| Anarchism And Anarcho-capitalism |
Article Index for Anarchism And |
Shopping Anarchism |
Website Links For Anarchism |
Information AboutAnarchism And Anarcho-capitalism |
| CATEGORIES ABOUT ANARCHISM AND ANARCHO-CAPITALISM | |
| anarchism | |
| anarcho-capitalism | |
|
This article discusses similarities and differences between Anarcho-capitalism and other types of Anarchism . INTEGRATING AUSTRIAN ECONOMICS INTO INDIVIDUALIST ANARCHISM Murray Rothbard was "a student and disciple of the Austrian economist , "most people who call themselves 'individualist anarchists' today are followers of Murray Rothbard's Austrian economics." Carson, Kevin. Mutualist Political Economy, Preface Though Rothbard said "I am ... strongly tempted to call myself an 'individualist anarchist,' except for the fact that Spooner and Tucker have in a sense preempted that name for their doctrine and that from that doctrine I have certain differences," many scholars refer to Anarcho-capitalism a capitalist form of individualism anarchism. Such accounts specifying anarcho-capitalism as a form of individualist anarchism include:
Some of those who call themselves Anarcho-capitalists say that their views have no relation to what they call Social Anarchism , other than opposition to the State. Nevertheless many anarchists who oppose capitalism also like to see themselves as Individualist and argue that the Social Classes created by capitalism limit liberty by forcing some individuals to work and receive orders from others above them, and also limiting individual's use of their time and subjectivity Bob Black, "The libertarian as conservative" . This is in many respects, in their views, as much destruction or more destruction of liberty as the existence of states. Some anarchists have even argued that individualism and communism are not only compatible but even necessary complements in order to protect individual liberty INDIVIDUALISM AND COMMUNISM THE AIMS OF ANARCHIST REVOLUTION -willful disobedience . CAPITALIST STRUCTURES Social hierarchy, class distinction, and employment Many anarchists argue that capitalism runs contrary to an egalitarian power structure, which is necessary to anarchism. They also argue that the system of McKay , Iain; Elkin , Gary; Neal , Dave ''et al'' An Anarchist FAQ index ''An Anarchist FAQ Version 11.4'' Accessed March, 2006. argue that "social relations between capitalists and employees can never be equal, because private ownership of the means of production gives rise to social hierarchy and relations of coercive authority and subordination". does not express a preference either way. Property Many anarchists argue that anarcho-capitalism is contradictory, and say that the anarcho-capitalist definition of private property is uncomfortably similar to its definition of the state. For example, leading anarcho-capitalist Murray Rothbard argued that the state ''"arrogates to itself a monopoly of force… over a given area territorial area."'', yet he also argued that ''" {Link without Title} bviously, in a free society, Smith has the ultimate decision-making power over his own just property, Jones over his, etc."'' Rothbard , Murray. 'The Ethics of Liberty', Humanities Press, Atlantic Highlands, N.J., 1982, p. 170 and p. 173 Anarcho-capitalists acknowledge this similarity, but do not believe it to be contradictory, arguing that state territories are not acquired legitimately, but that private property is. This idea stems from the principle that an individual is a self-owner, therefore has a property right over his own body. Opponents emphasize that both the state, and private property (upon which capitalism is based), lead to the same authoritarian structures, and consequently neither should be considered anarchist. Moreover, both social and individualist anarchists note that current distributions of property have not been created by legitimate means and that the current system of property rights is the result of state and capitalist intervention. Version 11.6''. Accessed June, 2006. To anarcho-capitalists, any geographical holding as large as most current incarnations of the state would be impossible to achieve by any one proprietor without the tools of the state. Standard private holdings tend to be not only much smaller, but antithetical to coercive relationships - as any visitor, lessee, or employee, would be free to move elsewhere at will. Further, the state, being an artificial entity without a head of its own, has an entirely different set of motives regarding care of a property, resulting in proportionate carelessness for