Anarchism in V for Vendetta

For a long time, there has been much debate about the right way to construct an anarchist society. Allan Moore’s point of view was expressed in his graphic novel V for Vendetta, in which a secret man attempts to topple fascists in England (Laliberte, 2015 p 16). Nonetheless, many people overlook one fact about anarchy: it is not possible. The aim of this paper is to explain many problems that arise in an anarchist society. It also explains that there can’t be any upheaval.
In V for Vendetta, a masked terrorist, the protagonist, aims to depose the fascist leadership in post-WWII England and replace it with anarchy (Laliberte, 2015 p 27). The protagonist plans to free individuals from the bonds of the society and allow them to be in control of themselves. A lot has been argued regarding this narrative as an account on the administration of Thatcher, and even though the commentaries are exceptional, they all disregard one major challenge with the ideals of Moore; sustainable anarchism in society, which is impossible.
In his novel, Moore depicts an image of pure and true nature of anarchy. Disorder had just exploded following the destruction of the government by V. Evey even inquired to know whether all the uproar and riot was anarchy. In his reply, V states that anarchy means the absence of leaders and not lack of order. Alongside anarchy comes a period of original order which is spontaneous order. In this small section, the author presents what he thinks anarchy is when individuals practice integrity because it is what they want. According to Moore, anarchy begins with chaos which eventually paves the way for spontaneous order and peace.
Theoretically, anarchy seems like an incredible idea. Everyone is left to act as they wish and happiness is all over. It also encourages a strong sense of self-esteem, which many people prefer. As pointed out by Ashanti Alston, an ex-member of Black Panther Party, an anarchist, anarchism assists one to recognize their self-worth and gain respect without being belittled (Laliberte, 2015 p 32). The idea of self-esteem and freedom is appealing to people. Hence anarchy is naturally appealing to people. Nevertheless, it is not possible to preserve anarchism.
The full concept of anarchy has to do with the belief that people will voluntarily become orderly citizens, or as put by V, there will be voluntary order. Nonetheless, it is not natural for people to spontaneously become good. The nature of humanity in evil and people need to be governed by rules. As pointed out by Laliberte (2015 p 16), morality is mainly bothered with guiding human beings. A state controls human beings via its rules and regulations. For instance, the natural tendency of a businessperson is to increase profits. Hence, the businessman’s wish is to offer to his employees in the smallest way possible to reduce the production cost. Nevertheless, the state introduces laws such as child labour and minimum wages to control the business owner’s greed nature. In a society with anarchism, the government would be eliminated. If the state is removed, no form of control would be left to control human beings. Based on this line of reasoning, in the absence of power over human
Despite the possibility of preserving morality within a society with anarchy, it would still be impossible to maintain disorder. The entire aim of the state is to safeguard its people, and within lawlessness, a government does not exist, which implies that no protection would be available. Even though people in the society have morals always, and may not require being protected from within, they will need to be safeguarded from other organizations.
Other nations will perceive anarchies as vulnerable and weak and plan to defeat them. The government supports and funds the army to protect its people, but in disorder, a state does not exist and hence, nor army. Consequently, it would be easy to conquer an anarchist society.
As explained earlier, a majority of people think that the idea of anarchy is an incredible, and that flaws only appear in practice. Nonetheless, if a process developed for people cannot stand due to human characteristics, then the theory or idea, of the process is defective and not merely the practice of the process. This reasoning is highlighted when discussing the challenges of anarchy. For instance, if a social process cannot function practically, then it cannot also perform in theory. If the method is not applicable in practice, it is because based on the structure of argument, it does not explain what it signifies to describe, namely the systems of social systems. The discussion about challenges of anarchy further explains that the primary difficulty with the concept of anarchy indicates that the idea contradicts itself. In the debate, it is pointed out that where there is a process in place aimed to handle those who fail to obey the law, there is a government. The state may be a small, one which is appealing to anarchists, but it still a form of government.
Simply speaking, in a community where the system is anarchy, people still need to follow a process. Anarchy depends on individuals being satisfied with governing themselves and contravenes on a member’s desire to lead. Accordingly, even the whole society of anarchy would not manage to be entirely state-free. In spite being a flawed and impossible hypothesis, people have previously attempted to develop anarchist societies. One of the most significant attempts to form anarchy includes the Black Panther Party.
