Street Fighting, Man

by Liberty and Power

Not that I'm a huge fan of martial law, but Bush could get a two-fer by bringing large numbers of troops back from Iraq and sending them to help with the relief effort in New Orleans. Not only the physical relief and evacuation, but they'd also be well-equipped to help police the looting. I'm getting pretty tired of hearing the "desperate people in desperate times" excuse. I'll listen to that one regarding food, but not about TVs, jewelry, and sneakers. So, memo to the president: troops out of Iraq, to New Orleans.

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Sheldon Richman - 9/2/2005

To those who think the chaos is NO is a challenge to philosophical anarchism, let me see if I have this straight. The government insists on its monopoly on law production and enforcement. Then the government collapses during a catastrophic hurricane and all hell breaks lose. So since free-market courts and police agencies have failed to pop into existence in the midst of the chaos, this proves that free-market anarchism is a flawed theory. Yeah, that makes a lot of sense.

Aeon J. Skoble - 9/2/2005

My critical remarks were not directed at those taking food (I believe I said that), but at those taking TVs, sneakers, jewelry, etc.

Max Swing - 9/2/2005

And what about the plundering part. Do you think it is ok to take, f.e., medicine, food and water from the closed shops?

Or do you categorize any looting as disasterous and forbidden?

I can agree that the looting of TVs, DVDs etc. is something unjust and should be prevented, but especially necessary goods like food, water, medicine from those closed shops are in a grey area, where I could at least ignore it.

Or how would you act in such a dire situation? (I grant it is only theoretical and mostly you can't predict how you would act andd not even imagine the pressure of such a situation, but we can play it through theoretically)

Aeon J. Skoble - 9/2/2005

NO is hardly an example of an anarchist society, since it's ceased even to be a society. NO is rather an example of the chaos that arises when established authorities and orders are instantaneously removed -- it's as if a bunch of teenagers at a dance started to get wild after their chaperones vanished. It exacerbates matters, of course, when large numbers of people have no regard for ethics or property rights. The looters are people who would steal anyway if they could, and the absence of social order just facilitates it. They're "entitled" to take those TVs and jewelry. NO is no more an example of why anarchism "wouldn't work" than Nazi Germany is an example of why states don't work.

Max Swing - 9/2/2005

Is this describe as an anarchic situation or rather a chaotic or lawless situationt?

I have heard many people claim that anarchism wouldn't work and NO is the best example for it. I think it is heartless and unfair, because this is an emergency situation.

David T. Beito - 9/1/2005

Paul Roberts has an interesting article on this very point.

http://www.antiwar.com/roberts/?articleid=7131

If anything proves that the military is overextended this is it. This is going to really be a thorn in Bush's side including the apparent failure to bolster the levy because of a shortage of helicopters.