that property (i.e. Pollution ). Anarchists also note that once land and capital are monopolised by a minority, attempts by those subject to this economic and social power to end it automatically become "aggression." As Kropotkin noted, ''"modern Individualism… a powerful indictment against the dangers and wrongs of government, but its practical solution of the social problem… lead[s us to inquire if the talk of 'No force' be merely an excuse for supporting landlord and capitalist domination."'' Kropotkin , Peter. ''Act for Yourselves'', Freedom Press London (1988), p98. Individualist anarchists, including Benjamin Tucker, tend to reject the anarcho-capitalist Version 11.6''. Accessed June, 2006. Because of his belief in the labor theory of value, when the nineteenth century individualist Benjamin Tucker said that an employee should receive his "full produce," he took it to mean that the full produce was an amount of money fully commensurate with the amount of a labor performed. He believed individuals were receiving less than their "full produce" because of state intervention interfering with competitive market forces and thereby artificially lowering the price of labor. He did not advocate interfering with individuals contracting as employee and employer if they desire, but believed that the price of labor would increase in a true laissez-faire economy. He thought that legal restrictions on banking caused the price of capital to be unnaturally expensive and that if these restrictions were removed that capital would become available "at cost." This, he believed, would cause new businesses to proliferate and raise the demand for labor and therefore the price as well. Individualist Lysander Spooner advocated that workers maximize their incomes through universal self-employment. Markets Many individualist anarchists argue that a truly free market would result in a non-capitalist anarchism, without social or economic hierarchy. The contemporary individualist 2005 Anarcho-capitalists disagree, with most stating that this economic system would be marked by hierarchy, inequalityas well as interest, rent and profit. Right-libertarians, Carson argues, ''"take existing property relations and class power as a given."'' Carson, like previous individualist anarchists, thinks that the ''"modern worker, like the slave or the serf, is the victim of ongoing robbery; he works in an enterprise built from past stolen labor"'' and so they are ''"justified in taking direct control of production, and keeping the entire product of his her labor.''" Anarcho-capitalists would consider such expropriation as coercion. Since anarchists by definition favour voluntary interaction, anarcho-capitalists have argued from a different definition of "voluntary" than has been historically used by anarchists. This has led to disputes over whether anarcho-capitalists support a genuinely "free market." Anarcho-capitalists (and capitalists in general) understand a trade to be voluntary if there is no physical coercion or threat. Opponents take into account other forms of coercion, such as economic coercion, arguing that an environment of property domination coerces individuals into accepting trades that are not optimal to them because their choices are being actively restricted by others. Anarcho-capitalists demonstrate that such restrictions tend not to be intrusive, but rather maintenance of order between visitors. Anarchists reject institutions such as interest, rent, and Profit as being intrusive and exploitative, and thus they believe that they should be abolished. They maintain that such institutions were made possible, in part, by state restrictions on banking and currency issuance as well as titles to land, and by vast accumulations of wealth which arise in capitalism and interfere with the free economy. Anarcho-capitalist s do not believe that interest, rent, or Profit are exploitative, arguing they are compatible with free markets, and claiming these institutions would prevail without government interference. However, like individualist anarchists, some Anarcho-capitalist s believe that in a free market, or "natural order," interest rates would substantially fall, but more due to falling Time Preference {Link without Title} . RIGHTS (Needs information on social anarchism in these areas) Egalitarianism Social Anarchists are opposed to concentrations of wealth as this, they argue, results in economic power and limits the individual freedom of others. They argue that inequalities in wealth results in a situation where the many have little choice but to sell