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I think one of the biggest impediments to the spread of anarchism has always been that it seems too cynical to the majority. They just can't believe that we have spent thousands of years in folly. There has to be a good reason as to why we live under such miserable domination. When people are informed that the reason authoritarianism continues is that systems of domination perpetuate themselves and that they are only defeated when the people have built a revolutionary counter-system, most are overwhelmed by such a historic task. They prefer ignorance.

People within authoritarian societies have become used to the fact that they are just a cog in a machine and that their betters will do the work. It is exhausting to be told that they have a responsibility to make a better world, to act to change conditions in the here and now. Even the right-wingers, who constantly champion rhetoric about "self-responsibility" only really mean a responsibility to serve the machine. They want nothing to do with any larger transformative project. Meanwhile, the liberals languish in establishment progressivist narratives.

I think this is why anarchism thrives when conditions get very bad and authoritarianism is faltering. The only answer that makes sense to many people is one that appears cynical. This is also, I think, what leads many to adopt a purely deconstructive anarchism at first. Many come to anarchism out of a mentality of attack, of opposition, of contrast. However, in doing so, they still lack an understanding of the positive, constructive aspect of anarchism which truly gives it life.

All the things I said above are why I try to focus my time on both the deconstructive AND constructive aspects of anarchism. To not only engender indignation, but to motivate people toward the tasks which would materially embody their dignity.