“Enlightened Anarchy”–Daily Metta

October 29:

“If national life becomes so perfect as to become self-regulated, no representation becomes necessary.”

–Gandhi (Young India, July 2, 1931)

Gandhi’s ideal political system? Two words: Enlightened anarchy. (If you are like me, you will need a minute to take that in. But hold on to your seat, because it gets better…) It really shouldn’t be too big of a surprise to us, though, if you think about his insistence upon swaraj, or freedom. When he talked about it, he was talking about more than just freedom from the British Raj through self-sufficiency and economic independence; he was talking about a society where each person had enough discrimination, nonviolent discipline and self-restraint to be able to look as deeply inward at themselves as they look out to the world in which they wish to live. He puts it this way: “In such a state, every one is his or her own ruler,” and then he goes on to say, “In the ideal State, therefore, there is no political power because there is no State.” This is getting good. And then he adds, just to whet our appetites even more, that in such a state where “the power is generated from within” there wouldn’t be any need for police and military. I’m in. But then he comes back to Earth a bit and reminds us that this kind of a state is an ideal, like perfect ahimsa. As with ideals, all we can do is strive toward them and that struggle is worth every ounce of energy we give it. The way forward then? Develop the mindset of personal swaraj; in other words, develop these qualities within ourselves. As we often say around the Metta Center, nonviolence or “the revolution” is not about putting the right kind of person in power, it’s about awakening the right kind of power in people. Like you and me.

Experiment in Nonviolence:
What is your most ideal vision of the State? How does it overlap with Gandhi’s vision?