before I was an an-cap

[afterzir]

I've been an an-cap for so long now that I have difficulty

remembering what appealed to me about statist arguments.

(I went from democrat to republican to an-cap (leapfrogging libertarianism))

 

Recently, I remembered why I used to hold left-wing ideas.

I used to work backwards from paradise to reality; for example,

in paradise no one worries about dying hence in reality we should have welfare

so that no one has to worry about dying.  

 

This reverse engineering can be dangerous (as the above example shows) but

I was wondering if it's possible to work backwards to arrive at anarcho capitalism?

(since usually anarcho capitalism is derived in a forwards manner through axioms, principles, and logic)

 

 

 

[AynRand]

I'm not sure if this is what you mean, but I view anarcho capitalism as a negative philosophy. Meaning I reject the affirmative argument of statism and collectivism and by negating these ideas I arrive at anarcho capitalism.

[Daniel Unplugged]

I've been an an-cap for so long now that I have difficulty

remembering what appealed to me about statist arguments.

Could it be that the statist arguments were only appealing for lack of better arguments.

 

Arguing that the Sun orbits the Earth, may sound appealing and may seem to fit your observations, until that is, someone teaches you about gravity, shows you other observations, and argues that the Earth actually orbits the Sun. Then, if you are not committed to remaining ignorant, you wonder why you were once so ignorant. Then you realise that you were not ignorant, it was other people who were ignorant, and they misinformed you about the true nature of reality. Finally you realise that those people are committed to remaining ignorant and there is nothing you can do to help them.

 

In answer to your question: yes.

 

Good people should not be kidnapped from their homes and locked in cages. Since the state requires this, it has to go.

 

Or in words more like yours: In paradise, no one worries about being kidnapped, therefore there can be no State.