This is one of the funnier junctions of belief between left-anarchists and neoliberals

My favorite argument here is OSHA. Many people who work in industrial settings hate extra safety features/wearing PPE/following safety codes, but grudgingly follow the law. The state can make people do things they don't want to do, but that are ultimately better for everyone long term.

I am not by any means making an absolutist argument. We’re going to need to do a much better job in the critical areas of state assistance/investment in response/recovery. It’s the policing (in every sense) of local efforts & priorities that can be problematic.

This book has always bugged the hell out of me—maybe because Solnit isn’t any kind of sociologist—but I could never source any effective counters when arguing with people about it because it thesis feels intuitively (if not experientially) true.

The common unifying feature is a refusal to believe that the State can be used for good, which is ironically always justified by the deeply circular argument of pointing to when it isn't and saying "this always happens"

look man, mutual aid JUST WORKS, ok???

Joyfully waiting for the mob to finish looting so they can work on fixing the power lines

On my way to cherry pick disasters because they fit my politics