In a discussion concerning the prospects for crowdsourcing elements of government,  someone mentioned that it might lead to anarchy. Yeah, so what? In that discussion and too often, anarchy is oddly used pejoratively. That's a huge mistake. Remember, anarchy is simply the absence of political authority. Anarchy is a form of  direct democracy and libertarianism. Anarchy as a pejorative is ignorant.

Anarchy is pervasive, an essential property of prosperity. For example, the government doesn't tell you what car to buy or what shoes to wear. If you drive a Ferrari in Ferragamos or walk around barefoot that's your own damn business. For cars and shoes there is anarchy - absence of political authority.

What? You mean there is no publically recognized political authority to tell us what cars and shoes to drive and wear? Gasp! What will we do?!?

In 1978 Jimmy Carter created the US Dept of Education. It was a disgusting payoff to teachers unions for electing the worst president in modern history. In 30 years the Dept of Education has led the comprehensive failure of the American education system. Virtually everything they touch leads to abject failure, collapse and grief.

Since 1978, the USA has fallen to near the bottom of the worldwide list in most all educational categories. From their vulture roost in Washington the cloying US Dept. of Education oversees the complete decay of primary and secondary education in the USA.

The exception is top/elite/private universities. It’s where the US Dept. of Education tentacles don't reach.

Education is one major area that has proven the extraordinary  benefits of anarchy. In 1901 there were 40,000 schools districts in the USA. in 2011 there are 14,000. That sucks. The high school grad rate in parts of the LA Unified School District hovers around 30%. Political authority and monopoly of US education is an abject failure of civil society; it’s a human tragedy of the highest order, a soft genocide.

C’mon, in an era where Johnny in Chicago is being tutored online in trigonometry by Rameesh in Bangalore there is simply no need for a rigid, central, hyper-political education authority.

Educational authority originates from parents, communities, localities, etc. Education authority is NOT vested in pot-bellied career bureaucrats in Washington DC. It is NOT the role of some unctuous teachers union president raking-in $400k a year off hardworking teacher's dues.

Look, the central US govt does not set the curricula at Berkeley, Notre Dame or Cornell. Guess what? It is the best higher education system in the world. Why? No central political authority. Double-gasp! Anarchy in the US university systems? Yes, Virginia. Works great, too, thank you very much.

Obama, propelled by vulgar unions, wants to increase the Dept of Education budget 10% in 2011. Education inhabits a sick, Byzantine and demented world that would embarrass Franz Kafka.

Other major areas of govt would benefit from anarchy and crowdsourcing. Take the Department of the Interior. It was founded when Zachary Taylor was president. Good grief.

In the 21st Century there are no reasons whatsoever career bureaucrats in Washington need to 'manage' 20% of the USA land mass. The 'Department of the Inferior' needs to be closed and fumigated just like the US Dept. of Education. There are dozens of others…

Anarchistic systems, whether for cars, shoes, or PhDs, thrive and prosper without overbearing political governance and authority. Anarchy is essential to well-being, liberty and prosperity,  If crowdsourcing returns authority to where it belongs, then it is a positive step.