Notes to: Anarchy-- Never Been Tried?

This is commentary. And this is really good. 

A six-part series on anarchist societies throughout history.

The greatest flaw is the lack of citations. As someone who likes to check sources, this is extremely disappointing to me.

Part I: Moresnet
Part II: Emerald Anarchy
Part III: Fire and Ice
Part IV: In the Beginning
Part V: Anarchy in the U.S.A.???
Part VI: The Living Anti-Nation

Part I: Moresnet

• "Napoleon has just gone from being king of the world to king of an island. The remaining powers-- the Congress of Vienna-- were redrawing the borders. The Balance of Power theory dictated that the audacious French had to be restrained. To do that, the mustachioed, monocled emperors set up a DMZ between the Netherlands and Prussia. Not only would 'the Triangle,' as they called it, ward off further war, but it housed a very important zinc mine that the empires could share. The area was called Neutral Moresnet." 
• "Moresnet began with a population of only about 250 miners living between the Triangle and their respective homelands. Aside from its economic benefit, the territory went largely unnoticed... With no one to rule it, those who lived in Moresnet did so rather anonymously." 
• "By 1850, the population had doubled, bringing in businesses, farms, and infrastructure. Between 1850 and 1860, the population quadrupled... A small competing court system sprang up... and taxes dropped to zero. Even when the mine dried up in the 1880s, the residents had little to fear. Strangely enough, Moresent saw even more prosperity." 
• "Immigrants who learned of a country free of bureaucracy and strife moved from places like Russia, America, and even China. One such newcomer was Dr. Wilhelm Molly, the town's resident renaissance man and champion. After some medical and entrepreneurial adventures, Molly extended a hand to the anti-State Esperanto speakers. Their influence was so heavy that the residents changed the name from Moresnet to Amikejo (or 'place of friendship')." 
• "When the Great War came, the German Empire swept across Europe, taking the Triangle with it. As strangely as it had come into existence, Amikejo disappeared." 

Part II: Emerald Anarchy

• "The particular form of Anarchism that thrived there [in Ireland] was one that still baffles many today; Brehon Law." 
• "Brehon was a type of Polycentric Law. To those unfamiliar with the term, Polycentric Law is based upon the idea that sometimes people will disagree, but that doesn't mean the State should have a monopoly on justice. Instead, competing 'courts' arbitrate disputes. The rulings are compensatory-- meaning that instead of chopping off a thief's hand or throwing him in a pit of snakes, he simply has to pay some value for the stolen goods. So, instead of laws (as we think of them) these courts follow rules or principles-- values put forward by society and the market (e.g., 'stealing is bad,' 'killing is also bad'). 
• "It's worth noting that the Romans never invaded Ireland. This meant that unlike the other conquered nations, the Irish were never taxed by Rome, militarized by Rome, or-- most importantly-- subject to Rome's complex penal codes." 
• "When two parties in Ireland had a dispute, they would just take it to their local Brehon. The Brehons were educated elders who acted as judges. But, unlike judges, Brehons didn't expand on the law or impose sentences. Instead, they interpreted and preserved the traditions... Capital punishment was non-existent. Women could divorce and were entitled to a portion of the estate. Nobles held the same legal status as shepherds." 
• "When a Brehon delivered an unjust ruling, it was not uncommon for him to forfeit his fees and other wealth, and in these cases, he would lose his standing within the community. If an agreement could not be reached, the opposing parties would bring their case on appeal to another Brehon." 
• "While many libertarians advocate for private enforcement agencies (which, I have to say, I also advocate for), Ireland didn't have them... The community was the heart of Irish life. Thus, we see enforcement being a social responsibility. If a guilty man refused to give restitution, he was cast out by the community-- an exercise of their right to free association. On the occasion that he was even permitted to live within a village, the people would not give shelter to him, and certainly wouldn't trade with him. The man would then be faced with paying up, finding another Brehon to go to, or living alone in the wilderness. If a non-payer still insisted on living at home, the victim would starve himself/herself publicly."
• "Brehon fell at the hands of a bloodthirsty empire with the tools of taxes and indoctrination. But, is that to say Brehon can't work? If the Irish did it, why not try it? It wasn't a static system, frozen in time. If anything, Brehon should be noted for its ability to adapt to people's needs." 

