--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: A rational anarchist believes that…" description: "\"“A rational anarchist believes that concepts such as ‘state’ and ‘society’ and ‘government’ have no existence save as physically exemplified in the act..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/57b/robert-a-heinlein-209_anarchist_a-rational-anarchist-believes-that-conce_2272951.jpg" --- # A rational anarchist believes that concepts such as… ![“A rational anarchist believes that concepts such as ‘state’ and ‘society’ and ‘government’ have no existence save as physically exemplified in the acts of self-responsible individuals. He believes that it is impossible to shift blame, share blame, distribute blame… as blame, guilt, responsibility…” quote by Robert A. Heinlein](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/57b/robert-a-heinlein-209_anarchist_a-rational-anarchist-believes-that-conce_2272951.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/57b/robert-a-heinlein-209_anarchist_a-rational-anarchist-believes-that-conce_2272951.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/57b/robert-a-heinlein-209_anarchist_a-rational-anarchist-believes-that-conce_2272951.jpg) > ““A rational anarchist believes that concepts such as ‘state’ and ‘society’ and ‘government’ have no existence save as physically exemplified in the acts of self-responsible individuals. He believes that it is impossible to shift blame, share blame, distribute blame… as blame, guilt, responsibility are matters taking place inside human beings singly and nowhere else. But being rational, he knows that not all individuals hold his evaluations, so he tries to live perfectly in an imperfect world…aware that his effort will be less than perfect yet undismayed by self-knowledge of self-failure. \[...\] “My point is that one person is responsible. Always. \[...\] In terms of morals there is no such thing as ‘state.’ Just men. Individuals. Each responsible for his own acts.”” [Robert A. Heinlein](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-a-heinlein/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. A rational anarchist sees state and society as constructs that exist only through individuals' actions; moral responsibility rests on each person alone. **In simple terms:** Responsibility lies with the individual, not institutions. Key Takeaway Act responsibly, regardless of imperfect surroundings. Themes anarchism individualism responsibility morality political philosophy Mood reflective critical philosophical Type aphilosophical political ethical When to use this quote - political activism - community organizing - personal decision‑making - ethical debates Key Concepts social contract ethical agency self‑governance Questions to Reflect On - How do you balance personal responsibility with societal expectations? - Can collective action exist without shared blame? 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Shift the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/yasmin-mogahed/this-world-isn-t-perfect-that-means-it-isn-t-perfectly-good-but-it/) [Yasmin Mogahed](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/yasmin-mogahed/) > [Perfection doesn't exist in this imperfect world.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/vikrant-parsai/perfection-doesn-t-exist-in-this-imperfect-world/) [Vikrant Parsai](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/vikrant-parsai/) ## More by Robert A. Heinlein > [Social responsibility above the level of family, or at most of tribe, requires imagination-- devotion, loyalty, all the higher virtues -- which a man…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-a-heinlein/social-responsibility-above-the-level-of-family-or-at-most-of-tribe/) [Robert A. Heinlein](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-a-heinlein/) > [My folks tried to make a preacher of me and missed by a narrow margin… I would have made a good one if I…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-a-heinlein/my-folks-tried-to-make-a-preacher-of-me-and-missed-by-a-narrow-margin/) [Robert A. Heinlein](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-a-heinlein/) > [Ninety percent of all human wisdom is the ability to mind your own business.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-a-heinlein/ninety-percent-of-all-human-wisdom-is-the-ability-to-mind-your-own/) [Robert A. Heinlein](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-a-heinlein/) > [If we blow ourselves up we will do it by misapplication of science; if we manage to keep from blowing ourselves up, it will…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-a-heinlein/if-we-blow-ourselves-up-we-will-do-it-by-misapplication-of-science-if/) [Robert A. 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Heinlein](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-a-heinlein/) > [“I tried to dig out of the computer a call directory for Luna. But it was still sulking. I could not get it to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-a-heinlein/i-tried-to-dig-out-of-the-computer-a-call-directory-for-luna-but-it/) [Robert A. Heinlein](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-a-heinlein/) > [“this has more aspects than a cat has hair.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-a-heinlein/this-has-more-aspects-than-a-cat-has-hair/) [Robert A. Heinlein](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-a-heinlein/) > [Never own more than you can carry in both hands at a dead run.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-a-heinlein/never-own-more-than-you-can-carry-in-both-hands-at-a-dead-run/) [Robert A. Heinlein](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-a-heinlein/) > [“In Wilson's scale of evaluations breakfast rated just after life itself and ahead of the chance of immortality." ~ By His Bootstraps / Robert A. 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Anarchism, in my mind, meant taking democracy seriously and organizing prefiguratively- that is, in a way that…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/andrej-gruba-i/i-became-an-anarchist-very-early-on-anarchism-in-my-mind-meant-taking/) [Andrej Grubačić](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/andrej-gruba-i/) [Browse all 408 Anarchist quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/anarchist/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "“A rational anarchist believes that concepts such as ‘state’ and ‘society’ and ‘government’ have no existence save as physically exemplified in the acts of self-responsible individuals. He believes that it is impossible to shift blame, share blame, distribute blame… as blame, guilt, responsibility are matters taking place inside human beings singly and nowhere else. But being rational, he knows that not all individuals hold his evaluations, so he tries to live perfectly in an imperfect world…aware that his effort will be less than perfect yet undismayed by self-knowledge of self-failure. [...] “My point is that one person is responsible. Always. [...] In terms of morals there is no such thing as ‘state.’ Just men. Individuals. Each responsible for his own acts.”", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Robert A. 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