I'm hoping this doesn't start a fight, I'm just curious what the political orientation is of this community. I grew up in a liberal (in the American sense) family, and I identify now as a socialist, though a lot of the liberalism I grew up in has stuck with me, like interest in LGBTQ and women's rights, environmentalism, etc. Wondering where people here land?
Oh, this is the popular conception of anarchy as a political project, but doesn't really reflect anarchist thought much at all.
Anarchy is the project of volentary, participatory, and minimally coercive government. You can't really have "no government" in any largish group of people. What you can do is structure that government to have the least amount of heirarchy and control with the greatest amount of participation.
Counter to popular conception, this actually means a lot of rules, just rules that everyone has a say in making. The goal will be that the rules serve to protect and promote wellbeing while having the minimum impact onthe choices people have available,
What do you mean by "voluntary government"? Basically a government where anyone can opt out? And by participation, do you mean direct democracy?
There's more to participation than voting. Truly participatory organizations recognize everyone in a community as equal stakeholders in the success of the community, and encourage engagement across all levels of decision making. Think about how you and your friends decide on where to go to dinner, for instance. You probably don't just list some options, have everyone vote, and then go with the majority choice. You discuss why everyone has the preferences they do, listen to their reasons, and do your best to address competing priorities and concerns. You seek consensus through discussion and compromise, and recognize that while everyone has different preferences, you're all interested in and sympathetic to each other's desires. That's a kind of anarchist decision making.