Anarchy and the Law: The Political Economy of ChoicePrivate-property anarchism, also known as anarchist libertarianism, individualist anarchism, and anarcho-capitalism, is a political philosophy and set of economic and legal arguments that maintains that, just as the markets and private institutions of civil society provide food, shelter, and other human needs, markets and contracts should provide law and that the rule of law itself can only be understood as a private institution.To the libertarian, the state and its police powers are not benign societal forces, but a system of conquest, authoritarianism, and occupation. But whereas limited government libertarians argue in favor of political constraints, anarchist libertarians argue that, to check government against abuse, the state itself must be replaced by a social order of self-government based on contracts. Indeed, contemporary history has shown that limited government is untenable, as it is inherently unstable and prone to corruption, being dependent on the interest-group politics of the state's current leadership. Anarchy and the Law presents the most important essays explaining, debating, and examining historical examples of stateless orders.Section I, "Theory of Private Property Anarchism," presents articles that criticize arguments for government law enforcement and discuss how the private sector can provide law. In Section II, "Debate," limited government libertarians argue with anarchist libertarians about the morality and viability of private-sector law enforcement. Section III, "History of Anarchist Thought," contains a sampling of both classic anarchist works and modern studies of the history of anarchist thought and societies. Section IV, "Historical Case Studies of Non-Government Law Enforcement," shows that the idea that markets can function without state coercion is an entirely viable concept. Anarchy and the Law is a comprehensive reader on anarchist libertarian thought that will be welcomed by students of govern |
Contents
Police Law and the Courts | |
Guide to a Radical Capitalism | |
Market for Liberty excerpt | |
Crime Prevention and the Legal | |
Capitalist Production and the Problem of Public Goods excerpt | |
National Defense and the PublicGoods Problem | |
Defending a Free Nation | |
The Myth of the Rule of | |
The State | |
The Invisible Hand Strikes Back | |
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Common terms and phrases
actions aggression aggressor American anarchist anarcho-capitalism anarcho-capitalist anarchy arbitration argues argument benefits Benson citizens claim classical liberals clients coercive coercive monopoly collusion common compensation competing competition conflict Constitution consumers contract cooperation costs court Cowen crime criminal customers David Friedman decision disputes dominant agency dominant protective economic example exist fact firms force free market Friedman Gustave de Molinari Icelandic incentives individual individualist anarchism individualist anarchists institutions Irish law Journal of Libertarian judges jury justice king law enforcement Law Merchant legal system liberal libertarian Libertarian Studies man’s minimal Molinari monopoly moral Murray Rothbard nature Nozick one’s organization owner parties person police political present principle problem procedures production profits prohibited property rights protection agencies punishment reason Robert Nozick Rothbard rules Shasta County social society theory trade trespass Tyler Cowen ultraminimal University Press victim violation violence voluntary vote