Borders are an incredibly impractical solution to a few practical problems (and, of course, many made-up ones). For ecologists focused on invasive species management, this leads to a specific doubt for anarchist systems. Namely; how would they deal with invasive species and regional checkpoints for their introduction? Here is a simple example
Imagine you live in an anarchist society. You are on a ship traveling from the Caribbean to a port in what we would now call South Alabama. You make landfall. You arent in a hurry, because there is no boss breathing down your neck. You are here to deliver things that dont exist in the area you are going; certain fruits, certain woods and clay goods, maybe some medical supplies based on your regions specific plants and the pharmacopeia that springs from them. You want some stuff too to bring back, and you want to hangout and enjoy the place you just got to.
Someone who loves where they live and loves what they get from the outside comes to your crew. They say “can i check yalls cargo for invasive species?” You have no reason to say no. So they come through and check. Maybe yall end up chilling at their house later and stuff. They found some invasive species seeds in the packing material you used for the pottery. They tell you that it’s probably best to burn the packing material and that they have a space to do it. Maybe, worst case scenario, they cant accept some of your goods because it would be too big of a risk. Thats chill. You dont need to worry about turning a profit. So you give them what yall both think is safe. You take the other stuff back, or maybe even destroy it because you really need the cargo space to take some things back home for whatever reason. That wastes some labor hours and means some needs aren’t met. But you’ve learned from the experience and you take that knowledge home. That experience and what you tell folks helps ensure y’all and others from your home don’t make the same mistakes. You are more careful. The problem gets better over time.
Lets say something slips through the cracks. There are teams of people in the area who love to do their best to fix that stuff. They spend the next few years spending a relatively small amount of time finding what slipped through and removing it.
Worst, worst case, they spend decades with teams removing it, and making sure folks coming from your area really get how big of a deal that is. People come from there to your home ports and cooperative production places to help make sure that it doesn’t happen again. Things get easier and better over time. Y’all’s trust and ability to work together and provide for each other improves. This builds trust and lets you all respond even better to the next crisis.
