A governor is a privileged person, because he has the right
to command others, and to avail himself of the force of others,
to make his own ideas and desires triumph. An administrator
or technical director is a worker like others, in a society, of
course, where all have equal opportunities of development, and
all are, or can be, at the same time intellectual and manual
workers; when there are no other differences between men than
those derived from diversity of talents, and all work and all social
functions give an equal right to the enjoyment of social advantages.
The functions of government are, in short, not to be confounded with
administrative functions, as they are essentially different. That
they are today so often confused is entirely on account of the
existence of economic and political privilege.
----------
But let us hasten to pass on to those functions for which government
is thought indispensable by all who are not Anarchists. These are
the internal and external defence of society, that is, War, Police
and Justice.
Government being abolished, and social wealth at the disposal
of every one, all antagonism between various nations would soon
cease; and there would consequently be no more cause for war.
Moreover, in the present state of the world, in any country
where the spirit of rebellion is growing, even if it do not find
an echo throughout the land, it will be certain of so much sympathy
that the government will not dare to send all its troops to
a foreign war, for fear the revolution should break out at home.
But even supposing that the rulers of countries not yet emancipated
would wish and could attempt to reduce a free people to servitude,
would these require a government to enable them to defend
themselves? To make war, we need men who have the necessary
geographical and technical knowledge, and, above all, people willing
to fight. A government has no means of augmenting the ability of the
former, or the willingness or courage of the latter. And the
experience of history teaches that a people really desirous of
defending their own country are invincible. In Italy every one knows
how thrones tremble, and regular armies of hired soldiers vanish
before troops of volunteers, that is, armies Anarchically formed.
----------
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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