Anarcho-capitalism is a political philosophy that embraces free-market capitalism and opposes the state’s role in limiting personal freedoms and the free market. It differs from other anarchist schools of thought in its acceptance of private property and the free market’s role in distributing resources. It is not widely accepted in capitalist circles or by social anarchists who view capitalism as authoritarian and antithetical to socialist ideals. The philosophy’s grandfather is Murray Rothbard, and historically, the American Wild West and ancient Iceland are cited as examples of anarcho-capitalist societies.
Anarcho-capitalism is an anti-statist political philosophy built around free-market capitalism. It is viewed by most of its proponents as an anarchist school of thought, but many other anarchists see its embrace of capitalist ideologies as directly antithetical to anarchism itself. Anarcho-capitalism is often referred to as free market anarchism by those who believe that capitalism has too many negative connotations in the anarchist community.
The biggest difference between anarcho-capitalism and most other anarchist schools of thought is the acceptance of private property. While most anarchist schools believe in voluntary communalism as the main way of disbursing goods and services, with nominal trade taking place as well, anarcho-capitalists see the free market as playing a key role in the distribution of resources. While communalism is still possible in an anarcho-capitalist system, it is not the cornerstone on which that anarchist system is built.
The main difference between anarcho-capitalism and current forms of capitalism is the lack of confidence in the state as a coercive agent. Anarcho-capitalism holds that, in modern capitalist societies, commerce is facilitated and governed by a controlling state, which colludes with business and wealthy interests to manipulate and subvert the true free market. Anarcho-capitalism promotes free market trade unrestricted by any kind of government, allowing for truly voluntary trade agreements.
In addition to opposing the state because of its role in limiting the free market through taxation, trade barriers, and public monopolies, anarcho-capitalism also opposes the state because of its role in limiting personal freedoms. Anarcho-capitalists are staunch libertarians, believing in personal freedoms related to things like property, drug use, education, and the draft. For this reason, anarcho-capitalism is generally not accepted as a dominant theory in capitalist circles, which believe that the state should have some role in imposing protections and limitations on personal freedoms.
Most social anarchists, on the other hand, are suspicious of anarcho-capitalism because of its embrace of capitalism as an ideology. Capitalism is seen by many as based on authoritarianism, as the market allows for the concentration of resources, which allows for the exercise of undue power by some members of society. Likewise, free market ideals, which allow for things like landlordism, are seen as antithetical to the socialist ideals of mutual aid that form the foundation of many anarchist philosophies.
The grandfather of anarcho-capitalism is generally accepted to be Murray Rothbard, an economist of the Austrian school, who wrote in the 1950s. He attempted to combine many of the philosophies of Austrian economics with the ideals of individualist anarchism, creating a synthesis that reflected the earlier libertarian capitalist philosophies of thinkers like Lysander Spooner, Benjamin Tucker, and Frederic Bastiat.
Historically, many people point to the American Wild West as having many elements of an anarcho-capitalist society. As there was little real government presence in the West, extra-governmental institutions emerged to fill the government’s protective role, with private security agencies providing the security that a police force would normally provide. Similarly, ancient Iceland is sometimes touted as anarcho-capitalist, with the state having very little role in law enforcement, which was largely carried out by private capitalist organisations.
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