Why I Am An Anarcho-Capitalist

[Guest Ethan Glover]

Someone asked me why I am an anarcho-capitalist. I asked, "From what perspective are you coming from? Socialism, statism, or minarchy?" He said he just wanted to know why I call myself an AnCap. It was an interesting question, and it kind of floored me. I'm really big on people having their own opinions and developing their own societies and not being able to say why I believe in the philosophy in terms of how it is better than other philosophies was a bit difficult. This article is a tracing of my journey to it and why I remain an anarcho-capitalist.

[_LiveFree_]

First, a heartfelt congratulations on your journey to self-discovery! It's awesome to see individuals come such a long way from serving the state. 

 

Here is why I think you were floored by the question "Why are you an anarcho-capitalist?". You've arrived at ancap through turning away from political philosophies that you realize don't serve you. The problem is that by coming to a conclusion through the negation of other flawed conclusions doesn't give you an understanding of the former conclusion. If you want to fully understand why ancap is correct, the first step is to completely throw everything out. Have no conclusions at all. This is a very scary concept, to live without knowing. It is an essential step. Otherwise what you'll find is that even though you may subscribe to ancap theory, other not so logical ideas will creep into what you consider ancap. 

 

With that said, here is the short answer to the question, "Why are you an anarcho-capitalist?". 

 

"I am an anarcho-capitalist because by starting from first principles, specifically the Non-Aggression Principle, I have determined that only voluntary interactions between human beings are morally good. The very existence of government implies the initiation of violence as a means to coerce behavior." 

 

Now to get all psychological on you, and to go out on a limb, I would suggest that the reason this is fuzzy for you is not because you lack the logic or smarts. It is because you are still acting like a tyrant towards yourself. See, anarcho-capitalism is not a political theory, it is a way to describe the interaction you have with yourself. So what I'm saying is when you stop acting psychologically violent toward yourself, ancap naturally emerges and you will empirically understand the ancap position.

 

Thanks for the article!