Anarchism as a political philosophy values voluntary action. A person should be able to organize their life without being coerced or forced by anybody, especially the government. I've pointed to a number of examples where in our everyday lives we organize ourselves without being forced. One example we talked about in class is the Pan Tram bus -- people generally gather at the bus stops and orderly board the bus without being coerced. There are many other possible examples.
Think about your own life. Describe an example of anarchism in everyday life. When do you organize yourself without being coerced or forced?
An example would be when we are in the dining hall going to get our food. We go through the meal lines, wait our turn, and for the most part do not rudely push in front of one another. We know to use plates and silverware, without being told. We know that we need to wait in the line, and we assemble ourselves without being coerced.
ReplyDeleteWalking around; in general we 'stay to the right' on sidewalks and (mostly) we cross at designated cross-walks (although I personally don't often),
ReplyDeleteHowever, like queuing, this example, and other examples of anarchy, in my opinion this isn't anarchy; these are behaviors that society has trained us to do; although since it was society that trained us and not the government, I suppose that could still be considered anarchist...nevertheless, we are still being 'coerced' by our culture..'peer pressure' as it were.
Government and society have a complicated relationship- a society has social rules that compiled together form the 'norm'. Laws are norms that the society deems so important to follow that breaking them leads to punishments, imprisonment, or even death The way the society governs itself, if it has the power to do so, directly depends on what the norms in the society are. In most places, the individuals govern themselves, and because every individual in the society does this, it is easier for the local and nationwide governments to operate and for the society itself to function. Every society does not need a government to control it, but, as stated above, there will still be internal and some external factors determining how a person behaves. (Disclaimer: This is an opinion, not fact)
DeleteEmily Cooper
PSCI 100 / 9:10-10:10am
My example would be when the football coach schedule practice in the morning at 6 am, and i choose to to go to sleep on time and not go out to a party. The coaches do not require anything from us other then the times we are scheduled to practice. It is the players who decided to do the right thing before any scheduled football activity.
ReplyDeleteThe time we wake up. We usually go to bed and wake up to the same time that we are used too. Now the example has to be from somewhere out of college, like an everyday working man/woman. They have to get up at a certain time, but usually get up before so they have time to do things. Now ee are forced to get up at the time that we are forced to, but usually get up before then. We are not forced to wake up earlier than we need to, we make that decision
ReplyDeleteEvery time after a good work out I stop by wellness cafe and get a smoothie and maybe even a sandwich. I simply go to the back of the line and wait patiently for my turn. I order my food, get my number, and sit down next to everyone else who is waiting for their orders. The staff at the cafe then calls out everyone numbers and finally get to mine. I show her my receipt like every other customer in front of me and then I am free to take my food and eat it. In the process of standing in line, waiting for my food, and claiming my food no one around me is cutting in front of each other, rushing the cooks to make their food quicker, or trying to steal each others food. We do what we feel is the "right" way to order our food, there is no one is standing at the end of the line telling us what to do, what to order, or how to wait for our food.
ReplyDeleteOne example would be raising your hand in a classroom to be called upon. It has been molded into our being to always raise your hand and wait quietly. There aren’t any shouting or interruptions, but quiet hand raising. However, even if someone does raise their hand, they have to be the first "hand raiser". Otherwise, they have to wait their turn or not get called on altogether. In college, when we are considered legal adults, we still raise our hands to be called upon. Not because someone tells us to but because of the social norm and what we feel is the right way.
ReplyDeletemaddy manfull
psci 100
9:10-10
An example would be when you go to get a coffee or sandwich. You stand patiently in line, wait your turn, then make your order. You then pay for the order. Then you get your order and leave.
ReplyDeleteShawn Dunford
PSCI 100:05
An example in my life would be waiting in line to use the rest room! If you have to wait, you don't start a big riot, no body is cussing each other out to get to the stall first. You patiently wait your turn. It's just a humane thing we do, but we don't realize it's a way of anarchism. We coerce and organize ourselves, without the government rule.
