While much of agorism involves peacefully changing minds and helping others voluntarily, there are elements which, while still peaceful, may fall outside of what is considered legal by those who claim ownership over us. Taking such actions involves risk. You should make yourself aware of those risks in order to make informed decisions. While doing the right thing and promoting agorism is important, keeping yourself safe is vitally important.

Too often I hear agorists and other anarchists say to break the law merely because it is the law. This is no better than obeying the law merely because it is the law. You are granting the decision power to those in power, rather than retaining it for yourself. Besides, some laws accidentally fall on the side of what is right. Laws against murder and theft are examples of such laws. Do not harm someone else merely because it is against the law. While those laws themselves are not justifiable, what they prohibit is morally unjustifiable. Laws against kids having lemonade stands? Not so much.

To be clear, there is no purity test going on here. You can be a true agorist and never actually violate the law. You can carry on in your life in a voluntary manner, convincing others to do the same, all while opposing the tyranny and oppression of the state. You can act so as to deprive the state of taxes from your income in ways that are perfectly legal, such as earning so little that the state does not take any of your income. But if you choose to take actions that do go against the dictates from upon high, how should you decide what actions to take?

What actions should we engage in as agorists trying to make a better world despite the legal obstacles? That question may be impossible to answer in a precise manner. The actions we choose to take will depend factors from our opportunities, abilities, and of course the level of risk we are willing to take. First, I would suggest that we stay focused on helping others. Secondly, we stay focused on depriving the state of taxes. This helps us stay focused on the bigger picture of transitioning to a free society, as opposed to just reacting negatively to the existence of tyranny.  Please keep in mind I am not a legal expert, nor is there a simple formula to guarantee success. So, if you are determined to take such an action after considering the risks, what I can offer are some suggestions as to ways to deny the state its lifeblood: your money.

Denying the Taxman:

When I first became interested in liberty ideas and the problems of taxation, the Tax Foundation was reporting that on average US citizens were forced to pay 52% of their income in some form of tax! Even if you don’t believe that this is outright theft, imagine working half of your life to support parasites like bureaucrats or leeches like the police. They don’t work to support your life, so why must you work to support theirs, especially when their entire reason for existence is to harm innocent others?

Consider cash jobs.  This often involves manual labor. Whether that be in the form of lawn maintenance, or some trade like house painting, plumbing, electrical, or other building trades. The black and grey markets in all of their forms are very often cash markets, so if you have a special ability to make products that are otherwise regulated, consider selling on the black market. The nice thing about selling your homemade jam for instance is that “fine upstanding citizens” don’t usually see buying it as a black-market activity. Or perhaps considering selling homemade hooch. The popularity of home distilling is increasing, partly due to the show Moonshiners, and a marketing effort of “legitimate” distillers to sell more products. Everyone knows that this is illegal (except apparently in Missouri under some conditions), and that is part of the draw for your potential customers. This is however a potentially dangerous process, one that I am not comfortable with trying. Yet.

Barter. You may find that you have the opportunity to barter, particularly with your neighbors and social circle. Here again, few see this as anti-government activity, making it easier for them to accept.

Accept cryptocurrency. If you are particularly good with tech, maybe you can work out deals with those who need help in which you accept BTC or another cryptocurrency as payment. Outside of tech work, consider mentioning or putting on your business cards that you accept cryptocurrency. Though the state is actively going after it, opportunities still exist to use crypto anonymously.

Use a pseudonym. Like each other suggestion this may not apply in every instance, but it can add a layer of complexity to the efforts of those searching for you in order to take your honestly earned income.

Foreign employment. If your work need not be location based, say as a writer, programmer, graphic designer or other digital employment consider finding work outside of your home country. It isn’t as if borders are inherently justified.

If you are an employer, you could consider undocumented or off the book employees. As a homeowner who may need work done from time to time, ask around and you may find a location in your town where you can hire day laborers, usually at a fraction of the cost of calling out a service.

Avoiding the regulatory state:
Non-licensed work. Whether as a customer or as say a tradesman like an electrician, the quality of the work is what matters, not a certificate of permission from the state. If you have the requisite knowledge and can do the work, put the word out. If someone asks for a license, you will know that you would not want to work for them anyway. However, if you don’t have the knowledge and skill to do the work, don’t take on jobs requiring such work. If you are hiring an unlicensed tradesman, ask for references to make sure that the person knows what they are doing.

Non-permitted work: In some parts of the US new construction and remodeling are still booming. If you are lucky enough to live in one of these areas, there is a great opportunity to find and complete work. Many people are open to having the work done without permits, and very few understand when permits are necessary. As with the non-licensed work, just make sure you have the knowledge and skill to carry out the work in a high-quality manner.
In his book, The $50 Underground House Book, Mike Oehler tells of a couple in Denmark who built a house using his methods. After completion of the build, two inspectors came around saying that they heard there was unpermitted construction on the site. The couple, having no real choice, allowed the inspectors to walk around for an hour. The inspectors left confused. They could not find any construction. Given their biases as to what counted as construction and the fact that the new home blended into the landscape perfectly the inspectors saw nothing. Imagine that, a new house with zero permitting!

