Dear Reader, I have volunteered to help the Center for a Stateless Society as an ombudsman (of sorts, a cheerful sort!) for one of their Introduction to Anarchism classes.  Below is a quick bio and break down of some of my anarcho-proclivities.  I hope you enjoy.

Dear Friends,

I want to take the opportunity to thank you for your support of the Center and to welcome you to the Bravo Section of An Introduction to Anarchism.

For the next ten weeks I have pledged to make my time, enthusiasm and perspective available to further our growth, understanding and confidence in Anarchism.  Warning!  Anarchist studies can become an obsessive habit; the more you grow within anarchism the more anarchism grows within you.  …

A brief background will offer some insight into my approach to Anarchist Studies.

George H. Smith’s Atheism: The Case Against God was my first exposure Aristotelean thought and the word “Libertarian.”  From the back cover bio: “Long a student and advocate of the libertarian point of view, George H. Smith studies philosophy at the University of Arizona”

With George H. Smith’s help I was able to become a Post-Objectivist without going through Objectivism and an Agorist/Voluntaryist without going through Anarcho-capitalism.  Unfortunately those, and other, philosophical transformations began during a 5 year active enlistment in the U.S. Army.  Full fledge acceptance of anarchism happened, for me, during the latter half of a 2 year tour in South Korea.  U.S. Army South Korea is an Infernal Wonderland, where up is down, down is up, war is peace, freedom is slavery etc, etc…

Recently it has been the combined, Voltronic, forces of Shawn Wilbur, Kevin Carson, Gary Chartier, Roderick Long, and Charles Johnson that have challenged and encouraged my conceptions of anarchism, theory and practice.

A prospective student asked about my professed “brand” of anarchism (Wobbly-Left-Libertarian-Market-Anarchism) and how much of an influence “it” will play on this class:

“I would like to confirm your definition of Left-Libertarian Market Anarchist. I assume (given the “dues paying Fellow Worker of the Industrial Workers of the World”) you believe in the redistribution of wealth, as opposed to the Left-Libertarian view promoted by Konkin.

Although I realize it is impossible for a person to be 100% objective, how much of your course will be devoted to this side of anarchism? Or, put another way, how open is the class to a person that does not conform to this form of anarchy?”

My answer was as follows:

“First off, my role is that of a Fellow Traveler and to offer feedback, not to sort or to pigeon hole.  I will, personally, determine my job a success if you come away from the class feeling confident about anarchism as a possible and desirous future social arrangement.

My definition of Left-Libertarian Market Anarchism would be a book length project, but I will give it a – standing on one foot – shot.

Left: New Left goals (anti-militarism, anti-racism, anti-sexism, LBGTQ liberation, etc) are not only consonant with libertarianism, but are indispensable for a proper understanding of libertarianism.

Libertarian: libertarianism is the continuous exploration in the application of a non-aggression.  For me this translates into a principle of non-aggression, a presumption of liberty, and a historical perspective of liberty vs. authority.

Market: for me the fullest flourishing of human happiness is found in an open exploratory space.  Trade is a natural and rewarding relationship between individuals with incalculable social value.  The concept of market, for me, is tantamount to an endorsement of the values of peace, progress and harmony.

Anarchism: anarchism, for me, is a perpetual social critique.  It knows no limits and gives no ground.  It values liberty, equality and solidarity, but it only honors them by repeating three questions: “Is that really liberty?”  “Is that really equality?”  “Is that really solidarity?”  It is up to us to answer these questions, then answer them again, then answer them again.

I do not regard redistribution as a value “in and of itself.”  I do think that in a freed market you will see a massive redistribution of wealth from its current accumulations.  Think of the current capital distribution as an upside down pyramid that is kept aloft by the state.  If the state is removed and the forces of gravity (or market and social forces) are allowed to assert, then the pyramid will right itself.

My status as a dues paying, Fellow Worker of the Industrial Workers of the World is determined by a feeling of solidarity with working class people as a working class person.  I approach the employee/employer relationship with suspicion; the labor contract as a contested or aggravated contract and not as some sort of performance bond or title transfer; and the industrially organized, fighting union as revolutionary force with great potential for peaceful social transformation.”