[Keith]

Originally Posted by Scin

I couldn't resist. I don't know about Australia, but the US has enjoyed decreased crime rates across the board:
Bureau of Justice Statistics Key Crime and Justice Facts at a Glance

Overall it's fairly good in Australia, but I think that has a lot to do with the low population density.

I'm glad to hear that crime has decreased in the US. However, given that Bruther's point was "we need a government to protect us from evil" the fact that there is still an awful lot of it is significant. My personal suspicion is that an awful lot of crime results directly or indirectly from the government imposing law on people. Just one example: Organised crime really took off in the US as a side-effect of prohibition.

I believe the Dao De Jing put it well:

Originally Posted by Dao De Jing, Chapter 19 - Stephen Mitchell translation

Throw away holiness and wisdom,
and people will be a hundred times happier.
Throw away morality and justice,
and people will do the right thing.
Throw away industry and profit,
and there won't be any thieves.

If these three aren't enough,
just stay at the center of the circle
and let all things take their course.

The nature of government is to say "You are children. You do not know the right thing to do unless we tell you.". The nature of government is to say "We do not trust you to do the right thing on your own so we will enforce it. BTW, we will have a monopoly on defining 'the right thing'.

Is it any wonder that many of the governed find cause to rail against 'societal expectations' in various ways? Would there be rebellion if there was nothing to rebel against?

Originally Posted by Iksander

D) These hater posts of industrialized society surprise me. If you truly think Anarchy is the way to go - then please, be an example and live it. Stop driving your car, stop riding your bicycle, stop using your water tap, stop using your computer, stop doing all those things that you do that are apart of industrialized society (which, is, probably just about everything in your life).

Anarchy does not equal anti-industry, just anti-centralised-control.

BTW, I am not necessarily saying "We should engage in Anarchy, it'd be great!" I am saying we should open our minds a lot wider to the possibilities of what a successful society could be...