Anarchism and Self-Actualization

John Taylor Gatto

After a long life, and thirty years in the public school trenches, I've concluded that genius is as common as dirt. We suppress our genius only because we haven't yet figured out how to manage a population of educated men and women. The solution, I think, is simple and glorious. Let them manage themselves. (Against School)

It took The Admiral some time to realize this, but Liberty and anarchism go hand-in-hand. By that I mean that when we take liberty, defined as independence and freedom from despotic control, to its logical extreme, we arrive at anarchism, the abolishment of government. It pays well to remember that anarchy, despite what the media portrays, is not the same as riotous, tumultuous, discord and destruction.

Think back to all the times that you were hanging out with friends in a public place. Did you notice the mass of people surrounding you were behaving themselves? That there was a complete and total lack of rioting? And did you notice the absence of police? How curious, that the majority of our lives are naturally spent in reasonable cooperation with total strangers. Does the government have to put a cop on every corner to keep people from becoming an unruly mob? Obviously not!

We don't need government nor its bully baton to get along with each other. The vast majority of people, in all cultures, simply go-along-to-get-along. We are social creatures. Were it the case otherwise, no amount of government (which must draw labor from the very people it governs) would be able to force cooperation. So government, as a mechanism of creating social order, is superfluous, for we naturally create an emergent and spontaneous ordering with each individual interaction.

So why then, do arguments about police enforcement carry such weight? Could it be, that we have a schooling system and mass media that consistently and persistently tells us that without them to tell us what to do, without their authority and direction society would collapse? Spend a day trying to spot all the instances where this message is implicitly written. The number will surprise you enough to turn off the telly.

But without the government to tell me what to do and advertisements to tell me what to buy, where would I get direction in my life? I'd be living in self-imposed anarchy! Which is really just to say: I now have to figure out on my own, what I think is best for me. Anarchy, especially personal, daily, anarchy, is about self-empowerment.

The biggest pity is, most people are so tuned-in to the authortarian message that they don't realize it's possible to tune out. That we actually, already live mostly in anarchy. So it's not hard to practice exercising control over your life. The government doesn't have the capabilities of tracking your life in every minute detail. It's reach and capabilities are still limited. The populace greatly outnumbers the police. Don't let yourself be pushed around by government, media, social pressures, etc. Their message is mental TAX that you pay for through learned helplessness. Obsequious obedience keeps you from realizing your full potential.


We don't need a bully to force us cooperate with each other. But the bully will tell us otherwise. The bully will make up scary stories to convince us we need him to protect us. But, if we give away the power to protect ourselves, who will protect us from the bully? Anarchism is about taking back from the bully what rightfully belongs to us.

Under anarchy, you direct your own life. You set the goals and aspirations that you want to achieve. It's a path of self-actualization. You get to set your value system, and take responsibility for your own success. You call the shots. And you can practice this power with every little decision throughout your day!

Anarchy isn't chaos, it's liberation that anyone can practice!