Crazy how we have a phrase like "power corrupts" yet refuse to treat it as a mental illness.
this post was submitted on 14 Apr 2026
393 points (96.2% liked)
Flippanarchy
2512 readers
895 users here now
Flippant Anarchism. A lighter take on social criticism with the aim of agitation.
Post humorous takes on capitalism and the states which prop it up. Memes, shitposting, screenshots of humorous good takes, discussions making fun of some reactionary online, it all works.
This community is anarchist-flavored. Reactionary takes won't be tolerated.
Don't take yourselves too seriously. Serious posts go to !anarchism@lemmy.dbzer0.com
Rules
-
If you post images with text, endeavour to provide the alt-text
-
If the image is a crosspost from an OP, Provide the source.
-
Absolutely no right-wing jokes. This includes "Anarcho"-Capitalist concepts.
-
Absolutely no redfash jokes. This includes anything that props up the capitalist ruling classes pretending to be communists.
-
No bigotry whatsoever. See instance rules.
-
This is an anarchist comm. You don't have to be an anarchist to post, but you should at least understand what anarchism actually is. We're not here to educate you.
-
No shaming people for being anti-electoralism. This should be obvious from the above point but apparently we need to make it obvious to the turbolibs who can't control themselves. You have the rest of lemmy to moralize.
Join the matrix room for some real-time discussion.
founded 2 years ago
MODERATORS
We are being ruled over by power addicts
just one more power bro i swear i'll stop if i just get one more power bro i swear
Its just perfectly normal healthy paranoid pedophilic blood cults with measurably less of several kinds if intelligence than baseline. I dont see why you have tocall them mentally ill.
Power corrupts, but we can't just make power disappear... The only logical solution is to spread it as thinly as possible amongst everyone, so it corrupts as little as possible. Ergo, anarchy.
What if instead we totally alienated a bunch of the worst people to ever exist from any consequence, built society on appeasing them at any cost, and then murdered everyone who wanted anything else,though?
I personally think thats a much better idea, and will murder you if you dont agree.
"Human History, a Summary"
No. Read graeber.
Lol usually I'm the one telling others to read Graeber.
Here's the thing, that kinda is part of human history. It is how we ended up in the society we live in today. All of these countries exist because they killed or subjugated everyone else who said otherwise.
Yes, Graeber exposes that other societies have existed and can potentially exist but that doesn't negate the history that led us to today.
Part of it. So is the steam engine.
All hietory led us to today. The most recent proximal cause is not totality.
load more comments
(4 replies)
I mean, there's an argument for lottery representation to centralize enough power (government) to stomp any other spikes of power (corporations)
Isn't it Athens version of Denocracy rather? Everyone gets a vote and all that?
Green on the topic of anarchy I shall add xD
load more comments
(1 replies)
It's not that humans are inherently evil, it's that inherently evil humans exist.
The main problem is that enough people believe the lies the evil ones tell them and let them have power to fuck everyone.
Humans are tribalistic animals, and that trait is part of why it's so easy for horrible people to convince others to do horrible things.
A quote from Dune if I recall correctly is power attracts the corruptable, not exactly that it corrupts. So not that humans are evil but we offer positions that shouldn't be given to anyone that wants it. Mean okay I'm sure there's good people that try for elected positions for sure.
Also quote from hitchhiker's guide to the galaxy, no one that seeks power should be given it. Or similar was in reference to who they elect president.
While hitchhiker's guide is comedy I think it holds well, people who seek power want to abuse it. People resultant to accept a position may be better to administer. I think, while quite different moods in their texts, they were saying the same thing. One (quite boring and dry, no pun intended, at first read) another just silly with some commentary on life.
Funny how that works cause you'd think democracy would weed others out. But gestures to democracies these days we see how things work with media manipulation. I think the hitchhiker's guide worked and well was made due to the education of the author.
So why the eff aren't we supporting system where we can cultivate ideas to improve ourselves rather than hearing media tell us not to like someone who is probably cool anyways?
Yes a north american view but right wing has been spreading and all.
I'd love it if campaigning was outlawed. You get a list of candidates and their voting history on key issues.
If people had actually looked at her voting records, Harris would have been a great choice. Her Senate voting history is pretty damn close to Bernie's.
But for some reason people still listen to campaign messaging even though it's well known politicians lie through their teeth to get elected.
Thats why no man should have power over others.
Yeah, it would be great if people stopped being dicks, but don't hold your breath waiting for it to happen.
load more comments
(1 replies)
I talked about anarchism with someone recently, and "evil people" was their main argument.
I've been thinking about it a lot. My point of view is that power structures give those evil people an unmatched oportunity to gain power over others. I think most of them are in politics, be it in democracy or authoritarian regimes. They are the best at climbing hierarchies and have the motivation to do so, unlike most people.
But still, it seems that having evil people in politics is somehow better than having to deal with them directly for a lot of people. It may be the fear of unknown - governments might do bad things on a much bigger scale, but at least they are predictable. That's just my interpretation though.
anarchism doesn't mean you can't get organised.
that said, it's pretty damned hard to defend against an attacking nation, if you don't have taxpayer funded hierachical military. hard doesn't mean impossible tho
Catalonia had an army.
That must be why they're still around, right?
The SDF is still around defending AANES in one of the most conflict-ridden regions of the world. They call themselves Democratic Confederalists rather than anarchists, but they are the nearest long-standing polity to anarchist ideals.
Yep, I believe the absolute majority of people in power are evil because evil people seek power.
Its the fear of the unknown. I had to deal with that too when I first learned about anarchism.
IA! Fthagn!!
No you dont undersrand! Everything i want is made of basement kids and if i dont get it ill be sad, but if i think about making it happen ill be sad.
So i need to make sure we all just agree that dping wjat the worst monsters we can find tell us to and and killing anyone who disagrees. You disagreeing makes me feel bad.
That attitude is a large part of the reason people turn against anarchy.
That you should walk away from omelas instead of killing for it? Yeah. I get that.
No, I meant the being a condescending ass part.
I have othermodes of critique, but ecpect youd appreciate them even less.
The way you get people on your side is to win them over by educating them on the positives, not criticizing them.
Provably not.
load more comments
(3 replies)
Turns out that's the flip aide of hack-choo-choo-choo-ally responsible.
America isn't Anarchic. Look what happened to what was declared the best since the worst. Drumroll.
The problem is that people that want power will find ways to get power even if there's no established structures that give people power.
How do you prevent that from happening?
Well, there might need to be an equal and opposite reaction in order to keep it in check. If some people are just inherently evil and desire power over others, then I imagine there would also be inherently good people and desire to protect others.
I don't think you can "prevent" this outright. That's why there's talk of "vigilance" and being "watchful" when it comes to government/democracy.
load more comments
(2 replies)
load more comments
(20 replies)
Outsiders are Evil By Nature.
Insiders are Blessed By Their Commitment to The Tribe.
Dear Leader came to power by virtue of extraordinary merit and is the most capable tribesman in leading our Blessed In-Group against their Diabolical Out-Group. We give him our loyalty, our labor, and our wealth voluntarily, with the expectation that he will return it to us ten-fold.
And hey, look, the market is up! The Gods shine on our Glorious Hallowed Kingdom of The Virtuous And Just.
If we’re just making shit up then god says I’m in charge.
All hail lord doomer boomer!
My god what have I done…
Don't worry, the people in power are good. They said so themselves.
Not only them but also the journalists they paid so we have 2 independent sources
load more comments
(1 replies)
view more: next ›