
Originally Posted by
ArchonAlarion
There is the chaotic mico-despotism of primtive societies (constant violence, lack of liberalism, rampant theft, little conception of property rights, etc.) and the modern homogenized state. The state is the result of the gradual pacification and regularization of the violent/despotic elements of society into an increasingly (on average) contained, despised, and regulated entity. Humans can and do use philosophical technology towards utilitarian ends. The benefits of personal autonomy with respect towards other's personal autonomy is increasingly instilled in subsequent generations and as long as this is the case the trajectory of civilizations will be towards anarchism.
Apes living in violent, constantly warring, raping clans -> Nomadic tribes doing the same -> Agricultural societies begin formalizing tribal violence into social-proprietary hierarchy, legitimized by religion and direct force -> As population size increases due to agriculture, power is increasingly delegated and divided creating bureaucracies -> The governing body becomes an abstraction based on commitments and shared beliefs, leading to increased need for philosophical justification -> science disproves religious beliefs, increased literacy rate, benefits of the liberal free-market society understood -> the justification for coercive, institutional monopolies becomes more difficult -> During this time humans become more averse to violence, death, suffering. Extend rights to more and more minorities even amazingly to other species to the extent that it is justifiable. -> The non-aggression principle gradually becomes the basis of social ethics -> At some point the support for the non-aggression principle reaches a critical mass and it is popularly declared as the new paradigm of civilization with all the ensuing reforms (similar to the democratic revolution in the western world) -> humans lives in a heterogeneous, technological, leisurely society with little fear of violence/slavery on any significant scale. There are still issues, but institutionalized slavery is not one of them. I classify the state as violent because it is, extorting because it is, enslaving because it is, no matter your "necessity arguments."
Anarchism is a technology that has to be developed gradually if your starting point is a violent primitive society. It is the most optimal for a society built around positive sum games and mutual benefits and hence will proliferate as long as humans are increasingly empathetic towards sentient beings (much historical and scientific evidence that empathy is not innate. It has been developed by heterogeneous cultural proximities and gathered momentum with the invention of the printed novel) and utility maximizing. There is no point of perfection, only a trajectory.