldn't have said it better myself.

Patrick Sovereign,
Enemy of The State