Part III: Fire and Ice

• This article discusses anarchism in Iceland and Somalia. The former has already been discussed to some extent in an earlier Study Notes post. 
• "It's really common sense to assume that when there is no State to speak of, there are a few inevitable disputes here and there, and that there must be some way to peacefully settle them. A system of competing judges and claims courts could, theoretically, handle any dispute involving natural law while at the same time having the wiggle room to accommodate for changing societal values." 
• "A Godhar could sell his position as judge (a scenario that might give nightmares to many),but the position also hinged on being able to gather enough supporters to keep the job." 
• "There was no monopoly on justice. No only were these seats temporary, private positions, but in sharp contrast to every other country (including Norway), there was no geographical monopoly. This created a competitive environment. Parties involved in a dispute could go to argue their claims in court, only after paying a fee to a judge (sometimes appointed by a Godhar). If one party couldn't win a case, he had the option of appeal, going to a competing court, or finding someone with more money to protect him... In order for a judge to maintain credibility, he had to make sure the community saw him as a just and equitable man. Likewise, for a party to earn the support of moneyed folks to represent them, the party had to make sure his or her case held water, or else the reputations of his entire side were in jeopardy." I'm... not entirely buying the incorruptibility of this system. I'd like to see more detail, please. 
• "The Icelandic sagas even seem to be a chronicle of a wild, feuding society. But, we find that these feuds, on a larger scale of time, were few and far between, and when they did occur, they had very low casualties. Many sagas are actually about lawyers and farmers... Not only did the fierce competition between courts and defense companies make it impossible for armies to be amassed, but feuds were almost always contained to families who just disliked each other." 
• "The structure [of Xeer, in Somalia] resembles Godhordh in that there are judges, jurists, lawyers, detectives, and enforcers."
• "To make sure each party can pay, most communities urge every person to carry some manner of insurance before taking a case to court." 
• "There are few opinions on how old Xeer is, exactly. Some say it predates Islam, while others say it followed, and others still say Xeer may have been the basis for a trade empire (using 'empire' loosely) that spanned the continent."
• "Before there was even a Somali people, the tribes recognized Xeer." 
• "Xeer traditions are held even above Islamic law, for not only does it take precedent in cases where Xeer and Islam conflict, but in almost every case, someone who holds a position like a judge or detective cannot be involved in the clergy at all." 
• "It was the Europeans who, confused by the mere existence of Xeer and Sharia living partly in harmony and partly in opposition, passed a series of laws and codes that arguably promoted Sharia in official courts, thus paving a road for the Islamic Courts Union." 

