A common problem with anarchist zealots and activists in general are their dreams of a perfect society, a utopia. Well, the world's not perfect and neither are people, so no one should seek perfection. It's not going to happen. Sci-fi author Ursula K. LeGuin wrote an awesome book about an anarchist space colony, "The Dispossessed." The society she describes has all sorts of pettiness: bureaucracy, regional chauvinism, jealousy, in short, she envisioned a society that had a lot of potential for persona liberty and fulfillment, with all the social ills that are inherent in human interaction. Too many people use the excuse that the activist groups they work with will not create a perfect society in order to limit their involvement or commitment to a cause or movement. This is dishonest and lazy, not to mention cowardly. The future must be shaped by people bold enough to act decisively in order to create the conditions for a new way of life to emerge. The society we've inherited clearly isn't working.

About Leadership I've read numerous objections to anarchy, over the issue of leadership. Many people feel like we need strong leaders to help us become united and to help us focus our energy. They point out that some people are just naturally better at organizing people. This is true to a great extent. Some people can envision projects and see them through to completion, whereas others are content to just pitch in and help out and need directions. The heart of the matter is that leadership should arise and be utilized organically, and not be entrenched in a bureaucracy or authority figure.

For instance, man may be very good at designing and having bridges built, but may know absolutely nothing about child birth. So why should he be put in a position of authority that makes his decisions, on everything from construction to child birth, the absolute rule? Leadership should not be entrenched in individuals, but should be as much a part of the community as any other aspect of people's lives.

What happens to a group of people who have a single great leader when something happens to that leader? A people dependant on a great leader would become disheartened and lost, and look to surrender to some other leader. A people who share leadership according to their skills, knowledge and abilities will always have within their community a group of competent individuals capable of stepping forward when necessary to help the community through whatever difficulty they are experiencing.

We are all leaders.