As indicated previously by Ashanti Alston, anarchism attracted people by promising them respect and freedom that was believed to have resulted from liberty. However, due to the evil, greedy nature of humans, the organization did not successfully form anarchy. It is recalled that members challenged police officers in Oakland and received support; however, finally they were eliminated by the centralized state. All people involved were captured, and their actions made headlines in all forms of media across the world. Despite their becoming famous, they made a strong enemy in the name of Edgar Hoover, an FBI agent (Laliberte, 2015 p 32). Hoover immediately termed them as the most dangerous group in America, following which he released the FBI’s full authority to destroy them.
The Black Party showed that even though anarchy had a strong support of members of its group, the opposing state had a stronger centralized government. There are numerous illustrations of when ideas seem reasonable. However, they are not practical. Anarchy constitutes one of these examples. It would be better if people would just leave in peace and assist each other with no need for control from the government. However it merely impossible. Humans are naturally evil and greedy and require enforcement and law. In the absence of government there would be no order.
Alan Moore prompts his readers throughout his explicit book, to examine both anarchism and fascism to ascertain their perfect society. Using particular focus to detail, Moore writes a story that focuses on his principal character, V. He provokes the audience to question the morality of V. He tactfully combines plot choices, typical style, intricate focus to graphic detail and, the social narrative to achieve this goal. V for Vendetta functions as a standard description of England during the 20th century (Laliberte, 2015 p 33).
This graphic symbolism assists the audience in observing the impact of anarchy. The remainder of the book has the same imagery that enables the analyzation of critical concepts in the book. The graphics technique of this story could be categorized as a constituent of the superhero class. Much of the story-telling is conveyed via six panels on one page. This novel’s colours are bland and dark, however, vary during crucial scenes. The minimal use of colouring in the story results in a darker tone in the book. Some scenes do not adopt this pattern, becoming more significant.
Anarchy or lack of governance and how it relates to freedom constitutes a key theme in the novel. Besides the author, V also describes himself as an anarchist. According to V, the entire government leadership is corrupt because its leaders do not respect the freedom of human beings. It is evident from the beginning that the non-existent government of Norse fire in England is responsible for denying liberty to people in England. One can observe some of the techniques applied by Norse fire to deny reading rights to the people, jailing individuals due to their skin colour or sexual orientation and killing older adults by sending them to gas chambers. These actions precisely correspond to the name given to the system of radio used by Norse fire, “Voice of Fate.”(Moore, 2016 p 97) Evey, another key character in the book supports V in despising the government of Norse fire. Thought the novel, it becomes more evident that the author supports the ”freedom from,” type of freedom. Releasing people from their slavery to the government is not enough, and it becomes clear when V closes government facilities for three days, following which bloody enormous riots erupt across England. V maintains that genuine freedom requires hard work. According to him, people need to be freed from not only jails within their governments, but also the prisons in their minds as well. This situation describes why V is persistently learning, studying and reading. More upsettingly, it assists the reader to comprehend why V captures Evey and makes her suffer for some time. It V aims to liberate Evey from her weaknesses of happiness and desire. According to V, happiness constitutes the most secret prison of all.
Through this graphic book, Alan Moore prompts his readers to examine authority and power in the society. He compares anarchy and fascism by use of metaphorical terms for the various institutions that govern the community. The reader is made to question the kind of world they choose to live. Using academic references, Moore defines a world where one uncertain person is in control and fights the government.
This authoritative work of graphic literature conveys a story that motivates individuals to fight for their rights, as they consider the outcomes of their actions. V informs the reader that to achieve independence and freedom, first comes damage and finally chaos. As the novel ends, people are left to judge if his decisions were right. By ascertaining their views of V, people can realize their own beliefs that affect their status in the society.
Works Cited
Moore, Alan. V for Vendetta. Marblehead, Vertigo, 2016.
Laliberte, Bryce. ”The Problem with Anarchy.“ Amtheomusings. 12 May 2012. Web. 23 April 2015.