King David Posted October 27, 2014 Posted October 27, 2014 An means no, archo means structure. I am in no ways against structure, I am only against larcenous structures. Hierarchies make business happen always with more and more sophisticated structures. Business makes capitalism happen. Therefore I suggest the re-branding of ancap philosophy. Anarchy has been a loaded word for too long anyways. This might help with the promotion of our ideas. KD 2
MagnumPI Posted October 27, 2014 Posted October 27, 2014 I've never read anywhere that archo means structure. Can you provide a source?
Lars Posted October 27, 2014 Posted October 27, 2014 I guess it's just common for people to construe "rulers" as "structure". Define structure?Anyway, why is branding/semantics important in philosophy? If someone refuses to accept good arguments and fails to provide a valid rebuttal then it doesn't matter what we call ourselves.. unless we're looking to attract mouth-breathers who make decisions based on how nice a word sounds. 1
J. D. Stembal Posted October 27, 2014 Posted October 27, 2014 It might be helpful to check a dictionary when establishing definitions. You are confusing the Latin word arcus with the Greek word arkhos. The former is the root for arch, also meaning structure, archway, bridge. The latter is the root for the suffix you see in anarchy, which means no government or no rulers. Business makes capitalism happen. To be precise, the capitalist theory allows free trade to be possible. You have cause and effect backward in the above statement. What's wrong with anarchy? What is it about the word that causes it to be "loaded"? It seems appropriate and accurate to me.
dsayers Posted October 27, 2014 Posted October 27, 2014 Business makes capitalism happen. This is like saying magnets make gravity happen. Nothing makes gravity happen; It's an effect of matter. Nothing makes capitalism happen; It's a description of consciousness plus the capacity for reason. I think it's more damaging that many people speak of coercive markets when they say capitalism than it is that many people speak of chaos when they say anarchy. It doesn't matter what term you use; Humans are not fundamentally different in a way that some being rulers and others being ruled is consistent or principled. THAT's what's important.
Libertus Posted October 27, 2014 Posted October 27, 2014 "Archos" means "ruler". Why do you think you can't live without being ruled? Is there anything we can help you overcome this?
PatrickC Posted October 27, 2014 Posted October 27, 2014 Regarding Hierarchies and structure. I certainly think there is a place for such things within an anarchists thinking. I certainly bow to my dentist and doctors knowledge before my own. I infinitely prefer a well structured efficient institution that seeks to improve quality and value for it's participants, customers etc. Not sure I agree with your definition King David. I just don't see them as being mutually exclusive perhaps.
King David Posted October 27, 2014 Author Posted October 27, 2014 It might be helpful to check a dictionary when establishing definitions. You are confusing the Latin word arcus with the Greek word arkhos. The former is the root for arch, also meaning structure, archway, bridge. The latter is the root for the suffix you see in anarchy, which means no government or no rulers. To be precise, the capitalist theory allows free trade to be possible. You have cause and effect backward in the above statement. What's wrong with anarchy? What is it about the word that causes it to be "loaded"? It seems appropriate and accurate to me. Again, am not against leaders if they do not have forceful control of me. Like is said I should call myself a voluntarist. Wording is important, because most people are mouth breathers (not sure what this particular handle insinuates, if my nose is plugged or am swimming I tend to breath through my mouth). Structures as I am referring to them would be something like the trade networks that delivered salt throughout ancient history. Generally speaking international trade was not hindered by the state, and business expanded and thrived under such conditions (duh). http://www.ancient.eu/article/115/ As the trade structures grew in sophistication their capacity to perform their services grew by such bounds that new and larger (competing) settlements became possible. Without the flourishing of trade and hierarchical efficiency I don't see how humans ever could have escaped tribalism.
luxfelix Posted October 28, 2014 Posted October 28, 2014 By common usage, 95% of people define anarchy as chaos. By the usage of self-identified anarchists, 95% of them define anarchy as communism, which leads to chaos. The first acknowledged philosophical anarchist, William Godwin, was a communist, and again, communism leads to chaos. There is a tiny minority within a tiny minority of people who use the term anarchy in the way that is used here at FDR, and this definition is opposite to every other person's definition of the term. This leads to confusion and misunderstandings, in the same way that if you started calling hats "chair", people would think you're mad. You can talk about the etymology of the word all you want, but at the end of the day, what defines a word is it's common usage. And in the case of a word that refers to an intellectual doctrine, what especially defines it is the definition that the self-identified proponents of such ideology use. You could say that "gay" originally meant cheerful and lively, but if you went around telling everybody that you're gay, most people would misunderstand. This is why I avoid using this term. That's a good point. I would add that, whereas evil can benefit from the esoteric (i.e. legalese... ), philosophical and etymological illiteracy regarding anarchy does disservice to the perception and receptivity of the meaning behind the word (what we look to communicate). I could be exaggerating the importance of perception (professional bias).
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