Is Julian Assange an Anarchist?

[MineralMan]

Here's what the Nihilo Zero blog has to say about that:

http://nihilo0.blogspot.com/2010/12/wikileaks-julian-assange-modern.html

"But now... in the headlines of all the world's newspapers, on the lips of all the television pundits, all over the internet, and in the running for Time magazine's "Person of the Year," we have Julian Assange. One may argue about whether or not he precisely fits into the definition of what an anarchist is, and some dyed-in-the-wool anarchists will perhaps turn up their noses at the suggestion, but Julian Assange is engaged in anarchist acts and has presented governments around the world with damning attacks against their credibility and legitimacy.

He is one of the founders, and the public face, of Wikileaks (which publicly leaks damning internal documents from governments and corporations from around the world). With that tool he has thereby presented one of the biggest contemporary challenges to the continuation of state power. In theory, by the nature and design of the Wikileaks project, no national authorities with any degree of power are safe from exposure and subsequent public scrutiny. If that isn't a threat to corporatism and centralized governing power... nothing is. And while that alone isn't enough to make Assange an anarchist, the Wikileaks organization is intentionally designed to exist outside, and in spite of, the control of all nation states. Furthermore, in his own words, "leaking is basically an anarchist act." His organization, and his personal actions, are overtly in support of anarchist acts! At the very least... his tireless devotion to freedom of speech, and his intense scrutiny of governing bodies, is anarchistic at its core -- because most modern governments and major corporations could arguably not exist if people were fully aware of what the leaders of those institutions were actually doing."

More at link -
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Now, we can have a discussion about the nature of anarchy and it's suitability for the world, but it appears that Assange, himself, recognizes his actions as anarchistic. The blog article is well-written, from a perspective that considers anarchism to be a valid thing. It's worth reading in full.

If, indeed, Assange is an anarchist, does that affect your view of his actions with regard to Wikileaks?

My own opinion is that anarchy is fairly useless in the 21st century. The population is too large and the problems are too large as well for non-government to lead to anything but utter chaos and suffering. Please see my disclaimer in the signature line of this post.