It's interesting how whenever lawlessness leads to violence and chaos somewhere in the world, journalists are quick to label the state of affairs "anarchy." But when government authority all but vanished in parts of Egypt last weekend, nobody called it anarchy. This is because people came together, as communities, neighbors — as Egyptians — and provided for their own needs. So far, we see that ordinary people have organized security, sanitation, emergency health care, and communications without government. I suspect in coming days we'll hear stories about how neighbors have organized food distribution and other public services. In a word: anarchy.
Here's a great report on what can happen in the absence of government authority.
No mention of anarchy there. But look how Examiner.com depicts "Anarchy in Egypt" — it's police cracking down on demonstrators. What part of that is "anarchy," exactly?
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