Wednesday, September 28, 2011

Introduction to Agorism

Agorism is a political philosophy based on the belief that everything in society should be voluntary, a free market.  Agorists believe that government is a coercive monopoly that shouldn't exist.   Now, this is a hefty charge, - and raises skepticism across the political spectrum. Governments affect everyone, whether it be government managed roads, healthcare, courts, the postal service, public education, regulations, subsidies, taxes, police, fire departments, etc.

The Agorist argues against these services being government controlled on both moral and utilitarian levels.  
The moral principle is referred to as the Non-aggression Principle.  The Non-aggression Principle states that using coercion (defined as "force, fraud, or the threat of either of these things") on a person or their justly acquired property is wrong, and that violence is only justified in protecting yourself from these things (self-defense). 

A society without government doesn't expect everyone to accept these principles, - these just are the most preferred form of conduct between individuals and are self evident.

The utilitarian argument for Agorism is that free markets are the most efficient way to accomplish things.  Through competition, markets allow innovation and experimentation in ways government monopolies cannot.  Price signals tell whether your business model is productive or not.  Resources are allocated to what people need and want.

There are a lot of concepts to expand on and explain in the last several paragraphs, but I hope that you get the gist of what Agorism is now.  There are 95 theses to Agorism, and over the next few months I will go over one a day, expounding and explaining them.

If you have any questions or comments, please post them in the comments section below!

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