how did people "keep an eye" on things before there were state agencies?
what stops people from dumping sewage into rivers now?
the responses to these questions (how will society continue to work after some major anarchist change) always include the following themes:
a) you're assuming that things will continue in a particular way (pollution, deforestation).
b) you're assuming that the structures that say they're working for us now, do actually work (sewage goes into rivers all the time now - more because of centralization than is even necessary in some abstract future society of the same basic structure and numbers)
c) you're implying that people are not capable of taking -- or motivated to take -- action themselves for the things that are important. (if people see bad effects from someone's actions then they will act. there will not be any power in the sky that is supposed to be responsible for making change, that can be bought off, or can ignore the problem, etc).