their liberty. Anarcho-capitalist s and individualist anarchists both explicitly support the liberty of some individuals to be wealthier than others, in contrast to some collectivist philosophies that are based in Economic Egalitarianism . However, while individualists believe that the vast concentrations of wealth created by government interference in the market cannot be remedied through abolition of government alone, they do believe it would be much more dispersed so that there would not be a significant chasm between the rich and the poor —and this they tend to see as beneficial. Some make a point of this while others explicitly object to any goal of equalizing wealth. In contrast, Anarcho-capitalist philosophy does not evince general concern for wealth egalitarianism. In speculating about a possible anarchist society Benjamin Tucker held that defense associations could decide for themselves how much land they would protect; in an example, he postuled possession of no more than ten acres. (Property Under Anarchism) Use of force All anarchists subscribe to the general rule that physical force should not be initiated, but reserved for defense. Some of the 19th century individualist anarchists, such David Friedman also subscribes to a contractual view of rights, as opposed to capitalist-anarchist Murray Rothbard 's natural law basis. Defence Anarcho-capitalist s advocate Private Competition In Defense , and in a sense require it due to their emphasis on private property, interest, rent and profit. Rothbard defines "anarchism as a system which provides no legal sanction for such aggression person and property' " and said that "what anarchism proposes to do, then, is to abolish the State, i.e. to abolish the regularized institution of aggressive coercion."Rothbard, Murray N. (1975) ''Society Without A State (pdf)'' ''Libertarian Forum'' newsletter (January 1975) However, anarchists are unimpressed by this claim. They simply reply that this is privatising, not abolishing, the state; David Weick, for instance, argues that it would be better called "''feudalism''". Similarly, anarchists ask who defines what is and is not a "legal sanction" and what is and is not "aggressive coercion."Pennock and Chapman, ''"Anarchist Justice"'', Nomos XIX, eds. Rothbard would assert that the violator of the property right of the victim would be the aggressor. This claim is justified using natural law theory. While individualist anarchists expect that one would defend their own property through possession, some, such as Tucker and Spooner, support private defense to protect property {Link without Title} . Tucker differentiates protection from rent or tax, because the primary form of protection would be possessive, saying that "defense is a service like any other service; that it is labor both useful and desired, and therefore an economic commodity subject to the law of supply and demand;" (''Instead of a Book''). PROFIT AND THEORY OF VALUE Historically, most anarchists have argued that Profit , rent and interest are Exploitative . Some anarchists, like Proudhon , Bakunin and Tucker , base this in the Labour Theory Of Value while others, like Kropotkin and Malatesta , did not. While classical economists such as Adam Smith also accepted the labor theory of value, most modern economists, including anarcho-capitalists, espouse a Subjective Theory Of Value and Marginalism - that value of commodities and labor is variable and based on factors outside the means of production, such as scarcity, and the subjective value to potential buyers. In the eyes of anarchists who embrace a labor theory of value, profit is derived by paying labor less than what it is worth, with the employer retaining the difference, and is considered exploitative. For anarcho-capitalists, worth is subjective. And they believe that both employer and employee profit by giving what they value less (equipment and labor, respectively) for what they value more (labour and wages, respectively) or else they would not agree to trade, and therefore the agreement is not considered exploitative by anarcho-capitalists. The nineteenth century individualists depart from Anarcho-capitalist s in arguing that all wages should be equal insofar as labor is commensurate, in accordance with the principle of " Cost The Limit Of Price ." Anarcho-capitalist s, believing that the value of any particular labor is subjective, and should be ultimately decided by mutual agreement, have no opposition whatsoever to employers profiting from the labor of their employees. Benjamin Tucker believed that more employment