Although the current reality makes us believe otherwise, I believe that society does not need structure in order for humanity to prosper, and to fully maximize one’s own life and potential. In terms of political structure, like a government for example, a perfect world defined by only justice and freedom ideally does not have one in it. Again, the ideal state proposes conditions which will be further explained, yet reality or the present still needs structure to reach the state of a just and free society. 

First, I believe that there is no need for structure in an ideal world because man is naturally good. Each person is still influenced by culture and the nature in which he or she is born into, but there is still a moral autonomy in each one. Even if there is an innate nature for man to value self-preservation, acts of man that may impede on the free will and rights of others are only because of the system that he is in. For instance, a thief steals money from a bank, but that does not mean that it is his fault as a man. A thief is a thief because the system allows him to be so. The government, for example, may not be providing him enough employment opportunities to sustain his family. In line with this, if then the government decides to annihilate all the thieves in a state without any structural change implemented, it is safe to assume that in a few years or even months, there will again be thieves in a country. This is because the government fails to address the problem and provide a solution to the root cause of why man has retorted to such evil and immoral acts of thievery. 

The previous example also brings me to my second point, which is that structural change is needed because the system is the problem, and not the people. Let me give an example of a corporate monopoly. If hypothetically, Company X is the single supplier of water in a market and it decides to unreasonably increase the price of the good, the buyers will still have to buy from Company X. No matter the increase in price, buyers will still have no choice but to buy it from Company X because it is the only supplier available. Now, a state with a centralized power to the government is just as oppressive and open to exploitation. Going back to the example, the solution to this would then be an unrestrained market, which allows for equal competition without any special privileges or government favor.

Given these, I believe that it is no argument about having structure at present. Obviously, government is necessary to enforce laws and to try to change the system. However, I believe that the greater debate is when the ideal state has been reached, and whether or not these structures should remain there or not. In my opinion, when a clean slate has been started, and people have taken ownership of their rights, there is freedom and exercise of free will where people maximize their rights. Nonetheless, there is also justice because people utilize their innate goodness to ensure that they do not hamper the rights of others in pursuit of their own freedom. When this perfect world is established, my view is that it should be anarchic.

Progress can be best restricted by a government structure. For instance, our country has abundant big corporations, yet less small local businesses because these corporations are privileged by the government to cover only limited liability. This kind of government intervention does not make us freer; rather it creates mandatory, but artificial interaction instead of a progressive decentralized economy. Big businesses gain maximum exercise of rights through government support while the rest of society lack the avenue or access to basic rights such as education. Such things become a privilege in our country, and government support for it cannot even be considered as humane since it is a human right to be educated, and this isn’t sufficiently provided by our country’s leaders.

Furthermore, a society can prosper without a government just like in an example of a larger scale, the international system. Sovereign states interact, but they still do have autonomous interests, and the international system they’re in is one with ordering principles of anarchy. Although the United Nations and other supranational bodies are present to help govern states, there is no centralized government in the international system. America may be acting as the world’s police, but they are not UN’s military force since the function of the body isn’t the same function as of an international government. Instead of a centralized government moving to achieve social justice among states, mutual aid is not only a better alternative, but a solution that highlights the power of choice from each actor in the world stage.

Therefore, if society were given a chance to have a clean slate, the ideal world would no longer need structures such as government, political parties or civic groups because society can be self-sustaining and continuously improving. Establishing authority is only necessary in times like the present because people have gotten so used to the system that we’re living in that it has become a difficult culture to transform. This is also the purpose of the NGO’s, political parties or unions nowadays, yet I believe that when all of these units achieve their goals, the overarching theme for all of them is eradication. Because once they have all achieved their goals, society will be in a perfect state wherein there is no need to establish those kinds of structures to continually progress. 

Let me end by quoting from the movie, V for Vendetta in saying, “Anarchy wears two faces, both creator and destroyer. Thus destroyers topple empires; make a canvas of clean rubble where creators then can build another world.” It is extreme, yet revolutionary, as how change is really supposed to be. Reform and gradual change cannot bring us to a clean slate that will allow us to build a new world, and as long as we have a government that believes that the authority vested in them is destined for permanence with them, then by all means, people should take direct action in trying to paint another picture of society without a government in the new world canvas.