[Noisebridge-discuss] Anarchy Is Not Anti-Structure

[johny radio]

Jake, glad you raised the issue of access-control.

I believe NB can remain open to everyone in the community, yet require
some orientation and approval. Example, why not require people to get
checked out on a table saw before they're allowed to use it? Other
hackerspaces do such things. Approving people could be quick and
simple.

Some feel that any kind of access control at NB is equivalent to
tyranny and hierarchy.

I disagree. Structure does NOT equal hierarchy. Anarchy Is Not Anti-Structure.

Quoting:

'It is very tempting for anarchists to reject most forms of
organization. ...However, the problem with most organizations is how,
not that they are organized. The enemy is not organization, but
hierarchy...“organization, far from creating authority, is the only
cure for it”. ...Lack of formal organization actually tends to create
structures that are contrary to anarchist principles. Just because
these structures are informal, it does not mean that they do not
exist. ...in her essay, “The Tyranny of Structurelessness”, [Jo
Freeman points out that people] who are best connected and most
privileged tend to become part of an informal elite who wield
significant power over others, often without even being conscious of
it.'
http://theanarchistlibrary.org/library/common-cause-ottawa-organized-anarchism-in-the-anti-capitalist-struggle

Perhaps NB members who are anti-structure might just be looking out
for their own self-interest.

As long as rules and process and created by the community, and
enforced by people who's power is checked, rules need not represent
fascism.