opportunities would be available if government did not enforce a credit monopoly and land monopoly, as he believed that low-interest or no-interest loans would be readily available to the general public due to competing lenders, and that profiting in wage labor would be nearly impossible due to increased competition on the part of businesses to attract labor. SIMILAR PHILOSOPHIES Anarcho-capitalism as a form of individualist anarchism Anarcho-capitalism is seen as a form of individualist anarchism by several scholars.Tormey, Simon. ''Anti-Capitalism'', One World, 2004.Perlin, Terry M. ''Contemporary Anarchism'', Transaction Books, NJ 1979.Raico, Ralph. ''Authentic German Liberalism of the 19th Century'', Ecole Polytechnique, Centre de Recherce en Epistemologie Appliquee, Unité associée au CNRS, 2004.Heider, Ulrike. ''Anarchism:Left, Right, and Green'', City Lights, 1994. p. 3.Outhwaite, William. ''The Blackwell Dictionary of Modern Social Thought'', ''Anarchism'' entry, p. 21, 2002.Bottomore, Tom. '' Dictionary of Marxist Thought'', ''Anarchism'' entry, 1991.Ostergaard, Geofrey. Resisting the Nation State - the anarchist and pacifist tradition, Anarchism As A Tradition of Political Thought. Peace Pedge Union Publications All of the classical individualist anarchists opposed profit-making and, hence, capitalism as it is commonly defined today. Nevertheless, Guglielmo Piombini regards Anarcho-capitalism as a form of individualist anarchism ([http://freeweb.supereva.com/super.freeweb/libertarian/en/anarcho.htm?p ''Per l'Anarco-Capitalismo'' ). Historian Ralph Raico regards it as "a form of individualist anarchism" ( ''Authentic German Liberalism...'' ). Simon Tormey, in his book ''Anti-Capitalism: A Beginner's Guide'' places no anti-capitalist restriction on being an individualist anarchist: "Pro-capitalist anarchism is, as one might expect, particularly prevalent in the US where it feeds on the strong individualist and libertarian currents that have always been a part of the American political imaginary. To return to the point, however, there are individualist anarchists who are most certainly not anti-capitalist and there are those who may well be." Some anarcho-capitalists argue that their philosophy is related to Individualist Anarchism . They believe a major difficulty in resolving the debate is due to the conflicting definitions of the words " Anarchism " and " Capitalism " as used by the two sides. The traditions that object to the term anarcho-capitalism tend to use the term "anarchism" to refer to political movements that are both Anti-statist and Anti-capitalist . Conversely, Libertarians and anarcho-capitalists most commonly use the term "anarchism" to refers to any philosophy that opposes all forms of initiatory coercion (without specifications regarding economic systems).Rothbard, Murray N. (1975) ''Society Without A State (pdf)'' ''Libertarian Forum'' newsletter (January 1975) However, even this is disputed, as many anarchists argue that capitalism is inherently coercive. Lysander Spooner's articles, such as ''No Treason'' and the ''Letter to Thomas Bayard'' , were widely reprinted in early anarcho-capitalist journals, and his ideas — especially his individualist critique of the state and his defense of the right to ignore or withdraw from it — were often cited by anarcho-capitalists. Spooner was staunchly opposed to government interference in economic matters, and supported a "right to acquire property as one of the natural, inherent, inalienable rights of men [... one which government has no power to infringe Lysander (1843) [http://www.lysanderspooner.org/constitutionallaw.htm ''Constitutional law, Relative to Credit, Currency, and Banking'' Retrieved 2005 He was particularly vocal, however, in opposing any collusion between banks and government, and argued that the monopolistic privileges that the government granted to a few bankers were the source of many social and economic ills. Benjamin Tucker supported private ownership of the product of labor, which he believed entailed a rejection of both collective and capitalist ownership. He was a staunch advocate of the 1888 ), pp. 2-3.Retrieved 20 May 2005 Anarcho-capitalism is sometimes viewed by those sympathetic to it as a form of individualist anarchism, despite the fact that the original individualist anarchists universally rejected capitalism (i.e., they opposed profit, which is seen as a fundamental characteristic of capitalism). Organizations such as mutualist.org remain dedicated to "free market anticapitalism," while individualists like Larry Gambone