On Thu, Nov 21, 2002 at 04:20:29AM -0800, Jimmy Wales wrote:
In what sense do you refer to yourself as an "anarchist"? I think it's important to get beyond the political meaning of the term, which some people have some affinity for, and recognize that Larry means it in a specific sense.
In the sense that I have read the standard works by Berkman, Proudhon, and similar, and am in agreement with them. Not in the other sense of nihilist "I can do whatever I want, let's go blow some stuff up, yay!" I read Ayn Rand and Adam Smith before reading any anarchist writings, so I don't think I was uninformed or deluded when making up my mind as to which philosophy I sympathized with.
Basically, I think that Larry's concerns are way overstated. All of the things he said we needed were already in place.
As long as you are here to enforce the banning policy you just posted, I am happy with the status quo as it is. It really can take a while sometimes to figure out if someone is sincerely trying to work with us, or just yanking our chain.
Thank you for your time and patience working on the Wikipedia, Jimmy.
Jonathan