The Dispossessed : State Happens

Ursula K. le Guin’s “The Dispossessed” is one of the most in-depth examinations of how a large anarchist society might function, addressing both the problems it solves and those it creates for itself. It’s a must-read for anyone interested in the communist-leaning variants of anarchism in particular. This video is in part a companion to this one    • Cloak of Anarchy : Gradations of Stateless...   from a few weeks ago. The original cut of that one had a brief mention of a couple details from The Dispossessed, but it really needed its own video. 🔹 Patreon | patreon.com/FeralHistorian 🔹 Ko-Fi | ko-fi.com/feralhistorian Obligatory shameless plug for Ninti’s Gate 🔹 https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0CYXH9BWD 00:00 Intro 01:58 Anarres is not an Island 04:45 Shevek goes to Urras 07:00 Abolition of Property 08:30 Social Pressures and Pravic 12:30 Necessity and Ossification 14:45 Necessity of Conflict 15:45 Shevek’s Wild Ride Corrections: 00:26 I should not have used the word "natural" here. I mean to say if individual humans, outside of their respective social groups, are put in proximity to each other, they're effectively anarchists. They have to figure out social dynamics without the benefit of cultural or institutional structures. 04:00 This is not to say there was a written up deal, in fact Stalin complained to the Western Allies until D-Day about their letting the Red Army bear the brunt of the fighting. While not a formal agreement, it was part of a calculation. 08:00 Yes, we all know the theoretical difference between private property and personal property and homes are ostensibly the latter. We also saw almost every regime based on communist theory ignore that distinction. The 20th Century happened and Marxist theory can't erase the repeated shortcomings of implementation. 14:40 Again, communism/socialism of the Marxist variety in practice overwhelmingly tends to deny these things.