explicitly state that all capitalism is state capitalism. Nonetheless, anarcho-capitalist Wendy McElroy considers herself to be an individualist, while admitting that the original individualists were universally anticapitalist. In addition, historian Guglielmo Piombini refers anarcho-capitalism as a form of individualist anarchism, though he offers no support for this statement. Collectivist anarchist author Iain McKay and historian Peter Sabatini both argue that anarcho-capitalism is fundamentally opposed to individualist anarchism. The similarity to anarcho-capitalism in regard to private defense of liberty and property is probably best seen in a quote by 19th-century individualist anarchist Victor Yarros : Anarchism means no government, but it does not mean no laws and no coercion. This may seem paradoxical, but the paradox vanishes when the Anarchist definition of government is kept in view. Anarchists oppose government, not because they disbelieve in punishment of crime and resistance to aggression, but because they disbelieve in compulsory protection. Protection and taxation without consent is itself invasion; hence Anarchism favors a system of voluntary taxation and protection.Yarros, Victor ''Our Revolution; Essays and Interpretations'' p.80 While the claim is controversial, some scholars regard is fundamentally opposed to Capitalism ."Anarchism," Microsoft® Encarta® Online Encyclopedia 2006Carson, Kevin A. (2001) "The Iron Fist Behind the Invisible Hand" Red Lion Press As individualist anarchist Joe Peacott says: Individualist anarchists have continued to espouse the Labor Theory Of Value , finding Profit to be unnatural and exploitative. In the mainstream, however, the popularity of the Labor Theory Of Value of Classical Economics was superseded by greater acceptance of the Subjective Theory Of Value of Neo-classical Economics . Eventually, in the 1950s, Murray Rothbard coined the term " Anarcho-capitalism " to define his anti-statist, laissez-faire capitalist philosophy. Rothbard noted that while "strongly tempted," he could not call his ideology "individualist anarchism" because "Spooner and Tucker have in a sense preempted that name for their doctrine and that from that doctrine I have certain differences." Rothbard also supported unregulated banking, as Tucker and other individualists did, but believed that Tucker and Spooner had a flawed understanding of economics to believe that unregulated banking would eliminate profit from interest. Tucker says interest rates are ultimately determined by the which he believed to be erroneous and leading to a false conclusion that profit was exploitative or unnatural in laissez-faire. Rothbard sought to introduce Lockean property rights and Marginalism into individualist anarchism: Rothbard also rejected Tucker and Spooner's support of a system where there is no written law. He says, "There would be no rational or objective body of law which the juries would in any sense—even morally—be bound to consult, nor even any judicial precedents, since each jury would have the power to decide both the facts and the law of every case strictly ad hoc. With no guides or standards to follow, even juries with the best of will could not be expected to arrive at just or even libertarian decisions." Instead, he argues, "It would not be a very difficult task for Libertarian lawyers and jurists to arrive at a rational and objective code of libertarian legal principles and procedures."}} Individualist anarchist Laurance Labadie argued however: However, this criticism is specific to Rothbard's suggested version of anarcho-capitalism rather than to anarcho-capitalism in general. There are anarcho-capitalists who oppose the existence of all statutory law, such as Morris And Linda Tannehill .Brown, Susan Love, ''The Free Market as Salvation from Government: The Anarcho-Capitalist View'', Meanings of the Market: The Free Market in Western Culture, edited by James G. Carrier, Berg/Oxford, 1997, p. 113. Individualist anarchism is a broad philosophy with various theorists having their own suggested versions. Related philosophies Though the modern form of anarcho-capitalism did not exist in Tucker's day, there was a similar philosophy called Voluntaryism popularized by Auberon Herbert . Tucker criticized Herbert's support of profit, but believed that Herbert's anti-statism would nevertheless result in a profitless economy.Tucker, Benjamin. ''Auberon Herbert And His Work'' ''Liberty'', Vol. 3, No. 10, Saturday, May 23 1885, Whole No. 62 Herbert refused to call himself an anarchist, arguing that ''"we are governmentalists"'. He strongly opposed the idea that initiation of force may somehow become legitimate merely by constituting a majority, reasoning that "If we are self-owners (and it is absurd, it is doing violence to reason, to suppose that we are not), neither an individual, nor a majority, nor a government can have rights of ownership in other men." He did, however, support government ''"formally constituted by the nation, employing in this matter of force the majority method."'' Moreover, he argued that the state would remain in his system, for while ''"the state should compel no services and exact no payments by force,"'' it ''"should be free to conduct many useful undertakings... in competition with all voluntary agencies... in dependence on voluntary payments."''Herbert, Auberon. '''' The 19th century French economist Gustave de Molinari, although he proposed the replacement of the state in a fashion quite similar to anarcho-capitalism, refused to call himself an anarchist, even though France had a significant anarchist movement and had produced the first self-proclaimed anarchist in Proudhon. DISPUTE OVER WHETHER ANARCHO-CAPITALISM IS A LEGITIMATE FORM OF ANARCHISM Though many scholars say that anarcho-capitalism is a form of anarchism (usually a form of Individualist Anarchism ),Such accounts specifying anarcho-capitalism as a form of individualist anarchism include:
Many anarchists maintain strongly that , ''What is Anarchism?''; Bob Black , ''The Libertarian as Conservative'; Colin Ward , ''Anarchism: A Very Short Introduction''; Iain Mckay, ''The legacy of Voltairine De Cleyre'', Anarcho-Syndicalist Review, no. 44 They note that, historically, those who called themselves "anarchist" have been opposed to what they called "capitalism," and that anarchists like Proudhon, Bakunin, Kropotkin and Tucker all called themselves socialists, and they argue that anarcho-capitalism ''"is judged to be anarchism largely because anarcho-capitalists say they are 'anarchists' and because they criticise the State."''Peter Sabatini, ''Social Anarchism'', no. 23, p. 100 However, virtually all dictionary definitions define "anarchism" as opposition to the state. Furthermore, even most anarchist luminaries who called themselves "socialist" defined "anarchism" as opposition to state. Both social anarchists and anarcho-capitalists note that "anarchy" etymologically means "without rulers". Online Etymology Dictionary entry for "anarchy" Conventional anarchists interpret this to mean anything fitting the definition of ''ruler'', Version 11.4''. Accessed March, 2006. while anarcho-capitalists interpret it in a more restricted sense, to refer to any form of institutionalized Coercion . Nevertheless American Individualist Anarchists in the Josiah Warren or Benjamin Tucker tradition opposed capitalism and instead favoured small local market and oppose the existence of Social Class since it cuts individual liberty by making some people work and receive orders from others above who own the Means Of Production or are in a management position. On the other hand, many scholars view anarcho-capitalism as a 20th-century modification of the type of individualist anarchism that was popular in America in the late 19th and early 20th centuries, which was less radical than , ''"Native American Anarchism,"'' The Raven, pp. 43-62, vol. 10, no. 1, pp. 61-2 Many anarchists believe that anarchism and capitalism are incompatible. Anarchist author Iain McKay argues that individualism is essentially anti-capitalist and that argues that individualism rejects capitalist economic arrangements. {Link without Title} One set of approaches concludes that capitalism, by necessity, requires a state, and therefore capitalism cannot exist without a state. For example, , the alliance of government and business. McElroy, Wendy (1999) Anarchism: Two Kinds The issue of contention then becomes whether or not capitalism can be created, or maintained, in the absence of a state that enforces non-possessive private property claims. Anarcho-capitalist Murray Rothbard made a difference between two contradictory concepts of capitalism, "free-market capitalism" characterized by voluntary exchange and "state capitalism" characterized by violent expropriation." A Future of Peace and Capitalism by Murray N. Rothbard He believed that only free-market capitalism is true capitalism and as such "the fullest expression of anarchism". ''Exclusive Interview With Murray Rothbard'' The New Banner: A Fortnightly Libertarian Journal ( 25 February 1972 ) NOTES SEE ALSO EXTERNAL LINKS
|
|
|