A. Of course it will. Not all anarchist communities have access to the same resources. Some will be resource rich others will be resource poor. The same principles that determine how an anarchist community is organised determine how a regional federation is organised. It's highly unlikely that any community will be able to take care of all its needs. That's why anarchist communities will tend to form regional federations. Even if a particular community is fully self-sufficient, security issues will play a big part in determining whether that community joins a regional federation. It's one thing having the most extensive supply of water in a particular region, it's another thing diverting resources to protect that supply from possible attacks from neighbours who don't have enough for their own needs. The size of a regional federation of anarchist communities will be determined by the geographical reality they face. Regional federations rich in natural resources will be much smaller in size than federations that have difficulty accessing the necessities of life. Surplus production will be diverted to those regional federations that have difficulty in meeting their needs. People form anarchist communities because they want to live in a physically and economically secure environment. Individual communities join federations to ensure that they will be able to continue to live in a secure environment.
Federations share surplus production and in some cases produce a surplus that is given away to other federations to ensure they continue to live and function in a secure environment. Personal, community and regional security in an anarchist society is determined by the amount of surplus production that is shared. Every person, every community and every regional federation knows that if they face difficulties in the future, resources will be allocated to help them deal with their situation. The cooperative social relationships that exist within an anarchist society, is the glue that holds that society together.
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Q. WOULD AN ANARCHIST SOCIETY HAVE ACCESS TO WEAPONS OF MASS DESTRUCTION?
A. Yes and No. Yes!! Yes and no. Anarchist communities do not normally need weapons of mass destruction (WMD). The only reason that an anarchist society would need to have access to WMD is if its very existence is dependent on it having access to weapons that make an enemy think twice about invading it. Anarchist federations do not need weapons, let alone WMD when they are involved in negotiations with other anarchist federations. It's likely that if an anarchist community were established, the radically altered property relationships within that community would act as a significant threat to neighbouring States. In such situations, it doesn't take an Oxford Don to realise that if that community is not able to defend itself, it faces a very uncertain future. In such situations, the possession of WMD may prove to be a mutual deterrent. Even if an anarchist society has WMD at its disposal, it's unlikely that even in an emergency, its citizens would give permission for them to be used.
It may be that a new anarchist society may decide to destroy all the WMD it may have inherited because the loss of life that the use of these weapons could cause is so horrendous no sane community believes it is worth the risk of having them. An anarchist society's best defence against invasion is the presence of an anarchist opposition within the group or nation that wants to invade it. It's highly unlikely that an anarchist society would retain WMD, let alone build new ones. In the rare cases where they may decide to hold onto them, strict guidelines would have to be put in place that would ensure that such weapons are never used. If they are used, it's highly unlikely that the anarchist society that uses them would continue to exist as an anarchist community.
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Q. ANARCHIST CULTURE?
A. Anarchist culture? Yes, anarchist culture. Does it exists? Yes and no. Can it exist? Yes!!
CULTURE - 'customs, achievements of a particular civilisation and group' Anarchist culture is determined by the building blocks of an anarchist community - its principles of association. The ability of individuals to live their life in what ever way they choose as long as their actions do not impinge on the freedom of other people within that community encourages the development of a diverse and vibrant anarchist culture. The more authoritarian a community, the more homogenous the cultural expression within that community. The hallmark and strength of anarchist culture is its diversity. People don't dress the same, eat the same food or play the same music. They are not forced to follow a particular religious viewpoint, hide their sexual preferences or think the same thoughts.
The ability of individuals to express a wide number of cultural themes is one of the hallmarks of an anarchist society. The other prominent feature of anarchist culture is shaped by the cooperative principles that underpin an anarchist community. The competitive practices that are reflected in capitalist culture would be gradually replaced by more cooperative cultural practices. Relationship between individuals and specific groups within an anarchist community would help to create a cooperative cultural atmosphere. Anarchist culture is both diverse and cooperative. Its diversity gives it the ability to rapidly adapt to meet changing social, environmental and economic conditions. Its ability to adapt gives it the strength to survive challenges that destroy societies whose cultural expression is contained within a rigid authoritarian framework.
Q. HOW WOULD AN ANARCHIST SOCIETY HELP THE ENVIRONMENT?
A. Jobs, jobs, jobs!! Jobs, jobs, jobs? Yes, jobs, jobs, jobs. Both the Australian Prime Minister and the Opposition leader are in a quandary about how to stop the logging of old growth forests. If they call a halt to logging, the workers involved in the industry will lose their jobs and their local communities will suffer. The dilemma faced by the government and the opposition is a very good example of the limitations of capitalist economics.
An economic system that is based on both a wage system and the need to continually increase profits, irrespective of the human and social costs, cannot deal adequately with environmental questions. Workers who lose their jobs in a capitalist society normally only have 6 to 8 weeks cash in reserve. If they can't find another job, they face financial ruin. Trade unions have no incentive to work for environmental solutions, if they did, their members would be put out on the scrap heap by companies that must consider their bottom line if they want to continue trading.
In an anarchist society, the economic system is based on the satisfaction of human needs, not the creation of profits for profits sake. In an anarchist community people share in the 'commonwealth' because they are a member of that community, not because of what they do in that community. An anarchist society has the flexibility to make radical changes in the way it approaches particular decisions because no ones livelihood is effected if they are no longer required to perform particular tasks.
If a group of workers within an anarchist community are performing works that endangers the environment, they can stop what they're doing and be retrained to do another job. At no time is their livelihood affected because as a member of that community they continue to share in the commonwealth produced by that community. An economic system that is based on satisfying real human needs and is not tied into the wage system is one way communities can look after the environment and the interests of the people living in that community.
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