"It's so complicated!"

The stupidest argument against anarchy that I have heard personally, is that an anarchic system would be "too complicated" and no one could possibly do anything with, for example, dozens of security agencies with their own codes, or with dozens of currencies.

These are the kind of people who go to the grocery store, look at all the varieties of cola, and drool over themselves trying to process the information (I have to admit that I do get like that a bit). Perhaps we should accomodate their retardation and have only ONE brand of cola, manufactured by the state. It would taste shitty, cost fifteen dollars a 2L bottle (including health taxes), and it would come in one flavour (regular). That would be pretty damn simple. It would also be horrible. Monopolies are simple, inefficient and wrong.

But the good side is that the added complexity need not bother the average person. If they really can't be bothered, they could simply get an account at the cheapest legitimate security agency they can find. That should end their problem. The rest of us can make a more educated choice and support a way of life that we desire.

What about a policeman who may have to arrest someone? The only added complexity would be to ask a suspect for his agency card and verify it. Depending on whether the arbitration between the victim's agency and the suspect's agency indicates arrest is warranted or not, an appropriate message would come back- that he should be arrested or not arrested. All that is added to the current procedures is a short and simple phone call.

What if someone does not have his agency card, what if there is no arbitration available at the time, or some problem of this sort? Well, I think procedures would be put in place to deal with such cases, after a while. Falsely arresting someone could be costly for an agency. Perhaps they would rely on common law, or the victim's code, or some other method. However it would work, all it would require, once again, is one phone call. Not very complicated!

What if there are different currencies for the same area? How will we deal then? Well, how do people deal with the great number of credit cards that exist today? Are people demanding a monopoly in the credit card business? Everyone knows very well that it would be horrible. And yet the complication is not a problem. People are able to use credit cards just fine.

Like I said, it is the stupidest argument. It is just an attempt to portray an anarchy as mind-boggling. And yet people are just fine with competition in other industries, and aren't overwhelmed with the amount of choice that they have. And people who are, have ways available to reduce the complexity for themselves. This is not rocket science.