ReplyDeleteCassidy Rao
PSCI 100 / 10:10-11
Another example is stopping at stop signs, even when a police officer is not present. No one is forcing you to do so, and often times it's not necessary to stop However, since we were younger, it has been trained in us that if we see a red octagon, we need to stop.
ReplyDeleteAshley Tomlinson
PSCI 100:05.
An example in every day life where there is no real government is the internet. Yes there are people who act ridiculous on the internet and try to use it for bad things, but most people use the internet for good things, and are not coerced or forced to use it in any certain way. We can go to whatever sites we want, we can associate and talk to whoever we want, and we can read and learn about whatever we want. If someone posts something offensive on facebook or some other social media website, other people can comment back sharing their own contrasting opinion, or they can choose to delete that person from their friends list.
ReplyDeleteThis comment has been removed by the author.
ReplyDeleteAn example would be waiting to get on an elevator. While waiting to get on an elevator, I wait for the people on the elevator to get off of the elevator first before I enter. I wait my turn by not pushing my way on the elevator while others are coming off. It is not required for me to wait and to let people come off first, but I let the people come off first anyway.
ReplyDeleteGrant Davis
PSCI 100:05
10:10-11:00
The other day I was at a restaurant with my best friend and we were in a huge fight. Another example could be how at restaurants or other public places, people tend to keep their voices down or act like every thing is fine, unless they are in privacy. No one was stopping me from yelling or getting really loud, but I naturally and voluntarily didn't cause a scene.
ReplyDeleteA good example would be any time we go shopping. Yes there are laws that will put us in jail if we go to the extreme of fighting over products when it comes time to stand in lines to pay. The act of going to the store in itself is a form of Anarchism because we choice to drive to what ever store we want to with no pressure from the Govn't.
ReplyDeleteLuke
One example I can come up for myself is doing homework for school. Throughout grade school we were always told that we should do our homework and even in college they say the same. That does not mean that all of us do our homework, but we know the punishment we face for not doing it. It becomes a routine for us to go to class, come home, get something to eat than sit down and do our homework. Maybe it does not happen in that order, but for most of us we do this. It is just like everything else like how we act in public and in stores. If we act rudely or do something illegal, we have to face the punishment of going to jail or being kicked out of a store. Like I said earlier with homework, we do our homework because it may be graded or important to us later on in class.
ReplyDeleteTess Hyre
PSCI 100
9:10-10:00
This comment has been removed by the author.
ReplyDeleteIn pre-school and kindergarten, our teacher taught us to play nice, don't hit each other, and "Sharing is caring". We were taught the basics of how to function and live property in our society. This behavior that we learned stuck with most of us through out the years in the classroom but also outside the classroom. We don't normally get out of our seat in the middle of class to slap our professor during lecture. Also, if we see a girl with ugly shoes walking to class, we tend to keep our comments to ourselves or whisper to a friend. The majority of us know that certain actions have consequences, so we stay within order even if the principal or a police officer isn't following us around to make sure we play nice.
ReplyDeleteChristiana Hess
PSCI 100-04
9:10-10:00
It's a bit of weird example but mosh pits. If you go to a heavy metal concert and enter a most pit, one would think you might die. In reality most people are quite helpful. What I am saying is that if someone falls over, most people will go ahead and help that person up and block others from possibly harming said fallen person. You could argue that it is moshing etiquette to do so, but no one forces them to help. In fact, some shows can get very dangerous. Perhaps a Slayer show, but for the most part the community will help someone out when they fall down. Through the class discussions, I've seen that anarchy isn't a crazy no-holds-bar society but rather one that works to create a society that is lead by common sense. You do what makes sense and betters yourself and others around you without an outside force coercing you to do so, this example I believe illustrates that sentiment.