Grey Area Work: With the Food Network and other food entertainment booming, there has been a growth in in guerrilla dinner parties, where you pay for dinner, but it may be hosted in someone’s house or other locations. These are very difficult for inspectors to find and discover. A similar idea has cropped up where outlawed foods are served. Foods such as raw milk, raw milk cheese, cow brains, and more are served to perfectly willing diners who are informed of all of the potential risks. Another way can be to use food trucks with random or near random schedules and locations so that you are never easily found by inspectors and bureaucrats. Social media can help you maintain a client base, though this does come with some additional risk of being discovered.

Non-work-based activities:
A few years ago a story appeared on the internet about a forest ranger who discovered a micro-cabin that someone had built on “state property.” The ranger even admitted to being impressed by the quality of the build, the functionality, and how well the builder had hidden the cabin. Still he had to catch the “perp” and take down the cabin. Apparently, the person who built it figured out someone had come into his place so when the ranger returned the next week, there was no cabin. Presumably this person moved on to another location to continue living on “state property” as he had been.

When you are a customer, particularly trade and service businesses, ask if they have a cash price. Sometimes this may be equal to the taxes that the person would otherwise have to pay. You may save money and they will be acting as to reduce the income into the state coffers.

Make it, grow it, reuse it. The less you consume that takes money to purchase, the less tax you have to pay for the same standard of living. This has a couple of particularly good characteristics: You are not going to get into legal trouble for doing this (in most cases), and chances are you will have a higher quality product as a result. For many folks, doing it yourself is also a form of entertainment.

Some general tips:

Not all of your work need be grey or black market. Having one above-board job may help you have a higher standard of living than you would have with your above-board income alone.

Use word of mouth. State officials scan advertising to check on companies. They may find you anyway, but if you can avoid print (including internet) advertising you will be some degree safer.  Along the same lines develop business relationships and friendships that allow you to trade services in ways that are not governed by the state, enforced by the state, or fall into legal grey areas.

Remember that your choices in acting agoristically may have negative impacts on friends and clients. In some cases, they may need a tax ID to cover themselves, which could either expose you or end a friend or business relationship if you give false information. You have to weigh these personal relationship and hardships when making decisions to act.

The Pros and Cons of Working Outside Of The Law.
None of us want to pay taxes, even those who claim that they don’t mind or that taxes are necessary try to pay as little as they can get away with. On some level, almost everyone recognizes that taxation is theft, whether they will admit it or not. As agorists we know that depriving the state of taxes is depriving it of its lifeblood. The less that is available to pay police or military, the less they can harm innocents. Unfortunately, just like the honest mafia, the government likes to target those who oppose its collection efforts so there are very real dangers to not kowtowing and paying them not to hurt or kill you. If you are willing to take the risk, you can keep more of what you earn, around 40% at the federal level which is nothing to scoff at. If you live in a state with state income tax that percentage increases.

When I first became interested in liberty ideas and the problems of taxation, the Tax Foundation was reporting that on average US citizens were forced to pay 52% of their income in some form of tax!          Imagine working half of your life to support parasites like bureaucrats or leeches like the police. They don’t work to support your life, so why must you work to support theirs?

So, the first and most obvious upside is that you essentially double your income. The downside is that if you are caught your life as you know it is over.

It is a horrible calculation to have to make, and one that no one should ever have to make. Sadly, we do not live in a world that allows us to avoid this calculation. We can either sacrifice principle and be safer, though not safe since those that rule over us do not adhere to their own principles, or we can be principled but risk everything up to and including death.

Your recourse is more limited if you are cheated by a supplier or customer. If they discover that you are working outside of the regulatory state, they may choose to take advantage of your vulnerability. Developing good business relationships can help you avoid such problems, as can avoiding political discussions with clients and customers. Years ago, I was working for two different couples, one stereotypical conservative, the other stereotypical liberal. Both thought I agreed with their positions because I would agree with what they said that I honestly agreed with but remained silent when I disagreed with them.

Because you are taking a risk there is a definite increase in your stress. You have to be perfect in your actions. It only takes one mistake to cause you heartache and headache. But with that negative comes the intense pleasure of knowing that you are acting nobly and in a principled manner. You can have the pleasure of knowing that instead of focusing on regulations, you can focus on the quality of the product or service you are giving your customers. You are acting so as to improve your own life, but also in the spread of ideas and lessening of the state, you are improving the lives of others as well.

Always consider your options carefully and act in accordance with your own principles.