What exactly is the social structure of an anarchist society?
Most anarchists are not “exactly” sure. The world will be a very different place after government has been abolished. Anarchists donʼt usually offer blueprints, but they propose some guiding principles. They say that mutual aid — cooperation rather than competition — is the soundest basis for social life. They are individualists in the sense that they think society exists for the benefit of the individual, not the other way around. They favor decentralization, meaning that the foundations of society should be local, face-to-face communities. These communities then federate — in relations of mutual aid — but only to coordinate activities which canʼt be carried on by local communities. Anarchist decentralization turns the existing hierarchy upside down. Right now, the higher the level of government, the more power it has. Under anarchy, higher levels of association arenʼt governments at all. They have no coercive power, and the higher you go, the less responsibility is delegated to them
