Anarcho-capitalism
Overview
Anarcho-capitalism is a libertarian
and individualist anarchist
political philosophy
that advocates the elimination of the state
in favour of individual sovereignty in a free market
. In an anarcho-capitalist society, law enforcement
, court
s, and all other security services would be provided by voluntarily funded competitors rather than through taxation, and money
would be privately and competitively provided
in an open market. According to anarcho-capitalists, personal and economic activities would be regulated by privately run law
rather than through politics
.
Libertarianism
Libertarianism, in the strictest sense, is the political philosophy that holds individual liberty as the basic moral principle of society. In the broadest sense, it is any political philosophy which approximates this view...
and individualist anarchist
Individualist anarchism
Individualist anarchism refers to several traditions of thought within the anarchist movement that emphasize the individual and his or her will over external determinants such as groups, society, traditions, and ideological systems. Individualist anarchism is not a single philosophy but refers to a...
political philosophy
Political philosophy
Political philosophy is the study of such topics as liberty, justice, property, rights, law, and the enforcement of a legal code by authority: what they are, why they are needed, what, if anything, makes a government legitimate, what rights and freedoms it should protect and why, what form it...
that advocates the elimination of the state
State (polity)
A state is an organized political community, living under a government. States may be sovereign and may enjoy a monopoly on the legal initiation of force and are not dependent on, or subject to any other power or state. Many states are federated states which participate in a federal union...
in favour of individual sovereignty in a free market
Free market
A free market is a competitive market where prices are determined by supply and demand. However, the term is also commonly used for markets in which economic intervention and regulation by the state is limited to tax collection, and enforcement of private ownership and contracts...
. In an anarcho-capitalist society, law enforcement
Police
The police is a personification of the state designated to put in practice the enforced law, protect property and reduce civil disorder in civilian matters. Their powers include the legitimized use of force...
, court
Court
A court is a form of tribunal, often a governmental institution, with the authority to adjudicate legal disputes between parties and carry out the administration of justice in civil, criminal, and administrative matters in accordance with the rule of law...
s, and all other security services would be provided by voluntarily funded competitors rather than through taxation, and money
Money
Money is any object or record that is generally accepted as payment for goods and services and repayment of debts in a given country or socio-economic context. The main functions of money are distinguished as: a medium of exchange; a unit of account; a store of value; and, occasionally in the past,...
would be privately and competitively provided
Free banking
Free banking refers to a monetary arrangement in which banks are subject to no special regulations beyond those applicable to most enterprises, and in which they also are free to issue their own paper currency...
in an open market. According to anarcho-capitalists, personal and economic activities would be regulated by privately run law
Dispute resolution organization
A dispute resolution organization, or DRO, is a conceptualized organization providing services such as mediation and arbitration through the private sector. It is an important aspect of anarcho-capitalist theory.-Enforceability of verdicts:...
rather than through politics
Politics
Politics is a process by which groups of people make collective decisions. The term is generally applied to the art or science of running governmental or state affairs, including behavior within civil governments, but also applies to institutions, fields, and special interest groups such as the...
.
Quotations
Anarchist solutions to social questions have ranged from total communism to an equally zealous individualism. In between are found sundry recipes, from anarcho-syndicalism to anarcho-capitalism.
Perlin, Terry M. Contemporary Anarchism. Transaction Books, New Brunswick, NJ 1979, p. 7.
There are several recognized varieties of anarchism, among them: individualistic anarchisms, anarcho-capitalisms, anarcho-communisms, mutualisms, anarcho-syndicalisms, libertarian socialisms, social anarchists and now eco-anarchisms.
Sylvan, Richard. Anarchism. A Companion to Contemporary Political Philosophy, editors Goodin, Robert E. and Pettit, Philip. Blackwell Publishing, 1995, p.231.
There are anarchists of the right such as Murray Rothbard (For a New Liberty [New York: Macmillan, 1973] who defend private property and free enterprise.
DeGeorge, Richard T. Anarchism and Authority, an essay in the book Anarchism by J. Roland Pennock and John W. Chapman, NYU Press, p. 108.