“Ah jist shrugged, -- Well, as one anarchist plumber sais tae the other: smash the cistern.”

—  Irvine Welsh, book The Acid House

A conversation between plumbers.
"A Blockage in the System".
The Acid House (1994)

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Irvine Welsh41
Scottish novelist 1958

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Context: No society can last in conditions of anarchy. This is self-evident and I am in full agreement. But my aim is not the establishment of an anarchist society or the total destruction of the state. Here I differ from anarchists. I do not believe that it is possible to destroy the modern state. It is pure imagination to think that some day this power will be overthrown. From a pragmatic standpoint there is no chance of success. Furthermore, I do not believe that anarchist doctrine is the solution to the problem of organization in society and government. I do not think that if anarchism were to succeed we should have a better or more livable society. Hence I am not fighting for the triumph of this doctrine.
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