Hello there! If you are new here, you might want to subscribe to the RSS feed for updates on this topic.There is at least one sure-fire way to curtail individuals’ growing dependency on government: offer a better alternative on the market. This means proposing libertarian solutions, not just in theory, but in practice, through a system of voluntary economics.
The entrepreneur – the individual planner, the risk-taker – plays a crucial if not central role in the development of a free market society. It is up to entrepreneurs to organize labor and capital, and to facilitate voluntary exchange between the two in a way that makes governments obsolete. So long as there is dis-coordination between labor and capital – governments, and force, will always be perceived as desirable alternatives – and individuals will continue to seek them as prescriptions to the economic woes of society.
Many libertarians fallaciously believe that if it weren’t for government individuals would automatically live by more peaceful and prosperous means. But they have it backwards. It is in fact living through peaceful and prosperous means that proves the illegitimacy of government, and it is only through the example of peaceful and prosperous means that we dis-empower the state – by showing it to be the ugly choice that it truly is.
But I believe if we had free markets today they would be gone by tomorrow. Significantly scaling back government in one felled swoop does not simultaneously build the social pillars necessary to maintain free markets. It would be chaos. Anarchy, anti-statism, and the classical liberal doctrines are just as much the destruction of our current society as they are the building of a new one. This transfer in power needs to happen gradually, in piecemeal, and sometimes in the form of compromises before such a society can be realistically achieved. It is not a battle that can be won overnight, even though most are sitting around waiting for that “spark.”
The anarchists, anti-statists, and limited-government/minarchists of today need to be much more productive and creative if they want to one day live in the world they so love to theorize about. This means they must become entrepreneurs of their own rank, by facilitating capital and labor on their own terms, and in a way that makes everyone involved in the productive process feel of mutual benefit and importance.
However, let me clarify, although I am clearly advocating entrepreneurship as a means to achieve an anarchist society, I don’t altogether blame our current conditions on a lack of entrepreneurship. Certainly I recognize that there are often times forces at bay to limit entrepreneurship in the form of state intervention or private crimes (violence/theft/fraud/negligence). Yet, even in the face of government regulation and illegalities – entrepreneurial forces can prevail. Take for example today’s highly successfully underground drug market. This is a type of economic activity Samuel Edward Konkin III refers to as counter-economics, which he defines as, “the study and/or practice of all peaceful human action which is forbidden by the State.” It is essentially civil disobedience in the form of economic action.
SEK III advocated market means to anarchic ends, but one need not be conscious of these ideals when acting as an entrepreneur in the market. As long as exchange remains free and voluntary (meaning: no violence or theft through collective or individual action), and, as long as both sides reap their perceived benefits (meaning: no fraud or deceit), then these individuals are participating toward a more free society (whether they realize it or not).
Anarchists have reason to be optimistic for a peaceful society, for anarchy is alive and well every time people interact without government needing to be there to facilitate. Even students in grade school can organize a voluntary game of baseball on a Saturday afternoon (not to mention: without any umpire or referee) and cooperate with one another, as well as settle disputes, without needing to resort to violence.
One entrepreneurial endeavor I am particularly interested about is the Seasteading Institute, a non-profit organization currently raising funds (including $1 million donated by Peter Thiel, the co-founder of Pay Pal) in order to build an autonomous region out in the middle of the ocean. Their intent according to their mission statement is “to experiment with alternative social systems on a small scale.” If successful, think of the implications this project might have for constitutionalists, limited government types, and anarchists of all stripes. It gives groups of individuals an opportunity to move off-the-grid of their current nation and organize in unconventional ways. Seasteading may open a whole new avenue for different kinds of economic arrangement and social order.
Any successful entrepreneurship I see as a small victory for freedom, and they should be celebrated. It is those individuals most active between the coordination of labor and capital (absent state privilege) where society will ultimately depend on once the state can no longer fulfill its promises. It is important that when the unsustainability of government is fully realized that we have institutions in place to keep civilization afloat.
About the author
Steven Handel wrote 21 articles on this blog.
Steven is a recent graduate from Binghamton University where he studied Psychology. He has a strong interest in cognitive science, market economics, libertarian law, social psychology, philosophy of mind, and entrepreneurship. You can visit his personal blog at The Emotion Machine.
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