isnt democracy a voluntary form of government and therfore another form of anarchism

Question

I have read a few books on anarchism and i have seen that its more about voluntarism than the lack of government so wouldn't a democracy be voluntary government? here in the US we could vote to eliminate the government isnt democracy just organized anarchism?

Comments

Considering you just used the word "voluntarism" it's possible you may have been reading "anarcho-capitalist" literature rather than books written by actual anarchists, which would explain your confusion. Is this the case?

Answer 1

Anarchism /is/ about a lack of government, but more importantly it is about a lack of being controlled by institutions, economic forces, and people who should have no say in your life (hence why anarchist are also against capitalism, the church, etc). Therefore any form of governmental control is out of the equation. This includes institutions 'where people are in control of other people' (as another user defined democracy.)

And if we could opt out of being governed, it is was truly a voluntary system, it wouldn't be a government, it would be an advising body, with no ability to enforce its ideas without undermining its essential voluntary-ness. Such a system would be a waste of resources for all involved.

Answer 2

not sure what on earth you've been reading that says that anarchy is not about a lack of government. the two basic tenets of anarchism are a) no government, b) no capitalism.
we now usually include other things along with government, like hierarchy and/or authoritarianism... but "no government" is basic.
also, there are many questions and answers here on democracy. so perhaps you could search for that topic and see what you find.
like here
http://anarchy101.org/114/what-is-the-anarchist-problem-with-democracy#q114
and here
http://anarchy101.org/3511/how-is-a-direct-democracy-not-a-type-of-state

Answer 3

"Democratic government" is not democratic or voluntary, "democracy" isn't all it's cracked up to be, and no you cannot vote away things like the military-industrial complex and the CIA. There is no "consent of the governed".

Answer 4

Democracy is closer to anarchy than a republic in which most govenments considered to be democracies.   Democracy would actually be where people are in control of people rather than by a government.   

Yet democracy is an either or approach, yeah or nay, by which the majority's will is forced on the minority.   Maybe there could be a pluracracy where more options are allowed and more choices available to a population.