Anarchism (theory)
This article deals with Anarchism (theory) as it relates to NationStates. For more general information, see the Wikipedia article on this subject.
Anarchism is the political theory that coercion and hierarchy are illegitimate or ineffective. It is a form of socialism that rejects the state, even as a means to an end. Instead, direct democratic structures are used to manage both political and economic affairs - though it should be noted that some forms of anarchist theory don't reject markets per se. In place of a centralized state, anarchist nations are typically organized into voluntary 'bottom-up' federations of individuals and local and regional organizations. In place of capitalist firms there are usually worker self-managed collectives, co-operatives, and communes. Often, some or all of these enterprises are linked together in various voluntary federations, or are completely incorporated into the geographically-based federations.
There are several regions that either hold anarchism as their official ideology or which have significant numbers of anarchist members. These include Anarchy, Anarchism, The Anarcho Communist Alliance (abbreviated as tACA), The Autonomous Zone, and Anticapitalist Alliance (abbreviated as ACA).
Some examples of anarchist (or anarchist-influenced) nations in the NS world include Letila, Cayrocasia, Free Soviets, Sacco and Vanzetti, Free Outer Eugenia, Segasaturn, and Watfordshire.
It has occasionally been remarked that NationStates attracts a disproportionate number of anarchists. No one is entirely sure why. Considering that the actual game mechanics necessitate a significant amount of creative reading on most issues to even make them apply to anarchist nations, one would tend to expect the opposite would be the case. On the other hand, perhaps anarchists are more common than most people realize but don't generally voice their views in public for fear of ridicule or pointless arguments.
