RE: Why Anarcho-Communism Is An Oxymoron
I don't agree with communist ideology and wouldn't want to live in such a "community" although in many ways myself and most Americans already do.
That said, I think conflating hierarchy with government is a mistake here. The first test for any ideology is voluntary interaction. The definition given of libertarian says "minimal state intervention." So mininal violence and coercion.
I would argue that libertarian socialism is a statist ideology because libertarians still believe in government and the right to rule.
Whereas (logically consistent) an-com ideology would advocate individual freedom while aboloshing State hierarchical institutions and supporting, or at the very least ignoring any voluntary hierarchy.
Just my thoughts on the subject. I still don't really see how large scale would play out. I dont really think it would have to work large scale because there would be hundreds of thousands of communities and populations broke into their own respective areas living by thier own respective rules. They can think that my owning property is theft and start community where an-coms control the means of production and then trade with ancapistan for bitcoin.
Communism, socialism, any similiar ideology cannot advocate individual freedom, they just cant. The basic principal of these ideologies is that the people give up their rights and freedoms as indivudals, in order to gain democratic control of production as a collective.
I disagree. The government is a form of hierarchy. It forces itself to the top of society, and then uses aggression in order to tell people how to live. However, hierarchy can also be voluntary so I see your point. Relating to communism though, voluntarism is irrelevant.
Communist ideology cannot advocate individual freedom. I think an-com could. I'm not saying most of them do. The idea that a person of communist persuasion would do enough research and maybe think critically enough to add anarcho as a prefix shows at least some common ground.
Really for a communist to sieze the means of production, he/she must admit self ownership to be able to sieze anything in the first place. Thats where the anarcho comes in. There are a bunch of people who think rent is theft. So instead of begging the government for some law to be passed, they started living in vans and rv's and, by extension, participate in black and grey markets everywhere.
Im not agreeing with the ideology. Im just saying an-coms aren't the enemy.
I aggree with what your saying, but you have to understand the actual limits of individual freedom when it comes to any sort of communism. An anarcho-communist can advocate for more rights and freedoms, but eventually these rights and freedoms will conflict with communism.
Thats pretty much where im at too. I agree I just think if people want the changes they say they want, namely getting rid of the State or creating parallel voluntary systems, there needs to be more effort to work together and find common ground with people that may have different ideology but the same end goal.
Plus I just enjoy discussing these ideas. Thank you!
You summed it up nicely!