How would anarchist societies protect themselves?

The writer says anarchist ideas feel hard to follow because they seem to rely on a different reading of history. They questions the claim that removing police would reduce conflict, point to tribal violence and punitive systems on Maui, and argue that states and militaries still seem necessary for protection against both internal harm and outside takeover.

They also ask for concrete examples of societies where people do not work yet things still get done, or where children do not go to school but still learn. The letter ends by asking for more evidence and more lived examples of how an anarchist society would actually function.

Reading notes

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• The writer says they are struggling to navigate anarchist ideas because they seem to rest on a different version of history.
• They question the claim that removing police would make conflict disappear or be solved more peacefully.
• They cite tribal communities as examples of societies that lacked police but still had violence and harsh punishment.
• They use Maui in the 1500s as an example of lethal punishment for crimes and argue that this does not look better than policing.
• They question the idea that free societies would not war with each other, pointing to China, Japan, Europe, Britain, and North America as examples of repeated conquest and warfare.
• They summarize Peter’s position on stateless societies as relying on a few peaceful cases, and say those cases were eventually overtaken by larger powers.
• They argue that even if statelessness is ideal, a stateful power could still destroy it.
• They say some form of police and military still seems necessary to protect people from bad actors and to prevent countries from being taken over.
• They imagine that if the United States had no government and no capitalism, another country would likely take it over.
• They say borderless societies might help reduce war, but local communities would still need protection from dangerous individuals and outside powers.
• They mention Aldous Huxley’s Island as a story about a utopia being exploited from outside for its oil.
• They ask for examples of communities where people do not work but things still get done.
• They ask for examples of children who do not go to school but are still educated.