Monday, April 27, 2009

Introduction

Welcome to the Detroit Area Anarchy Group blog. We are a group of professionals (accountants, computer programmers, engineers, teachers, writers, etc.) who meet regularly to discuss the theory and practice of anarchy. We reject the notion that anarchy entails nihilism, chaos, or violence, and we serve as a positive example of voluntary non-coerced cooperation resulting in mutual benefit.

Most of us became acquainted during the 2007-2008 Ron Paul presidential campaign and continued meeting thereafter as the Ron Paul Investment Club. Over time our discussions broadened from investment topics to the ethics of fractional reserve banking, business cycle theory, intellectual property rights, and several philosophical issues. ‘Anarchy’ thus more accurately describes our common goal and subsumes the various topics we like to discuss.

We each arrived at anarchism from different backgrounds. As such, we do not automatically agree on all issues nor pretend to know all the answers. We encourage open discussion. Through debating, we become better able to articulate and refine our positions in the pursuit of truth.

Our hope is that this blog will:

- Extend our in-person discussions by providing a venue to more deeply explore anarchist theory. During meetings we often realize we need to further research particular concepts. We can post our findings and updates on the blog. We may also summarize articles supporting our positions, or develop well-reasoned critiques of opposing arguments.

- Facilitate awareness of current events—both those that threaten freedom and those that advance the cause of liberty. Antiwar Radio, LRC (Lew Rockwell), The Ludwig von Mises Institute, Strike-the-Root, and other online resources provide good opportunities for staying informed. This blog may link to relevant articles, interviews, and lectures from such sites.

- Encourage personal growth by holding each other accountable (in a friendly way) for achieving personal goals: learning new skills, developing investment strategies, starting independent businesses, etc. We may use the blog to report progress toward these goals or to seek advice and encouragement when needed.

- Develop a trusted network of friends. Keep in contact with those who move away or travel the world, and invite new members interested in individuals rights (the term ‘individual rights’ being a redundancy, of course).

- Demonstrate that voluntary interaction achieves far more than government ever could. Anarchy works.

Anyone is welcome to comment and participate in this blog. To learn more about our group or to attend a meeting please contact one of us.

4 comments:

  1. Where are you meeting June 10? - I'm a bit of an Austrian Economics buff, and see that you're discussing Rothbard's AGD that night.

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  2. Hi David Z,

    Sorry about the confusion regarding where we meet, I didn't post that very well. Our next meeting is May 26th and we meet at a Panera Bread in Livonia at Schoolcraft Road (I-96) & Middlebelt. The idea is to meet every other week, though that schedule is kept fairly loose.

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  3. David Z,
    Anarchrist described above where we meet. Hopefully you can make some of the meetings this summer. I just wanted to clarify that meetings are on Tuesdays, so the next one will be June 9th (not 10th. I plead guilty to writing the wrong date in an email to the group.)

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  4. Hold on, you guys say you are anarchists but you are also capitalists? That means you are libertarians, not anarchists. You might as well get back behind Ron Paul if you are going to follow the ideas of someone as repulsive as Rothbard...

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