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spires
spires aka James is a 31.46 year old boy, has been a member since May 13, 2006, has scored 5,325 submissions, giving an average score of 2.58, helping 175 designs get printed.
Alumni Club Member
AIM: spires1776
Flag, Updated 2011 version:


Shirt, Updated 2011 version:






Here is a rundown of elements:

The split black/color theme is a long time symbol of anarchy, with the color representing the root, or obversely, the intent of anarchy. The line travels upwards and rightwards, meaning economic growth, and a preference for western norms.

The textile/damask pattern ican be seen as symbol of bourgeois prosperity. It was possible after the industrial revolution, for the masses to afford opulent beauty that kings were only able to afford beforehand. It also represents decentralization and the division of labor.

Color gold is a symbol of the gold standard, under which no central authority can rule by means of fiat currency, leading to general peace and prosperity.

Color black represents complete independence, and danger for trespass.

Sea Green is an old color of classical liberalism.

Amaranth is a symbol of the everlasting; in this case, the desire for liberty in the human spirit never dies.

The snake is a symbol of individuality. The phrase "Don't tread on me" comes to mind. The implicit message is that an infringement of my rights will lead to just retribution.

The sun has been seen as a symbol of wisdom and intelligence, and a sunflower growing from gold bars, seems a nice way of expressing how society flourishes from reason, and sound money.

White normally means surrender, but against black, white becomes a symbol for 'only in death do we surrender', 'or live free or die' -- sort of like the pirate's flag.

"Sic semper tyrannis" means "Thus always for tyrants" and is what rebels have historically yelled while killing despots.

The deliberate asymmetry is appropriate because symmetry is a symbol of power generally, and in an anarcho-capitalist society, all power is decentralized.

There is nothing to signify unity or economic class struggle in this flag, or the glory of war or anything signifying state power. The class struggle here is between the thief and the avenged victim; the crook and the honest producer, the politician and the property owner.

Also, one should never have currency signs like "$" to represent capitalism, because the gold standard is universal and transcends national identities and currencies, which are not legitimate, natural market entities.

--

Teal/white anarcho-aesthetic variants :





This version of the anarchist flag represents the designer’s vision. The choice of using bright green-teal as the color to represent the flavor of anarchy, intends an artistic & process-centered, yet still artificial, designed approach to products married to an organic approach to social dynamics. The bright green teal color, being a product of technology, is not well represented in nature — but oddly, its basic green and blue components are naturally ubiquitous. This balanced hybrid between natural and man-made represents to me, the apex of anarchic thought: technology married to aesthetic design is the unity, strength and future of anarchism.

This approach considers product and process equally important. Contra Austrian theory, profit only is not sufficient proof of value, but earnings through beautifully designed and manufactured products ― socially eliminating any profitable but destructive “race to the bottom.” An artist/entrepreneur can succeed in business and drive human progress through superior products at the same time. He doesn’t strive for profitable parity by leveraging the status quo ― he beats the competition with disruptive, astonishing and obvious superiority. This puts not gold or capital, but vision, social cooperation, sustainability, labor, and skill, at the center of liberty.

Creating structures that reward responsible creative genius is critical for marketing liberty. Previous factors obtain: A black/color split is a longstanding symbol of anarchy, representing the root, or obversely, the intent of the anarchy with a primary color. The main line travels upwards and rightwards, establishing prosperity, and a preference for western norms. The textile/damask pattern can be seen as symbol of general prosperity. It was possible after the industrial revolution, for the masses to afford opulent beauty that kings were only able to afford beforehand.

Black represents independence, and danger for trespass. White normally means surrender, but against black, white becomes a symbol for “only in death do we surrender”, or “live free or die”, inspired here by the pirate flag’s skull and crossbones’ symbolic gravity.The snake is a symbol of individuality. Usually coupled with “Don't tread on me” implies that an infringement of my rights will lead to just retribution.

“Sic semper tyrannis” means “Thus always for tyrants” ― the freeman’s historic battle cry while watering the tree of liberty. The sun has been seen as a symbol of wisdom, and a sunflower growing from gold bars, is a way of expressing how society flourishes from accurate perception, natural organization and sound money.
The asymmetry in the design is deliberate and appropriate because symmetry is a symbol of power generally. In a free society, power is largely kept in check through decentralization. I have strived to remove any element from the design that glorifies war, nationalism or state power.
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HiiHills
HiiHills on Sep 25 '07 at 11:19am
this came out beautifully my sweet
spires
   spires on Sep 25 '07 at 12:09pm
thanks derz. It's obviously a hit with the threadless crowd! :/
spacesick 2
spacesick 2 on Sep 25 '07 at 12:12pm
go back to your own country! lwlz
FireOfHeaven
FireOfHeaven on Sep 25 '07 at 12:18pm




What about this one?



