How would dissenters be dealt with in anarchy?

Question

I'm aware of the Stalinist overtones here. What I mean is, if hypothetically we liberated a large area (say an entire nation state) and turned it into an anarchy, how would we deal with those who did not want anarchy? How would we deal with those who attempted to set up hierarchical groups?

The common argument from anarchists seems to be that anarchists would hope these people would relocate, which they may well not want to do. at which point they would presumably be coercively ejected. This implies that anarchists are OK with some forms of coercion. Is this correct? or is there a better solution to the above form of problem?

(Also, greetings from the UK and thanks for having me :-)

Comments

this question highlights one of the biggest reasons why i think large-scale/mass society is not possible in a more free - let alone anarchic - world.

Answer 1

welcome to the site.

there are many questions on this site that discuss how anarchists would deal with various kinds of disagreeable behaviors. this question seems like another version of that to me.
the answer for me continues to be that different anarchists would deal with it differently.
some people would fight it out physically, some would use other sorts of coercion.

i expect people to be quite mean to each other (as well as quite nice) in some hypothetical anarchist space. the relevant change would be the lack of state and capitalism, not how "golden rule-y" everyone is(n't).

(ps: i don't know why you use the term "nation state" to express a landscape or geographical area, when those borders would not be respected or acknowledged by either the people in the anarchist territory nor those outside of it -- ie that territory would be attacked as if it had no sovereignty, regardless of what the inhabitants wanted.  but perhaps you just meant "a big space" -- even though there are small nations as well as large ones... whatever).