ReplyDeleteFrank Schwartz
PSCI 10-11
This isn't my class discussion post, but I just wanted to pipe in that I whole-heartedly agree with this. This is probably the best example of ideal anarchy I've seen reading through so far. Kudos.
DeleteWhen I go through a drive-thru, I wait in line patiently. I don't cut in line to get food faster. I also don't crash or get crashed into in the drive-thru. I am not forced to go through the line without hitting anyone, but I do it.
ReplyDeleteSean Yarborough
Psci 100/ 9:10 until 10
During the first week of this semester, I went to add a class and there were multiple people waiting at the registrar. Everyone was sitting around, and there wasn't a uniform line, but we all knew who was supposed to go next. The guy in front of me wasn't paying attention when there was an open space, and I had the opportunity to go first since there would be no repercussions. Instead, I brought the open space to his attention and continued waiting line peacefully. Politeness can be seen as a very basic, everyday act of anarchy, considering that humans have no obligation to each other for simple tasks.
ReplyDeleteNanette Yessler
PSCI 100-04
9:10-10:00
when my teammates and i have workouts for football in the mornings or afternoons we all walk in and change our clothes to prepare to workout and then once we are ready we all go sit down in the weight room and wait until its time to lift and until our comes in then we go warm up. our coach does not make us go sit in the room quietly, we all choose to.
ReplyDeleteTre Anderson
PSCI 100-04
9:10-10:00
Every morning and throughout I choose what I want to eat, when I want to eat it. I choose when and where I want to do my homework: whether it be in the library or at my house. I get to decide what I want to watch on television or what movie I want to watch in my room. These are all forms of anarchy because I chose to do them, I was not given an instruction to do so.
ReplyDeleteChristina Taylor
PSCI MWF 9:10-10:00
For mine, I tried to think of something for which there are no real legal repercussions for. This is because if it is illegal to do something, you are being coerced by the government in a subtle way. You may not get caught doing it, but you know that it might happen and that you might suffer penalties, so you don't do it. You don't knock someone out in line to get ahead of them because you know that a) other people might fight back and b) police will likely get involved and you'll pay some kind of penalty. You could say that mowing your lawn on a regular basis (if you have one) is a type of anarchy, because no one tells you to do it (unless you live with parents), but at the same time, local government officials can still fine you for having a yard that looks like shit. That being said, my example is that of personal and spacial hygiene. You can't go to jail for smelling like shit, nor can you (except maybe in some very extreme cases) go to jail for having a dirty house. Yet, we regularly bathe and clean our rooms/houses to keep them clean. There would definitely be social consequences for not keeping yourself clean, such as people not wanting to hang out with you or go to your house, but it is not forced or coerced at all by the government, thus being a true example of anarchy. Exceptions would be if you lived in a barracks or some dorms where cleaning is enforced. No one orders us, by law or by person, to maintain healthy cleaning habits, but most of us do anyway.
ReplyDeleteAnarchy surrounds my life daily. There are several examples where I am anarchical. One being is that I wake up everyday, without being told by anyone what time do wake up and what to do when I wake up. Next, I eat breakfast without my father telling me to do so. I just know to do that without being enforced by a hierarchical figure such as my parents. In class, I have sat in the same seat since we have started. Professor Stump never told me to do so, I just did it without him moving me or saying specifically that I can't sit there. Anarchy is all around us, in forms more extreme than others. It doesn't necessarily mean being violent or protest, but simply doing things on your own without being told by higher authorities. Therefore, the absence of a hierarchy telling you what to do when you wake up in the morning to when you go to sleep that night is clearly illustrating anarachy.
ReplyDeleteAn example of being organized without being told to in my daily life is as simple as using common sense and common courtesy. We were all taught this in one way or another, by parents, schools, church, or elders.
ReplyDeleteWe all wait in lines, rather in a food line in the Ram's Den or the line for the bathroom at an Orioles game. Waiting in line at any sporting event is a challenging one, because even under the influence we practice organizing ourselves in a civil way without the security guards standing their enforcing that there is a line and no one cuts in front of anyone, or just pees on the floor. We just do what is expected.
