How revolting are you?

In 1851 Pierre-Joseph Proudhon wrote The General Idea of the Revolution in the Nineteenth Century – a call to action for a better world. One of the oft-quoted passages from the book is as follows.

“To be governed is to be watched, inspected, spied upon, directed, law-driven, numbered, regulated, enrolled, indoctrinated, preached at, controlled, checked, estimated, valued, censured, commanded, by creatures who have neither the right nor the wisdom nor the virtue to do so.

To be governed is to be at every operation, at every transaction noted, registered, counted, taxed, stamped, measured, numbered, assessed, licensed, authorized, admonished, prevented, forbidden, reformed, corrected, punished.

It is, under pretext of public utility, and in the name of the general interest, to be placed under contribution, drilled, fleeced, exploited, monopolized, extorted from, squeezed, hoaxed, robbed; then, at the slightest resistance, the first word of complaint, to be repressed, fined, vilified, harassed, hunted down, abused, clubbed, disarmed, bound, choked, imprisoned, judged, condemned, shot, deported, sacrificed, sold, betrayed; and to crown all, mocked, ridiculed, derided, outraged, dishonoured.

That is government; that is its justice; that is its morality.”

What do you make of the quote? Do you have a revolutionary spirit or do you not mind being subjugated by others? If you have no desire to radically change the world, do you have any compassion for those who do? Could there be a way of meeting people’s needs through groups of people living in different ways, side by side, with some inside authority and some outside?