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I see anarchism as the theoretical ideal to which we are all gradually evolving to a point where everybody can tell the truth to everybody else and nobody can get punished for it. That can only happen without hierarchy and without people having the authority to punish other people.
Robert Anton Wilson
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Interpretation

What this quote means

Anarchism envisions a society where truth can be shared freely without fear of punishment, achievable only in the absence of hierarchical authority.

In this quote, Robert Anton Wilson describes his vision of anarchism as an ideal state of society where individuals can freely express the truth without facing punishment. He suggests that for such transparency and open communication to occur, there must be no hierarchical structures or individuals holding power to impose punishment, thereby fostering a community based on trust and equality.

Themes

AnarchismTruthFreedomAuthorityPunishment

In practice

Example use cases

During a political rally, to emphasize the need for open dialogue without fear.

More from Robert Anton Wilson

My goal is to try to get people into a state of generalized agnosticism, not agnosticism about God alone, but agnosticism about everything.
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There is no governor anywhere. You are all absolutely free. There is no restraint that cannot be escaped. If anybody could go into dhyana at will, nobody could be controlled - by fear of prison, by fear of whips or electroshock, by fear of death, even. All existing society is based on keeping those fears alive, to control the masses. Ten people who know would be more dangerous than a million armed anarchists.
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To work for libertarianism - to oppose the growth of government and aid the liberation of the individual - used to be an idealistic choice taken for purely idealistic reasons. Now it is an act of intelligent and almost desperate self-defense.
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The abandoned infant's cry is rage, not fear.
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The only way to stave off boredom, in a complex domesticated primate like humankind, is to increase one's intelligence. This is not appealing to the average primate, who instead invents emotional games (soap opera and grand opera dramatics).
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If one can only see things according to one's own belief system, one is destined to become virtually deaf, dumb, and blind.
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