Available at Adbusters.Org
FireOfHeaven
FireOfHeaven on Sep 25 '07 at 12:19pm
woops. sorry so huge!
spires
   spires on Sep 25 '07 at 2:08pm
that's funny, but sad at the same time.
pyr4lis
pyr4lis on Sep 25 '07 at 2:11pm
Neat! Did you make it for anything in particular?
spires
   spires on Sep 25 '07 at 2:16pm
If accepted, for the ancap movement perhaps? It would at least turn into a sweet t-shirt design.
ISABOA
   ISABOA on Sep 25 '07 at 2:17pm
that is a sharp flag - it would make a killer tasseled throw pillow as well
pyr4lis
pyr4lis on Sep 25 '07 at 2:31pm
I like it alot! Although I think I would prefer visually the "Sic Semper Tyrannis" to be larger and more visable...
viralVISUAL
   viralVISUAL on Sep 25 '07 at 2:34pm
Gotta appreciate the thought that went into it
spires
   spires on Sep 25 '07 at 3:00pm
sic semper could stand to be bigger, but I had so much to fit in there! I'll see what I can do. I'll also make a t-shirt version.



thanks terry!
shirtflirt
shirtflirt on Sep 25 '07 at 3:04pm
what are teh five lumps on the right? gold bars?
spires
   spires on Sep 25 '07 at 3:26pm
Gold bars indeed. Sound, commodity money is the basis of civilization, for it allows for a fully developed division of labor.
FRICKINAWESOME
   FRICKINAWESOME on Sep 25 '07 at 3:32pm
man...imagine how much cash you can make off seling this flag! Capatilism rulez!!
FireOfHeaven
FireOfHeaven on Sep 25 '07 at 3:35pm
i've been looking at this thing all day... its cool.

wonder what it would look like with gold, green and white stripes, same width angled on there, and getting rid of the pink line? might be stronger...
FireOfHeaven
FireOfHeaven on Sep 25 '07 at 3:36pm
sic semper tyranis is on my state flag... VA
FRICKINAWESOME
   FRICKINAWESOME on Sep 25 '07 at 3:37pm
I think this flag needs Brad Pitt's head bursting out of it where the snake is to give it that Fight Club message, also known as the best anti-modern age movie and book in existence.
Jewstice
Jewstice on Sep 25 '07 at 3:39pm
Really cool design Spires. Much more thought than the anarcho-syn flag
spires
   spires on Sep 25 '07 at 3:44pm
Fire, same flag except without the pink line? If so, I'll post a version like that to compare them.



Thanks Jewstice. The anarcho-syn flag is just red and black, right?



All comments are welcome,
spires
   spires on Sep 25 '07 at 5:46pm
updated, bump
FRICKINAWESOME
   FRICKINAWESOME on Sep 25 '07 at 5:57pm
Kiss my ass royally Spires for not responding to my jokingly clever mockeries of your design.



OIh, nice shirt too.
spires
   spires on Sep 25 '07 at 6:12pm
Thanks!



kissing asses ain't my thing, but I'm glad you are participating!



As I said, all comments are welcome :)



FRICKINAWESOME
   FRICKINAWESOME on Sep 25 '07 at 6:14pm
i didn't want you to kiss my ass, I just wanted an equally witty shot-back. lol. I like the banter...
helo
helo on Sep 25 '07 at 6:33pm
My first impression of the flag was that it was a funky

wrapper for some fancy European chocolate treat,

but the shirt doesn't evoke the same impression - it has

a soccer jersey appearance to me.



Your well thought out symbolism for the design has

the strength to overcome first impressions.



The phrase "Sic semper tyrannis" might look good on a

headstone to drive home your point about tyrants.

Jewstice
Jewstice on Sep 26 '07 at 1:19am
Yeah, just red & black. All the anarcho flags are just black and something. Green, pink, ect. Its cool to see something with more put into it.
spires
   spires on Sep 26 '07 at 8:16am
Thanks. There's so much history and culture in each movement, it's nice to delve in and represent it, even if the product is a bit complex.
4 days later
spires
   spires on Sep 30 '07 at 11:34am
bump
phones
phones on Sep 30 '07 at 11:39am
hey i'd love to wear that!



you should do an Anarcho-Primitavist one too!



did you know queue-ing is considered an act of anarchy?
MrDomino
   MrDomino on Sep 30 '07 at 11:44am
It's visually interesting, but I think it loses a lot of it's power because you have to explain it. Now I know that classically most flags are that way, but it seems to me that since this is a flag for a concept that diverges from the traditional organizations for which flags are made that this design should be equally different.



