In addition to what @sharkfucker420@lemmy.ml said, statelessness in the context of communism refers to one that has collectivized production and distribution, and in so doing has eliminated class society. Administration remains, but oppressive tools like police fade away as there no longer is a basis for class struggle. The origin of the state, after all, is class society and a need for a ruling class to win class struggles.
I feel like the definition I use for state might be somewhat different than most around here, as I would consider an administration as a state.
Even without class struggle, crimes and abused would still occur how can a copless society (with millions of members) resolve this issues? Local militias? Wouldn’t those be the “police”?
The basis of crime is nearly always economic. In a society where needs are addressed, including mental health, there really isn’t a basis for crime. Administration isn’t really a class, just like managers aren’t a distinct class from any other worker.
Trying to give an actual image of what stateless society will look like is missing the forest for the trees, though, we won’t know exactly what it will look like until we get there. What we do know is the basis of the state is class struggle, and without class struggle there ceases to be a basis for it.
Honestly, it’s very difficult to imagine and while there is plenty of literature on the subject I don’t think any of us can truly say. I personally have not read the literature and for me to speculate on it would do more harm than good I think. The reality of a stateless society seems so far off from my lifetime that discussing how it might look feels like fantasizing to me. My focus has always been on getting to a point where one is possible and studying how to do so as this is far more relevant to my conditions.
Stateless societies absolutely have existed. The state had to arise at some point. Foraging and horticultural groups are examples of this but neither can sustain our current human population so no they are not practical in the way you are asking. There were also attempts at utopian communism that were internally stateless but ultimately subject to the whims of whatever state they resided in so their status as stateless is debatable. You won’t find a largescale stateless society in the modern era primarily because it would make them incredibly vulnerable. Proposing, hypothetically, you eliminate class within a large industrialized society and therefore internally remove the requirement for a state, that society is still beholden to the global dynamic of imperialism. The state is still required to protect the interests of their society from the contradicting interests of capital abroad. This is why communism must be an international struggle.
I find it interesting the way you put it
What would a stateless society look like in your opinion? Are there any practical examples?
In addition to what @sharkfucker420@lemmy.ml said, statelessness in the context of communism refers to one that has collectivized production and distribution, and in so doing has eliminated class society. Administration remains, but oppressive tools like police fade away as there no longer is a basis for class struggle. The origin of the state, after all, is class society and a need for a ruling class to win class struggles.
I feel like the definition I use for state might be somewhat different than most around here, as I would consider an administration as a state.
Even without class struggle, crimes and abused would still occur how can a copless society (with millions of members) resolve this issues? Local militias? Wouldn’t those be the “police”?
Curious to hear from you
The basis of crime is nearly always economic. In a society where needs are addressed, including mental health, there really isn’t a basis for crime. Administration isn’t really a class, just like managers aren’t a distinct class from any other worker.
Trying to give an actual image of what stateless society will look like is missing the forest for the trees, though, we won’t know exactly what it will look like until we get there. What we do know is the basis of the state is class struggle, and without class struggle there ceases to be a basis for it.
Honestly, it’s very difficult to imagine and while there is plenty of literature on the subject I don’t think any of us can truly say. I personally have not read the literature and for me to speculate on it would do more harm than good I think. The reality of a stateless society seems so far off from my lifetime that discussing how it might look feels like fantasizing to me. My focus has always been on getting to a point where one is possible and studying how to do so as this is far more relevant to my conditions.
Stateless societies absolutely have existed. The state had to arise at some point. Foraging and horticultural groups are examples of this but neither can sustain our current human population so no they are not practical in the way you are asking. There were also attempts at utopian communism that were internally stateless but ultimately subject to the whims of whatever state they resided in so their status as stateless is debatable. You won’t find a largescale stateless society in the modern era primarily because it would make them incredibly vulnerable. Proposing, hypothetically, you eliminate class within a large industrialized society and therefore internally remove the requirement for a state, that society is still beholden to the global dynamic of imperialism. The state is still required to protect the interests of their society from the contradicting interests of capital abroad. This is why communism must be an international struggle.