i would advise at least a cursory look into what anarchy actually is - it is a leftist libertarian philosophy of mutual aid and collective decision-making. it is basically state-less socialism. the notion of anarchism within the context of capitalism is an absolute contradiction (though people sometimes manipulate political rhetoric and talk about ‘anarcho-capitalism’).

what george bush is doing IS the opposite of “utopian anarchism” which posits that social formations of community organization should structure society as opposed to “the state.” it is a philosophy that locates hierarchy as an oppressive force, and thus seeks to reduce it to whatever level possible.

anarchism is anti-authoritarianism. this is the polar opposite of Bush’s reactionary agenda, which relies exclusively on the formation of elites and leaders to govern the rest of us, even if the economy is ‘deregulated.’ anarchism seeks to restructure Power in of itself - and orient it on a horozontal plane where it is shared, rather than a vertical one where it is imposed on others.

if you are at all interested, there is a fantastic anarchist publishing house called AK PRESS (www.akpress.com) which you can check out. there is also a somewhat decent FAQ on www.infoshop.com

The Talent Show has a very interesting counterpoint to my previous article on Lewis Lapham calling conservatism ‘utopian anarchism’. He…

However, one thing conservatives aren’t are statists - the goal of the current American conservative movement is to limit the state as much as possible. In fact, it’s this anti-statist trend that is pushing the GOP in a more libertarian direction. That’s why there are more and more conservatives starting to support gay rights. If you take a look at the major conservative thinkers (Andrew Sullivan, the editors of National Review, Bill Kristol) you’d see a repudiation of the kind of statism JoeW is talking about.