I also think that because of its ornate styling that it doesn't have the iconic nature that a flag needs to really be effective, to be instantly memorable and identifiable.
spires
   spires on Sep 30 '07 at 12:39pm
Mr. Domino, they have the plain gold/black combo for the ancap movement, but that's so bare that I don't find it very powerful.



How could I do an anarchist flag that's not boring and powerful at the same time?
MrDomino
   MrDomino on Sep 30 '07 at 1:01pm
That's the real trick about designing these kinds of things. Simple and powerful is damned hard to do. I can't think of anything at the moment, but I'm not as versed on this topic as you are.
spires
   spires on Sep 30 '07 at 2:19pm
what flag do you consider both simple and powerful?
FireOfHeaven
FireOfHeaven on Oct 02 '07 at 1:12pm
saudi arabia
100 days later
Don Jon
Don Jon on Jan 10 '08 at 2:12pm
This is sweet, I didn't know there some an-caps here on threadless. We're deffinetly a rare breed.
313 days later
garthnak
garthnak on Nov 18 '08 at 2:56pm
I love this shirt, and I'd absolutely wear it. I don't like the term "anarcho-capitalist" any more (cf. Roderick Long), but this shirt still seems to represent market anarchist ideals interestingly.
spires
   spires on Nov 18 '08 at 9:19pm
I love Long! And admittedly 'ancap' is sort of tired terminology. I don't find 'agorism' or any quasi greek term that references aristotle much better, though. I've never heard a great alternative.



I wish we could find a word that's not clunky, too masculine, nerdy, technical or loaded with bad connotations.
garthnak
garthnak on Nov 19 '08 at 3:24pm
"Market anarchist" and "libertarian anarchist" are the best that I've found. They don't roll off the tongue quite as well as "ancap," but they're more accurate to me - as well as a bit more inclusive (they can encompass, for example, our mutualist comrades). "Voluntarist" is okay, too, but it's perhaps more ambiguous (and heavily associated specifically with the "anti-voting" aspect of those who use that term).



Will this shirt ever be made for sale? If not on Threadless, then somewhere else? I'd buy it.
spires
   spires on Nov 21 '08 at 10:44am
I'm starting to dislike the term capitalism. Name of this blog got switched.



I've had so many requests for this shirt, I really should print them and sell them, even on ebay. i could create a website. i'm worried, because I'd hate to put out the significant upfront cost and get shafted.



I'm also playing around with the idea of spirographs as a metaphor for the complexity and wholeness, balance of free-market transactions. I could create a whole product line of market-anarchy spirograph wear.
62 days later
McNick
McNick on Jan 22 '09 at 4:38pm
I need this shirt.
tvincent
tvincent on Jan 23 '09 at 3:03am
When I ran into this, my first impression was: "This belongs on my dorm room wall." Seriously, are you planning on selling this flag at some point?
2 days later
McNick
McNick on Jan 25 '09 at 3:52pm
Please?
64 days later
Inarius
Inarius on Mar 30 '09 at 10:23pm
Seriously, I joined threadless in the mere hope that you will sell this shirt one day.
3 days later
spires
   spires on Apr 02 '09 at 10:26pm
the hope is not mere, it will happen. Need to save a little more.
38 days later
desiredusernome
desiredusernome on May 11 '09 at 6:22pm
post it on http://social.bureaucrash.com/forum/topics/2310103:Topic:13734 and they will definetly turn it into a shirt
60 days later
garamri
garamri on Jul 11 '09 at 9:24am
I definitely want to get this shirt when you print it.
3 days later
Blue Oyster Kalt
Blue Oyster Kalt on Jul 14 '09 at 2:43pm
I too have joined threadless because of this flag design and, same as a poster above, I must have this hanging on my dorm wall!



Spires, it's been a few months... any chance you have the money to at least have a handful of these made up? :D
16 days later
brando13
brando13 on Jul 31 '09 at 11:51am
I too need this shirt.
173 days later
IwantSpiresAncapShirt
IwantSpiresAncapShirt on Jan 21 '10 at 9:10am
It's time to deliver.... lol
32 days later
Libertas
Libertas on Feb 23 '10 at 5:43am
Let me know when you start selling the flag and t-shirt. I'll definitely buy them. Maybe more than one. I know quite a few people who would be glad to have these.

Great design! The symbolism is well thought out.

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