Abuse by the Night-Watchman

Minarchist Councilism Mini-Manifesto 

What we are witnessing in this country is a police riot. A police riot is a riot carried out by the police; a riot that the police are responsible for instigating, escalating or sustaining as a violent confrontation; an event characterized by widespread police brutality; a mass police action that is violently undertaken against civilians for the purpose of political repression. The term "police riot" was popularized after its use in the Walker Report, which investigated the events at the 1968 Democratic National Convention in Chicago to describe the "unrestrained and indiscriminate" violence that the police "inflicted upon persons who had broken no law, disobeyed no order, made no threat." The night-watchman State has thus been militarized by neofascists. 

So what then does policing policy mean to the minarcho-councilist night-watchman? The notion of “policy” presumes a state or governing apparatus which imposes its will on others. “Policy” is the negation of politics; policy is by definition something concocted by some form of elite, which presumes it knows better than others how their affairs are to be conducted. By participating in policy debates the very best one can achieve is to limit the damage, since the very premise is inimical to the idea of people managing their own affairs.

However, when one assumes the mantle of libertarian Municipalism, it is by means of city-level direct democracy that we arrive at a minarchist “policy.” For these reasons, give me minarchism. Some things will always be subject to political consensus, but let's limit those to the few that are absolutely necessary. That isn't a clear line but a constantly shifting border that will always have to be negotiated. But one clear benefit of decentralized minimal government over anarchy is that it swaps out bullshitting contests about first principles for a conversation that most of us are already having, which is where and when to draw the boundary of governmental control over us.

Libertarian-minded people can choose to be principled and effective, by constantly pushing for more freedom in discussions about public policy and by advocating and living out the general social attitudes that go along with such beliefs— pluralism, optimism, skepticism toward public and private concentrations of power, etc. Or we can choose to dither onward philosophizing by spending our energy pretending to be anarchists. I know the direction in which I'm walking even if I don't yet know my final destination. See you when I see you, comrades. 

This is not to say that the minarchists should not be friends with the anarchists. The main concern for anarchists will be that the structure of an anarchist federation, or the minimalist government if you prefer to call it that, should always be democratically controlled from below, and officials should be subject to recall by their constituents.

We see African Americans putting themselves at the frontline of this movement, leading the revolution and suffering for it disproportionately. We are witnessing multiple crisis points. We are living through a pandemic not seen since 1918  with depression era economic impact not seen since the 1930s, when government provides a pittance to its people and yet they have money to militarize the police. All while we witness an uprising unmatched since 1968. 

Black people are being brutalized by a pandemic that disproportionately affects them, a depression that disproportionately affects them. And on top of that the police are murdering people. This society is fed up. Of course it is being set fire to after centuries of brutal imperialism, colonialism, and white supremacy. These are multiple crisis points of American capitalism, imperialism, and colonialism. 

Fascism is indeed capitalism in decay. The neofasist right wing will not and cannot discern between us. They will not discern between a liberal and a communist, a progressive and an anarchist, somebody who disagrees with Trump and antifa, a black person or a black revolutionary. It is open season on everyone, and thus the only formation that is possible in this scenario is a popular front. We need everyone to give up their petty sectarian differences they may have in order to have each other’s back in this moment of utter crisis and collapse as well as uprising and revolution. 

The night-watchman has been hijacked in dictation by the capitalists and must be re-dictated by a minarchist federation of multi-ethnic labor. Minarcho-councilism is the answer. We must rehabilitate the night-watchman in line with a mission of peacekeeping which comprises of activities intended to create conditions that favor lasting peace. 

Four Policies of Rehabilitation: 

1. End Qualified Immunity 
2. Demilitarize the Police 
3. Zero Tolerance for Brutality 
4. Institution of Peacebuilders