Part IV: In the Beginning

• "To really understand why things are the way they are, you have to examine how they got there."
• We have been taught to think that society and government are inextricably linked. We have been taught that they are inter-dependent, like thunder and lightning. With society, it's thought, there will always be deficiencies... For some reason, instead of relying on things like voluntary trade, people apparently got together and said, 'You know what we need? An all-powerful harbinger of poverty and death to tell us all how to live.'"
• "By virtue of our birth, we are evidently indebted to our holy protector, the State. Statists will not say this, of course, they will say we are indebted to society, but imply that the State is the vessel by which we owe others, hence the 'we are the government' mantra. And, to them, we must deal with every pain and evil brought on by the State because 'it's necessary.' But what if it's not? What if we can be different? What if it has been different?" 
• "Jericho is a city of wonders. Biblical archaeologists and anthropologists have obsessed over this city ever since the first shard of pottery was discovered there. The city, they realized, actually has about 20 consecutive settlements built over each other. The original inhabitants can only be termed 'geniuses.' These people drew the blueprints for all towns in the future. The most amazing thing, though, is that they did all this with absolutely no government."
• "Bodies (as in many other ancient cities) were often buried underneath the family's house." 
• "A wall was eventually erected as well as a mud-brick tower that sat inside of it. In most cases, archaeologists would be quick to label the wall and the tower as 'defensive' structures, but even mainstream archaeology has concluded that the tower was for religious purposes and the wall to prevent floodwaters from reaching it. This, according to experts, was an incredible feat, and would have taken at least 100 days to complete with the help of more than 100 people." 
• "Researchers use the same techniques they do for any other civilization for locating evidence of government. Researchers look for public buildings, mainly. It seems simple, but for governments to function they need offices. They need congregational areas, they need administrative centers, armories, treasuries, etc. They look for areas of concentrated weapons, areas of concentrated wealth, and for evidence of tributes to or worshiping of humans. Sometimes they look for evidence of slavery. None of these things were ever found in Jericho, Catalhoyuk, or Harappa. In contrast, in the Chaldean, Assyrian, Persian, Syrian, Egyptian, and Babylonian civilizations (which are near the same age), all of these things are found. There was simply no plausible evidence that these places were governed."
• "Another great clue for Catalhoyuk in favor of statelessness is the layout of the houses. To the average viewer, it would seem that the mud-brick and plaster houses were laid out willy-nilly. There was really very little room (if any) for walkways between. This is a pretty decent indication that there was little to not central planning of any kind in the community. Actually, the near 10,000 people probably walked around on top of the houses and entered through holes in the roof." 
• "Like Jericho, the skulls of Catalhoyuk were painted to resemble the faces of the owners, so some historians deem this the first example of portraiture."
• "What's really unique about Harappa, though, is its organization. In stark contrast to Catalhoyuk, there are actually roads. Not only are there roads, but the area is laid out in an almost grid-like pattern. In the cities there is (get this) municipal drainage. That's right, there is definitive evidence of public services being provided without a government. Stop the presses. Scholars note a sense of uniformity throughout the cities which make up Harappa. On top of the uniform writing system, there is a system of uniform weights and measurements used by traders and merchants. The religious figurines and children's toys-- though they do no[t?] indicate an organized, collectively recognized cult-- indicate a sort of cultural homogeneity. It was Spontaneous Order played out in real life." 
• "The Harappan society was so advanced, in fact, that there were several families or companies that traded in and outside of Harappa, as far as Indonesia and Egypt. Each family or company used a unique seal with a logo on it. And, no matter what RBE advocates say, these early Neolithic people did use money. The really interesting thing is that in contrast with sites in France, for example, there is no uniform coinage in Harappa. That means that there was no central bank..."

Part V: Anarchy in the U.S.A.???

• "Most Americans know something about every state-- a little stereotypical fact or something. In many minds, Pennsylvania is famous for Philly cheese-steaks, the Constitutional convention, Amish furniture, and chocolate. But what if I said Pennsylvania should be famous for Anarchism?"
• "Founded by William Penn in the late 1600s, the colony of Pennsylvania was settled mostly by members of the Society of Friends (more commonly called Quakers). Though they weren't the first or only group to practice Religious Anarchism, the Friends are a special group of people... Amid constant wars between Theocrats, the Quakers found the common denominator in this chaos and sought to eliminate it: the State." 
• "From the Dhoukobors to the Jewish Renewal Movement, Religious Anarchism has a rich and tenacious history. Authors like Leo Tolstoy and Khan Abdul Ghaffar Khan have written extensively on how the State threatens people of faith."
• "Josiah Warren was the first ever person (an American, at that) to vocalize and pen the philosophy of anarchism."
• Jean Varlet: "Government and revolution are incompatible, unless the people wishes to set its constituted authorities in permanent insurrection against itself." 

Part VI: The Living Anti-Nation

• "Zomia is another name for the highlands in the Southeast Asian massif... It generally covers parts of Vietnam, Thailan, Laos, China, Tibet, Nepal, Myanmar, Bhutan, Bangladesh, and India... Zomia, in which there are more than 100,000,000 people, has operated without any government to speak of, and... exists right now." 
• "The Zomians are dispersed, Stateless, marooned peoples. They are neither heterogenous or homogenous. The various sub-cultures within Zomia (and there are many) can be thought of as patches within a vibrant and beautiful quilt." 
• "Zomians, over time, have basically rejected the life of lowlanders. They are... a society of outlaws too out of reach, both geographically and socially, for the State to spend its efforts on. Together, these dissidents have made a sort of anti-nation." 
• "We can also conclude that though the cultures of Zomia are indeed different, conflict (particularly war) is not a necessary or certain result of cultural differences... The Hmong or Lahu peoples of Zomia, as different they may be, have not felt the need to form States to go to war with one another. No, it's quite the opposite. They trade. They communicate. They thrive."