An example of "everyday anarchism" that comes to mind is choosing seats in a classroom. If a teacher does not assign seats on the first day of class, which is rare after early middle school, each student chooses a seat without being forced to do so. If a seat I had my eye on gets taken before I have the chance to sit down, I simply find another suitable chair. If the seat I originally wanted gets taken first, I don't try to fight the person who took it because it was my preferred seat. The professor has not told me that I must sit in this particular chair. Each student finds a seat without issues and, generally, keeps that seat for the rest of the semester. If a student decides to take the seat I have been sitting in every class period for half the semester, I might get a little annoyed but I will not shout and get violent because of this. There is a mutual understanding amongst all students and an unspoken level of organization without being physically coerced which makes this instance anarchical. Another example in the classroom is sitting throughout the entire duration of the class. If I show up to class, I don't leave after a few words from the professor. The professor does not physically say at the beginning of each class, "You must stay for the entire class." Every student in class usually stays in class for the entire period. We, as college students, show up to class and stay in class of our own accords. There would be no truancy officer searching for me if I decided to skip a lot of college classes. There are so many aspects of everyday life that one could classify as anarchical, but those are just a couple in addition to all the other examples previously stated.
ReplyDeleteI'm honestly not sure if there is true anarchy in my daily life. Yes, people have talked about how they wait patiently in lines for their turn without being rude or anything like that, but there is still government there. There is no authority figure to say "no pushing", but you still do not push because you are governed by social norms. You know that it is rude to push in line, and you govern yourself not to do it because you constrain yourself through social norms. I have a great amount of free will in my life, we all do. For the vast majority of our everyday activity, there is no central authority figure dictating what we should specifically do or not do. However, we still govern ourselves using the social norms we have adhered to all our lives.
ReplyDelete-Mike Morris, PSCI 100, MWF 10:10-11:00
I agree with this comment because I think many of these examples given are truly just social norms. We choose to follow these norms because we were either taught by society or by our family. Even though there may not be any legal repercussions from our actions, we still choose to participate in these norms. An example of this would be in many other countries people don't simply wait patiently in line while they purchase their groceries. They do not necessarily have the same social norms as us so it might be okay there to push and shove their way through the line. I also agree that there are probably very few forms of true anarchy in our everyday lives, while there may be some activities that we participate in over the course of our lifetime I do not believe that there are any that affect us on a daily basis.
DeleteI participate in anarchical behavior every day without even know even knowing it. Every morning I get to choose what clothes I wear because the government can not make me wear certain clothing, the government also does not make me eat a certain breakfast cereal in the morning. Another form of anarchical behavior I have is when I go to class and the class is having a discussion I do not fight a person who has a different opinion than mine, I respectfully disagree with that person not because someone is making me act that way but because that is how I choose to act.
ReplyDeleteRyan Strong
MWF 10:10-11:00
Two examples that come to my mind that the Government can't force me to do is go to class and do my homework that teachers assign. Even though I'm not forced to do these things, I do go to class and do my homework. I organize myself by setting an alarm on my cell phone, and setting aside plenty of time for my homework. Going to class and doing homework is something that the Government can't force me to do, even though I proceed doing both everyday in an organized matter.
ReplyDelete-Chris Grove
MWF 10:10-11:00
One example I can think of is when I'm waiting in line somewhere to get something. No one has to tell me to wait my turn and not to get in front of others already in line. This is something that just comes to natural to people since it is a social norm we abide by. Today I went to a sandwich shop and when I went inside there were four or five people in front of me. Each person waited until the person in front of them had ordered and they then moved up the line and ordered for themselves. This is something I do so often I don't even think about it.
