strangerinchitown: I have a friend who is an an anarcho-communist and I followed this blog for the very reason of learning more about how anarchy and anarcho-communism works in general. Good posts so far ^-^
Is having a society like this a Utopian fantasy? A society without having to barter or trade the usual way we have to in a capitalist world? Is it achievable? My friend thinks it is possible, but how would we all break down the foundations of capitalism?

Oh, time to recommend my favorite book again! And it’s free:

Peter Gelderloos – Anarchy Works

Too long; didn’t read? 

Basically: anarchism is achievable and has been achieved many times, though there are very few modern examples of anarchism lasting a long time on a large scale because the one thing that oppressive societies are much better at than anarchist societies is organizing large scale mass warfare and conquest. But that doesn’t mean anarchist societies are defenseless or don’t stand a chance. And small scale societies and shorter periods of anarchism also matter. Every life lived free from oppression is one more and it matters. 

In addition, anarchism is not just a utopia, it is the changes we create in the world right here and right now. When we take direct action to stop the violence of the state, that immediately results in less suffering and when we organize our lives along anarchist lines we immediately improve the quality of our own lives. It’s not just about whether we win utopia, it’s also about all the ways we make the world around us a little less shitty right now. All of it matters.  

Ad finally, anarchism is for most of us already how we organize our lives at all the times when capitalism and oppression can not touch us. Take the super common mundane nature of friendship for example, which has largely escaped the capitalist brainwashing targetted at romance, sex and family life. Any group of friends could form a hierarchy where those with more capital exploit those with less capital and support is only given when something of equal value is offered in return. But most friendships don’t work that way. Most friendships organize activities based on voluntary participation and support is offered according to ability and received according to need, without any concious thought behind it. If you are part of a functional non-abusive group of friends that isn’t being ruined by shit like toxic masculinity, you are probably already part of a micro-community of anarchism. Consider how much more of your life could be anarchist.