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Single Idea 24439

[catalogued under 24. Political Theory / D. Ideologies / 2. Anarchism]

Full Idea

Godwin proposed the classic anarchist argument that authority is against nature, and that social ills exist because men are not at liberty to act according to reason.

Gist of Idea

Authority is unnatural, and social ills are because we cannot act according to reason

Source

report of William Godwin (Enquiry Concerning Political Justice [1798]) by George Woodcock - Anarchism: A Historical Introduction 2

A Reaction

This seems particularly true when a large country has a central government, from which many regions are very distant. We are all often stuck watching while rational solutions are not implemented. Potholes in roads.

Book Reference

'The Anarchist Reader', ed/tr. Woodcock,George [Fontana 1978], p.35