ReplyDeleteOne example of how we organize our self without being coerced is in the laundry rooms at Shepherd. Usually when we go in the laundry rooms we don't go to a half-cycle laundry machine and just empty all the clothes in there and throw them on the ground, we usually wait our turns. However when a laundry machine that's full is done with the cycle and we need to use that laundry machine we gently remove all their wet clothes and place it in the dryer, sometimes even giving them one or two of our scented downy sheets to make their clothes smell nice. No one is hovering over our shoulders telling us we should do that. We just organize ourselves that way and do things that will benefit not only ourselves but others. AKA while our clothes are getting washed the others are getting dried.
ReplyDeleteI would say an example of anarchy that I use most often in my daily routine would be going to the gym. I wake up in the morning knowing that I want to go to the gym that day, and no one tells me to do this. I do it of my own free will because it is something that I enjoy. On the other hand, when I was on active duty in the military I was told that I had to complete one hour of mandatory PT per day, and that would not be considered anarchy even if I wanted to work out because I didn't have a choice not to; at the time I was compelled to by the government to keep my job.
ReplyDeleteI also go to the gym and workout for my daily routine and another example of anarchism I see at the gym is how everyone patiently waits for a machine to open if it is currently being used by someone else. You don't just walk up to the machine in the middle of their reps and start your workout, you wait for them to finish. Another example is when someone is using 2 different machines or workouts at the same time and switching back and forth in between their reps, again you don't use the machine at your own will when they are getting in their other reps at the other machine. You are respectful and wait for them to finish.
DeleteAmber Myers
PSCI 100.05
An example of anarchism in our everyday lives is obeying signs. Whether its a street sign or a sign you see at a restaurant. When you walk into a restaurant you usually see a sign that says "please wait to be seated" or your already know to walk right up to the hostess and tell her how many is in your party and you wait patiently for her to call your party. You don't walk into the restaurant see the sign and see everyone waiting than just seat yourself at a table you see open, your not coerced or forced to wait like everyone else you are being respectful to everyone else around you and doing the right thing. This also goes along with other signs you see in your everyday life. For example road signs, take the stop sign and yield sign, you don't "have" to stop at the stop sign or yield to others at the yield signs. Technically if you don't and a cop is around you will get pulled over but when you get your license you already know to stop at stop signs and yield and yield signs. When people don't stop at stop signs your putting others in danger and also putting yourself in danger. So to conclude to my point I believe a big part of anarchism is having respect for yourself and other. If you didn't have respect you wouldn't stop at stop signs which could lead to you injuring yourself and others or wait patiently to be seated at a restaurant you would piss a lot of people off.
ReplyDeleteAmber Myers
PSCI 100.05
I suppose a good example of anarchism in everyday life would be that we all sit in class listening to professors speak similar things each day without acting out and doing ridiculous things, for the most part. We sort of come together to do something none of us want to do just to keep civil order.
ReplyDelete'
Nathan Lewellyn
PSCI 100.04
An example of every day anarchism is us students have classes at certain times what do we do to prepare for that time of that class. Say on Friday I have a class at 8:10-9, its my decision to decide if i want to have fun and party the night before or go to sleep that night and get some rest for that early morning class
ReplyDelete--Lavonte Hights
PSCI 10:10-11
An example in everyday life could be when were walking on the side walk, steps, or a hallway. Naturally we keep to the right. There aren't any signs or rules that say keep right. But yet people still don't just walk out of control on any side of the path there taking.
ReplyDeleteAn example in everyday life would be leaving a tip every time we go out to eat. No one forces us to do this, yet no one could leave a restaurant without thinking twice about leaving their server a tip.
ReplyDeleteNatalie Reinford
PSCI 9:10-10
To me, an everyday example of anarchism is as simple as brushing my teeth every morning. There is nobody forcing me out of bed and into the bathroom to do this task every morning.
ReplyDeleteAn everyday example of anarchism would have to be when you go to the bathroom in public restrooms. If there is somebody using a urinal or a toilet, you wait until they are done and go. You dont walk in the bathroom and force someone out of the way because you have to go. You just wait because it is courteous.
ReplyDelete