Anarcho-Tyranny for the UK

The only crime that matters now is thought crime.

When Johnny Rotten sang Anarchy in the UK in 1976, he didn’t get it quite right. What we have in the UK now is not anarchy – not yet anyway - but Anarcho-Tyranny.

“Samuel Francis defined this condition as the combination of oppressive government power against the innocent and the law-abiding and, simultaneously, a grotesque paralysis of the ability or the will to use that power to carry out basic public duties such as protection or public safety. It is characteristic of anarcho-tyranny that it not only fails to punish criminals and enforce legitimate order but also criminalizes the innocent, and in this respect its failures bring the country, or important parts of it, close to a state of anarchy. That semblance of anarchy is coupled with many of the characteristics of tyranny, under which innocent and law-abiding citizens are punished by the state or suffer gross violations of their rights and liberty at the hands of the state. Francis identified punishment of the non-compliant as the real purpose of the tyranny component”. (reference, my emphasis)

This kind of regime has been typical for most of human history; the modern West has been the exception rather than the rule. In most societies historically, as long as the rulers are able to remain in power, they do not see any reason to concern themselves with the doings of the lower orders. If someone assaults you or steals your property, the ruling class are not going to take much interest in it. To them, it is like a dispute between two dogs over a bone. They have more important things to think about. Any challenge to their power, in contrast, is dealt with swiftly and harshly.

The name ‘anarcho-tyranny’ captures the twin component ideas of anarchy at street level, in which the average citizen is forced to live in a dangerous, high-crime environment with little or no protection from the authorities, and at the same time, tyranny in high places, in which criticising those in power will lead to dreadful punishment. In short, what law enforcement there exists is there largely to protect the powerful against the powerless, not the other way around.

In Britain, we now have a government which releases violent criminals from prison in order to make room for citizens who make government-critical comments on social media. The authorities seem to regard criticism of themselves as worse than the violent harming of civilians. The only crime that matters now is thought crime.

This constitutes a very dramatic change in fundamental political outlook, and it has taken place in just a couple of decades. It overturns basic assumptions about the role of the State and its relationship with the individual which have been in place for centuries.

Britain led the world in the development of individual liberty and economic freedom. For us now to reject these values is an astonishing turn of events. I can only conclude that we are already living under hostile occupation.