literacy is state-enforced ableism¶

In light of recent "literacy is state-enforced ableism" discourse, I'd like to point out that the entire philosophy of anarchism has an ableism problem.

Like it or not, a large segment of the disabled population relies on services that are best served by states. And it's not just people who have a disability. It's also elder care, emergency services, transport, food, communication, education, etc. These are all forms of infrastructure, which shouldn't be handled on an individual level, because many people can't easily do these things. And you may say "Oh, that can be handled on a community level!"

But picture this: a community in an area prone to drought is now left at a disadvantage, because they need to invest more into water management. How about a community with a higher rate of disabilities? There are a million structural issues that face societies. Some can be solved easily by communities. Some are harder, but manageable. Some are impossible.

In these harder situations, communities with greater needs should not be left to fend for themselves. The goal of properly-constructed states should be to address inequities. Not just the inequities imposed by the societies previously in power, but also natural inequities: geography, demographics, natural disasters, bad luck, mistakes, and more. Hierarchies are not inherently evil. When used improperly, as they often are, they involve the confiscation of the resources of the many to serve the few. But when done correctly, they are necessary for rallying mass amounts of surplus resources for the benefit of everyone.