this post was submitted on 21 Jul 2025
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My local library has Nintendo Switch, they have 3d printers you can use and classes you can take, tools you can check out, the books are great but it's basically like a whole new world in there.
It is what organizations should be, if everyone wasn't busy trying to upsell you to the $25/mo tier all the time.
libraries are both proof that anarchism could work under the right conditions AND a great place to meet anarchists
putting up a public bookcase is probably the most anarchist thing you can do in an afternoon
Hey look, someone who understands what anarchism is
Anarchists are against public ran and funded libraries.
If anarchists got their way there would be no state to run the public library
You could make the argument that something like "free little library" or just people supporting the idea of neighborhood free libraries is proof
But no true anarchist is going to be happy paying taxes to a state for the state to decide what books are available to them.
that's the desired end target, yes, but we're realists. we view our role in the world to pull the levers of power we have access to to get to that end target. libraries are repositories of free knowledge, tools, and entertainment. you'll encounter a lot of anarchists arguing that we must immediately disband the police, but almost none arguing we must immediately disband the library.
so in our current place of existence public libraries are proof positive that the collective sharing things is a good and natural positive and that charging money to just exist isn't a positive. librarians are also as a whole very dedicated to helping people develop knowledge and skills that help them navigate the hellscape we're all forced to exist in.
you say no true anarchist would support a public library, i say no effective anarchist is that dedicated to purity.
You can't call yourself a communist and only want socialism.
What you're describing is libertarianism
Limited government control (Against Anarchy). Highest personal freedom (For Anarchy).
Both anarchists and libertarians would argue that the people would fund a "public" library if the government didn't. That has not been tested.
anarchism is a flavor of libertarianism, yes, contrasted by anarchocapitalism by its belief that money is a form of theft and power. i believe in the dissolution of the state and the removal of capital power. in the places this has been attempted all at once it has failed miserably. the key is to take a wide view look at everything and to at all moments act in accordance with what would get us to the desired end target of a stateless, cashless, egalitarian society where everyone's needs are met not for economic incentives but instead for social benefit. the goal, effectively, is to learn the lessons of pre-colonial societies and then implement those lessons to create a post-colonial society.
A libertarian who decides they want no government control is an anarchist.
If they want limited government control they are libertarians.
They are similar but differ on a key issue, government control. And that's the biggest issue for anarchists.
If I say I am an anarchist it means I do not want the government in public libraries at all.
Now if you need to rip the bandage off fast or slow is debatable, but there is no debate on if the bandage needs to come off completely for an anarchist.
If I say I am a libertarian it means I want the government limited in public libraries.
Again, how fast it needs to change is debatable.
They both rely on the goodness of the people rather than a government. They both share pretty much the exact same ideology, other that anarchists are for "No Authority" and libertarians are for "Limited Government"
Personally, I don't think a public library would exist in today's world without the government.
You want me to donate money so people who cannot afford books can go and check out physical copies of books they can look at digitally for free?
I'm better off donating to a homeless shelter or another cause.
Libraries are only good for homeless and poor now because we currently do not give them better options.
Holy crap that library sounds awesome.